SmallHD add support for 3D LUTs in field monitors

News

by Tim FokJanuary 25^th, 2014

Shooting flat has huge advantages; it preserves maximum information for post production. However, shooting like this can make monitoring more difficult. It can be tricky to gauge color and exposure. It can be difficult for critical focus and focus aids such as peaking also, as there’s less contrast in the frame to work with. It can also be disconcerting for an on-site client; having to constantly explain “it won’t look like this in post, honest”.

There’s a solution for this, LUT (look up tables). These are pre-defined profiles that are applied to the monitoring of a camera to give a representation of a corrected image or an image with a specific gamma curve. Creating a custom LUT is a step further; it can be an on-set tool providing with a representation of your final image.

SmallHD have now enabled 3D LUT support on their DP7-PRO monitors, giving you access to custom LUTs via your on-camera monitor.

The process is simple, in your supporting color correction software (such as DaVinci Resolve) simple construct a look of your choice, then export as a 3D LUT onto an SD. Load this into your DP7-PRO, and with the press of a button, switch between your custom LUT and your recording profile.

Watch the below video for the SmallHD overview of how this work with their DP7-PRO, along with minor menu tweaks they’ve made with firmware 2.0.

And here’s a tutorial on creating an LUT within DaVinci Resolve for 3D LUT output

3D LUT support will be available for all new DP7-PRO monitors, and available for previously purchased devices via download of firmware 2.0.