Iphone Apps for manual control and raw

[Chris L]

I just bought the iPhone xs and am impressed with the camera. I would like to get a better camera app so I can manually expose and focus better within the app. Primarily for Stills but if there is something for Video that stops the lens breathing that would be great. I have also heard about the ability to shoot Raw Still files with other apps but not sure if this is actually true raw and worthwhile? Anyways I saw a few apps listed in this article and am hoping to get some of the users here advice on these or other apps:

https://www.macrumors.com/guide/best-camera-apps-ios/

Thanks for any input.

PS, I am not interested in using Filters and HDR shooting

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

I am using LR Mobile. Allows raw shooting and postprocessing.

[fdisilvestro]

Agree with Slobodan, LR is great for pictures.
For video I would recommend Filmic Pro

[Chris L]

hi I am using Lightroom for Stills and its great except........ theres no way I have found to download the png files onto my Mac computer with a hardwire. I don't use the cloud. When i plug in the phone to the Mac and open PHOTOS it only shows the jpgs. Anyone find a way to download 20-30 dng files onto their Mac?

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Since you refuse to join the 21st century (i.e., the cloud ), it requires a bit more steps:

1. From the LR Mobile, choose: Export Original
2. Destination: Files
3. Choose: On My Phone (select any appropriate folder there)

Once the original file is there, you can transfer it to your iMac using any traditional method, e.i., AirDrop, email, etc.

[digitaldog]

It appears you're asking about getting raw from your iPhone and what app to do so (while other's are taking about what they use after, like LR). To answer that question, I use Halide to product raw from my iPhone. I don't use it 100% of the time, often the camera JPEGs are fine for the task but if I want to shoot something in raw, and I want a great deal more control, Halide has all the necessary tools IMHO.


Hope that helps.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

... (while others are talking about what they use after, like LR)...

No, we are talking about LR Mobile, and app for iPhone.

[digitaldog]

No, we are talking about LR Mobile, and app for iPhone.

Don't use it, LR Mobile makes your iPhone shoot/save raw?
Halide IS an iPhone app that allows the camera to capture and save raw FWIW. Lots of very powerful shooting features among them, the ability to save raw.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Don't use it, LR Mobile makes your iPhone shoot/save raw?...

Yes, DNG.

[digitaldog]

Yes, DNG.

Well DNG doesn't equal raw. But I'll take your word it's really a raw in the DNG wrapper, not a JPEG in a DNG wrapper. But look at the OP's question below:

Anyways I saw a few apps listed in this article and am hoping to get some of the users here advice on these or other apps:
https://www.macrumors.com/guide/best-camera-apps-ios/

LR isn't listed, not sure why. Halide is listed, I use it, I recommend it too. Now you can see if LR Mobile has the same shooting feature set or not.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Well DNG doesn't equal raw. But I'll take your word it's really a raw in the DNG wrapper, not a JPEG in a DNG wrapper...

How one would tell the difference?

[digitaldog]

How one would tell the difference?

You'd have to extract the image from the container.
But you can easily place a JPEG into a DNG. And it's still a JPEG, it isn't raw. OR the DNG might be lossy, still not really raw. Or Linear DNG. I don't use that product, haven't looked or asked Adobe.
DNG doesn't equal raw, that's important to consider. Now again, it's entirely possible LR Mobile is placing the same raw data Halide provides and just converts it to DNG. That would make sense in the Adobe way of working.
On top of all that, the OP should consider what tools are provided for shooting in LR Mobile compared to those recommend in his URL and by me.

[Manoli]

DNG doesn't equal raw, that's important to consider. Now again, it's entirely possible LR Mobile is placing the same raw data Halide provides and just converts it to DNG. That would make sense in the Adobe way of working.

Halide exports a DNG file. It's not RAW in the strict sense but Halide's SmartRAW.
" We use a combination of entirely new logic for exposing the image and a touch of magic to get superior RAW shots. "

https://blog.halide.cam/halide-1-10-the-smartest-raw-8dd2c0e44a77
https://blog.halide.cam/iphone-xs-why-its-a-whole-new-camera-ddf9780d714c

[digitaldog]

Halide exports a DNG file. It's not RAW in the strict sense but Halide's SmartRAW.
" We use a combination of entirely new logic for exposing the image and a touch of magic to get superior RAW shots. "

https://blog.halide.cam/halide-1-10-the-smartest-raw-8dd2c0e44a77
https://blog.halide.cam/iphone-xs-why-its-a-whole-new-camera-ddf9780d714c

I see nothing there that states this isn't raw data outside of using Auto Exposure with smart raw enabled. They describe 'smart raw' as smart in terms of using auto exposure which would be smart (smarter than exposing for a JPEG). They state in the URL you provided:

How Smart RAW Works
Smart RAW is our better algorithm for choosing shutter speed and ISO when shooting RAWs on an iPhone XS. There’s nothing to turn on. When you shoot with Auto-Exposure and RAW enabled, it just works. We think Smart RAW is vastly superior to the system auto-exposure when shooting RAW.
Now they do produce a JPEG from the two raws (how else could they combine two actual raws)?
But outside of smart raw; Auto Exposure?
https://blog.halide.cam/the-power-of-raw-on-iphone-part-1-shooting-raw-ef02becb7002

[Manoli]

I see nothing there that states this isn't raw data outside of using Auto Exposure with smart raw enabled. They describe 'smart raw' as smart in terms of using auto exposure which would be smart (smarter than exposing for a JPEG). They state in the URL you provided:

Now they do produce a JPEG from the two raws (how else could they combine two actual raws)?
But outside of smart raw; Auto Exposure?
https://blog.halide.cam/the-power-of-raw-on-iphone-part-1-shooting-raw-ef02becb7002

Andrew,
Not sure. Further down they state
" Our final algorithm accounts for even more small details like the focal length of the camera and optical image stabilization, as well as some secret sauce we can’t discuss which gives a fantastic final RAW image as the result."

I've been down this before in another thread with FranciscoDiSilvestro who showed that Lr Mobile did indeed produce unprocessed RAWs. Whatever it is or does, Halide does produce excellent files but on the face of it they aren't necessarily RAW in the purest sense.

Frankly, apart from being of academic interest, does it matter ?

[Manoli]

hi I am using Lightroom for Stills and its great except........ theres no way I have found to download the png files onto my Mac computer with a hardwire. I don't use the cloud. When i plug in the phone to the Mac and open PHOTOS it only shows the jpgs. Anyone find a way to download 20-30 dng files onto their Mac?

Short answer is DON'T open Photos.
MacOS has utility named Image Capture.
Connect your iPhone via the USB cable.
Open Image Capture and you'll see nothing but JPEGs or the newer format HEIF in Camera Roll
You'll see a blank placeholder next to the jpg where the original shot was captured in RAW (DNG)
Select your files and destination folder and click Import.

[digitaldog]

It only matters to me if the company is untruthful. Like that one company that claims to convert JPEG into raw. Otherwise I have no reason to believe both iPhone supported products do not provide actual raw data. Then DNG.

[fdisilvestro]

In regards to LR, we have been through this many times on this forum. LR Mobile DNG's are undemosaiced raw files.

There is another way to transfer the files to the computer, but it has the drawback that you cannot select individual images, only the whole LR folder, which can be quite large if you use it a lot.

The way to do it is by using iTunes in your computer with your iphone connected with the cable. Go to your phone in Itunes and select "File Sharing" and search for LR in the middle column and select it. Then scroll up and you will see a few folders on the right. Your photos are likely located in the large folder with a weird name. Select the folder and scroll down and click on the "Save button".

Screenshots attached

[Chris L]

Short answer is DON'T open Photos.
MacOS has utility named Image Capture.
Connect your iPhone via the USB cable.
Open Image Capture and you'll see nothing but JPEGs or the newer format HEIF in Camera Roll
You'll see a blank placeholder next to the jpg where the original shot was captured in RAW (DNG)
Select your files and destination folder and click Import.

thanks. i tried this but only lets me download DNG files that are in my camera roll. to do that I have to place them there one at a time on my phone.

[Chris L]

In regards to LR, we have been through this many times on this forum. LR Mobile DNG's are undemosaiced raw files.

There is another way to transfer the files to the computer, but it has the drawback that you cannot select individual images, only the whole LR folder, which can be quite large if you use it a lot.

The way to do it is by using iTunes in your computer with your iphone connected with the cable. Go to your phone in Itunes and select "File Sharing" and search for LR in the middle column and select it. Then scroll up and you will see a few folders on the right. Your photos are likely located in the large folder with a weird name. Select the folder and scroll down and click on the "Save button".

Screenshots attached

thanks for this as well but when i followed your instructions i got stuck. my phone only has "iTunes Store" and when I open it I don't see anything like what your screen grabs show. is it under my phone's Settings?