LUTCalc is a desktop app for generating, analysing and previewing 1D and 3D Lookup Tables (LUTs) for video cameras that shoot log gammas.
It started out as a simple spreadsheet for generating exposure shift LUTs for Sony’s Cinealta cameras. What began as a hobby gradually became more of an obsession which has developed into a flexible tool for creating and then shooting with ‘looks’.
My name is Ben Turley and I am a professional lighting cameraman and DoP in the UK. I have written LUTCalc from scratch to help me with my day to day work. I use it to create MLUTs for the Sony cameras I currently most often use. If shooting log I also make grading versions so that post can start off working with ‘my’ look. The charts and exposure values have also helped me to understand the way that modern cameras handle wide exposure ranges giving me good, consistent results. Some of my clients do not currently want or need log. For them I can bake-in my personalised looks developed with LUTCalc.
I have worked to make the tools familiar to me in my work with film and video cameras. For example colour temperature can be set directly or with a CTO / CTB slider akin to lighting gels.
I have also come to realise that at present it is far too easy for LUTs to behave inconsistently between bits of software (or cameras). LUTCalc allows you to set all levels as you wish, but also offers simple presets to help consistency in various applications. This is an ongoing process and I am grateful for the help I have had in checking results and discovering when I have made mistakes!
More details about LUTCalc can be found in the ‘Features‘ section