# S-Log3 LUT: Sony S-Log3 to Rec.709 for a whole card

> Which S-Log3 LUT converts Sony footage to Rec.709, why the official one often looks too dark, and how to apply it across every clip on the card in one pass.

Canonical: https://batchtone.com/blog/sony-slog3-to-rec709

19 September 2026 · 4 min read · Updated 20 October 2026

The S-Log3 LUT to start with is one of Sony's own conversions for S-Log3/S-Gamut3.Cine, such as s709 or LC-709TypeA. S-Log3 records flat to keep highlight range, and the conversion LUT maps it back to normal Rec.709 contrast. The conversion itself takes a minute; the work is applying it to every clip on the card, which is a batch job rather than an edit.

The S-Log3 LUT to use first is a Sony conversion that matches the gamut you recorded, usually S-Log3/S-Gamut3.Cine to Rec.709. Apply it before any creative look, and use the same one on every clip from the shoot.

## Why S-Log3 looks wrong straight off the card

It is supposed to. S-Log3 is a recording curve, not a look: it spreads the sensor's range across the file so highlights survive, and the price is an image that arrives grey, low in contrast and slightly green. Sony's own guidance is to shoot it at the camera's higher base ISO and expose to the right, which makes the flatness worse on the monitor and better in the file.

Converting means mapping that curve back to Rec.709, the standard ordinary video is delivered in. A conversion LUT is the file that does the mapping.

| Term | What it is |
|---|---|
| S-Log3 | Sony's flat recording gamma |
| S-Gamut3.Cine | The colour space it is usually paired with |
| Rec.709 | The standard delivered video uses |
| Conversion LUT | The file that maps one to the other |

Pay attention to the gamut, not just the gamma. A LUT built for **S-Log3/S-Gamut3.Cine** applied to footage shot in **S-Log3/S-Gamut3** will be close enough to fool you on a phone and wrong on a calibrated screen. Both strings are in the camera menu; the LUT filename usually carries them too.

## Which S-Log3 LUT should you use?

Sony publishes conversion LUTs for its cameras, and they are the right place to start. The usual complaint is that the official conversion runs dark and contrasty (it is built to be safe for broadcast rather than flattering), and a great many people end up on a third-party conversion for that reason. [Sony LUTs](https://batchtone.com/blog/sony-luts) compares the official files (s709, LC-709, LC-709TypeA, Cine+709) and where to get each one.

Neither choice is wrong. What matters is that the same one is used across the whole shoot, because two conversions in one edit is a colour problem you will spend an evening on later.

## Converting one clip

Every editor does this, and none of them takes long:

- **DaVinci Resolve**: a LUT on a node in the colour page, or the input LUT in clip attributes.
- **Premiere Pro**: the Input LUT slot in Lumetri.
- **Final Cut Pro**: a custom LUT effect on the clip.

The mechanics are covered properly in [applying a LUT in DaVinci Resolve](https://batchtone.com/blog/add-luts-davinci-resolve) and the [Premiere workflow](https://batchtone.com/blog/premiere-pro-luts).

## Converting forty clips

This is the part that is actually the job, and where every one of those tools starts asking for a project.

| Route | What it costs |
|---|---|
| Resolve | Project, timeline, clips selected, render queue configured |
| Premiere | Interpret Footage per bin, then a batch export that fights back |
| ffmpeg | A shell loop, no preview, and you find out afterwards |
| Clip by clip | A minute each, times forty |

None of them is hard. All of them are ceremony around a decision you already made when you picked the LUT.

## The clip that needs less

The reason batch conversion has a reputation for going wrong is that the same conversion does not suit every clip on the card. Interiors shot at base ISO take it cleanly. The shot into the window at the end of the day takes it and loses the sky.

In an editor that is a per-clip opacity on the node. In ffmpeg it is nothing at all (`lut3d` has no opacity), so it becomes a filtergraph you write by hand:

```
<code>[0:v]split[base][grade];
[grade]lut3d=file=slog3_rec709.cube[graded];
[graded][base]blend=all_mode=normal:all_opacity=0.75</code>
```

That is a reasonable thing for a tool to do and an unreasonable thing to ask a person to type when what they wanted was "a bit less on this one".

## How BatchTone handles it

Drop the folder in, pick the conversion, and every clip takes it. A frame is pulled from each clip and previewed with the LUT applied, so the judgement happens on your own footage. The clips that need less get a slider; the rest stay where they are.

- Audio is copied across untouched rather than re-encoded.
- Encoding uses the Mac's own hardware encoder, so a card is not an overnight job.
- Originals are never written to.
- 10-bit HEVC from the newer bodies is read directly.

Same job on the drone side, same tool. The [D-Log conversion](https://batchtone.com/blog/dlog-to-rec709) is the same shape of problem with a different file. There is a [seven-day trial](https://batchtone.com/download), which is the only honest way to find out whether it reads what your camera writes.

## Common questions

### Does converting S-Log3 lose quality?

The conversion is a colour mapping and costs nothing in itself. What costs quality is re-encoding, so export once at a sensible bitrate rather than converting, editing and exporting again.

### Should I convert before editing or after?

Before, if the whole shoot needs the same look and the client wants files rather than an edit. After, if only a handful of clips make the cut: converting material nobody will watch is wasted machine time.

### Can I grade on top of the conversion?

Yes, and that is the normal order: conversion first to get to Rec.709, creative look second. Two LUTs stacked in the wrong order is one of the more common ways footage ends up unrecoverable.

### What about S-Log2 or older bodies?

Same idea, different file. Use the conversion built for the gamma and gamut the camera actually recorded. The [what a LUT is](https://batchtone.com/blog/what-is-a-lut) piece has the short version of why mixing them misbehaves.

**About this article.** Written by the team that builds BatchTone, a macOS app that applies .cube LUTs to whole folders of photos and video. Last checked 20 October 2026. Spotted something wrong or out of date? Write to [support@batchtone.com](mailto:support@batchtone.com).

## Read next

How-to 20 October 2026 · 4 min read

## [Sony LUTs: the official files and which one to use](https://batchtone.com/blog/sony-luts)

Sony's own LUTs come in two groups: conversion LUTs for S-Log3 and S-Gamut3.Cine (s709, LC-709, LC-709TypeA, SLog3 to 709, Cine+709) and a few creative looks. DaVinci Resolve installs the classic Sony conversion LUTs in its LUT folder, and Sony publishes s709 and others on its professional site. For most Sony mirrorless footage, start with s709 or LC-709TypeA and use the same one across the whole shoot.

[Read it](https://batchtone.com/blog/sony-luts)

How-to 18 September 2026 · 5 min read

## [D-Log to Rec.709: converting a whole card at once](https://batchtone.com/blog/dlog-to-rec709)

D-Log is a flat recording profile, not a look: it stores more range than a screen can show, and a Rec.709 conversion LUT maps it back to something that looks right. Converting a card means applying that one LUT to every clip, which is a batch job rather than an editing job.

[Read it](https://batchtone.com/blog/dlog-to-rec709)

Explainers 19 September 2026 · 4 min read

## [What is a LUT? The whole idea in five minutes](https://batchtone.com/blog/what-is-a-lut)

LUT stands for lookup table. In video and photo editing, a LUT is a file that says, for a grid of input colours, what each one should come out as. Applying a LUT means looking up every pixel in that grid and interpolating between the nearest entries.

[Read it](https://batchtone.com/blog/what-is-a-lut)

## One look. A whole shoot.

BatchTone applies your .cube LUTs across photos and video at once, with a strength dial on every file. Seven-day trial, everything unlocked.

[Download for macOS](https://apps.apple.com/app/batchtone/id6821727167)