Color Space Transform settings for every camera
The settings people get wrong, and what each one is doing to your picture.
Input, by camera
In the Color Space Transform effect, the input describes what your camera recorded. Pick the pair that matches how the clip was shot or decoded.
| Camera | Input Color Space | Input Gamma |
|---|---|---|
| RED | REDWideGamutRGB | RED Log3G10 |
| Canon (Log 2) | Canon Cinema Gamut | Canon Log 2 |
| Canon (Log 3) | Canon Cinema Gamut | Canon Log 3 |
| Sony | Sony S-Gamut3.Cine | Sony S-Log3 |
| Sony (wide) | Sony S-Gamut3 | Sony S-Log3 |
| Nikon | Rec.2020 | Nikon N-Log |
Nikon is the odd one. Resolve has no entry called N-Gamut, because Nikon defines N-Gamut as the Rec.2020 primaries. Choosing Rec.2020 is correct, and we confirmed it by comparing Resolve's own conversion against Nikon's published math.
Output
For most work the output is Rec.709 with Gamma 2.4, which is what broadcast and grading monitors expect. Gamma 2.2 suits computer screens and web delivery, and P3-D65 with Gamma 2.6 is for cinema projection.
Tone Mapping
A camera records far more range than a screen can show. Tone mapping decides what happens to everything above what the screen can display.
Set to None, anything brighter than the screen's white is simply cut off. A sky becomes a flat white shape with no cloud in it, and no grading brings it back. That is the single biggest reason a converted shot looks harsh.
The DaVinci option rolls those bright values down instead of cutting them. It is a big improvement over None, and it is the reason many people's first conversion looks better once they change this one menu.
Gamut Mapping
Cameras also record colors more saturated than a screen can show. Gamut mapping folds those back in. Set to None, they clip, which is what turns a neon sign or a sunset into a flat block of one color.
There is a real trade here. Fold too hard and saturated light loses its color: a low sun turns pink instead of gold. Fold too little and bright saturated colors flatten out. Where you sit between those two is a taste decision, not a technical one.
Advanced
Leave Apply Forward OOTF and Apply Inverse OOTF unchecked for a plain camera-to-display conversion. They belong to HDR workflows.
How to check your own settings
Put a CST on a node, set the input to your camera, the output to DaVinci Wide Gamut and DaVinci Intermediate, and turn tone and gamut mapping off. That combination is a pure decode with nothing cosmetic on top. If the picture looks flat and gray, it is working. This is exactly how we verified our own conversions against Resolve.
Updated 2026-09-12. All guides