Color Grading Calculator

Professional color grading calculations for post-production. Master color space math, HDR workflows, and technical color calculations.

Color Science Reference

Color Spaces

Rec. 709

HD Standard

Standard dynamic range for HD content

Rec. 2020

UHD Standard

Wide color gamut for 4K/8K content

DCI-P3

Cinema Standard

Digital cinema color space

Adobe RGB

Photography

Extended gamut for photo workflows

Dynamic Range

SDR

100 nits

Standard dynamic range

HDR10

1,000 nits

High dynamic range standard

HDR10+

4,000 nits

Dynamic metadata HDR

Dolby Vision

10,000 nits

Premium HDR format

Bit Depth

8-bit

256 levels

16.7 million colors total

10-bit

1,024 levels

1.07 billion colors total

12-bit

4,096 levels

68.7 billion colors total

16-bit

65,536 levels

Professional color depth

Color Grading Calculations

Color Gamut Coverage Calculator

Calculate color gamut coverage percentages between different color spaces.

Formula:

Coverage % = (Target Gamut Area ÷ Reference Gamut Area) × 100

Examples:

DCI-P3 coverage of Rec. 2020

Calculation: (P3 Area ÷ Rec2020 Area) × 100 = 75%

Result: 75% coverage of Rec. 2020

Rec. 709 coverage of DCI-P3

Calculation: (Rec709 Area ÷ P3 Area) × 100 = 82%

Result: 82% coverage of DCI-P3

Pro Tips:

  • Wider gamuts contain more colors but require compatible displays
  • Consider delivery format when choosing working color space
  • Use gamut mapping for cross-format compatibility

HDR Tone Mapping Calculator

Calculate tone mapping curves for HDR to SDR conversion.

Formula:

SDR Value = HDR Value × (SDR Peak ÷ HDR Peak) ^ Gamma

Examples:

1000 nit HDR to 100 nit SDR

Calculation: 1000 × (100 ÷ 1000) ^ 0.45 = 316 nits

Result: 316 nits mapped value

4000 nit HDR to 100 nit SDR

Calculation: 4000 × (100 ÷ 4000) ^ 0.45 = 632 nits

Result: 632 nits mapped value

Pro Tips:

  • Use perceptual tone mapping for better visual results
  • Preserve highlight detail in bright scenes
  • Test tone mapping on different content types

Color Temperature Calculator

Calculate color temperature adjustments and white balance corrections.

Formula:

Mired Shift = (1,000,000 ÷ Target K) - (1,000,000 ÷ Source K)

Examples:

3200K to 5600K correction

Calculation: (1M ÷ 5600) - (1M ÷ 3200) = -134 mireds

Result: -134 mired shift (cooler)

6500K to 3200K correction

Calculation: (1M ÷ 3200) - (1M ÷ 6500) = +159 mireds

Result: +159 mired shift (warmer)

Pro Tips:

  • Use mireds for linear color temperature adjustments
  • Kelvin scale is non-linear for color correction
  • Consider mixed lighting scenarios

Bit Depth Conversion Calculator

Calculate precision loss when converting between bit depths.

Formula:

Precision Loss = (Source Levels - Target Levels) ÷ Source Levels × 100

Examples:

10-bit to 8-bit conversion

Calculation: (1024 - 256) ÷ 1024 × 100 = 75%

Result: 75% precision loss

12-bit to 10-bit conversion

Calculation: (4096 - 1024) ÷ 4096 × 100 = 75%

Result: 75% precision loss

Pro Tips:

  • Higher bit depths provide more grading flexibility
  • Avoid multiple conversions to minimize quality loss
  • Use dithering when reducing bit depth

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