Apple Log color grading in DaVinci Resolve

How do you color grade Apple Log in DaVinci Resolve?

Correct exposure and white balance on a first node, then add a Color Space Transform set to Input Color Space Rec.2020, Input Gamma Apple Log, Output Color Space Rec.709 and Output Gamma Gamma 2.4, with tone mapping on. For Apple Log 2, the Input Color Space becomes Apple Wide Gamut and the gamma stays on Apple Log. Contrast, skin and the creative look go after that node.

The rest of this guide covers the parts that decide whether that works: which of the two log formats your iPhone wrote, how to record it, and the problems phone log footage tends to bring.

Apple Log vs Apple Log 2: which one did your iPhone record?

Apple Log arrived with the iPhone 15 Pro. Apple Log 2 came later, with the iPhone 17 Pro. The two are easy to confuse because, as a contributor on the Blackmagic forum puts it, "both Apple Log and Apple Log 2 use the exact same gamma curve". The difference is the colour space:

• Apple Log records in Rec.2020.
• Apple Log 2 records in Apple Wide Gamut, a wider space that holds saturated colours, blues especially, with more room to spare.

That is why the mismatch is easy to miss. Contrast looks right either way, because the curve is the same. The colours are what go wrong. Gamut's comparison of the two formats notes that an Apple Log LUT, which expects Rec.2020, makes Apple Log 2 footage look oversaturated and skewed. If you are not sure what a clip is, check which format the camera app was set to when you shot it.

Step 1: Record Apple Log properly

In the iPhone's Camera settings, turn on Apple ProRes under Formats and choose the Log encoding. Apple's ProRes support page lists the supported models, resolutions and frame rates, and notes that the highest settings need an external USB-C drive fast enough to keep up. ProRes files are large, so plan the storage before the shoot, not during it.

• Protect the highlights. Log on a phone still clips. Expose as brightly as you can without losing the sky or a window, because a small sensor gets noisy fast when shadows are lifted later.
• Lock white balance. Auto white balance drifting mid-shot is much harder to fix than a constant cast.
• Keep the settings constant. Changing format between clips means changing the transform between clips.

Step 2: Convert with a Color Space Transform

On the Color page, add a serial node after your correction node (Alt+S on Windows, Option+S on Mac), drag Color Space Transform from the Effects library onto it, and set:

• Input Color Space: Rec.2020 for Apple Log, or Apple Wide Gamut for Apple Log 2
• Input Gamma: Apple Log (for both)
• Output Color Space: Rec.709
• Output Gamma: Gamma 2.4 (see the Rec.709 guide for when 2.2 makes sense)
• Tone Mapping Method: DaVinci or Luminance Mapping, so highlights roll off instead of clipping
• Gamut Mapping Method: Saturation Compression, which helps with LEDs, neon and screens

Apple Log has been in the transform's Input Gamma list since DaVinci Resolve 18.6, as users confirmed on Apple's support forum when it appeared. If you cannot find Apple Log, or Apple Wide Gamut for Apple Log 2 footage, update Resolve before trying workarounds. The Color Space Transform is in the free version.

One transform or two?

One transform straight to Rec.709 is the simplest tree, and for a talking-head video it is usually enough. Apple Log 2 is where it can struggle. Gamut's walkthrough of the two-transform "sandwich" method reports fringing and clipping in saturated colours when Apple Wide Gamut is pushed into Rec.709 in one step.

The fix is to transform into a wide working space first: Apple Wide Gamut / Apple Log to DaVinci Wide Gamut / DaVinci Intermediate, grade in the middle, then finish with a second transform from DaVinci Wide Gamut to Rec.709. Start with one transform. If blue LEDs, stage lights or signage show fringing, switch to two. The general LOG workflow covers the same choice for other cameras.

Step 3: Correct before the conversion

Exposure and white balance belong on the node before the transform, while the image is still log-encoded. In log, the Offset wheel behaves much like an exposure change, moving the whole signal without bending the curve. Use Temp and Tint on the same node for white balance.

After the transform, add a node for contrast, then one for secondaries, then the look. Correct, convert, shape, isolate, style: the same order as every log format.

Step 4: Fix the problems Apple Log tends to show

• Noisy shadows. The most common one. Lift less and accept slightly deeper blacks, or use temporal noise reduction, which needs Resolve Studio (see free vs Studio).
• Oversaturated, shifted colour. Almost always the wrong input gamut: Rec.2020 chosen for Apple Log 2 footage, or an Apple Log LUT on Apple Log 2.
• Fringing on saturated lights. Turn on gamut mapping in the transform, or move to the two-transform tree above.
• It does not match the main camera. Convert each camera with its own transform first, then match the phone to the main camera in Rec.709, starting with white balance and skin.

Common Apple Log mistakes

• Treating Apple Log 2 as Apple Log and leaving the input on Rec.2020.
• Putting a creative LUT built for Rec.709 directly on unconverted log footage.
• Fixing exposure after the conversion instead of before it.
• Underexposing to "protect" highlights that were never close to clipping.
• Stacking a conversion LUT and a Color Space Transform, converting the image twice.

A proper conversion and skin tone pass is part of every finished edit I deliver, phone footage included. See YouTube video editing, or compare with the Sony S-Log3 workflow, which follows the same shape.

FAQ

What Color Space Transform settings does Apple Log need?

Input Color Space Rec.2020, Input Gamma Apple Log, Output Color Space Rec.709 and Output Gamma 2.4, with tone mapping on. For Apple Log 2, change the Input Color Space to Apple Wide Gamut and keep the Input Gamma on Apple Log.

What is the difference between Apple Log and Apple Log 2?

They share the same gamma curve. Apple Log records in the Rec.2020 colour space, while Apple Log 2 records in the wider Apple Wide Gamut. The transform has to name the gamut the phone actually used, or colours come out oversaturated and skewed.

Which version of DaVinci Resolve supports Apple Log?

Apple Log appears in the Color Space Transform from DaVinci Resolve 18.6. If the Input Gamma list has no Apple Log entry, update Resolve. The free version includes the Color Space Transform.

Can I use a LUT for Apple Log instead?

Yes, but match it to the footage. A LUT built for Apple Log expects Rec.2020 input, so putting it on Apple Log 2 footage gives oversaturated, shifted colour. A Color Space Transform is more flexible because you choose the input gamut and how highlights roll off.

Why is my Apple Log footage noisy in the shadows?

A phone sensor is small, and log recording leaves the shadows unprocessed. Expose as brightly as you can without clipping highlights, lift the shadows less in the grade, and use temporal noise reduction if you have DaVinci Resolve Studio.