SonyRAW Format Settings

Sony VENICE Support

Support for the Sony VENICE camera is based on the supported version of its firmware. At the moment, firmware version 6 is supported.

Firmware version 2.0 focused on new X-OCN resolutions:

4K 6:5 (4096x3432 2.387)
6K 17:9 (6054x3192 1.879)
6K 1.85 (6054x3272 1.85)

Features in firmware version 3.0:

New resolutions: 5.7K (16:9) and 6K (2:39)
New X-OCN XT compression
De-squeeze for x1.25, x1.3, x1.5 and x1.8)
User Define XDROOT folder naming

High-Frame Rate support is the main feature of firmware version 4.0:

60 fps in 6K Full Frame 3:2 (6048 x 4032).
72 fps in 4K Super35 4:3 for full 18mm height anamorphic (4096 x 3024).
110 fps in 4K Super35 17:9 (4096 x 2160).
120 fps in 4K Super35 2.39:1 (4096 x 1716).

All of the High Frame Rates (except 6K 50/60p) support X-OCN recording, including X-OCN XT.

High Frame Rates (HFR) up to 60 fps support XAVC 4K/QFHD and ProRes recording.

The Compression information for Sony RAW & X-OCN media files is now available in MediaHub > Preview > Metadata.

Sony VENICE 2

The Sony VENICE 2, released in February 2022, is also supported. For more information on this camera, see Sony documentation. It introduces the following supported formats.

Imager mode	Resolution	Project Frame Rate
5.8K 17:9	5792 x 3056	23, 24, 25, 29, 50, 59
5.4K 16:9	5434 x 3056	23, 24, 25, 29, 47, 50, 59
5.8K 6:5	5792 x 4854	23, 24, 25, 29, 47
7.6K 16:9	7680 x 4320	23, 24, 25, 29, 50, 59
8.2K 17:9	8192 x 4320	23, 24, 25, 29, 47, 50, 59
8.6K 3:2	8640 x 5760	23, 24, 25, 29

Colour Management

The following Sony Venice colour transforms are for ACES workflows (AP0/AP1):

scene-linear-SGamut3-Venice
Slog3 / SGamut3-Venice
Slog3 / SGamut3.Cine-Venice

They reflect the differences in X-OCN media between files generated by the CineAlta PMW-F5/F55 and the Venice/Venice 2 cameras. They match the Input Device Transforms provided by Sony Electronics to AMPAS. See this GitHub repo for more details.

When importing X-OCN media files generated by Sony Venice cameras, using the Tag From File option uses the Venice colour space (Slog3 / SGamut3.Cine-Venice).

Metadata Settings

Tape Name box

Select an option to determine how the tape name is set when importing clips.

Select:	To:
Enter Tape Name	Activate the Tape Name field where you enter the tape name. When selecting multiple files for import, this tape name is used for all imported files.
Tape Name from File Name	Use the name of the imported file as the tape name.
Tape Name from Directory	Determine the tape name from the detected directory structure. Use the Level field below to configure the relative path to the directory from which the tape name can be determined.
Tape Name from Header	Read the tape name from the header of the imported file.

Level field

Set from which directory the tape name is taken, relative to the location of the clip in the directory structure.

Although available for all types of files, the Level field is intended for directory structures output by film scanners. A typical image file directory structure looks like this: ./<tape>/<resolution>/clip.######. In this case, selecting Levels Up 2 in the Level field identifies the directory that corresponds to the tape name (./<tape>). Enabled if Tape Name is set to Tape From Directory.

Tape Name field

Enter the name to use as tape name when importing the clip. Enabled if Tape Name is set to Enter Tape Name.

Orientation box

Flip (vertical) or flop (horizontal) the media when importing the clip. Camera uses the orientation defined on the camera during the shoot. Disable Flip to use the true orientation of the image, as it was shot.

Clip Settings

Clip Name box

Select how the clip is named when the file is imported.

Select:	To:
Enter Clip Name	Activate the Clip Name field so that you can manually enter the clip name. When selecting multiple files for import, this name is used for all imported files.
Clip Name from File Name	Use the name of the imported file as the clip name.

Debayering Settings

Debayering box

Select the resolution at which the media is imported. Higher resolutions require more processing and impact real-time playback. Other resolutions offer better performance at the cost of lower image resolution.

Not every debayering work for every camera. To maximize compatibility, use the relative settings: Full, Half, Quarter, Eighth, Sixteenth.

If you cannot debayer a media file, you will see the following error message in the Preview panel: Error: output_resolution not available for bitstream_typ). In that case, use one of the numerical values such as HD, 2K or 8K UHD until the media debayers correctly.

Quality box

Select one of two qualities for the decoding of SonyRAW footage. While debayering resolution result in lower resolution clips, Quality affects the quality of the fully debayered pixels. Depending on your system configuration, Standard provides better decoding performance at the cost of lower image quality compared to High quality. The actual image degradation depends on the footage being decoded, but because of the Bayer pattern, expect to see differences in the red and blue channels.

The Quality box is only available to Debayering settings 4K and below.

Decoder box

Use GPU ensures the debayering happens on the GPU. This is the option to use for best performance. Use CPU if the GPU decoding causes issues such as image corruption.

GPU decoding is only available on CentOS.

Colour Settings

Note: Before Flame Family 2024, you could set the SonyRAW colour space from both the Colour Management menu and from this Colour Settings menu. This could lead to confusion. Starting with Flame Family 2024, you set SonyRAW colour space only from the Colour Management menu in MediaHub > Generallike with any other file format.

Exposure box: Select how exposure is set. Choose Exposure From File to use the camera settings.
ISO field: Select the ISO rating that is applied to the imported clips. Supported values: 160 to 3200. Enabled when Exposure is Set ISO.
White Balance box: Select the white balance value to use. White Balance From File uses the camera settings burned in the clip.
Kelvin field: Set the perceptual colour temperature of the imported file. In Kelvin. Enabled if White Balance is set to Set Temperature.
Tint field: Set the green/magenta tint balance: positive value for green tint, negative value for magenta tint. Enabled if White Balance is set to Set Temperature.