Color correction is a huge part of achieving the precise look that you want with a film clip or video that you’re editing. This process is made vastly easier with the right software. But if you’ve ever spent time looking up the best color correction software, you know how tough it can be to find a solution that aligns with your specific editing needs.
One thing to keep in mind throughout your search is that color correction isn’t exactly the same thing as color grading. And having a good color grading software is important.
But if you’re serious about getting the best color on your edits, then you’ve come to the right place. So, keep reading to see our five favorite color correction software options of 2021.
5 Best Color Correction Software
Color Finale 2
Color Finale 2 is one of the very best color correction software options that we’ve seen. It was designed to be simple to use without sacrificing anything in the way of functionality.
Plus, the software is super fast. It offers real-time processing and has semi-automated functionality. All of these features combine to make color correction an incredibly fast process on Color Finale 2.
Here are some of the program’s best new features for color correcting:
- Masking
- Area tracker
- Film emulation tools
- Modern sharpening algorithm
- Video analysis tools
Click here to start your free Color Finale 2 trial.
DaVinci Resolve (Blackmagic Design)
Davinci Resolve is another excellent color correction software that should be on your radar. It’s packed with a ton of useful features, such as nodes. Nodes let you layer together different video clips like lego blocks and adjust their color in a wide variety of ways.
The latest edition of DaVinci Resolve includes features like:
- Auto color balance
- Noise reduction
- Matching tools
- Power windows (which allow you to adjust the color of specific regions of your frames)
You can try DaVinci Resolve for free or purchase it full price on Amazon!
Red Giant Magic Bullet Colorista
Colorista is a color correction software that’s ideal for people who are just getting started with this type of editing. It includes a guided color correction tool, which helps beginners get the right colors without having to adjust all of the inputs themselves.
The software can also be a strong choice for more experienced editors as well. And it’s actually a plugin, so you can use it with whatever editing software you prefer. For example, Colorista works seamlessly with the Adobe suite of products. It also includes a ton of LUT presets and support for LOG footage, which will be helpful if you’re a video editor.
You can find Colorista to purchase at Amazon.
Adobe Premiere Pro – Lumetri
Adobe Premiere Pro can be an excellent color correction software for editors on a budget. If you’re already paying for a subscription to this tool, you don’t necessarily have to pay more to get a separate color correction software thanks to the helpful features already present in Adobe.
For example, Adobe Premiere Pro lets you save presets, which you can immediately pull up for future edits whenever you want. It also features an interface that will be immediately familiar to anyone who has used Adobe editing products in the past.
The specific part of Adobe Premiere Pro that focuses on color correction is called the Lumetri Panel. This features a host of color wheels, curves, and slides, that will give you the ability to control each aspect of your image’s or video clip’s color.
Try purchasing Premiere Pro and Lumetri!
Skylum Luminar
Skylum Luminar is a popular editing software for photographers. But it’s also really good at color correction. One of the main benefits of the tool is that you can own it forever by paying a one-time fee instead of having to pay for a monthly subscription.
Luminar offers all of the top color correction functionality that you would expect in one of the best color correction tools on the market. This is a list that includes:
- Develop
- Denoise
- Saturation/Vibrance
- Advanced Contrast
- And much more
You can purchase Luminar 4 at Amazon.