<p>Knowing the details about what format your camera recorded is often as simple as consulting the manual.  However, some cameras shoot multiple formats, and often, editors are given footage from unknown or unreliable sources.  One of the best tools for discovering the full details of an A/V file is the command line utility, mediainfo.</p>
<p>Depending on whether or not your computer comes pre-installed with mediainfo, obtaining your answer may be as simple as opening the command line interface, and typing:</p>
<pre><code>mediainfo /PATH/TO/YOUR/FIlE
</code></pre>
<p>If this returns a &quot;command not found&quot; error, then you will need to install mediainfo according to your operating system requirements.  On MacOs, the easiest way to install is through <a href="https://brew.sh" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://brew.sh</a></p>
<p>If the command line isn't your thing, there are GUI-wrapped versions available in both the Microstoft Store, and Apple App Store, <em>caveat emptor</em>.</p>
<p>The default output is the total information known to the operating system about the media file, which may be overwhelming.  Theres a good explanation of how you can return only relevant information <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/41231998/mediainfo-cli-command-line-interface-syntax-teaching-me-once-for-all">here</a>.</p>
<p>For example, to return only the colorspace, you would type:</p>
<pre><code>mediainfo --Output=&quot;Video;%ColorSpace%&quot; /PATH/TO/YOUR/FILE
</code></pre>
<p>It's important to mention though, that not all metadata is created equally.  Different camera manufacturers will include different details, and when video files get transcoded, the metadata is often altered.</p>
<p>However, mediainfo is one of the most comprehensive tools available for discovering these sorts of details about a media file.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-02-08T05:42:00.837Z
2021-02-08T05:42:00.837Z
Jason Conrad
<p>I just recorded a video (a talking head) using my Canon EOS 4000D (known as Canon EOS Rebel T100 in the U.S.) at 1920x1080p24.</p>
<p>(Maybe informative/Important, that I want to color edit/grade it in Adobe Premiere Pro etc.)</p>
<p>The main question is, how do I know if my footage color space right out of the camera is Rec.709 or not?
Is it 8 bit? 10 bit? 14 bit? 444? 422? 420? RGB444? YCC422? what more?</p>
<p>All I know is my file type is MOV (Video: H.264 inter frame - IPB).</p>
<p>P.S. I used the built-in Portrait Picture Style.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-02-07T19:57:34.430Z
Canon DSLRs always record video in sRGB, which shares the color primaries with Rec.709. Latter also refers to a Gamma of 2.4 (Or sometimes 2.2). So you can basically treat the video as Rec.709. The footage is most likely 8 bit 420, but I can't 100% answer you that one.
Timothy Lukas H.
<premiere><adobe><canon><color-grading><colorspace>
How can I know my if footage is rec.709 or not right out of the camera?
Omid Ghayour
# How can I know my if footage is rec.709 or not right out of the camera?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-02-07)

I just recorded a video (a talking head) using my Canon EOS 4000D (known as Canon EOS Rebel T100 in the U.S.) at 1920x1080p24.

(Maybe informative/Important, that I want to color edit/grade it in Adobe Premiere Pro etc.)

The main question is, how do I know if my footage color space right out of the camera is Rec.709 or not?
Is it 8 bit? 10 bit? 14 bit? 444? 422? 420? RGB444? YCC422? what more?

All I know is my file type is MOV (Video: H.264 inter frame - IPB).

P.S. I used the built-in Portrait Picture Style.

**Tags:** premiere, adobe, canon, color-grading, colorspace

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Canon DSLRs always record video in sRGB, which shares the color primaries with Rec.709. Latter also refers to a Gamma of 2.4 (Or sometimes 2.2). So you can basically treat the video as Rec.709. The footage is most likely 8 bit 420, but I can't 100% answer you that one.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2021-02-08. Score: 1

Knowing the details about what format your camera recorded is often as simple as consulting the manual.  However, some cameras shoot multiple formats, and often, editors are given footage from unknown or unreliable sources.  One of the best tools for discovering the full details of an A/V file is the command line utility, mediainfo.
Depending on whether or not your computer comes pre-installed with mediainfo, obtaining your answer may be as simple as opening the command line interface, and typing:
mediainfo /PATH/TO/YOUR/FIlE

If this returns a "command not found" error, then you will need to install mediainfo according to your operating system requirements.  On MacOs, the easiest way to install is through https://brew.sh
If the command line isn't your thing, there are GUI-wrapped versions available in both the Microstoft Store, and Apple App Store, caveat emptor.
The default output is the total information known to the operating system about the media file, which may be overwhelming.  Theres a good explanation of how you can return only relevant information here.
For example, to return only the colorspace, you would type:
mediainfo --Output="Video;%ColorSpace%" /PATH/TO/YOUR/FILE

It's important to mention though, that not all metadata is created equally.  Different camera manufacturers will include different details, and when video files get transcoded, the metadata is often altered.
However, mediainfo is one of the most comprehensive tools available for discovering these sorts of details about a media file.


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