Status-M density

Status-M density is the standard way film’s response is measured. When film is exposed and developed, the image is stored as density — how much dye sits in each layer, blocking light. A densitometer reads the red, green and blue dye layers of a negative through defined filters (the “status-M” filter set), producing three characteristic curves of density versus log exposure. Those curves are film’s numeric fingerprint, and they’re exactly what a print-film-emulation LUT reproduces — not “a look,” but the measured response of a specific stock. It’s why a rebuild like Juan Melara’s 2383 can be so faithful: it’s matching curves originally read off film. Distinct from the creative density you read when analyzing a look, this is the physical, measured kind.

First used in: 3.5 · Print film emulation — construction