--- title: "S-Log3 to Rec709: Convert Sony Log Free | colorgrade.video" description: "Turn flat S-Log3 / S-Gamut3.Cine footage into normal Rec.709 colour in your browser, or download a free S-Log3 to Rec709 LUT for Premiere and Resolve." url: https://colorgrade.video/slog3-to-rec709 --- Free · runs in your browser # Convert Sony S-Log3 to Rec.709 Sony’s published S-Log3 curve and S-Gamut3 primaries, converted to normal contrast and colour on your own clip, with free .cube downloads of the same conversion. S-Log3 is the flat, grey-looking log curve on Sony Alpha, FX and Venice cameras. To turn it into normal Rec.709 video you decode the log curve back to linear light, convert the S-Gamut3.Cine or S-Gamut3 colours to Rec.709 primaries, and render the result for a normal screen. Open a clip above and the studio does exactly that with the **Footage** menu set to **S-Log3 / S-Gamut3.Cine**; switch it to **S-Log3 / S-Gamut3** if that is what the camera was set to. If you edit elsewhere, the same conversion is available as a .cube file below, generated from the studio’s own maths. It is ours, not Sony’s: Sony publishes its own LUTs, which render contrast and colour in their own way. Other cameras are on the main [log to Rec.709](https://colorgrade.video/log-to-rec709) page, and the [LUT generator](https://colorgrade.video/lut-generator) explains how a conversion and a look can be combined into one file. ## How to convert S-Log3 to Rec.709 1. ### Open the S-Log3 clip Choose **Open video or photo** (**Ctrl/Cmd+O**). The studio opens in **Adjust** with the **Footage** menu already on **S-Log3 / S-Gamut3.Cine**, so the picture appears converted. 2. ### Match the gamut to the camera If the camera’s picture profile used S-Gamut3 rather than S-Gamut3.Cine, choose **S-Log3 / S-Gamut3** in **Footage**. Skin and saturated colours look wrong when the gamut doesn’t match. 3. ### Set the exposure In **Pro** mode, the **Footage** panel adds **Log exposure**. If you exposed one or two stops over, as many S-Log3 shooters do, bring it down here before any grading. 4. ### Grade on top With the footage converted, use **Auto colour**, a look or the **Adjust** sliders as you would on any clip. The conversion stays first in the chain. 5. ### Export a video or a LUT Choose **Export** and **Export video**, or the **LUT (.cube)** tab to save the conversion and your grade as one .cube for another editor. ## Download the free S-Log3 to Rec.709 LUT Two 33-point .cube files, one per gamut, made from the same conversion the studio applies. Use them on S-Log3 footage only, first in the chain and at full strength, then grade after them. * [S-Log3 / S-Gamut3.Cine to Rec.709 (.cube)](https://colorgrade.video/luts/slog3-sgamut3cine-to-rec709.cube): the usual choice on Alpha and FX bodies. * [S-Log3 / S-Gamut3 to Rec.709 (.cube)](https://colorgrade.video/luts/slog3-sgamut3-to-rec709.cube): for footage recorded in the wider S-Gamut3. What is in the file: Sony’s published S-Log3 curve decoded to linear light, a matrix from the S-Gamut3 primaries to Rec.709, a gentle highlight roll-off so bright skies don’t clip abruptly, and the Rec.709 camera curve. There is no creative look in it. Sony’s own downloads include LUTs with a distinct look, such as s709 and the LC-709 family, which you may prefer for matching other Sony footage. ## S-Gamut3.Cine or S-Gamut3? S-Log3 is the curve; the gamut is the set of primaries the colours are stored in, and Sony offers two with S-Log3\. The picture profile on the camera tells you which one you used. * S-Gamut3.Cine: slightly smaller, closer to the DCI-P3 cinema gamut, and easier to bring to Rec.709 without odd saturated colours. Most people shoot this. * S-Gamut3: Sony’s widest gamut, larger than Rec.2020, useful when footage goes to a colour-managed HDR or cinema pipeline. Choosing the wrong one in the **Footage** menu doesn’t ruin the clip, but colours shift: greens and blues in particular look either too dull or too strong. If skin looks off after conversion, try the other gamut before grading anything. ## Exposure: why S-Log3 is often shot over S-Log3 puts 18% grey at about 41% of the signal and keeps a lot of range above it, which leaves relatively few code values in the shadows. Footage exposed “correctly” by the meter therefore often shows noise in the dark areas after conversion. ### Expose a stop or two over, then pull it back Many shooters expose S-Log3 one to two stops brighter than the meter suggests, keeping highlights below clipping, and bring it back down in post. That cleans up the shadows. In the studio, **Log exposure** in the **Footage** panel does the pull-back in linear light, before the conversion, which is where it belongs. ### Mind the minimum ISO S-Log3 has a high minimum ISO on most Sony bodies (often 640 or 800, depending on the camera), so in daylight you will usually need an ND filter to keep a natural shutter speed. Check the camera’s manual for its S-Log3 base ISO. ## In Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve ### Premiere Pro Recent versions can recognise Sony log clips and convert them automatically through colour management, in which case you must not add a conversion LUT as well. If yours does not, put the .cube in Lumetri Color > Basic Correction > Input LUT, then grade below it. Our [Premiere Pro guide](https://colorgrade.video/how-to-color-grade-in-premiere-pro) covers both routes. ### DaVinci Resolve On the Color page, add a Color Space Transform effect to the first node and set Input Color Space to S-Gamut3.Cine (or S-Gamut3), Input Gamma to S-Log3, Output Color Space to Rec.709 and Output Gamma to Gamma 2.4 or Rec.709\. Or apply our .cube to that node instead. Grade in later nodes. The [Resolve guide](https://colorgrade.video/how-to-color-grade-in-davinci-resolve) shows the node order. ## S-Log3 questions ### Is there a free S-Log3 to Rec709 LUT? Yes: the two .cube files on this page, one for S-Gamut3.Cine and one for S-Gamut3, are free with no email or account. Sony also publishes its own conversion LUTs on its support site. ### Why does my S-Log3 footage look grey and flat? That is how log is meant to look: it stores a wide range of brightness in a compressed curve. It needs converting to Rec.709 before it looks normal on a screen, which the **Footage** menu or a conversion LUT does. ### Can I convert S-Log3 on my phone? Yes. Open the clip in the phone’s browser on this page, check the **Footage** setting, then grade and **Export**. A long 4K file takes a while because the phone renders every frame itself. ### Should I apply the LUT before or after grading? Before. A conversion LUT expects untouched log footage, so it goes first; corrections and looks come after it. If you import our .cube into the studio instead of using **Footage**, set **Apply LUT** to **Before the grade** and leave **Footage** on Standard video. ### Does this work for S-Log2? No. S-Log2 is a different curve and isn’t in the **Footage** menu. Use Sony’s S-Log2 LUT with **Import LUT** set to **Before the grade**. ### Is this the same as Sony’s LUT? No. The log decoding and gamut follow Sony’s published specification, but the final rendering to Rec.709 is our own neutral version, so contrast and saturation differ a little from Sony’s s709 or LC-709 LUTs. ## More colour tools and guides * [ Color grade a video online Try hundreds of looks on your own clip, fine-tune them in the studio and export, all on your device. ](https://colorgrade.video/) * [ Convert log footage to Rec.709 Camera log profiles converted to normal video, with the maker LUT route for the rest. ](https://colorgrade.video/log-to-rec709) * [ Make your own LUT Grade your footage, then export the grade as a 17, 33 or 65-point .cube. ](https://colorgrade.video/lut-generator) * [ How to color grade in DaVinci Resolve A beginner node tree on the Color page, from log conversion to Shot Match. ](https://colorgrade.video/how-to-color-grade-in-davinci-resolve) * [ Apply a LUT to a video online Load a .cube or .3dl file, choose where it sits in the grade, and export. ](https://colorgrade.video/apply-lut-to-video)