Filming & Production
Log profile
Also called: log footage, S-Log, C-Log, log gamma
Log records the sensor's tonal range across a curve designed for editing rather than viewing, which is why the footage arrives grey and desaturated. Applying a LUT or a manual grade in post maps it back to a normal contrast range, and the payoff is more room to recover a blown sky or lift a dark face. The cost is real. Log needs correct exposure, decent bit depth and a codec that survives grading, so an underexposed 8-bit log clip from a cheap camera bands and falls apart the moment you push it. Shooting a standard profile well beats shooting log badly.