C-Log to Rec.709 Exposure Correction LUTs
Posted in Store 4 min read

Canon C-Log to Rec.709 Exposure Correction LUTs

Custom made LUTs that transform C-Log and C-Log 3 footage to Rec.709 while also adjusting exposure for faster editing and color grading

Note: This post was updated on October 4, 2022 to update camera compatibility

Every videographer and filmmaker strives for perfectly exposed footage in camera. In reality however, footage often turns out over or underexposed. This can be accidental or intentional, for many videographers slightly overexpose their C-Log footage to create better looking skin tones and reduce noise.

Canon’s official Rec.709 LUTs do a good job of converting C-Log to Rec.709, but their LUTs are designed for perfectly exposed footage. That’s where these Exposure Correction LUTs come in!

These 84 custom LUTs convert Canon C-Log and C-Log 3 footage to the Rec.709 color space AND normalize exposure using the proper C-Log gamma curve. They are modeled on Canon’s official Rec.709 LUTs for the EOS R, R3, R5, R5C, R6 and R7.

Footage overexposed by 1 stop? Use the -1 Stop Rec.709 LUT. Footage underexposed by 2/3 a stop? Use the +0.66 Rec.709 LUT. Under and overexposed footage (within 2 stops) are instantly corrected, and appear as if you nailed their exposure in-camera.

These LUTs are a huge timesaver (I know, I use them all the time), especially when importing and editing lots of footage that needs to be converted to Rec.709.

Let’s take a look at before and after examples to see the C-Log to Rec.709 Exposure Correction Luts in action.

Example footage

Below are keyframes from three videos shot using C-Log 3 / Cinema Gamut on an EOS R5. The left is underexposed by 2/3 a stop, the middle is exposed correctly, and the right is overexposed by 2/3 a stop.

Underexposed 2/3 (Left), Correct Exposure (Middle), Overexposed 2/3 (Right)

Now let’s convert these C-Log 3 videos to Rec.709 using Canon’s C-Log 3 Cinema Gamut LUT.

Same Canon C-Log 3 Rec.709 LUT applied to all three videos

They look okay, but as you can see, the left video is darker while the right is brighter. I now need to spend time manually adjusting the exposure of the left and right footage to match the properly exposed footage in the middle. This not only slows down my editing, but there’s a good chance my exposure adjustments may not be accurate or consistent.

Now let’s use the C-Log to Rec.709 Exposure Correction LUTs instead. The left video below is now using the +0.66_Stops Rec.709 LUT, the middle is using the Native LUT, and the right is using the -0.66_Stops Rec.709 LUT.

Exposure Correction LUTs applied / +0.66 (Left), Native (Middle), -0.66 (Right)

As you can see, the three videos now appear nearly identical! No additional color grading or adjustments have been made. All three videos were converted to Rec.709 and their underlying exposure issues have been resolved. This quickly and easily creates a baseline for any additional creative color grading.

What’s included in the pack

The C-Log to Rec.709 Exposure Correction Pack includes 84 customized LUTs, plus Canon’s official Rec.709 LUTs for convenience. Each LUT uses Canon’s own C-Log to Rec.709 LUT as a baseline, with additional adjustments to account for under or overexposed brightness and contrast values.

The pack includes the following:

  • 1D / Canon C-Log to Rec.709 (13 Luts)
  • 1D / Canon C-Log 3 to Rec.709 (13 Luts)
  • 3D / Canon C-Log BT.2020 to Rec.709 (13 Luts)
  • 3D / Canon C-Log BT.709 to Rec.709 (13 Luts)
  • 3D / Canon C-Log 3 BT.2020 to Rec.709 (13 Luts)
  • 3D / Canon C-Log 3 BT.709 to Rec.709 (13 Luts)
  • 3D / Canon C-Log 3 Cinema Gamut to Rec.709 (13 Luts)
  • User Guide PDF

LUTs inside each pack are organized like so:

  • [Lut]_-2.00_Stops.cube‌‌
  • [Lut]_-1.67_Stops.cube‌‌
  • [Lut]_-1.33_Stops.cube‌‌
  • [Lut]_-1.00_Stops.cube‌‌
  • [Lut]_-0.67_Stops.cube‌‌
  • [Lut]_-0.33_Stops.cube‌‌
  • [Lut]_Native.cube‌‌
  • [Lut]_+0.33_Stops.cube‌‌
  • [Lut]_+0.67_Stops.cube‌‌
  • [Lut]_+1.00_Stops.cube‌‌
  • [Lut]_+1.33_Stops.cube‌‌
  • [Lut]_+1.67_Stops.cube‌‌
  • [Lut]_+2.00_Stops.cube

Simply pick whichever C-Log to Rec.709 LUT collection is appropriate for your footage, then begin by applying the “Native” LUT. If footage is overexposed, replace “Native” with a negative LUT. If footage is underexposed, replace “Native” with a positive LUT. Keep trying out over or underexposed LUTs until your footage appears as expected.

Compatibility

These LUTs are compatible with all Canon EOS R mirrorless cameras.

Purchase

The C-Log to Rec.709 Exposure Correction LUTs are affordably priced at $19 and may be purchased by clicking the button below.

Canon Log Exposure Correction LUTs (Gumroad)

Video

Here’s a video where I introduce and demonstrate these LUTs.