In our scavenger hunt meeting today we got the iPhone 12 Pro unboxing reports from several attendees. There were questions about the improved camera quality over earlier iPhone models. Take some time to do research and experiment with cameras & iPhone models to see for yourself.
Some discussion revolved around shooting RAW on iPhone 7 and later models using 3rd Party camera apps like Obscura2, Camera+2, Halide, ProCamera, Moment and others. Apple will soon release Apple ProRAW and that will be reason for more experiments.
The earlier post today about Derrick Story's Creative Printing eBook I suggested putting his website on your regular reading rotation (new version of 3Rs) because he also links to other websites that track the technology we all use. Here are links to get you started:
The Digital Story - also has a Facebook page and he mentions "the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Bottom line: it's like the full frame version of smartphone cameras" when referencing the DPReview article "Halide's deep dive into why the iPhone 12 Pro Max is made for 'Real Pro Photography'" (His Facebook page visible without FB account posted on 11/20/2020.)
Derrick also wrote "A RAW Look at Image Differences Between Smartphones and Cameras" where he reviews images from iPhone X and Fujifilm X100V for file size, dof, color science, sharpness, shadows and highlights. (What iPhone app was used to shoot RAW photo? Maybe the Lightroom CC app.)
The Digital Story - Apple ProRAW - The Best of Both Worlds
DP Review - Apple's new ProRAW image format will capture in 12-bit RAW DNG files.
DP Review - Halide Mark II is a redesigned RAW camera app for iPhones with over 40 new and improved features - with onboard machine learning.
DP Review iPhone 12 Which models have which cameras?
Fstoppers - Apple ProRAW Redefines the Meaning of Raw Files - might be indicating that the old RAW file required processing to bring it back to life and Apple is bringing a processed RAW in our up-to-date world.
Apple Insider - Apple announces ProRAW image format for iPhone 12 Pro
Apple - iPhone 12 Pro - scroll down the page to read camera details on Night Mode, sensors, Portrait Mode, Deep Fusion and Smart HDR3. You've heard of Image Stabilization and on the 12 Pro Max is Sensor-shift OIS on the wide camera.
Not all of us will be updating to the newest iPhone. But we can keep our iOS up-to-date and update our apps. Some 3rd party cameras have advanced features that allow iPhone X and 11 Pro make amazing photographs that approach iPhone 12 Pro quality.
A recent field trip/picnic at Ice House Reservoir tells an interesting story of many camera apps. I saved 55 photos for later review, the camera apps used include ProCamera with VividHDR saved as TIFF, Apple Camera saved as HEIC, Hydra saved as JPEG and Moment saved as RAW. Many of these files range from 10MB to 18 MB. My intention is to keep several of the images as a reminder for this trip and then archive the other photos to an external hard drive. That way I'm keeping available space on my iPhone and in my 200GB iCloud subscription.
