ARRI Alexa 35 is hands down the gold standard for color in modern cinema. No other camera reproduces colors as naturally and beautifully as the Alexa 35, which is why it's the dominant choice for feature filmmakers.
We wanted to test how other common cameras and formats stack up (such as Sony S-Log3, Blackmagic Film, Canon C-Log, and more), so we put together a comprehensive shoot in a controlled studio environment.
In the video below, you'll find find our results as we compare each of these camera to the Alexa 35, and see what it takes to match them in post:
- Blackmagic (Gen 5)
- Canon (C-Log / C-Log3)
- DJI (D-Log)
- Fuji (F-Log)
- GoPro (GP-Log)
- iPhone (Apple Log)
- Lumix (V-Log / Log C)
- Nikon (N-Log)
- RED Komodo (IPP2)
- Sony (S-Log3)
If you prefer to read about the results instead, below is a full written breakdown to get you up to speed.
And if you're looking to do this process automatically without manual corrections, check out our CINESPACE LUTs here - every major camera brand matched to Alexa 35.
Alexa 35 LogC4 → Rec.709
With the Alexa 35, a simple Rec.709 conversion already looks close to finished.
You get:
- Natural skin tones
- Balanced saturation
- Clean highlight retention
- Great separation between hues
- A neutral foundation that doesn’t feel flat
Most other cameras won’t look this dialed-in from a basic conversion alone, but some come closer than you might expect.
What’s Closest to Alexa?
Below are the results of each camera compared to the Alexa 35 using only a standard color space conversion. Separately, we share our findings and recommendations for each camera when matching to the Alexa 35 look.
Blackmagic Gen 5 (URSA Mini 4.6K)
Blackmagic Gen 5 has legitimately good color science. Even with just a Rec 709 conversion applied.
Compared to Alexa:
- Slightly warmer skin tones
- Shadows sit a little higher/less dense
- Alexa feels more neutral with deeper blacks
The key takeaway: Blackmagic is very matchable. A few simple moves (shadow density, slight cooling, minor tint cleanup) can land you close.
Canon C-Log (EOS R5)
Further from Alexa than previous Blackmagic example, but still a very capable profile.
Notable traits from basic conversion:
- Skews magenta
- Feels less saturated / more lifeless
- Midtone contrast feels weaker (even when highlights clip)
You can make Canon look beautiful and Alexa-like. It just takes a little more work as Canon has its own built in look.
Canon C-Log3 (EOS R5)
Better starting point than standard C-Log.
- Still skews touch magenta
- Often feels more natural in levels/contrast
- Generally closer to Alexa and saves time in matching
If you’re choosing between the two: C-Log3 is the move for faster, cleaner matching. C-Log2 is also a fantastic (and optimal profile) choice, but we did not have a C-Log2 body when creating these test shots.
DJI D-Log
One of the biggest surprises.
Even with a less controlled variable here (captured at 5600K while most others were at 3200K), the conversion looked:
- Neutral
- Organic in skin tones
- Good separation and contrast
DJI is a reminder that great results aren’t only coming from “cinema” bodies anymore.
Fuji F-Log (X-T4)
Fuji shows why people love it.
- Strong highlight retention
- Deep shadows without feeling crushed
- Skin tones tend to skew a bit magenta compared to Alexa
But overall: very gradable and very matchable - especially with quick shadow cooling and level alignment.
GoPro GP-Log
The roughest starting point in the test.
- Heavy magenta skew
- Contrast feels inconsistent
- Processed look can linger even after corrections
This doesn’t mean GoPro is unusable - just that matching to Alexa will take more time and more secondaries, and some baked-in character may remain.
iPhone (Apple Log)
The most impressive non-Alexa result.
Right off the Rec.709 conversion, Apple Log felt:
- Natural and organic
- Surprisingly close to a “real camera” baseline
- Similar in vibe to Blackmagic in warmth and balance
A caveat: iPhones can carry a hint of HDR-ish lift depending on capture/processing, so you’ll often want:
- Deeper blacks
- A touch more contrast
- Slight cooling for Alexa-style neutrality
But overall: Apple’s color science is shockingly strong.
Lumix GH7 V-Log
A solid baseline.
- Slight magenta tendency (common across many cameras vs Alexa)
- Similar “weight” and richness in the image, even if not a perfect match
Lumix GH7 LogC3
Different starting behavior:
- Brighter, pushed into upper mids/highlights
- Looks less “finished” immediately
But: it can actually be easier to grade because it’s often simpler to pull shadows down than to rescue crushed tones.
If your goal is faster Alexa matching: LogC3 tends to get there quicker.
Nikon N-Log (Z6 + external)
Nikon footage had the most unique / different feel of all the cameras. But not in a bad way.
N-Log showed:
- Higher exposure bias
- Cooler shadows
- Uneven saturation behavior (some areas pop, others feel thin)
Not necessarily worse - just different, with more of a learning curve and more work to match Alexa cleanly.
Note: Nikon RAW was unavailable to us at the time of this test, but would certainly yield substantial improvements over N-Log.
RED Komodo
A strong, professional baseline with a distinct signature.
- Richer midtones
- More saturation
- Warmer skin/shadows than Alexa
You can match it, but you’ll often feel a push-pull between:
- cooling skin tones
- keeping highlights from drifting
- maintaining natural neutrality like Alexa
Sony S-Log3
The most important one we compared, as it's the most used profile out there.
With only a Rec.709 conversion applied:
- Drab / lifeless
- Highlights can feel harsh or “whitened”
- Missing that “full spectrum” richness Alexa gives you instantly
This is where a lot of people get the wrong impression about Sony. The key truth:
S-Log3 holds a ton of data and can look incredible - but it usually needs a smarter transform and a better starting point than a basic conversion LUT.
In other words: S-Log3 isn’t bad. It’s just not plug-and-play.
Quick Recap: What Was Closest Out of the Box?
Surprisingly, the standouts closest to Alexa from simple conversion were:
- Blackmagic Gen 5 (expected)
- DJI D-Log (surprising)
- iPhone Apple Log (very surprising)
The speculation here is interesting: companies like Apple and DJI are fighting hardware limitations (smaller sensors, smaller optics), so they’ve poured effort into software and internal color processing to maximize “good color” immediately.
GoPro is the counterpoint: despite the category, it didn’t land as well in this particular match-to-Alexa scenario.
The Shortcut: Using a Universal Alexa-Matched Baseline
To save you time in the edit, we've created an entire line of Alexa-matched LUTs for every major camera brand.
The full collection is called CINESPACE, and it's designed to take the guesswork out of color conversions, and deliver an Alexa-like starting point to all of your footage.
This is especially helpful if you're matching multiple cameras in the same timeline. By converting each of them with the CINESPACE LUTs, not only do they look more Alexa-like, but more importantly - they all match each other.
It's a way faster method for nailing your base grade and avoiding color matching issues between cameras.