Although my iPhone SAYS its shooting RAW, I can never seem to access a RAW file. It only airdrops a 1.3MB jpeg, and I don't see "RAW" as a choice under "Media Types" in Photos either on my desktop or in iCloud. HOW do I actually access the RAW files?
iPhone XS
Your signature says "iPhone XS". Is that your iPhone model? Only the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max with iOS 14.3 or later are supposed to be able to shoot in RAW. The TechSpecs for the "iPhone XS" are showing "Image formats captured: HEIF and JPEG", not Apple Pro RAW.
If your photo has been taken I RAW, it should be showing the "RAW" badge in the upper left corner. And "Albums > Media" Types would be showing RAW as the last item.
To transfer the original file, try to share an iCloud Link.
I have the iPhone 12Pro (with the 3 cameras) and when I shoot a photo it DOES say “RAW.” But I have no album that says RAW nor do the photos download as the dng files they are supposed to. Here is a screen grab of the last one I shot
So I've just tried developing that image in affinity photo.
I can't seem to get a good exposure with that software either. Somehow the iphone 12 raw DNG files are not set up to be recognisable to software that otherwise has no problems with other DNG files.
OMG this is the FIRST time I have been able to download it as a DNG! Not sure why I can't edit them on my iphone or see any folder marked specifically for "RAW" but this feels like a step in the right direction!
So with @léonie's help, I was able to finally DOWNLOAD a DNG, but I had to guess which photo it was. (I don't shoot everything in RAW.) in iCloud, it did NOT have the "RAW" icon nor is there any indication of which images are raw in the "media types" albums. I see only the following:
It might be that the controls work differently than you are used to in photoshop. To bring up shadows, or down higlights, I use the shadow or highlight tools.
See the blocked out shadows in the trees mid left in my shot above. This is what the shadow tool brings out...
I can't get anywhere near that with the shot taken at the same time without raw.
Try some side by side comparisons with raw/non raw - I'm sure you'll see a diference in the exposure latitude you can get. It might not be as good as you get if you are used to raw from an SLR though. We are still talking about a phone camera sensor here.
When I downloaded the dng I could use camera RAW in photoshop to edit it. When I edit the same photo with my iPhone, it seems to not have the amount of range I would expect from a raw file and edits exactly the same as a jpeg.
the thing I’m still hung up on is why my iPhotos doesn’t indicate which photos are raw. I was able to download them using the technique léonie suggested, but I had to guess which ones were RAW.
Again - I am certain if you do a comparison with a raw and non raw photo of the same subject at the same time, you'll see the difference.
Probably photoshop - being a pro and expensive app - will do a better job than the included app on your phone.
The Photos app (I assume you are not using iPhoto which doesn't work with Big Sur) will normally show the filename below the thumbnail (unless you are showing square thumbnails). This will include the extension DNG for raw versions.
I found both "keep originals" and "download and keep originals" and checked them both in the photos setting of my iphone. Even after a hard reset, this made no difference.
Are you using iCloud photos? If so, why are you airdropping rather than syncing with iCloud?
Also - what version of MacOS do you have?
I have tried both airdropping AND syncing with iCloud. I am not 100% sure of my MacOS, but the computer is only a year old so it’s very current.
I also use Catalina and wanted to edit the dng files with photoshop or Lightroom. But even on iCloud, they are only small JPEGs. No where does it say DNG.
No. I will take the shot and immediately airdrop it or try to find it in iCloud because I heard editing it on the iPhone can affect it. I’m seriously baffled.
I can't even edit my RAWs on the iphone. I am just able to edit a jpeg version. When you edit on your iphone, do you have a DIFFERENT set of tools?
No, I just edit it as any normal photo. Open it - see raw icon top left, and tap edit. Here is a screenshot of the edit screen on the phone.
I have 14.4
Can't access RAW files - iPhone 12Pro
