What D-Log M changes in the file
Take the Mini 4 Pro as an example. According to its spec sheet, the Normal colour mode records 8-bit 4:2:0, while HLG and D-Log M record 10-bit 4:2:0 and only in H.265. The ISO range shrinks as well: Normal video goes from ISO 100 to 6400, D-Log M and HLG only from 100 to 1600. The Air 3S allows ISO 100 to 3200 in D-Log M, and its spec sheet has a detail worth noticing: Normal mode also records 10-bit there, always at 4K and at lower resolutions when you choose H.265. On that drone, the reason to pick D-Log M is the flatter tone curve, not the bit depth.
D-Log M is not available in every mode. The German site drohnen-guru points out that the Mini 4 Pro's Night mode works only in Normal. According to the same article, models such as the Neo and Mini 3 record only in Normal.
D-Log M, HLG or Normal
DJI's manual draws the line in one sentence: D-Log M is for colour correction in post, HLG "provides better dynamic range and color display performance." The retailer Uplink Imaging adds that HLG is an HDR format meant to play directly on an HDR screen. If you deliver ordinary SDR video, it calls D-Log M with DJI's LUT the simpler route.
If you will not grade, stay in Normal. Uplink's advice for quick posts is to skip log, because Normal looks finished straight from the drone.
Owners of drones that also offer full D-Log, such as the Mavic 4 Pro, should know about one dissenting voice. Paul Leeming, who sells the commercial Leeming LUT Pro, writes in his Mavic 4 Pro setup guide that D-Log M, HLG and Normal all have colour fidelity problems in the magenta-to-blue range on that drone, and he recommends full D-Log instead.
Setting up the camera in DJI Fly
- Colour mode. In the camera settings for video, the Mini 4 Pro manual lists "Color" next to the coding format. Pick D-Log M there.
- Histogram and Overexposure Warning on. Both are in the general camera settings. The overexposure warning marks clipped areas with diagonal lines (zebras).
- Manual white balance. Auto white balance can shift colour in the middle of a shot. The site drohnen-guru suggests around 5500 K for daylight and a bit higher under cloud. Leeming's method: hold a white or grey card in front of the camera when you switch from auto to manual, and record a few seconds of the card for reference in post.
- Style. DJI Fly lets you adjust sharpness and noise reduction for video. Leeming sets both to -2 for the best quality in his Mavic 4 Pro guide.
- Pro mode and manual exposure. Lock shutter speed and ISO so exposure does not jump between clips. The Mini 4 Pro has a fixed f/1.7 aperture, so at ISO 100 in daylight the only way left to darken the image is a faster shutter. To keep natural motion blur, you need an ND filter instead. Picking the right strength is covered in the ND filter article on this site.
Exposing so the LUT has something to work with
The conversion LUT assumes correctly exposed footage. The site drohnen-guru puts it plainly: underexposed clips sink in the shadows after the LUT, overexposed ones lose detail in the sky.
The usual advice is to expose to the right (ETTR): push the histogram as far right as you can without touching the right edge. DPReview's guide to DJI's full D-Log explains why: shadows get less noise and the highlights survive. The same guide warns that D-Log footage gets very noisy when underexposed. For D-Log M, drohnen-guru is a little more cautious and wants the histogram peak in the middle or slightly to the right, but never at the right edge. Uplink adds a warning that matters in the air: log footage hides clipping until you grade it, so trust the histogram and the zebras, not the look of the live view.
Two things in the app can mislead you:
- Color Display Assist. In D-Log and D-Log M, DJI Fly can show the live view with added contrast and saturation. The drone dealer heliguy describes it as a more natural display that helps with composition and focus. It changes only the screen; the file stays flat. Leeming turns it off for D-Log and D-Log M because the preview leads to underexposed shots when you expose to the right.
- Auto ISO. Some pilots claim Auto ISO in D-Log M gives extra dynamic range. Leeming tested this and did not see it. He reports that the image only gets a small exposure offset compared with the same manual ISO, and that Auto ISO keeps moving the exposure during a shot.
Getting the official LUT
DJI publishes free conversion LUTs from D-Log M to Rec.709 as .cube files in each model's download section. For the Mini 4 Pro, the entry is called "DJI Mini 4 Pro DJI D-Log M to Rec.709". DJI's download centre currently lists D-Log M LUTs for, among others, the Mavic 4 Pro, Mavic 3, Mini 5 Pro, Mini 4 Pro, Flip, Avata 2, Air 3S, Air 3 and the O4 Air Unit series.
Which file do you need? Uplink says to use the one made for your drone. The site drohnen-guru went further: it downloaded the D-Log M LUTs for eleven models and compared all 35,937 colour values. It found only two distinct tables. The Mini 4 Pro, Air 3, Air 3S, Flip, Avata 2, Mavic 3 and O4 Air Unit share one, and the Mavic 4 Pro, Mini 5 Pro, Lito X1 and Avata 360 share the other. The safe choice is still the file DJI lists for your model. If you mix clips from, say, a Mini 4 Pro and a Mini 5 Pro, the two LUTs differ mainly in the shadows, so check those when you match the shots.
According to drohnen-guru's analysis, the LUT barely changes midtone brightness: a 50% grey comes out at about 48 to 49%. It darkens the shadows, so 12.5% drops to roughly 4 to 5%, and it raises midtone saturation about 1.7 times. That is the main difference between the grey file and the finished image, and it is also why an underexposed clip comes out darker than you expect.
Where the LUT goes in the edit
Correct first, apply the LUT second, add your look last. Corrections before the LUT work on the log footage with its full latitude. After the LUT, clipped highlights cannot be brought back.
- DaVinci Resolve. Copy the .cube file into the LUT folder (Project Settings, Color Management, Open LUT Folder) and click Update Lists. On the Color page, use node 1 for exposure and white balance, node 2 for the DJI LUT and node 3 for your own look.
- Premiere Pro. In Lumetri Color, load the file as the Input LUT under Basic Correction, then adjust exposure and white balance in the same panel. The Look field in the Creative section is for styling and comes after.
- Final Cut Pro. Add the Custom LUT effect to the clip and pick the file in the Inspector.
Creative "film" LUTs are built for Rec.709 footage. Uplink's advice is to put them after DJI's conversion LUT, not instead of it, because applied straight to D-Log M they usually crush the shadows and skew the colour.
Resolve also offers a Color Space Transform with a DJI D-Log preset. The site drohnen-guru notes that DJI has published a technical white paper for full D-Log but not for D-Log M, and that users report oversaturated results when they use the D-Log transform on D-Log M. For D-Log M, the official LUT is the reliable route.
Mistakes that make the grade look wrong
From drohnen-guru's list:
- The LUT applied twice, once in the clip attributes and once as a node. The picture looks harsh and oversaturated.
- The LUT on a Normal or HLG clip. If you switched profiles between flights, it is easy to grab the wrong clips. Log clips are the grey, flat ones in the preview.
- White balance fixed after the LUT. After the LUT you can only correct a colour cast roughly; before it a small adjustment is usually enough.
- An unchecked 8-bit export. Skies show banding. A light film grain on export helps hide it.