User Manual

Whether or Not to Use Legacy Log Grading Ranges and Curve
DaVinci Resolve 12.5 introduced a modification to the Log grading controls that
provides smoother, more pleasing results using the same controls. To maintain
backward compatibility with older projects, a “Use legacy Log grading ranges and
curve” checkbox in the General Options panel of the Project Settings lets you switch
your project between the older Log control behavior and the newer one. Older projects
that are opened in DaVinci Resolve have this checkbox turned on by default, while new
projects have this turned off by default.
Using the Log Mode Controls to Grade Log-Encoded Media
The Log controls are so named because they’re designed to work specifically with media with
Log-C or similar gamma and color encoding, derived from the Cineon Log gamma curve,
developed by Kodak to digitally store flat-contrast, wide-gamut image data that preserves
image detail with a wide latitude for adjustment.
An example of a log-encoded clip (Top), and
the same clip after being normalized (Bottom)
You can debayer most raw formats to a log-encoded image in order to derive the maximum
amount of image data and adjustable latitude from that source (for more information, see
Chapter 5, “Camera Raw Settings”). However, the resulting image needs to be normalized to
occupy the final range of color and contrast that you intend for the final result. You can do this
one of two ways:
 You can make a very careful curves adjustment in a second node to stretch the log-
encoded image out to fit the contrast profile you want. By making this adjustment in
Node 2, you make room for a customizing adjustment made using the Log controls in
Node 1, prior to the normalization adjustment. This is key.
 You can also apply a 1D Output or 3D LUT to the first node of a clip to normalize the
image. This is a faster, if less flexible operation, but a smooth tonal range may be easier
to obtain. Since a LUT applied within a node is always the last adjustment within that
node’s order of operations, you can also use Node 1’s Log controls to customize the
look of the footage.
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