Premiere may be applying a LUT to your log footage, but it may also be converting the clip through color management without a LUT. Current Premiere versions can hold an Input LUT on the Source Clip, identify the source from metadata, and convert that source into the sequence working color space. A Lumetri Look or another effect can sit later in the same chain.
The fix is to identify each active stage before changing it. Removing a timeline Lumetri effect will not change a Source Clip Input LUT or Premiere's input-to-working color conversion. Conversely, changing the clip's color-space tag will not remove a Creative Look on an adjustment layer.
For the full process after diagnosing the transform, use our Premiere Pro color grading guide: confirm the source and sequence color spaces, balance the shot, match the scene, then check the exported file.
Diagnose the conversion in this order
Use one representative camera-original clip and keep the scopes visible. Disable or change one stage at a time so the picture change tells you where the transform lives.
- Check the Source Clip settings. Select the clip in the Project panel. Open Lumetri Color > Settings > Source Clip, or select one or more Project-panel clips and choose Clip Modify > Color. Record the detected or overridden Media Color Space, the Input LUT, and whether Preserve RGB is enabled.
- Check effects attached to the source clip. A source-level effect follows every timeline use of that project item. Inspect the source clip in Effect Controls rather than only the selected timeline instance.
- Check the timeline clip. Disable its Lumetri Color effects one at a time. In particular, inspect an Input LUT in Basic Correction and a Look in Creative.
- Check adjustment layers and nests. An adjustment-layer Lumetri effect affects every clip beneath it. A nested sequence can also contain a conversion that is invisible from the outer timeline.
- Check sequence color management. In Lumetri Color > Settings, inspect Color Setup, Working Color Space, tone mapping, and Output Color Space. These settings determine how identified source media reaches the sequence and display.
If the image changes at step 1, the cause is source interpretation, a Source Clip Input LUT, or both. If it changes at steps 2 through 4, an effect is responsible. If only step 5 changes it, sequence color management is responsible.
Source Clip Input LUT and color management can both be correct
Premiere supports a two-stage chain: apply a Source Clip Input LUT, then set Media Color Space to that LUT's output. Color management receives that described result.
A duplicate conversion means the same conversion is repeated: for example, color management converts S-Log3 into a Rec.709 workflow and a technical S-Log3-to-Rec.709 LUT converts it again. It does not mean that every chain with more than one transform is wrong. A technical input conversion followed by a Creative Look is also normal because the two stages serve different purposes.
The common duplicate-conversion signature is excess contrast, clipped or compressed highlights, heavy shadows, and oversaturated color. Treat that as a clue, not proof. The Source Clip readout and effect stack provide the proof.
Metadata color management is not a hidden LUT
When color management is enabled, Premiere can recognize supported raw and log media and convert it to the selected working and output color spaces. Override Media Color Space corrects a clip that was detected incorrectly or was not identified, including transcoded media whose container does not carry enough camera metadata.
That conversion can make log footage look normalized even when no LUT menu contains a selection. The file on disk remains unchanged; Premiere is interpreting and processing it inside the project.
Adobe's older Auto Detect Log Video Color Space name is now Color Manage Auto Detected Log and Raw Media. Older tutorials also center on Auto tone map media. Those names can help explain an older project, but they are not the best directions for the current interface. Start with Lumetri Color's Settings tab and the Source Clip controls.
If Sony footage is the specific problem, the S-Log3 washed-out guide covers misidentification and range problems. For what a technical transform should do, see S-Log3 to Rec.709 conversion.
What Preserve RGB does
Preserve RGB prevents Premiere from converting that source clip from its input color space into the sequence working color space. It applies to every sequence in the project that uses that source clip.
It does not disable the entire output pipeline. The sequence Output Color Space still controls monitoring and rendering. Preserve RGB is therefore useful when a LUT or effect will perform the input conversion, but it should not be described as a global color-management off switch.
Three clean configurations
- Color-management conversion: Set the correct Media Color Space, leave Preserve RGB off, and do not add a second technical conversion for the same source.
- Input LUT into color management: Use the two-stage setup above, without repeating that technical conversion later.
- Effect-based input conversion: Enable Preserve RGB and apply an effect that converts the source into the sequence working color space.
Whichever configuration you choose, compare a known frame on scopes and check the export. If a Creative Look is part of the grade, confirm the color space it expects. Adobe notes that many bundled Lumetri Looks were designed for Rec.709 and can look different in another working color space.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Premiere applying a LUT to my S-Log footage?
It may be a Source Clip Input LUT, a technical LUT in a Lumetri effect, a Creative Look, or color management converting detected S-Log without a LUT. Check Source Clip first, then source effects, timeline effects, adjustment layers, and sequence settings.
Where is the Source Clip Input LUT in current Premiere?
Use the Source Clip controls in diagnosis step 1.
Is an Input LUT plus color management a duplicate conversion?
Not when the stages do different jobs. See the two-stage section above.
Does Preserve RGB turn off all color management?
No. It bypasses the input-to-working conversion. Output still follows the sequence setting.
Why did a transcode look different from the camera original?
The transcode may carry different or incomplete color metadata, so Premiere can identify it differently. Set its Media Color Space explicitly, then confirm whether an Input LUT or effect is also active.
Sources
Documentation checked September 20, 2026.
- Adobe: Configure clips for Color Management using Clip Modify.
- Adobe: Color Management overview for automatic source conversion, override behavior, output processing, and the renamed auto-detection control.
- Adobe: How Color Management works for the input, working, and output pipeline; metadata identification; and sequence controls.
- Adobe: Color Management and Lumetri Color for color-space-aware Lumetri behavior and Creative Look color-space requirements.
- Adobe: Configure sequence's output color space for the monitoring and rendering scope of the output setting.