Best software for color correction

[Miguel Lopez]

Hi!
What do you think it is the best software for color correction that can run on a PC?

IN terms of bit depth, posibilities, easy workflow, and most accurate.

[Thomas Smet]

Combustion is pretty good and it can work with 8bit, 10 bit and float. It does have some pretty advanced color controls but it renders very slow.

[Glenn Chan]

I prefer Vegas. A broad palette of tools, a good workflow if the edit started in Vegas.

2- I like After Effects too, although it's limited in some important ways.

The workflow is terrible.

The saturation is terribly tacky, and secondary color correction (via hue/saturation) is tacky. By tacky, I mean the results look bad. It's something to do with how the algorithm is programmed (it uses HSL color space, which is not very perceptually accurate).
Saturation is really an important basic control, so it's a shame that it's not that great.

I like AE more than combustion... although I haven't used combustion that much (it doesn't seem to have a decent secondary color corrector at all).

3- I tried the old versions of PPro 1.5 and Color Finesse 1 and didn't like them... missing important tools. CF is still missing geometry-based corrections / masking corrections to areas of an image AFAIK. Ppro has a terrible interface.

4- I played around a little with Avid Media Composer, it's ok. It's good if you want to color correct a lot of stuff fast. Not to be confused with Symphony or Nitris, which are more powerful (and quite expensive).

[Miguel Lopez]

I use Vegas now, but i find some weak points:

- FX are not as precise in the input as in AE. Try to use curves or levels, not accurate. Of course it works if you input the value, but that is not the point. I want to use the mouse and make easily a curve.

- bit depth. Whatever vegas works on, it could be improved. You get very soon degradation of the image in gradient colors and dark areas.

[Peter Jefferson]

" I want to use the mouse and make easily a curve."

Hold down CTRL while clicking and dragging for a finer response, or cahge ur window viewing size to somthign larger..

- bit depth. Whatever vegas works on,
((8 Bit at this time))

it could be improved. You get very soon degradation of the image in gradient colors and dark areas.

((Im yet to see this.. i work with almost every format on the market, either directly or through intermediate 's and im yet to find any degredation in highly gradated footage.I do however notice blockiness on blown out shots which have been run through the curce, but this can be fixed with a tweak of levels.. ))

I thought PPro2 would have an edge over Vegas6 for colour corrections, but it doesnt IMO. One thing vegas DOESNT have is a white balance correction, which would be a welcome addition to the tools made available, but for now, the copious amount of colour treating tools pretty much allows u to do anything. Theres even mike crashes auto levels plugin which is free..

[Nate Fields]

vegas all the way. it renders fast too without any extra effects