--- title: "BRAW Q0 vs Q5: Which Blackmagic RAW setting to use for 8K timelines" author: "Cutsio Team" date: "2026-04-11" lastmod: "2026-05-13" category: "Video Editing" excerpt: "BRAW Q0 preserves maximum image fidelity but overwhelms mid-tier hardware. Q5 compresses aggressively for smooth 8K playback. Here is the proxy strategy that works in DaVinci Resolve." tags: ["DaVinci Resolve","BRAW","Proxy Workflow","8K Video","Blackmagic Design"] --- ## What is the difference between BRAW Q0 and Q5 for 8K timelines? BRAW Q0 is a constant quality, variable bitrate codec that prioritizes maximum image fidelity with massive file sizes, while Q5 heavily compresses the image to maintain manageable file sizes, making Q5 much easier to edit natively on 8K timelines. Blackmagic RAW (BRAW) offers two types of encoding: Constant Bitrate (3:1, 5:1, 8:1) and Constant Quality (Q0, Q1, Q3, Q5). When shooting an 8K feature film on a Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K or similar, Q0 instructs the camera to preserve every single detail of complex textures (like rippling water or foliage), resulting in data rates that can easily overwhelm a standard SSD. Q5, on the other hand, aggressively compresses the file, making it highly efficient. If you attempt to drop 8K Q0 footage directly onto a DaVinci Resolve timeline on a mid-tier laptop, playback will stutter immediately. You must utilize a proxy workflow. ## What data rate difference should you expect between Q0 and Q5? The data rate difference between Q0 and Q5 is substantial and directly determines your storage and hardware requirements. At 8K resolution, BRAW Q0 can produce data rates exceeding 300 MB/s, which translates to roughly 1 TB of storage per hour of footage. Q5 reduces this to approximately 80 to 120 MB/s, or about 300 to 400 GB per hour. The compression ratio difference is roughly 3:1. This means a project shot entirely in Q0 requires three times the storage budget of the same project shot in Q5. For a typical documentary shoot generating 10 hours of 8K footage, Q0 requires roughly 10 TB of storage, while Q5 requires approximately 3.5 TB. The storage cost difference alone can run into thousands of dollars per project, particularly when factoring in redundant backup drives and archive media. This cost must be weighed against the image quality requirements of the final deliverable. ## When should you shoot Q0 instead of Q5? You should shoot Q0 when the final deliverable demands maximum image fidelity and you have the storage and compute infrastructure to support it. Q0 is the right choice for VFX-heavy projects where compositing artists need every bit of detail to pull clean keys and track markers. It is also appropriate for projects destined for theatrical release or HDR mastering, where the additional dynamic range and color depth visible in Q0 directly impact the final image quality. You should shoot Q5 when storage budget is constrained, your delivery platform is web or broadcast, or your edit workstation lacks the throughput to handle Q0 data rates natively. For YouTube, streaming platforms, corporate videos, and most broadcast television, the visual difference between Q0 and Q5 after grading and compression is negligible. The money saved on storage is better spent on lighting, production design, or post-production time. ## What is the best proxy generation strategy for 8K BRAW in DaVinci Resolve? The best strategy is to select all 8K BRAW clips in the Media Pool, right-click, select "Generate Proxy Media," and set the Proxy Media Format to ProRes 422 Proxy at 1080p resolution in the Project Settings. DaVinci Resolve's internal proxy engine completely eliminates timeline lag. Instead of forcing your computer to decode 8K Q0 raw data in real-time, Resolve generates lightweight 1080p ProRes files in the background. Each proxy file is roughly 1 to 2 GB per hour of footage, compared to 300 GB per hour for the original Q0 BRAW. Once generated, you click Playback > Proxy Handling > Prefer Proxies. The timeline will now scrub flawlessly, allowing the editor to cut at lightning speed. When you move to the Color Page or hit the final render button, DaVinci Resolve automatically links back to the original 8K BRAW files, ensuring zero quality loss in the final export. For editors who prefer external proxy management, an alternative approach is to transcode all 8K BRAW clips to ProRes 422 Proxy using a tool like EditReady or DaVinci Resolve's Media Management, then manually relink the timeline to the proxy files. This gives you more control over proxy file placement but requires manual relinking before final render. ## How does the choice between Q0 and Q5 affect your color grading workflow? The choice between Q0 and Q5 affects your color grading workflow primarily in how much latitude you have for pushing and pulling the image. Q5 applies heavier compression that reduces the available data in shadows and highlights, which can lead to banding or noise when extreme grading adjustments are applied. In practice, Q0 footage retains more of the original sensor data, giving colorists more room to recover underexposed shadows or overexposed highlights. A shot graded from Q0 will have cleaner noise characteristics and smoother gradients in difficult areas like blue skies or shadow transitions. Q5 footage looks excellent when properly exposed and graded within normal parameters, but aggressive secondary corrections — particularly in the shadows — may reveal compression artifacts that are invisible in Q0. For most web and broadcast projects shot with proper exposure, the practical difference is minimal. Professional colorists working on high-end commercial or cinema projects should choose Q0 to preserve maximum grading latitude. ## How should editors share 8K project exports for review? Editors should render an 8K or 4K master file and upload it to Cutsio, providing a white-labeled, secure presentation layer that allows stakeholders to review the footage without downloading massive files. Managing 8K media is a logistical nightmare when it comes to client delivery. You cannot send an 80GB 8K master file via generic cloud storage and expect a producer to review it on their phone. Cutsio solves this delivery bottleneck. By uploading the master to Cutsio, the platform handles the high-fidelity playback. The producer receives a branded, secure link where they can watch the edit instantly, track who has viewed it, and provide final sign-off using built-in approval gates. ## FAQ ### Does BRAW require proxy files on a Mac Studio? High-end machines like the Mac Studio M2/M3 Ultra can often decode 8K BRAW natively without proxies, depending on the drive speed, but generating proxies is still recommended for multi-cam 8K timelines. ### Where are DaVinci Resolve proxy files saved? By default, DaVinci Resolve saves proxy files in a hidden "ProxyMedia" folder within the Cache location specified in your Project Settings > Master Settings. ### Can I color grade proxy files? You can, but you shouldn't. Proxies are highly compressed and lack the dynamic range of BRAW. Always switch Playback > Proxy Handling back to "Prefer Camera Originals" before grading. ### Should I shoot Q0 or Q5 for YouTube delivery? Shoot Q5 for YouTube delivery. The compression applied by YouTube's transcoding pipeline far exceeds the compression difference between Q0 and Q5, making the higher data rate of Q0 an unnecessary expense for web distribution. ### How long does proxy generation take for 8K BRAW? Proxy generation time depends on your hardware, but expect roughly 0.5x to 1x real-time on a modern workstation. A one-hour 8K timeline takes 30 to 60 minutes to generate ProRes proxies in the background. ### Can I mix Q0 and Q5 footage in the same timeline? Yes, you can mix Q0 and Q5 footage in the same timeline without issues. DaVinci Resolve handles mixed BRAW encoding seamlessly. Apply the same proxy generation settings to both and Resolve will treat them identically during playback and grading. ### What is the storage cost difference between Q0 and Q5 for a feature film? For a 90-minute feature film shot in 8K, Q0 requires roughly 90 TB of storage for camera originals, while Q5 requires approximately 30 TB. At current SSD pricing, this represents a cost difference of several thousand dollars between the two encoding options. ### Should I use Constant Bitrate or Constant Quality encoding? Choose Constant Bitrate (3:1, 5:1, 8:1) when you need predictable file sizes for storage budgeting. Choose Constant Quality (Q0, Q1, Q3, Q5) when you want to prioritize image fidelity and are willing to accept variable file sizes based on scene complexity. For most productions, Q5 provides the best balance of quality and file size. ### Does BRAW Q5 affect my ability to pull clean green screen keys? Q5 compression can affect green screen keying on complex edges like hair or fine detail. For VFX shots requiring chroma keying, shoot in Q0 or a Constant Bitrate mode like 5:1 to preserve maximum edge detail. The extra data in Q0 makes a visible difference when pulling tight keys around fine detail. Q5 footage can still be keyed successfully with good lighting, but the additional compression may require more manual clean-up on difficult edges like hair or fast motion.