How to AI color grade DJI D-Log footage in Premiere Pro
Flat logRec.709
The same sample still, shown flat and then with contrast restored. A color wash marks this curve. It is not footage from the camera.
One sample still. Left is flattened like log. Right is the contrast restored. The fields below are this curve's illustration palette.
ProfileD-LogColor spaceD-GamutEditorPremiere Pro
A file whose metadata names D-Log. Picture-only DJI footage stays unconverted, because D-Log and D-Log M cannot be told apart from the image. Eddie converts DJI D-Log / D-Gamut to Rec.709 on an MP4 render and in the player, before a grade. In Premiere Pro, decode that published curve and color space, export an sRGB still, match a reference, and apply the .cube after the input transform.
The same sample still, shown flat and then with contrast restored. A color wash marks this curve. It is not footage from the camera.
18% grey on this curve
01
Decode D-Log / D-Gamut
Decode DJI D-Log with the manufacturer's published D-Log curve and D-Gamut color space. Eddie converts that pair to Rec.709 on an MP4 render and in the player, before a grade. A timeline export keeps the camera file, and the export note names DJI D-Log. In Premiere Pro, apply the manufacturer's input transform for D-Log / D-Gamut before the creative LUT.
JPEG · PNG · WebPsRGB
02
Export a representative sRGB still
After the conversion, export one JPEG, PNG or WebP of a typical DJI D-Log frame at the sRGB display stage. Keep exposure and white balance typical of the shot. The still can be up to 20 MB and 40 megapixels.
Your still
Matched
03
Match a reference in the image-to-LUT tool
Open the image-to-LUT tool with a reference photo or film still prepared as sRGB, and the still from the DJI D-Log footage. Eddie compares the visible pixels in the browser and writes a 33- or 65-point .cube. The preview uses the same table as the download. The matcher compares sRGB stills. It does not decode camera log.
After the input transform
Premiere Pro
04
Apply the .cube in Premiere Pro
In Lumetri Color, open Creative, then Look, then Browse, and choose the .cube. Apply it after the input transform, at the same sRGB stage as the still, and check the sequence color management. Then scrub faces, changing light and shadows. A match on one frame is a starting point for the rest of the shot.
The matcher compares two sRGB stills. It does not decode camera log. Eddie's separate conversion turns DJI D-Log / D-Gamut into Rec.709 on an MP4 render and in the player, before a grade. In Premiere Pro, apply the manufacturer's input transform, then the .cube.
Which cameras use the DJI D-Log conversion?
A file whose metadata names D-Log. Picture-only DJI footage stays unconverted, because D-Log and D-Log M cannot be told apart from the image.
Where does the .cube go in Premiere Pro?
After the D-Log / D-Gamut input transform, at the same sRGB stage as the still you matched. sRGB and Rec.709 are not interchangeable input labels. In Lumetri Color, open Creative, then Look, then Browse, and choose the .cube. Apply it after the input transform, at the same sRGB stage as the still, and check the sequence color management.
What if the footage uses a different curve?
Convert that curve with the manufacturer's input transform, export an sRGB still, then match it. S-Log2, S-Log3 / S-Gamut3, Canon Log and Canon Log 2, Canon Log 3 in Rec.709 or BT.2020, D-Log M, F-Log and F-Log2, N-Log, LogC and Log3G10 stay on that path.