Gamma Correction Tone Mapping Operator Removed - Bring it back!

[fraine7]

I've been waiting since the beginning of time for a Gamma related tone-mapping operator in Corona VFB.

It was introduced in V11 HF1 and I finally got to use it yesterday on a new project but I'm now seeing that it has been removed in V11 Hotfix 2.

Why?

Regardless of colour workflows, OCIO etc. etc. it was an incredibly useful VFB addition and I can't understand what harm would be caused by leaving it in.

Can we please have it back?

[pokoy]

Same here - I don't get it. There are cases where this is useful, technical or artistic, removing it just doesn't make sense. On the contrary, it was something that was missing for some users and requested, please bring it back.

[piotrus3333]

I would love to hear the reasoning behind that decision.

[Okmijun]

I would to hear it is back!

[TomG]

Pretty sure there was a reply in another thread about this where it was answered, but just in case not - the Gamma operator in its previous form was added purely to overcome a technical issue with color management in Max, which is no longer relevant so it has been removed. In terms of having it as an artistic parameter, we'll look into how that might fit in with tone mapping in a way that makes sense there, e.g. similar to how you find adjustments in Photoshop, which may be something different than the parameter that was there before (stuff like Offset etc. too). So we'll look into re-adding it, at the same time we look into other VFB 2 things that we may be changing (which may not be 12, as the work there will focus first on the recode and reskin and then we'll see how far we get otherwise).

[TomG]

(there was too much of a chance of people breaking color management by thinking it was needed when it wasn't based on the brief period of time where it was needed, which is why it doesn't just hang around in its previous form until something new can be considered)

[fraine7]

Thanks for the reply TomG, I do understand that it was only introduced to fix/correct a technical issue, but now that we've seen and used it for artistic purposes it becomes hard to forget, and it does beg the question, why has it taken so long to be included?

Would it be possible to reintroduce the operator under a different name so as to avoid the colour management connection, something like 'midtone depth or midtone contrast'?

Seems a shame to leave such a useful and effective post-production tool on the shelf when all of the work has already been done by the developers.

[piotrus3333]

For what it's worth - Gamma operator lets you use lut files in Image Editor in the same manner as in every other software. just makes things simpler for the time being.

[pokoy]

For what it's worth - Gamma operator lets you use lut files in Image Editor in the same manner as in every other software. just makes things simpler for the time being.

And that's already enough a reason to bring it back imo.

It looks like the Corona team is trying to protect the user from any wrong direction in postproduction, omitting the fact that some users might know exactly what they're doing or need that functionality.

[piotrus3333]

if "avoiding user mistakes" is THE strategy - was anything done about Tone Curve after this thread:
https://forum.corona-renderer.com/index.php?topic=40616.0

an updated tooltip or something?

[dj_buckley]

if "avoiding user mistakes" is THE strategy - was anything done about Tone Curve after this thread:
https://forum.corona-renderer.com/index.php?topic=40616.0

an updated tooltip or something?

No

[piotrus3333]

if "avoiding user mistakes" is THE strategy - was anything done about Tone Curve after this thread:
https://forum.corona-renderer.com/index.php?topic=40616.0

an updated tooltip or something?

No

well, there you go.
where is a sensible limit of protecting users from "breaking color management" (the non-existent one?) by adjusting gamma.

anyway..

+1 for Gamma operator, it should be there.