Best camera app for Galaxy S7?

I have a Samsung Galaxy S7 phone, model SM-930V, running Android 7.0. I'd like a camera app that allows full manual control and records raw files. What do you recommend, and why?

Some additional issues for me:

* A raw file is useless if your raw converter can't convert it. On one hand, something saved as a standard DNG ought to be usable at least in Adobe Lightroom. On the other hand, a raw file from any device that does not normally / natively output raw files won't be recognized in at least some raw converters. I have faced this issue with raw files made using the CHDK firmware hack in my Canon compact cameras, earlier with .CR2 files and more recently as .DNG files. I'd appreciate any suggestions or comments on this.

* It seems pretty normal these days for in-device JPEG creation to include corrections for the camera's geometric distortions and chromatic aberrations. I don't know whether there is a way to 'transfer' this information / functionality to a raw converter. My experience with CHDK-created DNGs is that I can usually dial in decent correction for geometric distortions, but they vary by focal length and focus distance, so it can be a PITA. Also, manually dialing in good corrections for chromatic aberrations can be tough.

* At some point a phone's limited controls will impair reasonable functioning. How well / how conveniently an app lets you control shutter speed, gain (sensitivity / 'ISO'), flash output, etc. can be a significant issue. And then of course there's triggering the shutter, for which a touch-screen is IMO a poor functional choice.

Thanks!

NAwlins Contrarian wrote:

I have a Samsung Galaxy S7 phone, model SM-930V, running Android 7.0. I'd like a camera app that allows full manual control and records raw files. What do you recommend, and why?

Some additional issues for me:

* A raw file is useless if your raw converter can't convert it. On one hand, something saved as a standard DNG ought to be usable at least in Adobe Lightroom. On the other hand, a raw file from any device that does not normally / natively output raw files won't be recognized in at least some raw converters. I have faced this issue with raw files made using the CHDK firmware hack in my Canon compact cameras, earlier with .CR2 files and more recently as .DNG files. I'd appreciate any suggestions or comments on this.

* It seems pretty normal these days for in-device JPEG creation to include corrections for the camera's geometric distortions and chromatic aberrations. I don't know whether there is a way to 'transfer' this information / functionality to a raw converter. My experience with CHDK-created DNGs is that I can usually dial in decent correction for geometric distortions, but they vary by focal length and focus distance, so it can be a PITA. Also, manually dialing in good corrections for chromatic aberrations can be tough.

* At some point a phone's limited controls will impair reasonable functioning. How well / how conveniently an app lets you control shutter speed, gain (sensitivity / 'ISO'), flash output, etc. can be a significant issue. And then of course there's triggering the shutter, for which a touch-screen is IMO a poor functional choice.

Thanks!

Seeing as you haven't got any replies in 5 days I'll try to answer as best I can though I have the S6 but I guess the cameras are similar. I find the default camera app quite capable. As far as i can see allows full control of all shooting variables.

Only 2 quibbles: no live histogram and reverts to jpg only every time it's turned off or at least haven't found a way to make it stay on raw. Therefore I've tried other apps. To my surprise some don't even support 16:9. The best I've found is FV-5. Full controls, histogram display, only lacks horizon which isn't a big deal for me.

I use Bridge+ACR+Photoshop. No problems recognising dng files. One thing that surprises me is that Samsung hasn't bothered to correct the moustache distortion in phone. It's very obvious if you have straight lines near the edge. Don't know if the S7 differs. I take care of it in post with PTLens. Haven't noticed any CA.

Seeing as you haven't got any replies in 5 days I'll try to answer as best I can though I have the S6 but I guess the cameras are similar. I find the default camera app quite capable. As far as i can see allows full control of all shooting variables.

Only 2 quibbles: no live histogram and reverts to jpg only every time it's turned off or at least haven't found a way to make it stay on raw. Therefore I've tried other apps. To my surprise some don't even support 16:9. The best I've found is FV-5. Full controls, histogram display, only lacks horizon which isn't a big deal for me.

Thanks for the reply. Maybe I'm a special kind of stupid, but at first I couldn't find any such controls much less a raw option on the default camera app on the S7. After your report, I tried the three little unlabeled dots just above the shutter button, and the left one lets me select "Pro" mode, which it says records raw + JPEG, and lets you control all the parameters (other than aperture--I assume there is no iris that can stop down). Thanks for encouraging me to look!

Alas, you have to hit that tiny button to enter Pro mode every. damn. time. you. launch. the. app. You apparently can't make it the default, or even make the mode persistent to the next launch. What a fail! Well, much better than nothing I guess.

I use Bridge+ACR+Photoshop. No problems recognising dng files. One thing that surprises me is that Samsung hasn't bothered to correct the moustache distortion in phone. It's very obvious if you have straight lines near the edge. Don't know if the S7 differs. I take care of it in post with PTLens. Haven't noticed any CA.

I have Lightroom 6, which I'll have to try, plus DxO PhotoLab.

Thanks!

NAwlins Contrarian wrote:

Seeing as you haven't got any replies in 5 days I'll try to answer as best I can though I have the S6 but I guess the cameras are similar. I find the default camera app quite capable. As far as i can see allows full control of all shooting variables.

Only 2 quibbles: no live histogram and reverts to jpg only every time it's turned off or at least haven't found a way to make it stay on raw. Therefore I've tried other apps. To my surprise some don't even support 16:9. The best I've found is FV-5. Full controls, histogram display, only lacks horizon which isn't a big deal for me.

Thanks for the reply. Maybe I'm a special kind of stupid, but at first I couldn't find any such controls much less a raw option on the default camera app on the S7.

After your report, I tried the three little unlabeled dots just above the shutter button, and the left one lets me select "Pro" mode, which it says records raw + JPEG, and lets you control all the parameters (other than aperture--I assume there is no iris that can stop down).

They have hidden it well. No, no iris AFAIK.

Thanks for encouraging me to look!Alas, you have to hit that tiny button to enter Pro mode every. damn. time. you. launch. the. app. You apparently can't make it the default, or even make the mode persistent to the next launch. What a fail! Well, much better than nothing I guess.

Yes it's a royal PITA. What's more I just remembered that it seems to be the same with FV-5.

I use Bridge+ACR+Photoshop. No problems recognising dng files. One thing that surprises me is that Samsung hasn't bothered to correct the moustache distortion in phone. It's very obvious if you have straight lines near the edge. Don't know if the S7 differs. I take care of it in post with PTLens. Haven't noticed any CA.

I have Lightroom 6, which I'll have to try, plus DxO PhotoLab.

Thanks!

Good luck.

I'm a bit late coming on with this. I use FV-5 with my S7 which works well. The RAW setting stays set with the only problem being that from time to time the RAW is not recorded. I have to restart the phone if this happens.

Processed in LR 6.14 the results are excellent without the excessive sharpening and noise reduction of the JPGs.

On the other hand, DXO Photolab will not accept the DNGs which is a pity..

Thanks for the report.

DxO PhotoLab is my favorite raw converter, so if it will process the S7 raws from the included camera app, any app whose raws it would not process would be a non-starter. I have used Lightroom to process that DNG raws that my Canon compacts create with the CHDK firmware, but I'm not a fan of Lightroom (except the print module!) and I only tolerated it due to the lack of alternatives.

You are probably right about me being out of luck. As for Lightroom -> TIFF -> PhotoLab, to me that's a non-starter because I'd lose the ability to apply DxO Prime noise reduction, and it would also be a PITA. As for lens corrections, those could wait to be done in PhotoLab: I was pleased to discover that, e.g., I could apply full DxO automated lends corrections to a TIFF from Capture One Express for Sony (with which I was experimenting).

If I am intending to take photographs I will take a 'proper' camera but I always have my phone. To get the best value from a shot I reckon it's worthwhile to use RAW which in my case is via the FV-5 app.

The image here is a screenshot of a100% crop comparison of a RAW processed via LR--> DXO vs. the JPG SOOC from the same exposure. The difference is obvious.

Oh I agree raw is far better. But as rurikw pointed out above, the default camera app has raw capability--I had been ignorant of that fact. You just have to manually enter 'pro' mode every time you launch the camera app.

Now just the other day the camera updated to new system software, and I have to figure out, again, how to enter pro mode. Grrr.