Camera RAW in iPhone?

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NTJ_HY Author

Level 1

8 points

Camera RAW in iPhone?

Hi, I have a question with the RAW photos in iPhone.

As far as I know, iPhone didn't support RAW files when taking pictures until iPhone 12 Pro came out.

And while I was looking about informations, I got some questions.

As far as I know, a 'RAW file' in image means a image that is not touched in any ways(Compression, Color Grading..etc). And when I search for information about 'Apple ProRAW', I can only find that it gives more chance for people to edit the image. So for me, I can't find the difference between the general RAW files and the Apple ProRAW files. Is there a difference between the general RAW file and the Apple ProRAW? Or is it just a function that allows us to save RAW files in our iPhone?
In the App store, there are a lot of camera apps that support professional photo shooting. And some apps even allows us to take RAW files in our iPhones that doesn't support it in the basic camera app. Are the RAW files in these apps and the new Apple ProRAW files different?

It would be a great help if the community gives a well-grounded answer :)

And sorry for my poor English. I'm from Korea, so there could be a lot of mistakes in my grammar, nuance which can make people offended. Please know that it is not my intention to make people offended. I'll study more with my English so I can ask more properly, and help others.

I hope everyone has a fine day!

iPhone SE, iOS 14

Posted on Nov 6, 2020 3:46 AM

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Answer 1

Yer_Man

Level 10

165,906 points

Nov 6, 2020 3:52 AM in response to NTJ_HY

At heart a Raw file is the sensor dump from the camera. It is, in theory, untouched, but in practice that's not always the case. For instance in the case of ProRaw:

ProRAW, in a nutshell, will capture RAW images but apply some image processing on top. This includes merging frames from several shots captured by the cameras on the iPhone 12 Pro, using Apple’s Deep Fusion and Smart HDR tech, or applying noise reduction. But it will still leave some room for editing things like color, exposure and contrast in the same depth that can be had with the RAW format.

That's from here:

https://www.tomsguide.com/news/apple-proraw-iphone-12-pros-killer-photography-feature-explained

As for this:

In the App store, there are a lot of camera apps that support professional photo shooting. And some apps even allows us to take RAW files in our iPhones that doesn't support it in the basic camera app. Are the RAW files in these apps and the new Apple ProRAW files different?

Yes. The nature of the Raw will depend on the camera app you use.

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Answer 2

NTJ_HY Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 8, 2020 2:54 AM in response to Yer_Man

Then would it be ok to think that the 'RAW' function isn't literally RAW as the third-party apps say? It would be like 90%(Doesn't have to be 90. I just chose any number) RAW when the general meaning of RAW file is 100%?

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Answer 3

Yer_Man

Level 10

165,906 points

Nov 8, 2020 4:51 AM in response to NTJ_HY

I simply don't know. I think there are very few cases where the Raw is actually all - and only - the sensor dump from the camera. I think you'd need to research it on a case by case basis.

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Answer 4

NTJ_HY Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 8, 2020 11:57 PM in response to Yer_Man

Thx. I should ask the third-party app developers. Have a nice day :)

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Camera RAW in iPhone?

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