📖 Theory · Module 01B · Lecture 1B.3
Log Types & Camera Profiles
Log is not one single thing — it is a family of profiles. Before you touch a clip from the FX3 or M4, you need to know exactly what was shot and why it matters.
🎬 The Big Idea
Same Job. Different Behaviour.
🫕
Think of pressure cookers. Every pressure cooker does the same job — cooks food under pressure. But a 3-litre cooker and a 10-litre cooker behave differently. The amount they hold is different. How long they take is different. Which one you use changes your cooking decisions.

S-Log2 and S-Log3 both preserve data — but they do it differently. Which one was used changes how you handle it in DaVinci. Same philosophy. Different behaviour. Different settings.
🎬 Take 1
Colour Space vs Gamma — Two Separate Things
Every Log profile has two completely separate parts working together. Most beginners hear "S-Log3" and think it is one single setting. It is not. You need to understand both parts independently.
🎨
Colour Space
The range of colours a format can represent. How wide or narrow the colour palette is.
Analogy: A basic painter's palette has 12 colours. A professional palette has 120. Both paint pictures — but the professional can mix colours the basic one simply doesn't have. Rec.709 = 12 colours. S-Gamut3.Cine = 120 colours.
IN DAVINCI → Input Colour Space
🎚️
Gamma
The mathematical curve that controls how brightness from the real world is encoded into the file.
Analogy: Two rooms with the same bulbs — same colour, same wattage. But one has a linear dimmer (0 to 100 evenly). The other has a smart dimmer (slow start, quick middle, slow top). Same bulbs. Completely different behaviour when you turn the dial.
IN DAVINCI → Input Gamma
📌 Together They Make a Profile
S-Log3 = S-Gamut3.Cine (the colour palette) + S-Log3 curve (the dimmer behaviour).
S-Log2 = S-Gamut (the wider palette) + S-Log2 curve (different dimmer).

They are independent. You can have the same colour space with a different gamma. DaVinci needs both to process the footage correctly. Get one wrong — everything looks wrong.
What is Gamut? Gamut is the word for the total range of colours inside a colour space. Wide gamut = more colours. Narrow gamut = fewer colours. You will hear this word constantly in colour work. Colour space is the standard — gamut is the range inside it.
🎬 Take 2
The CIE Diagram — Seeing Colour Space
The CIE Chromaticity Diagram is a visual map of all the colours the human eye can see. The full horseshoe = everything a human eye can perceive. Inside it, colour spaces sit as triangles. Bigger triangle = wider gamut = more colours.
⚠️ This Is a Reference Diagram Only
This diagram shows you where colour spaces sit relative to each other. We are not learning how to read it as a scope here. How to actually use scopes in DaVinci — Waveform, Parade, Vectorscope — is covered fully in the Scopes lecture later in the course.
🎯 Colour Spaces on the CIE Diagram
Bigger triangle = wider gamut = more colours. Styled like the DaVinci Resolve scope.
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 X 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 Y Rec.2020 DCI-P3 S-Gamut3.Cine Rec.709 D65 CIE 1931 Chromaticity Diagram
Rec.709 — TV / Mobile / Web
S-Gamut3.Cine — Sony Log
DCI-P3 — Cinema / Apple
Rec.2020 — Future HDR
Rec.709
Smallest Triangle · Your Delivery Target · Every Day
The colour space of every TV in every living room, every mobile phone screen, every YouTube video, every WhatsApp video call. Created in 1990 for HD broadcast television. When you deliver a wedding video to a client — it will be watched on a Rec.709 screen. This is your delivery target for almost every project you will ever work on. Limited colour range but universally compatible with every device on the planet.
S-Gamut3.Cine
Sony Log Colour Space · FX3 & M4 Daily Standard
Sony's colour space used alongside S-Log3. Sits wider than Rec.709 but slightly narrower than full S-Gamut3. Designed to cover all practically useful colours for video production without going unnecessarily wide. This is the colour space of your daily footage from the FX3 and M4 when shooting S-Log3. More colours than Rec.709 but maps naturally to it during grading.
DCI-P3
Cinema Colour Space · Theatre & Apple Devices
About 26% wider gamut than Rec.709. Created for commercial movie theatre projection — when you watch a film in a cinema, it is delivered in DCI-P3. Apple adopted P3 for all their devices — iPhone 7 onwards, MacBooks, iPad Pro all display in Display P3. If a project is destined for cinema or Apple platforms — this is the target. Not your daily reality for wedding work, but important to recognise.
Rec.2020
Future Standard · 4K / 8K / HDR
Covers about 76% of everything the human eye can see. Created for 4K and 8K ultra-high-definition television and HDR content. Dolby Vision and HDR10 use Rec.2020. Most current consumer displays cannot even fully show Rec.2020 yet — it is where the industry is heading. You will not work in this for years. Know it exists.
🎬 Take 3
S-Log2 vs S-Log3 — Which One and Why
Before S-Log3 existed there was S-Log2. Understanding why S-Log3 was created explains everything about the difference.
S-Log (Original) — Awareness Only
Sony's very first Log profile. Very early generation. Limited dynamic range. Mostly replaced now. You may encounter it on very old Sony footage from the original A7S era. Just know it exists — nothing more needed.
S-Log2
Paired with S-Gamut
Sony's widest colour gamut — captures a very wide range of colours
Problem: Shadow areas are in a very compressed, noisy zone of the curve — pull shadows up and you get visible noise and grain quickly
Colour response feels less natural — skin tones can be harsh and harder to grade organically
Used on: Sony A7S II, older FS5, FS7. Some operators still use it by habit.
🎣 Like a wide fishing net — catches everything, but the fine mesh at the bottom lets small fish slip. Those small fish are your shadow details — they get noisy when pulled.
S-Log3
Paired with S-Gamut3.Cine
Shadow detail encoded much better — the curve allocates more data to shadows, pulling them stays clean with no noise
More natural colour response — skin tones grade organically, result looks more like real life
Industry standard — almost every LUT, every DaVinci preset, every colour pipeline is built for S-Log3/S-Gamut3.Cine
Used on: Sony FX3, Sony M4, A7S III, FX6 — recommended setting for all current Sony professional cameras
🎣 Like a slightly smaller net with much finer mesh at the bottom — you catch almost the same range, but you keep every small fish cleanly.
✅ The Simple Answer
Why S-Log3 over S-Log2? Better shadows. Cleaner skin tones. More natural grading. Universally supported pipeline. Unless there is a very specific technical reason to use S-Log2 — always S-Log3.
🎬 Take 4
Input & Output — The Four Terms
When DaVinci processes Log footage it needs to know four things. This is basic knowledge — not something you need to memorise deeply right now. The actual values will always be in the XML files. You need to understand what these terms mean so you know what DaVinci is doing — not necessarily to remember every value.
INPUT
Input Colour Space
What colour space the footage was recorded in. You are telling DaVinci: "this is what the camera gave me." Example: S-Gamut3.Cine
INPUT
Input Gamma
What gamma curve was used during recording. You are telling DaVinci: "this is the curve the camera used." Example: S-Log3
OUTPUT
Output Colour Space
What colour space you are delivering to. Almost always Rec.709 for wedding video — the universal screen standard for TVs, mobiles, and online platforms.
OUTPUT
Output Gamma
What gamma for delivery. Rec.709 gamma — standard for TV, mobile, and online platforms. The gamma your client's TV expects.
📌 Get These Right — DaVinci Does the Work
Set input correctly → DaVinci converts Log to normal-looking footage automatically. Get them wrong → everything looks wrong and you will not know why. The values always come from the XML files or the videographer. Never guess.

We will cover exactly where to enter these settings in DaVinci in the practical colour module.
🎬 Take 5
Other Profiles — Awareness Only
You will not use these daily — but you will encounter them. Knowing the name and the camera is enough. Same process every time — check the XML, identify the profile, set DaVinci's input accordingly.
Canon C-Log 3
Canon cinema cameras — C70, C300, EOS R5C. C-Log3 is Canon's current recommended profile, similar philosophy to S-Log3.
Panasonic V-Log
Lumix S5II, GH6 — Very wide gamut, pairs with V-Gamut colour space.
ARRI LogC4
ARRI Alexa cinema cameras — Cinema-level, extremely wide dynamic range. If you see this — someone spent serious money on that camera.
DJI D-Log M
DJI drones — Increasingly common in wedding aerials. D-Log M is DJI's newer, more manageable version designed for easier grading.
Blackmagic Gen 5
Blackmagic Pocket cameras — Popular in indie productions and increasingly in weddings. Blackmagic Film / Gen 5 are their Log profiles.
⚡ Pro Tip
🎯
Set It Right — DaVinci Does the Heavy Lifting
On the FX3 and M4 — if the videographer shot S-Log3 with S-Gamut3.Cine, set DaVinci's input colour space to S-Gamut3.Cine and input gamma to S-Log3, output to Rec.709. DaVinci handles the conversion automatically. You are not grading manually from scratch every time. Your job is just to know what was shot — and the XML file tells you that.
✅ Checkpoint
✅ Quick Check
The videographer tells you the FX3 was set to S-Log3. You go to set DaVinci's input. What else do you still need to confirm before you can set it correctly?
The colour space — was it S-Gamut3 or S-Gamut3.Cine? S-Log3 is the gamma. You still need the colour space to complete the input setup. They are two separate settings. Check the XML files or ask the videographer directly. On the FX3 with S-Log3 — it is almost always S-Gamut3.Cine, but always confirm before touching anything.