Unfortunately this camera does not save Menu settings with the Custom Picture settings.

Although the entire Menu can be saved on the SD

CANON XF100/105 Custom Picture & Menu Settings Card which also saves all Custom Picture setttings! Thus when Custom Picture changes, certain Menu settings my need to be changed
manually. Ideally it would have been better if there was also a way to save multiple Menu settings on the same SD Card.

ABOUT - The need to prepare this spreadsheet comes from my expereince with the JVC GY-HM100U camera, which was very noisey in low light. I needed a way to understand the settings in relation to each other and how to
use them in different situations properly. The settings and presets suggested have been analysed and tested to various degrees in lab and field conditions, and is an on going never ending process. Inspiration for some settings
has been derived from BBC's Alan Robert's "Addendum 65: Tests and Setting for Canon XF100/XF105", which are highlighted here for comparison purposes only. BBC tests of Camera were done (with a better color system
PAL, not NTSC) at 1080i & 720p, both at 50Mbps with 0dB Gain & fall short of my goal which is to get the best quality with NTSC in good & low light (6dB+) out at (not 1080i) 1080p, which due to compression should deliver
superior results over interlaced video, in most situations. Thus, in my opinion (after extensive testing & analysis of settings suggested by BBC, Vimeo & FB groups, etc.), my presets perform better in REALITY where Run & Gun,
Low Light, etc. are Norm, & best results are seen with Presets used as intended, especially with the suggested Gain settings.

Suggested Presets J.Cine12 - 1080p Flexible Normal mode. Excellent upto 6dB (& good in many cases in Low Light upto 12dB) right out from the Camera. With appropriate NR in post its usable at higher Gain values.

Items to Customize (partial list, some not changed) Important changes highlighted in color My Suggestion BBC Suggested

SETTINGS CUSTOM PICTURE PRESETS

MENU GROUP MENU SUB-MENU Default / Off J.Cine12 BBCCine1 BBCNorm3
Full Auto Mode Flexible Cinematic Mode 1080i 1080i

Gamma Normal1 Normal2 Cine1 Normal3

Master Pedestal 0 0 0 0
Master Black - Red 0 0 0 0
Black
Master Black - Green 0 -1 0 0
Master Black - Blue 0 0 0 0
Level 0 0 0 0
Black Gamma
Point 0 0 0 0
Enable Off Off Off Off
Low Key Satur
Level 0 0 0 0
Enable On On On On
Automatic On Off On Off
Knee Slope 0 12 0 12
Point 95 70 95 85
Saturation 0 0 0 0
Level 0 -5 -10 -5
CUSTOM PICTURE
H Detail Freq 0 0 8 8
Coring - Level 0 5 12 12
Coring - D-Ofst 0 5 0 0
Sharpness
Coring - D-Curve 0 4 0 0
Coring - D-Depth 0 4 0 0
HV Detail Bal 0 0 5 2
Limit 0 0 0 0
Noise Reduction Automatic Automatic Automatic Automatic
Select Normal1 Normal2 Cine1 Normal3
Color Matrix Gain 0 0 0 0
R-G 0 0 -8 -8
White Balance G Gain 0 0 0 0
Setup level - Level 0 0 0 0
Other Functions Setup level - Press Off Off Off Off
Clip at 100% Off Off Off Off
 AGC Limit 24/Off 12 24/Off 24/Off
L 0 -6 -6 -6
Gain M 6 0 -3 -3
H 12 6 6 6
Shutter [A] Automatic Speed Speed Speed
CAMERA SETUP ND Filter [A] Automatic [A] Automatic [A] Automatic [A] Automatic
Speed [I.AF] Instant [I.AF] Instant [I.AF] Instant [I.AF] Instant
AF Mode
Face AF Off Face Primary Face Primary Face Primary
Focus Limit Off Off Off Off
Image Stab Image Stab Image Stab Image Stab
OIS Function
Image Stabilizer Standard Dynamic Dynamic Dynamic

Int Mic Att Off On On On

XLR1 Mic Att Off On On On
AUDIO SETUP Audio Input
XLR2 Mic Att Off On On On
Limiter Off On On On

VIDEO SETUP HD Onscreen Disp Off On On On

Off On On On
Select Zebra 1 Zebra 1&2 Zebra 1&2 Zebra 1&2
Zebra Zebra 1 Level 70% 70% 70% 70%
Zebra 2 Level 100% 100% 100% 100%
HD Output Off On On On
Enable Off On On On
LCD/VF SETUP Center Off Gray Gray Gray
Horizontal Off Gray Gray Gray
Grid Off Gray Gray Gray
Markers
Safety Zone Off Gray Gray Gray
Safety Zone Area 95% 80% 80% 80%
Aspect Marker Off Off Off Off
Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 1.75:1 1.75:1 1.75:1

Time Zone GMT UTC - 6:00 Chicago UTC - 6:00 Chicago UTC - 6:00 Chicago
WFM (LCD) Setting Off WFM WFM WFM
1 Powered IS Powered IS Powered IS Powered IS
2 Zebra Zebra Zebra Zebra
3 WFM (LCD) WFM (LCD) WFM (LCD) WFM (LCD)
4 Magnification Magnification Magnification Magnification
5 (None) Status Status Status
Assign Button
6 (None) Photo Photo Photo
7 (None) Spotlight Spotlight Spotlight
8 (None) Backlight Backlight Backlight
9 (None) Peaking Peaking Peaking
10 (None) Image Stab. Image Stab. Image Stab.
OTHER FUNCTIONS
Custom Key/Dial Normal Iris ND Iris ND Iris ND Iris ND
Bit Rate/Resolution 50 Mbps 1920x1080 50 Mbps 1920x1080 50 Mbps 1920x1080 50 Mbps 1920x1080
Frame Rate 50i/60i 24p 50i/60i 50i/60i
Special Rec Off Off Off Off
Slow & Fast Motion S&F Frame Rate 24 24 24
OTHER FUNCTIONS

Shockless Gain Off Slow Slow Slow

Shockless WB Off Off Off Off
AE Response Normal Normal Normal Normal
Custom Function Iris Limit Off On On On
F. Assist B&W Off Peaking Peaking Peaking
Zoom Indicator Bar Number Number Number
Character Rec Off Off Off Off

Manual Ring Switch Zoom Zoom Zoom

AF/MF Switch AF AF AF AF
Custom Key/Dial Iris ND Iris ND Iris ND Iris ND
Iris AF1.8 F1.8/F2.8 to F4.0/F8.0 F1.8 F1.8
BUTTONS Gain A0.0 L L L
Shutter Auto 1/48 1/48 1/48
Powered IS [S] Standard [D] Dynamic [D] Dynamic [D] Dynamic
Camera [A] Full Auto [M] Manual [M] Manual [M] Manual
WB Auto [A/B] Custom WB Auto Auto
gh the entire Menu can be saved on the SD
Menu settings my need to be changed
s on the same SD Card.

ettings in relation to each other and how to

nding process. Inspiration for some settings
ra were done (with a better color system
which due to compression should deliver
erform better in REALITY where Run & Gun,

NR in post its usable at higher Gain values.

Tweak as required

COMMENTS
Cells with tiny red flag have extra comments, hover mouse over the to view tips if you don't see them.

Might need adjustment if "Black Gamma" is adjusted as it will help maintain contrast, especially in low light.

Mystery - according to page 109 of manual, this setting should be "Not Available", if Gamma is Cine1 or Cine2, but the camera allows me to set it, so I set it. In fact Canon's CP "CINE.V" uses Cine1 Gamma, yet there they have customized t

Canon's CINE.F uses Knee Point 70 with Slope of 11. Test footage for Knee showed that Slope=10-12 & Point=70 works well.

Auto or 1-8 of Off. When set to Auto, (It seems to me that) NR seems to go up 1 point every +6dB gain increase. So at -6dB NR=Off, at 0dB NR=1, at 6dB NR=2, at 12 dB NR=3, at 18dB NR=4, at 24dB NR=5. So using Gain at these boundr
Setting Auto Gain Control with the corresponding CP presets should be used w care as it could be noisey, but it could be an Advantage in Uneven/Dynamic lighting situations (eg. scene with Low and Dimly lit areas mixed together) so as to a

Auto lets ND Filter to kick in at F4.0, with 3 stops (1/2, 1/4 & 1/8), before closing Iris further

On/Off - Off enables Macro shooting (extreme close-ups)

Switch Off for live feed or external recording

Can set to "Face AF" if you want to push/pull focus between Faces during a scene
According to BBC…..50 Mbps 1280x720 is the Least Noisey (0.5-1 F-Stop at Gain >= +12 - +24dB, by my estimate) - makes sense cause the single-sensor is 1080 w bayer pattern filter and not true 1080.

Interval rec, Slow & Fast motion, etc.

Should this be On? Only if camera is doing abrupt Auto WB changes in some situations.

Whether to allow Iris to close beyond F8.0 - this camera's will loose significant resolution to close Iris beyond F8.0

enable/disable on-screen character recording

Zoom/Focus/Iris select for Ring

MF (manual focus) or AF (auto focus)
Press button to chance betwween Iris(ND) or I.AF :-) "Instant Auto Focus with Face AF/detection - Turn dial to SELECT Face.
F1.8 - F8.0 - Auto F-stop or Manual F-stop, Turn Iris Ring/Dial to change F-stop in Manual mode. In Low or Dim light, shooting at F1.8 is advisable with max zoom of about 50% to keep Iris upto F2.0.
L/M/H/A - Each press Gains one level up
1/24 or faster - press to enable change, then use joy-stick to change shutter speed
D (dynamic) for wide-angle shots, P (powered) for zoomed shots and S (standard) for hybrid
A Auto, M Manual or L Locked.
Auto or Custom WB
ne1 Gamma, yet there they have customized the Knee to a quite a degree.

at 24dB NR=5. So using Gain at these boundries would yield maximum NR benefit if Automatic Noise Reduction is used.
and Dimly lit areas mixed together) so as to auto-expose correctly.
B55: Aperture Priority = Manual Iris [Fx.x] w Auto Shutter [Automatic]
Shutter Priority = Manual Shutter [Speed] w Auto Iris [AFx.x]

B97: TBD - 720p at 50 Mbps w Gain >= 18dB, there is room to improve picture quality in Dim Light! But at Gain < 15, I suggest filming at 1080p.

B112: Aperture Priority = Manual Iris [Fx.x] w Auto Shutter [Automatic]

Shutter Priority = Manual Shutter [Speed] w Auto Iris [AFx.x]

B114: Manual Shutter = [x/x]. Available when {CAMERA SETUP} {Shutter} = [Speed]
Auto Shutter = [Ax/x]. Available when {CAMERA SETUP} {Shutter} = [Automatic]

E18: Excellent upto 6dB (and in many cases upto 12dB) right out from the Camera. With appropriate NR in post it is also usable (if required) at even higher Gain values like 18dB or more.

E20: Normal2 is the Best option for a Gamma curve that maintains editability and direcit off the camera usability, among all. It has normal mids, boosted highs & a smooth fall-off towards black, which gives
better contrast in average lighting situations right out of the camera. So it should work better than the rest when combined with a Cinematic Knee to smoothen out the high tones.

E23: Reduces Green Color Cast & Noise which is quite prominent at Higher Gain values in dark tones and black. PS. This may or may not be an issue w the XF300/305.

E32: Give the picture a Cinematic Knee - In outdoor daylight situations it results in proper exposure of shadows & sunny areas plus proper preservation of high tones. It will also be a big help in backlight
situations by toning down the high tones to reasonable levels.

E34: -10 seems to turn off sharpness and anything more than -8 seems to adds increasingly visible black-speckled noise when NR=Automatic. PS...Canon's CINE.V uses this value.

BUT if Detail Coring &/or HV Detail Frequency /Balance has been altered, higher values upto -2 (0 ur pushin it) may be usable to deliver straight out of the camera, depending on Gain value &/or Lighting
conditions. But to maintain editability in post & for a cleaner image at high gain, -5 is a good compromise (which works in general), any more and Halo, Edge Feathering & Noise is too high to be Edit
friendly.

E35: +ve increases H detail freq & -ve increases V detail f req. I prefer 0 as I think it works better for HD footage with fine detail.

E36: 5 is enough to prevent sharpening of extremely fine detail thus avoiding noise grain, any more than 5 and too much detail is left out from sharpening.

E37: Skip sharpening of very dark areas

E38: Skip sharpening of very dark areas

E39: Skip sharpening of very dark areas

E40: +ve increases H detail bal & -ve increases V detail bal. I prefer 0 as I think it works better for HD footage with fine detail.

E43: Matching the Color Matrix to the Gamma curve is better so that the in-camera White-balance does no get thrown off in bad lighting conditions.

E45: On the XF100/105, the Green Channel is a bit dominant due to one sensor having having a bayer pattern filter, so setting to -8 may be more usefull on the XF300/305. CAUTION - preliminary tests have
hinted that changing color values can throw-off the in-camera auto-white balance in some tricky lighting situations, so I don't recommend changing anything if the colors looks good enough.

E48: Squeezes video to 100% and can help avoid overexposure. But if watching exposure meter or using auto exposure this is useless. PS...I did notice the picture getting darker when turned On with a normally
automatically exposed picture in some situations.

E49: Clips highlights at 100% (this camera can go upto 109%). Better to leave it Off as it may help rescue an overexposed Face/Image when editing.

E51: 12dB LOW Light Gain - Quality is acceptable in many cases depending on how the light was. Some scenes will need appropriate NR in post. CAUTION: Any more and Significant NR in post would be needed if
using Gain upto 18dB or 24dB if required.

E112: 1. In Low or Dim light, shooting at F1.8 is advisable with max zoom of about 50% to keep Iris upto F2.0.
2. Prefered Iris range is F2.8 to F4.0 because this lens has constant Iris from F2.8 onwards and ND Filter can kick in upwards of F4.0.
3. If ND Filter is set to [Auto] Iris ring/dial lets ND Filter to kick in at F4.0, with 3 stops (1/2, 1/4 & 1/8), before closing Iris further.
4. Max Iris should not be over F8.0, as that will drop the resolving power of the lens significantly and make the image Foggy.

E114: Slowest shutter speed suggested when light is low or dim. 1/25 for 25p or 50i & 1/30 for 30p or 60i.
MENU SUB-MENU HiGain Run&Gun BBC Blend3 BBC Blend4 BBC Blend5 BBC Blend6 LowGain LowGain720p Run&Gun
Level 0 -10 -10 -10 -5 0 Good Light Mode Normal Flex Mode Normal Flex Mode
H Detail Freq 0 0 8 8 8 8
Sharpness Coring - Level 0 50 12 50 50 12 Cine2 Cine2 Cine1
HV Detail Bal 0 0 5 5 2 5 0 -1 0
Limit 0 -50 0 -50 -50 0 0 0 0
Noise Reduction 8 Automatic Automatic Automatic Automatic 8 -2 -1 -1
-7 0 -3
MENU SUB-MENU HiGain Run&Gun BBC Sharp Off HV Detail 2 BBC Blend1 BBC Blend2 0 0 0

Level 0 -10 -10 0 0 0 On On On

H Detail Freq 0 0 0 2 8 8 25 25 50
Sharpness Coring - Level 0 50 50 50 50 12 On On On
HV Detail Bal 0 0 0 2 5 5 On On Off
Limit 0 -50 -50 -50 -50 0 0 0 12
Noise Reduction 8 Automatic Automatic 8 8 8 95 95 85
0 0 0
-10 -10 -10
0 0 8
0 0 12

0 0 5
0 0 0
Automatic Automatic 3
Cine2 Cine2 Cine2

0 0 0

Off Off On
Off Off Off

3 15 9
-6 -6 -6
-3 0 0
0 9 6

LowGain - Use when light will be good or excellent. This preset does not do well in Low or Dim light, so Gain is suggested to be at the low end, but given proper light it Out-performs all.
Suggested Preset Run&Gun - Use when there is no time (or will) to change settings and/or there is no control of Lighting or Scene. It is Flexible & performs Good in Bright Light and Okay in Low Light.
HiGain - Can get noisey & soft, use very carefully only when light is Dim i.e. almost non-existant. For Low Light use "Run&Gun". Think of this as the last option before you try InfraRed.
 Run&Gun+ HiGain J.Norm J.Dim J.Dim J.Cine12 J.Cine12
Dim Light Mode Dim Light Mode 1080p Flexible Mode 720p Dim Light Mode (old720p Dim Light Mode (ne Normal Flexible Mode Normal Flexible Mode

Normal4 Cine1 Cine2 Cine2 Cine2 Cine1 Cine1

0 -1 0 0 0 -1 -2
-3 -1 0 0 0 0 0
-3 -2 -1 -2 -1 -1 -1
0 -3 0 -10 0 0 0
0 11 0 0 0 0 0

Off On On On On On Off
0 50 25 25 25 50 0
On On On On On On On
On On On On Off Off Off
0 0 0 0 12 12 12
95 95 95 95 70 85 85
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
-5 0 -10 0 0 -7 -8
0 8 0 0 0 8 8
0 12 0 0 0 12 12

0 5 0 0 0 5 5
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 8 Automatic 8 8 4 Automatic
Normal4 Cine2 Cine2 Cine2 Cine2 Cine2 Cine2
12
0 0 0 0 0 0 -12

On Off Off Off Off Off Off

Off Off Off Off Off Off Off

9 24/Off 15 24/Off 24/Off 18 18

-6 12 -6 15 15 -6 -6
0 15 0 18 18 3 3
6 18 9 21 21 12 12

per light it Out-performs all.

and Okay in Low Light.
n before you try InfraRed.
J.Cine12 J.Cine12
Normal Flexible Mode Normal Flexible Mode

Cine1 Cine1
-3 0
0 0
-1 -1
0 0
3 0
12 0
Off Off
0 0
On On
Off Off
12 12
85 85
0 0
-8 -5
8 8
12 12

5 2
0 0
Automatic Automatic
Cine2 Cine2
12 18
-12 0
2
3 0
Off Off
Off Off

18 18
-6 -6
6 6
12 12