Raw Data from Apple's iOS Devices

[Chris Kern]

Apple finally is planning to support the capture of raw data (DNG file format) from iPhone and iPad cameras with the release of iOS 10.

[eronald]

Apple finally is planning to support the capture of raw data (DNG file format) from iPhone and iPad cameras with the release of iOS 10.

Yeah. If they improve the cameras enough I'll get another iPhone.

[rdonson]

Are there any details yet about the RAW data?  16 bit color? Etc.

[Chris Kern]

Are there any details yet about the RAW data?  16 bit color? Etc.

I don't see anything in the Apple application programming interface that either specifies or restricts that.  I presume it would depend on the capabilities of the camera hardware for the particular device and to what extent and how the application developer decided to compress the raw output files.  The API seems quite permissive in that respect:

In addition to basic capture of still images, a photo output supports RAW-format capture, bracketed capture of multiple images, Live Photos, and wide-gamut color. You can choose to have images delivered in RAW format, a compressed format such as JPEG, or both. . . .

I suspect some if not all apps will offer the end-user a choice of compression techniques because many iPhones and iPads, especially older ones, won't have sufficient free mass storage to accommodate a large number of raw image files.

[digitaldog]

Are there any details yet about the RAW data?  16 bit color? Etc.

RAW image file support is now available on iOS devices that use the A8 or A9 CPU. Core Image can decode RAW images produced by several third-party cameras as well as images produced by the iSight camera of supported iOS devices (to learn more, see [/size]AVFoundation[/size][/color]). To process RAW images, use filterWithImageData:options:[/color][/i]

[Dan Wells]

iPhone sensors have much less than 8 stops of dynamic range, so I'm not sure I see the advantage of raw. Unless apple's software is lousy, they should be able to fit the full range of the phone's sensor into an 8-bit jpeg? Apple is usually very good at software, so is this simply for avoiding compression, or  are we about to see a radically improved iPhone sensor that pushes 8 stops of dr? The current one seems like about 5-6 stops to me... This is the same issue as compact cameras that had raw modes before the advent of 1" sensors - they technically captured a raw file, but it had little or no extra latitude, because the sensor's output fit in a jpeg...

[digitaldog]

iPhone sensors have much less than 8 stops of dynamic range, so I'm not sure I see the advantage of raw.

Controlling the actual rendering! There's more to that than DR.

[Telecaster]

Yep, RAW for me is more about tonal balance and gradation than maximum DR.

-Dave-