LUTs are not looks. People often misuse the two terms interchangeably. The “look” in Look Up Tables is the action of seeking a value from that table to match an input value. However, they both result in changing color values somehow. But the difference is that LUTs are standardized and regulated. You are obligated to use them on many occasions, in same manners you do to set proper color space when working with images.
I’ve only been using my SOMY A7S2 and Adobe Premiere Pro CC for Four year, but except for day 1, when I was trying stuff out, I’ve never once used a LUT. I just prefer to quickly grade each scene as I see them.
Some time I use LUTs is as a guide on my monitor to see what the final product could look like. I don’t embed them into the video though. I go back and color grade from scratch cause I have an idea of what I was wanting.
Amir Hashmi 