D-Log M color grading on Mac — the easy way

By Robin Cretinon · April 27, 2026 · 8 min read

If you've started shooting your DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro or Avata 2 in D-Log M, you've probably hit the same wall I did: the footage looks washed out and gray straight out of the camera, and the path from "flat log" to "graded footage that doesn't look terrible" can be more painful than it should be on Mac. This guide walks through the cleanest workflow I've found for grading DJI D-Log M footage without leaving the stabilization app.

Why shoot in D-Log M at all?

D-Log M is DJI's flat color profile that preserves more dynamic range than the standard "Normal" mode. Highlights stay recoverable, shadows have more detail, the whole image has more headroom for grading. The cost: out of the camera, footage looks flat and desaturated. You need to apply a LUT (a "look-up table" that maps the flat colors to standard Rec.709 video colors) to get a usable image.

For Osmo Action 5 Pro, Action 6 and Avata 2, D-Log M is the right choice for any cinematic edit. Skip it for vlogs and quick shares — Normal mode looks fine and saves you the grading step.

The official DJI LUTs

DJI publishes official LUTs for every camera that records D-Log or D-Log M. Each LUT is a .cube file that maps the flat profile to Rec.709. Different cameras have slightly different sensor characteristics — using the wrong LUT (e.g. Avata 2 LUT on Osmo Action 5 Pro footage) gives you incorrect colors.

The full list of official DJI LUTs:

DJI_Action4_DLogM_to_Rec709.cube — Osmo Action 4
DJI_Action5Pro_DLogM_to_Rec709.cube — Osmo Action 5 / 5 Pro
DJI_Action6_DLogM_to_Rec709.cube — Osmo Action 6
DJI_Avata2_DLogM_to_Rec709.cube — Avata 2
DJI_O4_DLogM_to_Rec709.cube — DJI O4 Air Unit (Avata, FPV goggles)
DJI_DLogM_to_Rec709.cube — generic / older models

You can download these from DJI's official support site for each camera. Or skip the download — Unshake bundles all of them and applies the right one automatically based on the file's metadata.

The clean workflow

Drop the original DJI .mp4 into Unshake (or your tool of choice).
Unshake auto-detects the camera (Action 5 Pro, Avata 2, etc.) and the color profile (D-Log M vs Normal).
If D-Log M is detected, the matching LUT is applied automatically. The preview shows the graded image, not the flat one.
Tune stabilization parameters (sigma, horizon lock) if needed.
Export. Done.

That's it. The whole "color grading" step takes zero seconds because the right LUT is already applied. You see the final-look footage in the preview while you decide on stabilization.

Custom LUT workflow

If you want a stylized look (warmer cinematic, cooler arctic, vintage film) on top of the technical D-Log → Rec.709 conversion, you can chain LUTs:

Apply the technical LUT (D-Log M → Rec.709) — Unshake does this automatically.
Drop a custom creative LUT in the LUT panel — your warm/cool/vintage look.
The chain runs in order: D-Log M → Rec.709 (technical) → your creative LUT.

If you want only your custom LUT and bypass the technical conversion, disable auto-LUT detection in settings.

Common gotchas

Wrong LUT applied. Usually means the camera detection is off. Check that the file is the original from the SD card, not a re-encode.
Looks too contrasty after LUT. The DJI official LUTs are calibrated for proper exposure. If your D-Log M footage was over- or under-exposed, you'll need an exposure tweak before the LUT, not after.
Banding in skies. H.264 export at low bitrates exposes banding in the smooth gradients D-Log preserves. Export to ProRes 422 if banding is critical.
Final Cut / Premiere look different. If you export from Unshake to ProRes and then re-grade in FCP, the LUT is already baked in. Don't apply it again.

Mavic, Mini, Air drones — different story

DJI Mavic, Mini, and Air drones use mechanical gimbals, so they don't need post-stabilization. They do shoot in D-Log (note: D-Log, not D-Log M — slightly different curves), and the same LUT-applied-then-export workflow works in any video editor that loads .cube files (Final Cut, DaVinci, Premiere).

For the action cam / FPV side (Osmo Action 4-6, Avata 1-2), the integrated stab + LUT workflow above saves ~30 minutes per session vs juggling LUTs manually in a separate editor.

Unshake bundles every official DJI LUT (Action 4/5/5 Pro/6, Avata 1/2, O4 Air Unit) and applies them automatically based on the file's metadata. Mac App Store, one-time purchase, no subscription.