Log footage looks wrong the first time you see it, and that is the design working. It is not a style or a mistake. It is a recording format that keeps more of what the sensor saw, at the price of an image that has to be converted before anyone should watch it.
What is log footage?
A camera sensor responds to light linearly: twice the light, twice the signal. A screen does not want that, and neither does a file with a limited number of code values. So every camera applies a curve before recording.
A normal profile applies a display curve: roughly Rec.709, the standard HD screens are built around. It spends most of the file's code values on the midtones and gives up on the highlights early, which is why a bright sky clips to white.
A log profile applies a logarithmic curve instead. Each stop of light gets roughly the same share of code values, from deep shadow to bright highlight. Nothing is shaped for a screen; everything is kept for later.
| Rec.709 profile | Log profile | |
|---|---|---|
| Curve | Display gamma, contrast built in | Logarithmic, flat |
| Highlight room | A few stops above mid grey | Often six or more |
| Looks on the monitor | Finished | Grey, low contrast, desaturated |
| Needs conversion | No | Yes, always |
| Room to grade | Limited | Large |
| Needs 10-bit | Helpful | Close to essential |
Why does log footage look grey and washed out?
Because the contrast has not been applied yet. The blacks sit well above true black, the highlights sit well below white, and saturation is held back so colour is not clipped either. Played on a Rec.709 screen without conversion, that reads as fog.
It is the same reason a RAW photo looks dull before development. The data is all there; the finishing is deferred to the edit, where you decide where the contrast goes instead of the camera deciding for you.
Should you even shoot log?
Not always. Log earns its keep when the scene has more range than a normal profile can hold (a bright window in an interior, a sunset, a white shirt in sun), or when footage from several cameras has to match.
It costs you in three places:
- Minimum ISO rises. Most log profiles have a floor of several hundred ISO, so you need ND filters in daylight to keep a sensible shutter.
- 8-bit suffers. Log spreads a limited number of code values thinly, and 8-bit log bands in skies and walls once converted. Shoot it in 10-bit wherever the camera allows.
- Every clip needs work. A card of log footage is a card of unfinished files. That is the real cost, and it is why tools like BatchTone exist: the conversion is identical for every clip from one profile, so it can run on the folder rather than the file.
If you deliver straight from camera, a good standard profile is often the better call.
How do you expose log footage?
Log is less forgiving than it looks, because the flat image hides mistakes on the monitor.
- Use the native or base ISO for the profile. On dual-native cameras, pick the base that suits the light rather than pushing gain in between.
- Expose a little bright. Many shooters sit around one stop over the manufacturer's middle-grey target, which cleans up shadow noise when the image is brought down in the edit. It is exposure-to-the-right with a margin, not a licence to clip.
- Watch highlights with zebras, not the image. Set them near the profile's clipping point.
- Monitor through a viewing LUT if the camera offers one. You see a Rec.709 image while the file stays log.
- Keep white balance right in camera. It is recoverable in log, but a conversion LUT assumes you got it close.
Underexposed log is the classic failure: noisy, muddy shadows that no conversion will clean up.
How do you convert log footage to Rec.709?
This is the one step every log clip needs, and it comes before any creative grading. There are two ways to do it.
A conversion LUT. The manufacturer publishes a .cube file that maps its log curve and gamut to Rec.709. You apply it as the first operation on each clip. Simple, portable, and it works in almost every editor. What a LUT is explains the file itself; which Rec.709 LUT your footage needs covers choosing one.
A colour space transform. Resolve's CST node, colour-managed projects and ACES do the same conversion with maths rather than a lookup table, and can hold highlights a LUT would clip. Better for heavy grading, more setup for a quick job.
Either way, the conversion is a correction, not a look. That is the distinction drawn in colour correction vs colour grading. Balance exposure and white balance before it, grade after it.
Which log format does your camera shoot?
Every manufacturer has its own curve, and a conversion built for one is visibly wrong on another. Match the profile you recorded, and the gamut paired with it.
| Brand | Log format | Usually paired with | Conversion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sony | S-Log3 | S-Gamut3.Cine | S-Log3 to Rec.709 |
| Canon | C-Log, C-Log2, C-Log3 | Cinema Gamut | C-Log to Rec.709 |
| Panasonic | V-Log, V-Log L | V-Gamut | V-Log to Rec.709 |
| Fujifilm | F-Log, F-Log2 | F-Gamut | F-Log to Rec.709 |
| Nikon | N-Log | Rec.2020 | N-Log to Rec.709 |
| DJI | D-Log, D-Log M | D-Gamut | D-Log to Rec.709 |
| Apple | Apple Log | Rec.2020 | Apple Log to Rec.709 |
| Blackmagic | Blackmagic Film (Gen 5) | Blackmagic Wide Gamut | BRAW and Film to Rec.709 |
The gamut column is not a footnote. S-Log3 with S-Gamut3 and S-Log3 with S-Gamut3.Cine need different conversions, and the error shows first in reds and skin.
Where can you get free log footage to practise on?
If you do not own a log camera yet, or want to rehearse a workflow before a job, practise on real camera originals rather than on graded clips from a stock site.
Several manufacturers publish sample clips in their own formats for exactly this reason. ARRI, for example, offers LogC sample footage from its ALEXA cameras for workflow testing. Camera review sites and user forums often share original log files as well. Check the licence before using any of it in published work; most is released for testing, not for reuse.
Practise the whole chain: conversion first, then a correction, then a look, then check skin.
A card of log footage, not one clip
Converting one clip takes a minute. A shoot is 200 or 300 of them, all from the same profile, all needing the identical transform. Doing that clip by clip is the least skilled evening in post-production.
That is the specific job BatchTone does: point it at a folder of log clips, choose the conversion .cube for your profile, and it applies it to every file in one pass, with a per-file strength dial for the clips that were exposed a little differently. You get a folder of Rec.709 files that are ready to grade in Resolve or Premiere, with the tedious part already done. It is not an editor and does not replace one. There is a seven-day trial with everything unlocked.
Common questions
Is log footage the same as RAW?
No. RAW records sensor data before debayering and white balance are baked in; log is an already-processed video file with a flat curve. Some RAW formats are viewed through a log curve, which is why the two get confused.
Can I use log footage without a LUT?
Yes, if you convert it another way: a colour space transform or a colour-managed project does the same job. What you should not do is grade it by eye with contrast and saturation alone; that rarely lands skin tones correctly.
Why does my log footage look noisy after conversion?
It was almost certainly underexposed. The conversion pulls shadows down and stretches the midtones, which exposes noise that was hidden in the flat image. Expose log at or slightly above the manufacturer's target.
Is 8-bit log worth shooting?
Sometimes, carefully. 8-bit log bands easily in smooth gradients once converted, so expose well and avoid heavy grading. If the camera offers 10-bit, use it.
Should I shoot log for social media?
Only if the scene needs the range or the footage has to match other cameras. For quick delivery a standard profile is faster, and every log clip adds a conversion step before it can be posted.