Shader Version

This setting is a backwards-compatibility option for users who have older projects that utilised outdated versions of LensNode’s shaders. In most cases, this should load the correct setting automatically when upgrading from an older version, but it can be manually changed if needed. It’s recommended to leave this setting alone unless troubleshooting, as the latest shader version is the most accurate and reliable. This setting is only available in legacy versions of LensNode.

Scale to Frame

Toggles LensNode’s automatic compensation for the stretched edges that distortion can introduce. Turn it off and you’ll most likely see stretched edges around the image. With it turned off, distortion animation can be smoother depending on the lens profile, which is why it’s exposed for users who want to handle distortion edges themselves. It’s recommended to leave this on most of the time.

Distort Depth Input

This setting allows the use of a depth map alongside distortion by also distorting the depth map, so there is no misalignment of the Bokeh Blur effect. On by default.

Process in 16-bit

This setting toggles LensNode processing with 16-bit precision, which increases performance but may in rare circumstances cause artifacting. On by default, as it rarely causes issues and greatly improves speed.

Reference Gamut Compression

LensNode uses ACEScg (AP1 Linear) internally for all its image processing. In ACES workflows, very bright and saturated light sources can create out-of-gamut values that cause visual artifacts or compositing issues. Reference Gamut Compression adjusts the most saturated and problematic pixels, fixing these artifacts. The algorithm works by compressing extreme RGB values back into a usable range, without trying to guess the “true” color. We recommend leaving this on. More info is available at ACES Central.

Aberration Max Steps

Increases the rate of sampling used for LensNode’s aberration setting. Turn this up if you notice aberration looking “steppy” or not smooth. Turning it up will impact performance, but not by a lot.

Coma Steps

By default, our custom coma effect is processed with 4 steps of repeated directional blurring. This setting allows you to increase the number of steps to smooth out the effect if it looks too steppy. A by-product of this is that the base profile settings will no longer be accurate, as adding steps changes the look of the coma a lot, and in most cases extends it out and makes it more intense. This also comes with a large performance hit, so expect LensNode to run slowly when running a high Coma Steps setting.

Bloom Clipping Repair

When shooting in log or using over-range linear images, the bloom algorithm can sometimes produce strange results. Set this to the brightest linear value of the image to bring the simulation back to its expected appearance.

User Defaults

The Save Defaults button will take every parameter in whatever state it’s currently set, and save it as the default for every new instance of LensNode. This default will also apply when any parameter is reset when using the plugin. A restart of the host and plugin is required for changes to take effect. It’s important to note that when pressing this button, every single setting is saved, so be careful what you save.

Some common use cases for this include:

• Setting your own default Input Color Space if there is one you commonly use.
• Reducing the default strength of the Vignette if you find it too strong.
• Turning Color Cast down or off if you don’t want it to interfere with your grading.

Host differences: this behaves differently in Final Cut Pro.