An alternative to Davinci Resolve for Photographers

Resolve does it all. Color.io lets you focus on color.

Photographers are making the switch from Resolve to Color.io.
Create film-like, painterly color on the web today.

Color Grading Software for Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android and iPad showcased on various devices with cinematic images.Color Grading Software for Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android and iPad showcased on various devices with cinematic images.

ComparIng Resolve with Color.io

Davinci Resolve vs Color.io

As a photographer, finding the right software to enhance and perfect your images is crucial. Davinci Resolve is an incredibly powerful and complex application for film post production. It is the industry standard for color grading films and video and it's also a popular choice for many photographers because of it's extensive set of advanced color grading tools and features. Advanced curves, color transform controls and a powerful node based grading engine just to name a few.

However all that power comes at a price:

A complex color grading node tree in Davinci Resolve with nodes for color space transforms, color balance, film emulation and grain.

That is a Resolve node tree. While it's a great way to show off your skills as a color grading wizard, working with node trees feels more like visual programming than expressively creative work while staying in a tight feedback loop. And while visual programming is powerful and required for many applications it is complete overkill for what most users actually want from a color grading tool, which is stunning color, rendered on the screen the way you felt it when you knew you got the perfect shot.

Not only does a complex and confusing interface like that come with a significant learning curve, it also gets in the way of creativity for seasoned pros, and especially for photographers with a background in layer-based editing or sequential raw editors. It just takes so long to master Resolve and there are tons of tricks and "color grading secrets" to learn before you can actually create something that looks better than your basic Lightroom edits.

This is where Color.io comes in as a strong alternative, offering a powerfully streamlined color grading tool and raw developer that abstracts the complexities of non-linear color response behaviours away at the engine level while exposing a set of powerful interface controls that are simple to use while yielding extremely nuanced results.

Every control in Color.io is driven by an engine that models the complex, non-linear response behaviours of analog film. This allows photographers to easily bring out dense, painterly colors from their images with best-in-class cinema color science, a huge preset library and powerful color transformation tools not found anywhere else.

The best Alternative to Davinci Resolve

The smarter way to color grade your images.

What makes Color.io a great alternative to Davinci Resolve for Photographers?

For photographers, Color.io provides a simplified and intuitive user experience, making it easier to achieve professional-looking color grades without having to navigate a complex and confusing node based interface. The software’s exclusive focus on color grading also means that photographers can achieve their desired color grades faster while staying in the creative zone, something that's really hard with DaVinci Resolve. Additionally, Color.io’s web-based platform offers a flexible and accessible solution for photographers, allowing them to color grade from anywhere, on any device.

Why should photographers consider Color.io as an alternative to DaVinci Resolve?

If you’re a photographer looking for a specialized and easy-to-use tool for color grading, Color.io is a great alternative to DaVinci Resolve. The software’s focus on natural and photographic film-like colors, combined with its simplified user experience, makes it a highly effective tool for achieving professional-looking color grades. Whether you’re a professional photographer or an amateur just starting out, Color.io provides an accessible and efficient solution for all your color grading needs.

Does Color.io support RAW images?

VisionColor WideGamut compared to ProPhoto RGB Gamut and sRGB Gamut

Absolutely! Raw development in Color.io is powered by VisionLog - an ultra-wide-gamut, log-encoded color space compatible with built-in ACES © color managed. The image above shows the VisionLog, ProPhotoRGB and sRGB gamut for size comparison.

After loading a raw image into Color.io, all you have to do is select "VisionLog" from the camera dropdown at the top.

The VisionLog curve has a wider dynamic range than a standard linear encoding, which means that it can capture all detail in both the highlights and shadows of an image. Compared to traditional raw development workflows you can think of the logarithmic encoding step as an automated shadow and highlight recovery that creates a low-contrast base image with all image details non-destructively compressed into a very wide tonal range. VisionLog encoded raw images are an ideal starting point for creative color grading and look development.

ACES Logo transparentHDR Logo transparentRAW Image Editor Icon3d lut logo svgVisionColor Halide Color Engine Logo SVG

But wait, there's more.

Color.io is a tool for natural color grading, driven by an engine that models the response behaviour of analog film. Most features of Color.io are free to use. Upgrade to the pro plan when you need more.

Color.io Pro Logo - Color Grading Orb on dark background with film emulation and glow halation

Every feature unlocked.

Single user on up to 2 devices. Learn More

€10 / Month (billed monthly)
€69 / Year (€5.75/mo - billed yearly)
€199 / Lifetime (incl. updates)
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Join over 100.000 filmmakers, photographers, colorists and artists at all skill levels  who craft their cinematic vision of color with the most widely adapted film emulations and highly regarded color grading tools  across various industries.