Miltos Pilalitos wrote:David Franzo wrote:[...]Even in RED's own REDCINE software any kind of Look Up table is added AFTER the RAW data are processed.[...]
This statement highlights the crux of the confusion with Resolve's implementation of IPP2. Looking at page 887 of the latest Resolve manual, the Grading Order of Operations is specified. Three major categories are described: Operations that take place before nodes (Camera RAW is first), Operations that take place within nodes (OpenFX is in here, many steps before LGG, Contrast/Pivot, Custom Curves, Hue/Saturation, and LUTs), and Operations that take place after nodes (including output LUTs and display LUTs).
IPP2 has a three stage pipeline the first is Primary RAW development (Conversion to RWG with Kelvin and Tint controls and Encoding to Log3G10 with ISO and Exposure controls). Implicitly there's also an input LUT that handles OLPF compensation as well. That first stage of the IPP2 pipeline delivers precisely what Camera RAW needs. The second stage is known as Grading, and includes controls for CDL curves, LUTs (aka Creative LUTs), Contrast, and Curves. For all intents and purposes, that's a Node. It could be implemented as an OFX Plugin named "IPP2 Stage 2", and it could contain all the controls described in the document 915-0190 Rev-B RED OPS, IPP2 Image Pipeline Stages.pdf. Smarter people that me might know whether the interpretation of the CDL curves is isomorphic to Resolve's "Resolve Color Management Input to Timeline Color Space Conversion or ACES IDT" or not. If so, then the IPP2 "creative LUT" could slot into Resolve's "Input LUT", and then we just have the problem of having some extra Contrast and Curve functions as a mini-node before Edit Sizing and Input Sizing. No biggie. But...if we cannot pun the CDL and creative LUT operations to what Resolve thinks its doing in the second and third stages of its pre-node operations, we're already in trouble.
But the real trouble is the third stage of the IPP2 pipeline. Again, if there were an OFX plugin called "IPP2 Stage 3" with the appropriate controls for tone mapping, output color space, highlight roll-off, HDR user nits limit, and output gamma, everything would be fine. Or if it were explained that yes, setting these values in the Camera RAW panel doesn't actually have any effect until after the output sizing operation of the "Operations that take place after nodes", we could all sleep at night. But I don't see that in the documentation, and I don't see that it any response from BMD about how IPP2 is actually implemented in R14.1.