Panasonic V-Log to Rec.709 in Final Cut Pro, step by step

Final Cut Pro has a Panasonic V-Log Camera LUT built in, so most V-Log clips need a menu check, not a download. What decides how they look is one library setting and whether Final Cut recognized the clip. This guide covers both, plus Panasonic's own V709 LUT as a custom camera LUT.

Last checked 2026-10-10.

What Final Cut Pro does on import

Apple says that when you import log media, Final Cut Pro detects metadata that identifies the log format and applies the matching built-in Camera LUT, converting the clip to the working space of the current library. Camera LUTs apply at the media level, across the whole library, and before any clip effects. For Panasonic, Apple's list has a Panasonic V-Log entry that uses Panasonic's Varicam 35 3D LUTs to convert V-Log to V-709/V-2020.

The library setting that changes the result

Every Camera LUT depends on the library's color processing. A Standard library uses linear RGB with Rec.709 primaries, and the log conversion tone-maps the clip down to SDR. A Wide Gamut HDR library uses Rec.2020 primaries, and Apple says its built-in Camera LUTs then skip tone mapping and keep the full dynamic range of the log clip.

Pick one before you start. The setting is library-wide, changing it can alter how effects and blend modes look, and Apple suggests a separate library for each project or deliverable.

Panasonic's V709 LUT

Panasonic's support site also offers a LUT for V709 conversion: a zip named VLog_to_V709_forV35_EN.zip, about 369 KB. The page does not list what is inside it. Panasonic's ProRes RAW workflow guide for Final Cut Pro loads a file named VLog_to_V709_forV35_ver100.cube, so look for a .cube. Apple describes its built-in entry as using Panasonic's Varicam 35 LUTs, and Panasonic's file is named for the V35 too. To choose between them, run one clip through each and compare on the scopes.

Step by step

1. 1. Choose the library's color processing

   Select the library in the Libraries sidebar, then choose File > Library Properties (or press Control-Command-J). Click Modify at the top of the Library Properties inspector and choose Standard or Wide Gamut HDR. For a plain Rec.709 film, Standard is the simpler setup. Choose Wide Gamut HDR if you want the full log range kept for grading or plan an HDR deliverable. Set it before you grade and do not change it midway.

2. 2. Check the Camera LUT on one clip

   Select a V-Log clip, press Command-4 to show the inspector and click the Info button. Click the Metadata View pop-up menu at the bottom left and choose General, Extended or Settings, then look at the Camera LUT pop-up menu. On a clip Final Cut recognized, it shows Panasonic V-Log, and the picture should already look like a normal, slightly flat Rec.709 image.

3. 3. Set it by hand if it says None

   Apple notes that some cameras do not embed the metadata, and that it can be lost when a file is transcoded. Select all your V-Log clips in the browser and choose Panasonic V-Log in the Camera LUT pop-up menu. Apple says the change applies to every instance of the clip, in all projects and events in the library.

4. 4. Or import Panasonic's LUT as a custom camera LUT

   In the Camera LUT pop-up menu, choose Add Custom Camera LUT and select the file. Final Cut accepts .cube and .mga files, and you can pick one file, several, or a folder. Then use the Output Color Space pop-up menu to choose the color space the LUT converts to, the Rec.709 option if the list has one. Apple says the target is usually in the LUT's name. The LUT then appears in the Custom Camera section of the Camera LUT menu. Choose it on every V-Log clip.

5. 5. Set white balance with the eyedropper

   In the Video inspector, open Balance Color, set it to White Balance and click something that should be neutral. Do it clip by clip, because the light changes through the day.

6. 6. Set exposure on the scopes

   Choose Window > Show in Workspace > Video Scopes (Command-7) and show the waveform. Bring faces to roughly 60 to 70 IRE with the color board or color wheels and keep highlights from clipping. Trust the scope over a laptop screen.

7. 7. Match the other cameras last

   With the V-Log clips right, match a second camera to them on the scopes and only then add a creative look to everything. The multi-cam order covers that part.

Where V-Log in Final Cut goes wrong

• Stacking conversions. A Camera LUT set to Panasonic V-Log plus a Custom LUT effect on the same clip converts the clip twice. If you convert with a clip effect, set the Camera LUT to None first.
• A clip with no readable metadata. Final Cut does not convert it until you choose a Camera LUT yourself.
• Changing the library's color processing after you have graded. Apple warns that filters and blend modes can look different when you switch.
• Moving the library to another computer without the LUT. A custom camera LUT lives in Final Cut's Camera LUTs folder. If the file is missing, a yellow warning button appears next to the Camera LUT menu so you can reimport it.
• Setting V-Log on a clip that is not V-Log. If the clip already looks normal, leave its Camera LUT alone.

Where Basecut fits

V-Log is two conversions, the curve and V-Gamut, Panasonic's wide gamut. Basecut's V-Log conversion does both. It is built from Panasonic's published V-Log curve and the V-Gamut primaries from Panasonic's V-Log/V-Gamut Reference Manual, converting to Rec.709.

In Final Cut Pro, Basecut does not apply that color. It sends an FCPXML file with keyword collections and Favorite and Reject ratings, and ships one .cube file per clip. Apply it with the Custom LUT effect and set the clip's Camera LUT to None first, so you do not convert twice. The 14-day free trial has 5 free exports and needs no card. See it on real footage.