LUTs Previewer

🛠️ Getting Started

Install

After downloading the ZIP archive, extract it.
Depending on your operating system, navigate to the corresponding folder.

On macOS, open the LUTs Previewer.dmg file
and drag the ILWTBAP LUTs Previewer.app application into the Applications folder.

On Windows, open the ZIP archive IWLTBAP LUTs Previewer.zip,
and extract the application IWLTBAP LUTs Previewer.exe in the folder of your choice.

LUTs Previewer is portable and does not require an installation program.

Import the LUTs

There are two ways to load your LUTs.

The first is to manually place the CUBE and 3DL files in the application's working folder, namely:

macOS: Users > [username] > Documents > LUTs Previewer > LUTs

Windows: C: > Users > [username] > Documents > LUTs Previewer > LUTs

You can use subfolders to organize your LUT library.

The second method will be done via the menu: File > Select external folders to scan.

A window will open. Here you can add or remove folders that will be scanned.

Adjust intensity / WB / Tint

You can easily adjust the intensity of a LUT by moving the slider at the top of the central panel, above the image.
From 0 to 100%.

You can also play with the White Balance and the Tint under the LUT.
This will drastically affect how the render on your image.

Compare before / after

You can toggle ON/OFF the LUT by pressing the E key on your keyboard.

The selected LUT will be deactivated and then reactivated when you press the key again.

You can see Bypass: ON in bottom left corner of the app.

🖼️ Working with Images

Supported formats

You can use images in JPG, JPEG, and PNG formats.

There is no size or weight limit, but it's worth noting that loading is faster
with a medium-sized image than with a very high-definition file.

This depends on your hardware configuration.

Import your images

There are two ways to load your LUTs.

The first is to manually place the JPG and PNG files in the application's working folder, namely:

macOS: Users > [username] > Documents > LUTs Previewer > Images

Windows: C: > Users > [username] > Documents > LUTs Previewer > Images

You can use subfolders to organize your library.

The second method will be done via the menu: File > Select external folders.

A window will open. Here you can add or remove folders that will be scanned.

Use the scopes

You can activate the scopes via the menu: View > Show/Hide the scopes.

There are two types of scopes to help you: RGB histogram, waveform and vectorscope.

The RGB histogram provides color channels information that describes the distribution of red, green, and blue pixels.
From left to right, the areas of the histogram represent shadow, midtones, and highlights.

The waveform scope provides information on luminance, or brightness,
which you can use to decide whether the footage is over or under exposed.
The information represents luminance values from 0 - 100% (black through the spectrum to white).
The higher the waveform, the brighter the image in the Viewer.

The vectorscope shows the colors in your image on a circular graph.
The direction indicates the hue (RGB) and the distance from the center shows how saturated the color is.
It’s useful for checking color balance, keeping colors consistent, and avoiding oversaturation.
You’ll also see a diagonal "skin tone line." Keeping skin tones close to this line helps them look natural.

Export an image

You can export the current image with the LUT applied at the selected intensity,
simply by going to the menu: File > Export current image
Or with a right-click on the image in the center panel.

Exported images are located in:

macOS: Users > [username] > Documents > LUTs Previewer > Export

Windows: C: > Users > [username] > Documents > LUTs Previewer > Export

The image is saved at the same size as the original, in JPG format with a quality set to 95%.

🎨 Browsing LUTs

Search field

To quickly find and sort the right LUTs in a large library, you can use the Search field.
Type a keyword and press Enter.

The file extension is considered in the search.
Example: by typing .3dl you can choose to display only LUTs in 3DL format.

Favorites

You can save your favorite LUTs with a single click using the favorites.
Click the star icon to the right of each LUT to add or remove it from your favorites.

You can also do this by right-clicking a LUT and selecting Add to Favorites.

Navigating large collections

LUTs Previewer has been tested with a massive LUT collection of over 12 GB.

Navigation and thumbnail generation have been optimized for maximum speed and fluidity.

If you have a large LUT collection, it is highly recommended that you organize it into folders and subfolders.

At first launch of the app, a thumbnail will be generated for each LUT.
This happens in background, but you can monitor the progress via the progress bar in the bottom right corner.

🧪 Exporting LUTs

Export adjusted LUT

With LUTs Previewer, you can export a LUT with the intensity you've set.
If a LUT has too much contrast, set the intensity to 50% and export it.
You can then use it directly, without any further adjustments.

To export the LUT, go to the menu: File > Export current LUT
You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl / Cmd + E to export the LUT.

The generated file will be in .CUBE format and the standard size of 33x33x33.
This is currently the most common and widely compatible LUT format.

Once exported, the LUT is located in the application's working folder, namely:

macOS: Users > [username] > Documents > LUTs Previewer > Generated LUTs

Windows: C: > Users > [username] > Documents > LUTs Previewer > Generated LUTs

Normalize your LUTs

Exporting a LUT from LUTs Previewer also normalizes it to CUBE format and 33x33x33 size,
the most common and widely compatible LUT format.

For example, if you have a 3DL LUT with 17x17x17 size and you want to obtain a 33x33x33 CUBE version,
export it from LUTs Previewer and the LUT will be resampled with a clean structure.

Use in other software

LUTs can be used in a wide variety of woftware,
whether on macOS or Windows, and even some mobile and tablet applications.

Their use is multifaceted. Whether in photography or video, on images taken with
a professional cinema camera or with a consumer DSLR camera, or even with your smartphone,
LUTs allow you to give a specific look to your images in an instant.

Keep in mind that LUTs can only affect color settings.
It's not possible to add grain, vignetting, lens corrections, or any other effects.

Here is a list of compatible apps, with links to mobile and tablets applications.

⚡ Tips

Keyboard shortcuts

Here is a summary of all the keyboard shortcuts:

Fast workflow tips

Right-clicking on a LUT in the list will allow you to immediately reveal his location in your files.
You can also copy its path to clipboard.

And by right-clicking on a group of LUTs you can refresh only that group to update its content.

How to preview quickly

Here are some tips to facilitate navigation between LUTs and images.

First, prioritize medium-sized JPG images.
There's no need to upload 8K JPGs that weigh 20 MB each.
Instead, use 1080p or 4K files of a reasonable size.

Regarding LUTs, 3DL files are less complex than CUBE files and therefore load faster.
If you have the same LUTs in both CUBE and 3DL formats, load the 3DL version in LUTs Previewer.

And for CUBE LUTs, use the standard 33x33x33 size (~900 KB/LUT) rather than 64x64x64 (~7 MB/LUT).

Finally, to navigate the application more quickly, use keyboard shortcuts.
No need to click to use LUTs Previewer; your eyes and five keys are all you need.

Troubleshooting

To reset LUTs Previewer, simply move to trash the working directory:

macOS: Users > [username] > Documents > LUTs Previewer

Windows: C: > Users > [username] > Documents > LUTs Previewer

If, for any reason, you want to reset the thumbnails of each LUT,
go to the menu: Help > Clear thumbnails cache

A bug, a question? Contact me.