Saturation controls the intensity of the colors in the picture. This implementation avoids the common issue of oversaturation—where colors become too strong and unnatural—by considering both local contrast and the film’s response curve. When increased, colors become richer, but remain balanced within the film aesthetic. When reduced, the picture becomes more muted, but still retains color structure. In simple terms, this control lets you make the colors more vibrant or more subdued while keeping them looking natural.

On the left, saturation is set to 0.750. On the right, default.

On the left, saturation is set to -0.750. On the right, default.