karlreed wrote:Just a random comment, but, I'd have hoped that vidoe was a lot easier than it is sounding hereThat depends on what you want to get out of "video". OP presumably needs the dynamic range and editing flexibility of N-Log. I just use the Neutral colour profile for the occasional video, or the Flat profile if I plan to edit it later.

Andre Yew wrote:It sounds like you're underexposing. Noise may be more visible before the N-log LUT, but after applying the LUT, the noise should be comparable to what you get from the internal 8-bit mode.There are lots of ways to meter for the right exposure, depending on what you're doing. For me, since I use the Leeming LUT, I expose until 95% zebras show up on the highlight detail I want to preserve, then I back down the exposure until the zebras just disappear. This is on the Ninja V with the Leeming LUT loaded onto to it so the zebras are measuring the final rendered image rather than the flat N-log footage. I've shot up to ISO 12800 and the noise is far from smartphone quality.Other people expose for the midtones in straight N-log to appear at some level on their histogram or zebras. The key is not to use your eyes only, but to use the meters and if necessary, a preview LUT for the metering. How do you find the right levels? By running your own tests for your shooting style and lighting, and seeing what works for you.Great advice! I have never used the Leeming Lut, do you prefer it over Nikons transform Lut?

robertfel wrote:You need to do it in post.Exactly! I turn off denoising and sharpen in LR and use Topaz Denoise AI. I shot my friend's birthday on my Z50 with the 14-30mm F4 @ 1/60 sec from 900 ISO to 10.000 ISO as the day progressed. Topaz has a video denoise plugin, but it is incredibly slow and I assume there should be something like that in advanced video editors?This denoise AI is also slow. If you needed to run 1000s of images through it, it would take a whole day, but it does batch processing.Cropped from 20 to 15 Mp1:1 cropAnd 7200 ISO :(And preferably: it should have been in focus, and people should stop moving while I photograph, and I do prefer NOT to use a flash)I need to leave some "grain" to avoid turning people to plastic, which some will say I already did

Brad Lyman007 wrote:Great advice! I have never used the Leeming Lut, do you prefer it over Nikons transform Lut?Yes, the Nikon LUT is too contrasty, maybe because they expect that to be the only thing you apply to get your footage ready. The Leeming LUT is much lower contrast, but as a result, you have more flexibility to grade it how you like. That is also a downside if you want a simple click and go method instead of doing more color grading though he does also have some prebuilt looks he gives away for free.He also builds LUTs for a wide variety of cameras, so if you're mixing cameras, it's easier to match them.The support (only on Facebook) is great too, and Paul Leeming answers questions pretty quickly. For example, when I asked about Z9 compatibility, he had already looked at their new LUT and determined that it was just a WB change. Gerald Undone talks more about the Leeming LUTs on his Youtube channel too.

Andre Yew wrote:Brad Lyman007 wrote:Great advice! I have never used the Leeming Lut, do you prefer it over Nikons transform Lut?Yes, the Nikon LUT is too contrasty, maybe because they expect that to be the only thing you apply to get your footage ready. The Leeming LUT is much lower contrast, but as a result, you have more flexibility to grade it how you like. That is also a downside if you want a simple click and go method instead of doing more color grading though he does also have some prebuilt looks he gives away for free.He also builds LUTs for a wide variety of cameras, so if you're mixing cameras, it's easier to match them.The support (only on Facebook) is great too, and Paul Leeming answers questions pretty quickly. For example, when I asked about Z9 compatibility, he had already looked at their new LUT and determined that it was just a WB change. Gerald Undone talks more about the Leeming LUTs on his Youtube channel too.Thanks for the info. I have heard about them from Gerald Undones videos, but I didn’t realize that they were for converting log footage and from specific cameras. I’m going to give it a try

karlreed wrote:Just a random comment, but, I'd have hoped that vidoe was a lot easier than it is sounding hereThere is a learning curve to video (as OP found out), but the Z6 cameras are very capable and learning to use it is worth the effort.

What’s the reason that Nlog base ISO is 800?

I'm no expert, but what I've read there is no noixe treduction happening when recording. When shooting H265 (not RAW) the camera is adding the noise reduction baked in. You need to do all the noise reduction in post when shooting RAW.

Since my response over a year ago to this thread, I have upgraded my Z6ii's and Z6 with the Nikon ProRes Raw Upgrade. This upgrade gives one the ability to shoot as low as 100 iso. It really opens up the cameras capabilities, but at the price of much larger file sizes, and much more in-depth color correction and grading needs. Well worth the $200/ea. to me, and I'm a little miffed at myself for not doing it sooner/right off the bat. I always hated having to deal with a base iso of 800 as I do a lot of daylight exteriors. Grain now is insignificant when exposed properly.