Apple Log LUTs for iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max: Buyer’s and Workflow Guide

You’ve got an iPhone 18 Pro or Pro Max, you’ve switched on Log, and your first clips look gray and washed out. That’s normal. Log footage is designed to be graded, and the fastest way to get from flat to finished is a LUT built for Apple’s Log profile.

Short answer: for iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, use a LUT made for Apple Log and Apple Log 2 that converts to Rec.709, in an app that can load .cube files. Our pack for this is the iPhone Apple Log LUTs from Ypresets: 18 LUTs, $45 USD, built for Apple Log and Apple Log 2 on iPhone 15 Pro through iPhone 18 Pro Max. This guide covers how to choose, apply and shoot for them, app by app.

If you want the background on what changed with the new phones, start with our iPhone 18 Pro and Apple Log explainer. This post is the practical part: buying the right LUTs and using them.

Which Apple Log does the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max record?

Apple’s official spec page for iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max lists Apple Log 2 in the video recording section, together with ProRes video recording, ProRes RAW, Academy Color Encoding System (ACES) and Genlock support. The video formats Apple lists are HEVC, H.264, ProRes and ProRes RAW, and ProRes recording goes up to 4K at 120 fps with external recording.

In practice, the only question that matters for grading is whether your clip is actually in Log. If it looks flat, gray and low-contrast, it is. If it looks bright and colorful, you recorded standard video, and a Log LUT isn’t the right tool.

Why Apple Log footage needs a LUT

Standard iPhone video has contrast, saturation and tone mapping baked in when you hit record. Log skips most of that. It stores the image on a flat curve so more highlight and shadow detail survives, which gives you room to grade. The trade-off is that the raw clip doesn’t look finished.

A LUT (lookup table) is a file that maps those flat Log values to a normal display color space, usually Rec.709 for SDR delivery, and can add a creative look at the same time. You could build that by hand with curves and color wheels, but a well-made LUT gets you there in one step and keeps every clip consistent.

What to look for in an Apple Log LUT for iPhone 18 Pro

• Built for Apple’s Log curve. A LUT designed for another camera’s Log (like DJI D-Log) will get the tones and colors wrong on iPhone footage.
• Apple Log 2 coverage. Since Apple lists Apple Log 2 for the 18 Pro and Pro Max, make sure the pack says it supports Apple Log 2, not only the original Apple Log.
• A clean conversion to Rec.709. You want natural base conversions as well as stylized looks, so you can choose between true-to-life and creative.
• Standard .cube files. This is the format Blackmagic Cam, LumaFusion, Resolve, Final Cut Pro and Premiere Pro all read.
• Only one conversion. A Log-to-Rec.709 LUT should be the only conversion on the clip. If your editor has already applied its own Apple Log conversion, turn it off first so you don’t convert twice.
• Clear instructions. These are especially useful if this is your first time grading Log.

Comparing options, including free routes? Our ranking of the best Apple Log LUTs for iPhone goes through nine of them side by side.

Ypresets iPhone Apple Log LUTs for iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max

The iPhone Apple Log LUTs are ready-made grades that convert flat Apple Log and Apple Log 2 footage into clean, cinematic Rec.709. They’re listed for iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max.

What’s inside

• 18 cinematic .cube LUTs: clean base conversions, film-inspired grades, vibrant travel looks, warm lifestyle tones and moody night and urban grades
• A step-by-step installation guide for DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro and Premiere Pro, plus short video tutorials
• A best-settings guide for shooting Apple Log on iPhone, covering recommended app, frame rates, formats and color space tips
• Bonus: Blackmagic Cam app settings for shooting Apple Log
• Full usage rights for personal, commercial and client projects
• $45 USD, with an instant download after checkout

Supported apps

Per the product page, you can use them in any app that loads .cube files and can handle Apple Log or Apple Log 2. On desktop, that means DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro and CapCut desktop. On iPhone, it’s Blackmagic Cam (recommended), LumaFusion, VideoLUT, LUT Studio and PeekLUT. CapCut mobile can’t load .cube files. For click-by-click steps in each app, see our LUT installation guide.

How to use Apple Log LUTs on iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, app by app

Recording in Blackmagic Cam (preview or bake)

1. Install Blackmagic Cam (Apple’s App Store listing includes iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max) and set the color space to Apple Log.
2. Choose your codec: Apple ProRes, or H.265 (HEVC) to save space.
3. Import a Ypresets .cube file. Blackmagic Cam works with standard 17- and 33-point 3D LUTs.
4. Decide how to use it: monitor only (you see the graded look while the clip stays flat Log for editing later) or record it into the clip (the color is baked in, so no editing is needed).

If you’re unsure, monitor only. You keep the flexibility of Log and can still pick a different look later.

Recording in Final Cut Camera

Apple’s Final Cut Camera app records Apple Log and ProRes with manual controls, and it previews Log footage in SDR or HDR using Apple’s own Apple Log LUT. Its App Store listing doesn’t mention loading custom LUTs, so treat it as your recording app and apply the Ypresets LUTs in your editor.

LumaFusion (iPhone and iPad)

LumaFusion imports .cube and .3dl LUTs. Import the Ypresets files, add your Log clip to the timeline, apply the LUT in the clip’s color and effects options, then adjust exposure or saturation if needed. It’s a good option if you want to grade on an iPad.

CapCut

Use CapCut desktop. The mobile app can’t load .cube files, so move your clips to a computer for this step.

DaVinci Resolve

1. Copy the .cube files into Resolve’s LUT folder (Project Settings → Color Management → Open LUT Folder), then refresh the list.
2. On the Color page, right-click your Apple Log clip’s node and choose the Ypresets LUT.
3. Add a node before it for exposure and white balance tweaks if needed.

Prefer not to manage LUT folders? Ypresets Color Lab is a DaVinci Resolve plugin with the Apple Log looks built in. It doesn’t include the .cube files, so keep this pack if you also edit in other apps.

On iPad, use LumaFusion. We couldn’t confirm custom LUT import in DaVinci Resolve for iPad from Blackmagic’s official listing, so we haven’t included steps for it here.

Final Cut Pro

Final Cut Pro supports custom LUTs in .cube format. Add the Custom LUT effect to your clip, choose the Ypresets file, and check that no other Apple Log conversion is active on the clip.

Premiere Pro

In the Lumetri Color panel, load the Ypresets .cube as the input or creative LUT on your Apple Log clip, then fine-tune exposure and saturation. The included installation guide walks through this.

iPhone 18 Pro vs Pro Max for Log shooting

For grading, there’s no difference. Apple’s spec page lists the same camera system and video features, including Apple Log 2, for both models, so the same LUTs apply. The differences are practical:

• Screen: 6.3-inch on iPhone 18 Pro vs 6.9-inch on iPhone 18 Pro Max. A bigger screen makes it easier to judge focus and exposure while monitoring a LUT.
• Battery: Apple quotes up to 36 hours of video playback on iPhone 18 Pro and up to 45 hours on iPhone 18 Pro Max (eSIM-only models). That’s useful headroom for long shoot days.
• Weight: 211 g vs 249 g. The Pro is lighter for handheld and gimbal work.

Both models also get Apple’s new vapor chamber design, which Apple says delivers higher sustained performance.

Shooting tips for Apple Log on iPhone 18 Pro

• Expose for the highlights, but don’t starve the shadows. Log can’t recover highlights that are already clipped, and very dark footage gets noisy when it’s brought up. Use the histogram, which Apple added to the new Pro controls, or zebras in apps that offer them.
• Lock white balance. Auto white balance shifting mid-clip is hard to fix even with a good LUT.
• ProRes vs HEVC. The LUT color result is the same either way. ProRes is heavier and edit-friendly, while HEVC is much smaller. Apple notes that ProRes at 4K 120 fps needs external recording.
• Monitor with a LUT. Previewing the look in Blackmagic Cam makes exposure decisions much easier than judging a gray image.
• Keep your frame rate consistent across clips you plan to cut together.
• Check the clip before grading. Flat and gray means it’s Log, so use this pack. Colorful and contrasty means it’s standard video, so use the iPhone Cinematic LUTs.

Shooting stills on the same trip? LUTs are for video. For photos, our iPhone Everyday Lightroom Presets do the same job in Lightroom.

FAQ: Apple Log LUTs for iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max

Start grading your iPhone 18 Pro footage

The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max give you Apple Log 2, ProRes and more control than any iPhone before. The flat footage just needs the right conversion. Load the iPhone Apple Log LUTs in Blackmagic Cam or your editor of choice, pick a look, and you’re done.

👉 Get the iPhone Apple Log LUTs