Log

Log is a deliberately flat, grey, low-contrast way a camera records, squeezing the maximum brightness range into the file so the colorist can decide how to use it later. It looks broken on a normal display — milky, washed-out blacks, muted color — but that’s by design. Sony’s is S-Log, ARRI’s LogC, Panasonic’s V-Log. Recognize the flat look and know it means “not normalized yet.”

Grading log by eye or dropping a creative LUT on it un-normalized is the classic beginner mistake.

First used in: 1.5 · Log, LUTs & normalization

Used in: Camera log families and gamuts are covered properly in 2.1 · Color spaces & camera log.