Sony Unlock Instant HDR Feature for FS5 Owners, 120fps Continuous

The great thing about HLG, and the reason Sony are branding it as ‘Instant HDR’, is that metadata embedded in the XAVC video file when recording can be read by a supporting TV or monitor and displayed automatically with the correct settings. Hybrid Log-Gamma was specifically developed for broadcast television by the BBC and Japanese broadcaster NHK. The main benefit it has over Dolby Vision (a competing HDR technology) is that HLG’s native compatibility allows existing broadcast infrastructure to be re-used for HDR and automatically displayed correctly on a viewer’s TV.

Aside from these new HDR options, I’m also really pleased to see the ability to reduce the ISO below 3200 when shooting in SLog3. This should make it easier to match the FS5 with its bigger sibling, the FS7 (which has a base ISO of 2000 in CineEI Mode). I will be shooting some tests on this new FS5 firmware very soon and will follow up with my thoughts on how much of an effect this makes on shadow noise and, of course, how easy the HLG workflow truly is.

Do you own an FS5 and will you be downloading this update straight away? Are you excited about HDR or not? Let us know in the comments below.