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RAW with a Smartphone


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7 replies to this topic

#1
leighgion

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I just found out, only two years late, that an iPhone 7 can shoot RAW if you use a third party camera app. I used to be so much more on top of things before I had kids.

My impression so far is that it does make a subtle, but important difference in quality but is snail slow to write the bigger file. Using the first free app that would do the job (VSCO) so maybe the experience could be improved with another app.

Anybody else shooting RAW with their phones?


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#2
Ron

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I've shot a few RAW images with my iPhone SE but I'm so picky about shadow detail and noise that I haven't been very happy with my results. However, I've seen some really nice photos that others have taken with their iPhones so maybe it's just me.

 

I've been using two apps. Adobe Lightroom and ProCamera.

 

--Ron



#3
leighgion

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I've shot a few RAW images with my iPhone SE but I'm so picky about shadow detail and noise that I haven't been very happy with my results. However, I've seen some really nice photos that others have taken with their iPhones so maybe it's just me.


My iPhone 7 definitely isn’t giving my D700 any cause for concern. Even shooting RAW, I need to very carefully expose for highlights, there’s luma noise no matter how well-lit and shadows get chroma noise very fast.

Escaping the in-phone processing though, is worth it. (As expected for a phone) the built-in jpg engine is extremely heavy on noise reduction and smears out all the fine details. The RAW version is soft and noisy, but as long as I manage not to blow the highlights, the overall effect is surprisingly organic feeling — a little like consumer grade ISO 400 film and not like a smartphone shot at all.

I've been using two apps. Adobe Lightroom and ProCamera.

--Ron


Have you found a difference in the file sizes? I’ve tried Lightroom and VSCO and discovered that LR writes the files much, much faster but VSCO produces much smaller files. Wondering if one is compressing.



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#4
leighgion

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The process is troublesome compared to using the default camera app, but the results can be worth it.

ea22e9977a521e2f425c6283288effc7.jpg


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#5
Ron

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Lightroom does seem to write fairly large RAW files. I'll have to check but I think it writes larger RAW files than ProCamera. 

 

Your flower shot is about at the same level I've been getting. Nice, but as you said, not on a par with your D700. 

 

--Ron 



#6
leighgion

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I agree, but in my situation the improvement, such as it is, has been a boon.

As long as I manage the highlights and keep the ISO low, the iPhone’s sensor delivers noise performance I would compare to a disposable cam loaded with consumer grade 400 film. Makes me much more confident in doing small prints, which is a boon for a dad with two babies and mostly only one free hand.


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#7
Ron

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Well, the old axiom is as true now as it ever was... that is, the best camera is the one you have with you when you need to take a photograph.

 

Most of the time I leave my big guns at home... because I'm getting old and lazy. So, that means that my little SE is it. If I have to take a photo (or video) it'll have to do. You're in a similar situation with a couple of bouncing babies!

 

--Ron



#8
leighgion

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Well, the old axiom is as true now as it ever was... that is, the best camera is the one you have with you when you need to take a photograph.


Absolutely, but isn’t it great when exactly the same camera becomes slightly better?

Most of the time I leave my big guns at home... because I'm getting old and lazy. So, that means that my little SE is it. If I have to take a photo (or video) it'll have to do. You're in a similar situation with a couple of bouncing babies!

--Ron


You and me both. My babies are late babies.


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