Compares captured chart patches with reference values
Color Match is not a whole-scene AI correction tool. It relies on known chart patches and uses them as a measurable reference point.
Color encyclopedia · Color Match
Color Match in DaVinci Resolve
Color Match is useful when a real color chart was captured in the shot. It can create a technical baseline quickly — but only when the chart, source gamma and target space are set correctly.
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real chart
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key space settings
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workflow steps
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magic buttons
What Color Match actually does
It matches a known chart — it does not grade the whole scene for you
This distinction matters. Color Match can help establish a technical baseline, but the artistic grade still belongs to Primaries, nodes, secondaries and your judgement.
Provides a fast technical starting point
With a properly captured chart, the tool can move the image toward a useful technical baseline. The result still needs to be checked in the Viewer and on scopes.
Works best as a separate technical step
It is cleaner to keep Color Match separate from the creative look. That makes the automatic match easy to compare, understand and disable if necessary.
Does not replace manual grading
A chart helps describe technical color, but it does not know the creative intent, skin tone under the actual lighting, scene mood or desired contrast. It is a starting point, not a finished grade.
Real Color Match panel
Four parts you need to understand before pressing Match
The real Resolve panel is more useful than an abstract diagram: chart selection, reference patches and gamma/color-space settings are visible exactly where you work with them.
Practical workflow
How to use Color Match without turning it into a one-click gamble
The order matters more than the Match button itself. A correct chart, technical context and alignment come first; evaluation comes immediately after.
01
Capture the chart under the same lighting as the scene
Color Match is useful only when the chart represents the actual shooting conditions. A chart lit differently from the scene no longer describes the scene as expected.
02
Choose the correct ColorChecker type
The Resolve chart preset must match the physical chart in the shot. Different charts use different patch sets and layouts.
03
Check Source Gamma and the target space
Before matching, define the camera signal and the intended target. An automatic button cannot compensate for a wrong technical context.
04
Align the patches before pressing Match
The sampling grid needs to sit on the correct chart patches. After Match, compare the result with the source and verify the image on scopes.
Common mistakes
Why Color Match sometimes makes the image worse
Most failures are not caused by the Match algorithm itself, but by a wrong chart, wrong technical assumptions or the expectation that a chart can make creative decisions.
1
Pressing Match without a chart in the frame
Color Match is not a universal automatic grader. Without a reference chart in the shot, there are no chart patches to match.
2
Selecting a similar but different chart
If the selected ColorChecker does not match the physical chart, the reference patches and values do not correspond to what the camera captured.
3
Guessing the Source Gamma
Gamma and color space are part of the technical logic. A wrong source setting can produce a completed match that looks worse than the original visually and on scopes.
4
Treating the result as a finished grade
Even a good Color Match does not make creative decisions for the colorist. Balance, contrast, skin tone, local secondaries and the creative look still remain.
A good Color Match is easy to compare and easy to discard. Keep it on a clean technical stage, check the result against scopes and the real scene, and continue the grade only if it genuinely gives you a better starting point.
FAQ
Color Match in DaVinci Resolve: common questions
The practical questions that matter before you rely on a ColorChecker-based match.
What does Color Match do in DaVinci Resolve?
Color Match uses a color chart captured in the shot as a reference. After choosing the chart type and technical settings, Resolve matches the chart patches toward expected values and creates a technical starting point for further grading.
Can Color Match be used without a ColorChecker?
Not for its normal purpose. The tool expects a supported color chart that was actually captured by the camera. Without one, Color Match is not a general-purpose automatic correction button.
What should Source Gamma be set to?
Source Gamma should correspond to the source camera signal or the current technical state of the footage. The exact choice depends on the format and color-management workflow, so it should not be selected simply by how the image looks.
Does Color Match replace Color Wheels?
No. Color Match provides a technical starting point from a chart. Color Wheels are used for manual control of luminance, balance, contrast and the overall color state of the image.
Should you always use Match when a ColorChecker is in the shot?
No. A chart can also be used as a visual and measurement reference. If the color-management pipeline already provides a correct technical baseline, automatic Color Match is not guaranteed to improve the result.
Measured reference
Colour Match is only as reliable as the chart capture and its interpretation
A ColorChecker is not a magic cinematic button. It is a measured reference with known colour patches. Resolve compares what the camera captured with the expected values for the selected chart and builds a correction. If the chart is lit differently, reflecting glare, the wrong chart model is selected or Source Gamma does not match the current signal state, the algorithm will faithfully solve the wrong problem.
Chart
known reference patches
Source Gamma
how the Color Match input is encoded
Target
the intended normalised result
Capture rule
capture a new chart when scene/lighting changes
Technical reference
What Colour Match needs before you press Match
| Element | What it describes | Good practice | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chart model | the exact reference values and patch layout | select the exact chart used on set | choosing a visually similar chart |
| Chart alignment | which image area corresponds to each patch | align the grid accurately inside the patches | including borders, glare, shadow or background |
| Source Gamma | the transfer/gamma state entering the palette | match the upstream transform and current pipeline | declaring camera log after a CST has already transformed it |
| Target Gamma / Colour Space | the normalised state the correction targets | choose a target compatible with the downstream pipeline | performing a display transform here and again in RCM/CST |
| Colour Temp | the expected chart illumination characteristic | use the actual capture condition when the parameter is needed | correcting intentional coloured scene light as if it were a camera error |
| White Level | the reference level for the brightest patch in the algorithm | set deliberately and verify on the waveform after Match | judging only by whether the white patch looks white |
Working sequence
1. Capture the chart as a technical reference
Place it in the same illumination as the subject, without strong glare or clipping. Capture a new chart when lighting, location or scene conditions change.
2. Establish a known signal state
Decide whether Colour Match receives camera log, a transformed working-space signal or display space. Source Gamma and target settings must describe that actual order.
3. Align the grid and match on a separate node
A separate node makes bypass comparison immediate. In the official Colorist Guide example, Colour Match is placed after an INPUT CST at Group Pre-Clip level — the important point is the deliberate ordering.
4. Verify neutrals, skin and neighbouring shots
The chart gives a technical base, not a final creative grade. Compare RGB Parade, vectorscope, skin tones and shot continuity, then continue with manual Primaries.
Diagnostics
The match introduces a strange cast
Likely cause
glare/shadow on the chart, wrong chart model or inaccurate alignment
What to check
zoom in, inspect every patch and reshoot the chart when the source capture is poor
Contrast becomes excessive after the match
Likely cause
Source Gamma/Target do not match the current signal state or a transform is duplicated
What to check
upstream CST/RCM, Source Gamma, Target Gamma/Space and output transform
The chart matches but the rest of the scene does not
Likely cause
the chart and subject are under different light, illumination is mixed, or camera spectral responses differ
What to check
capture conditions and manual shot matching after technical normalisation