Many cameras today have a Rec.709 color mode or LUT mode included, which is great for making a pleasing image on a monitor. Since Rec.709 is a standard defined by the ITU (International Telecommunication Union), we might assume that the Rec.709 mode in every camera would look about the same - but this never seems quite true.

A little while ago, Sony released the latest firmware for the F5 & F55 cameras, as well as the AXS-R5 Raw recorder. Version 1.15 of the F5/F55 firmware has some small incremental updates, with mostly bug fixes included. However, some big changes include improved naming conventions on the AXS card, de-anamorphic function on the viewfinder, and a warning when you haven't black balanced in a while.

With more and more cameras shooting in flat-looking Log modes or RAW, the topic of LUTs on set and their implications in post have become big points of discussion. At the same time, there are many cameras that utilize the more traditional Scene Files for control of color and contrast. Furthermore, there are cameras like the ARRI ALEXA and RED EPIC that offer their own unique types of image control. With all these different formats, the difference between LUTs, Looks and Scene Files can be confusing, so in this article I explain the terms and discuss how these files are applied.

A few weeks ago, Jesse Rosen wrote an article explaining the technical definition of LOG-encoded video and how it differs from a viewing gamma such as REC709. To better understand how you might use LOG capture in production, I shot this video illustrating the differences.