4K clarity question

[Spooner83]

So,

I'm an editor for some buddies of mine who vlog. I noticed that our 4k videos look kinda grainy after exporting, but I save them in the highest quality possible. For instance, there's a video I helped film on vacation with them and I noticed that one of the first scenes is crystal clear 4k but the rest of the episode is grainy. All scenes were filmed in 4k with an iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max. I'm confused how one scene looks so good but the others don't. The only thing I added to the episode in Final Cut Pro x is an audio compressor. I didn't add anything to the video to enhance it.

If anyone can help figure this out, I appreciate it.

Thanks!

 

[ColdCase]

Are all sources shot the same frame rate and are the lighting conditions similar. Could one phone have a camera problem, or one shot in slow motion settings? If you open the source in QT, are there noticeable difference in quality, and does the inspector window show some differences.

 

[Erehy Dobon]

Higher resolution is not a panacea for poorly captured source material. The classic computer acronym GIGO is always in play: Garbage In, Garbage Out.

Low light issues? Handheld image stabilization issues? It doesn't matter if you can capture 8K images if you are shooting manually and your hands are shaking because it's cold out.

Shooting with the latest iPhones does not suspend the laws of optical physics (chromatic aberration, lens flare, lens distortion, light falloff, pincushion & barrel distortion, air/glass lens surfaces, etc.).