The media property "Color Space" is set to "Rec.2020 HLG (1000 nits)". In earlier versions of VP I needed to set this myself. However in more recent versions VP seems to be able to detect the use of HLG as I have not needed to explicitly set it recently.

I will do some tests using "Pixel format" - "32-bit Floating point (video levels)" and post the results.

Is that the best space for this footage? I'm away from Vegas so can't check at the moment.

There is no Panasonic specific one?

32 bit video levels requires converting back to video levels manually but it does nothing to the color. MusicVid made a free Rec 2020 to Rec 709 conversion LUT if you want to find it on the forum and apply it. That only changes color and not gamma, so it should look flat in the highlights.

[Edit] The Leeming LUT (paid) has a Panasonic HLG version for Rec 709 which does both color correction and gamma for Panasonic cameras specifically. (The HLG Sony one works well for Rec 709 output in my experience.) I find LUT based color correction works better than ACES overall which really depends on the manufacturers creating good quality color spaces. Performance in Vegas of ACES isn't very good at least on my system.

Purpose of using ACES is batch converting/colorgrading LOG/HDR/WGC source files among each other and/or producing that kind videos.

Using ACES to make SDR video (Rec709/sRGB) is like hitting the mosquitoes with cannon, though it does very good quality color.

The LUT I made assumes HDR 2020 PQ source, and not HLG. Doubtful it will look very good.

Could it be that something ACES related is changed in this version of Vegas?

Oh MusicVid, you didn't make an HLG LUT? Wonder where I got that from then. What about the Rec 2020 monitor LUT in your "Photo and Monitor Profile LUTS" folder?

ACES is continually updated- forget when the switch to 1.2 happened (partway through VP 18?) but that is possible.

Thank you for your suggestions. I have been doing some tests on a single clip using both Vegas 18 and 19:

Vegas Pro 18

32bit floating point (video levels)

No LUT selected

The above seems dull but colours seem reasonable

with Leeming LUT Pro III - Panasonic G Series - HLG for Rec709

The above seems dull and the colours are too red

32bit floating point (full range ACES 1.2)

No LUT selected

The above is quite good. Colours are a good starting point for grading.

with Leeming LUT Pro III - Panasonic G Series - HLG for Rec709

The above has a red tint that is not correct.

Vegas Pro 19

32bit floating point (video levels)

No LUT selected

The above seems dull but colours seem reasonable. Appears to be the same as Vegas 18

with Leeming LUT Pro III - Panasonic G Series - HLG for Rec709

The above seems dull and the colours are too red. Same as Vegas 18

32bit floating point (full range ACES 1.2)

No LUT selected

Colours have a green shift. Reds are very weak. Very different to the result in Vegas 18.

with Leeming LUT Pro III - Panasonic G Series - HLG for Rec709

The above has a re tint but not as bad as Vegas 18. Perhaps the green bias found in Vegas 19 is reducing the impact of the red introduced by the LUT.

I think if you compare the above you will understand why I chose to process my Panasonic GH5 HLG footage using ACES and no LUT in Vegas Pro 18.

I currently find that using Vegas 18 with 32bit floating point (full range ACES 1.2) gives me footage that requires the least effort in colour grading.

It is not clear to me when the Leeming LUTs should be used. The Leeming LUT Pro III pack also contains Vlog and Cine D LUTS for Panasonic G series. But only the HLG LUT explicitly specifies "for Rec709".

Regards DennisMF

Edit: Note that the media properties are all set to"Rec.2020 HLG (1000 nits)". Vegas does not offer a Panasonic specific version of HLG. Perhaps the media setting (HLG) is incompatible with the Leeming HLG LUT!

Thanks for sharing your experiments. However, the starting point I would suggest, you have not tested yet.

1. First of all, ACES does not have camera-specific HLG presets. In fact, the only one I see is REC 2020 HLG 1,000 nits, which is certainly worth testing (by itself), depending on your output. See #4 below.
2. Second, your 32-bit Full Range tests all appear to be done with the sRGB transform applied. That one does not compensate for the bottom-weighting that defines the HLG curve. So if you will be using it as a starting point (without a LUT), you will want to look at external means of revealing shadow detail, such as exist in the Color Grading panel.
3. If you will be using a LUT, it is not advised to use it concurrently with any view transform, such as you are doing with sRGB. Doing so produces redundant transforms, which deplete your native bit depth. A LUT for HLG->709 would start, I believe, with float space 1:1 gamma, and all transforms turned Off. I suggest you try your Leeming LUT by starting there, not with an ACES view transform already applied (!)
4. Also, no LUT (or transform) can anticipate shooting levels (luminance). You will need to set your top end referenced to the Waveform Scope after your LUT, and tweak your grading from that point forward.
5. I have not written / adapted any applicable HLG LUTS in my package, however you may find some in the Canon LUTS folder that would give a pleasing starting point.

I hope I have read your tests correctly, and not clouded the issue further. As you have demonstrated by your comments, your end results are a manifestation of your personal tastes and preferences. The numbers give you a basic structure, and your art takes over from there. Welcome to the discussions.

Is there any particular reason you are shooting HLG? VLOG is superior for grading to both Rec709/sRGB and to either HDR10 or HLG. HLG color grades very poorly, so it isn't a recommended format if you plan on doing much work on the color afterwards. The only real benefit of HLG is that it gives you usable rec2020 HDR color out of the box, if you just want HDR video without having to color grade it first. I highly recommend you shoot VLOG instead. Not only does it stand up to color grading better, but it also captures more dynamic range. Just make sure the GH5 is set to record 10 bit video when shooting VLOG.

When shooting VLOG in VEGAS, right click on your media clips and set their color space to VLOG/Vgamut. Then make sure your project settings are set to 32 bit full range, and the project color space needs to be set to whatever your output color space will be, in this case Rec709/sRGB. If you want to go HDR, then do the same, but turn HDR mode to either HLG or HDR10 (HDR10 is recommended, as windows currently does not support HLG preview, so neither does VEGAS), which will automatically set the project color space to what it needs to be for HDR.

Assuming the only output is the stated " HD sRGB and Rec 709 8bit output," just save all the fuss and shoot 709 video levels..

BTW, for any reasonable purpose you or I will ever encounter, sRGB and REC 709 are the same space (smallest triangle).

You can't combine LUTs and an ACES workflow. If you want to go the LUT route just stick to 32-bit video mode. Media properties only affects ACES (32 bit full). Noe that the Leeming LUT instructions says HLG for Rec 709 (SDR) output as Paul Leeming hasn't yet made any LUTs for HDR workflows.

There shouldn't be anything inherently red about Leeming LUT- try a white balance Fx before the LUT if it needs further tweaking due to the scene, lens or filter in use. The maker of this profile used the GH5 and GH5s for his own filmmaking. You can post any issues you find here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/LeemingLUTPro for feedback (plenty of Panasonic users though not sure how many use HLG. I only used CineD myself with the G85).

I currently do not have a licence for Vlog. I will consider getting one based on the advice above.

My primary objective was and remains to produce high quality HD footage from my GH5. When I started I found some web articles that proposed and attempted to demonstrate that HLG (as a source to produce HD video) would provide greater dynamic range giving extra flexibility when dealing with exposure issues during editing.

I currently have a lot of HLG footage that I need to process primarily into ordinary HD output. Thanks to the discussion above, I have produced a LUT (derived from the Leeming Panasonic HLG LUT) that allows me to take most of the pain out of HLG. I can now work through my HLG backlog. Many Thanks.

The Leeming Panasonic HLG LUT produced good colours but the output was very dark. I suspect this LUT is intended for use with "Shoot To The Right" overexposed HLG footage. My version is more suited to normal exposure HLG footage.

My initial use of ACES was caused by my lack of knowledge regarding Camera LUTs. Without camera LUTS, the only way I could use HLG footage was via ACES. In Vegas Pro 17 and 18, ACES provided the ability to successfully process HLG footage. I do believe that there is a defect in the Vegas 19 ACES / HLG implementation. I have found that ACES / HLG input processing produces very strange colours. These strange colours are not present in Vegas 18 (ACES 1.2).

I recently acquired an HDR capable monitor for use with video editing. I did some experiments with ACES HDR in Vegas 18 using my HLG source. It worked reasonably well (but I have much to learn). This does not work in Vegas 19 due to the strange colour problem that accompanies the HLG to Rec2020 conversion.

Thankyou all for your assistance. I now have no excuse for not clearing my HLG backlog!

When I started I found some web articles that proposed and attempted to demonstrate that HLG (as a source to produce HD video) would provide greater dynamic range giving extra flexibility when dealing with exposure issues during editing.

True up to a point. The greater dynamic range can be leveraged, but usually through more refined manipulation of gamma, curves, chroma, and integer levels. Applying a stock correction alone (LUTs or ACES) often produces worse results than correctly exposed SDR, and always takes longer. There is not a one-size-fits-all solution for HLG or HDR. Manufacturers produce different versions of camera LUTs for the same specific applications, with quite different visual results.

So relying on HDR / HLG as a prophylactic against bad exposure practices is a baited hook, with its own set of collaterals, not the least of which is delayed learning in an area of photography where most hobbyists have skipped over the basics. So my usual overconservative advice is to spend a couple of years learning, reading, and embracing the principles of traditional photography, starting with Adams, before embarking on a journey to find the Great Wizard.

Of course none of that helps your immediate situation with your stockpile of footage, and if you want to post short original clips or tests, there are plenty of people here willing to give you their advice and interpretation (some of it useless of course). It will also help us thresh out the differences you see in VP19 grading, all else being equal of course. They have been mentioned before.

You have a really good perspective and way of thinking about these things, and you will become a valued contributor to the discussions as time goes on. Welcome to the forums.