What do you all recommend for color correcting plugins?
Also, what are some free alternatives?
Is there truly a big difference in the color correcting capabilities of the stock vp14 than these external plugins?
That depends on what kind of color correction is needed.
I'm looking to color correct some DJi phantom 4 pro mp4 files. It's on a basic level, so I'm wondering what plugins I can incorporate into vegas to ease/improve the color correcting process.
Which color properties of the DJi phantom are special in matter of color correction?
The set of color correction plug-ins available in Vegas Pro usually covers most tasks. Some external plug-ins would encrease the comfort of managing the correction process while not adding a new feature. Some just raise the quality level of correction. Some automate a certain process. Some allow for a more precise tuning. Some add features like LUT import.
Free CC plug-ins are rare:
AAV ColorLab is a free plug-in which offers black/white level, gamma, white balance and 6-channel color correction.
SeMW Auto Levels is a free plug-in which automatically expands levels while allowing for fine tuning after.
Other commercial plug-ins:
SeMW Graide Color Match is a plug-in to match different shots based on a sophisticated algorithm. It also can be used to repair flickering or dynamic exposure-bias such as introduced by time lapse recording.
FBmn Software Exposure offers a different approach to correct bad scene exposure.
NewBlueFX ColorFast combines primary and secondary color correction with lots of grading presets and better matte quality than Vegas' internal secondary color correction offers.
HitFilm Ignite Pro offers lots of color correction and grading tools, also LUT import (besides many others special FX plug-ins).
BorisFX Continuum Color and Tone Unit is a plug-in set of 15 different CC filters of good quality.
Magic Bullet Looks offers a nice toolset for color correction and grading while maintaining good quality through its whole pipeline. Also lots of grading presets in there (and LUT import).
Tiffen DFX is the most comprehensive collection of color correction and grading plug-ins I'm aware of. More than hundred of filters and many presets in there, many fine tuned for very certain tasks and most of them offer a superior matte adjustment.
Tiffen DFX is my personal favorite because it seems to cover all of my CC and grading needs, its good matte adjustment and its quality (no LUT import, though).
@Marco +1
My experiences with DJi phantom files and SeMW Auto Levels are very good.
Most of the time the default template is enough for me.
Most hobbyists don't know how to use the most basic correction tools efficiently, and experienced producers use the basic tools far more often than fancy plugins.
Most hobbyists don't know how to use the most basic correction tools efficiently, and experienced producers use the basic tools far more often than fancy plugins.
Exactly!
Does the VisionColor LUT Plugin still work in 14? (I'm still on 13)
Have fun with LUTcalc.
Several basic CC plugin settings are still needed to tweak the look.
Does the VisionColor LUT Plugin still work in 14? (I'm still on 13)
Yes but slow.
Does the VisionColor LUT Plugin still work in 14? (I'm still on 13)
Yes but slow.
What is(are) the higher performing LUT plugin(s)? What about the HitFilm Ignite Pro or Magic Bullet Looks mentioned above? Now that you mention it that could be a bottleneck for my encode step.
Have fun with LUTcalc.
Make LUT, not war! 😇😎
It's not free, but the HitFilm Ignite Pro LUT plugin can definitely free some CPU cycles.
For LUTcalc make sure to check out the "Instructions" in the bottom right quadrant of the interface.
Thank you all for the great responses. If you haven't figured it out, I'm new to Vegas, so all these tips are definitely helping!
The poor user's accelerated LUT plugin alternative is definitely the native GPU accelerated Color Curves.