Every other post in this family is the same shape — flat footage, a conversion LUT, apply it. BRAW is genuinely different, and treating it like log is the usual reason a Blackmagic card fights back.
Why it is different
A log file is a finished image, encoded with a particular curve. You apply a LUT to undo that curve.
BRAW is raw, partially debayered, with the camera's colour science stored as metadata inside the file. The "conversion" is not a transformation applied on top — it is telling the decoder how to develop the frame in the first place.
That means:
- There is no conversion LUT to apply, and applying one is stacking a transform on an already-correct image.
- Changing the decode settings is not destructive, because you are re-developing rather than re-grading.
- White balance and ISO are adjustable after the fact, properly, rather than approximately.
The settings that matter
In DaVinci Resolve, in the clip's Camera Raw panel:
| Setting | Choose |
|---|---|
| Colour Science | Gen 5 on recent cameras |
| Gamma | Film, to grade properly |
| Gamma | Extended Video, for a fast turnaround |
| Gamut | Blackmagic Design Wide Gamut |
| White balance | Adjustable, non-destructively |
Film gives you the flat, wide-latitude image to grade from — the equivalent of log, and the right choice if you are doing real colour work.
Extended Video gives something close to viewable straight away. It is the honest choice for a fast edit, and it gives up range you will not get back.
That is the actual decision on a BRAW card, and it is made once per project rather than per clip.
Where the LUT still comes in
After the decode, not instead of it. Once BRAW is developed to a working space, a creative LUT on top behaves like any other — the same distinction between conversion and look covered in what is a LUT, except the conversion half is a decode setting here.
Adding LUTs in DaVinci Resolve is the mechanics of that second half, and Resolve is the natural home for BRAW since both come from Blackmagic.
What batch still means here
The decode settings are per clip by default, and Resolve offers a project-level override that applies to all of them. Use it — that is the batch mechanism, and it is the thing to set before doing any grading.
Outside Resolve the support is thinner, which is the practical argument for either doing BRAW work in Resolve or transcoding first. If the edit is happening in another tool, converting the card to a graded, viewable format before the edit removes the question entirely — and that is the same conclusion as every other camera in this family, arrived at from a different direction.
How BatchTone handles it
BatchTone's job is the transcode-and-convert step for camera formats, applied across a folder rather than clip by clip — the conversion, the per-clip adjustment, and an encode that does not take all night.
- A frame pulled from each clip and previewed, so the judgement is on your own footage.
- Per-clip strength for the shots exposed differently.
- Audio copied across untouched.
- Originals never written to.
- The Mac's own hardware encoder rather than a full grading pipeline.
For BRAW specifically, the honest note is that Resolve's Camera Raw panel is where the decode belongs, because that is where the metadata lives. Where BatchTone earns its place is the log cameras alongside it — the S-Log3, C-Log and D-Log cards from the other bodies on the same shoot, which have to end up matching the BRAW. There is a seven-day trial.
Common questions
Do I need a LUT for BRAW? Not for conversion. The colour science is in the file, so you set gamma and gamut in the Camera Raw panel. A creative LUT on top of that is optional.
What gamma should I use for BRAW? Film if you are grading properly, Extended Video for a fast turnaround that gives up some range.
Can I change white balance on BRAW after shooting? Yes, properly rather than approximately, because it is raw. That is one of the real advantages over log.
Why does BRAW look wrong with a log LUT? Because it is not log. Applying a conversion meant for a log curve to a raw file double-transforms it, and it shows first in the highlights.
Can I edit BRAW outside Resolve? Support exists elsewhere and is thinner. If the edit is happening in another tool, transcoding to a graded format first is usually less trouble.