Changing Gamma Settings for Video and Imported Still Images
When you import certain video or still-image formats, Final Cut Pro attempts to determine what gamma correction has already been applied to the media and stores that value in the clip’s Gamma Level property. During playback, Final Cut Pro uses the Gamma Level property to determine whether a clip requires gamma correction.

In general, Final Cut Pro assumes the following:

Most RGB-encoded media (;such as TIFF or the Apple Animation codec) has an implicit gamma of 1.8. This assumption is correct for images created on a Mac computer with display profile gamma set to 1.8. If the image file was created on a different platform, or on a Mac computer with display profile gamma set to 2.2, you may need to adjust the clip’s Gamma Level property to 2.2.

Because the Apple ProRes 4444 codec has been designed to work with Final Cut Pro and has a native gamma of 2.2, it automatically eliminates potential gamma shifts.

Y′CBCR media has an implicit gamma of 2.2. You cannot adjust the gamma of Y′CBCR clips.

A Common Gamma Correction Scenario
One of the most common situations that requires you to change the Gamma Level property of a clip is when you are rendering an RGB clip within a Y′CBCR sequence. Final Cut Pro uses QuickTime to import RGB media and always assumes that RGB media (;except Apple ProRes 4444) has a gamma of 1.8. When Final Cut Pro renders these clips in a Y′CBCR sequence, the gamma is adjusted by a factor of 1.22 to match the 2.2 gamma compensation required for Y′CBCR.

The problem with this default behavior is that RGB files are not always created with a gamma of 1.8, even on Mac computers. In this case, you can adjust the gamma level of your imported RGB clips accordingly.