ProRES vs DNG vs HEIC

[ultimoInfierno]

I just discovered this article on the theme:

Apple ProRAW Review: The Best Way to Shoot RAW on an iPhone

Earlier today, Apple officially released Apple ProRAW via iOS 14.3. This new hybrid image format claims to give you the best of both worlds: AI-powered

petapixel.com

It describes the benefits and drawbacks in a measured way, but the real benefit is a link at the end of the article to three sets of to nine images (27 in all) that can be downloaded for inspection (350+ MByte).

I’ve tried looking at the ProRES results on my iPad 10.5 Pro (Apple Photo App) and (mainly) the latest Lightroom Classic on my MacBook Pro 13 (I chose “Auto” adjust for the best initial result before fine tuning). A lot of editors are not really prepared for handling ProRAW, so beware...

After this, there should be very little doubt about the differences between ordinary (Lightroom)DNG and Apple ProRAW files left. ProRAW is memory hungry - judge for yourself - compared to the otherwise very capable heic examples, so you’ll have to judge for yourself if and when to use ProRAW.

My iPhone 12 Pro is on order now. These examples helped reaching my final decision on what to replace my Samsung Galaxy 10+ that never really lived up to its promise (to many needless limitations set by Samsung).

Regards and have fun.

 

[Tom_N]

FYI: ProRes and ProRAW are different things.

The former is a set of codecs aimed at video. They include ProRes RAW and ProRes RAW HQ for encoding raw video.

The latter is a RAW format, based on Adobe DNG, that the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max can use. It "combines the information of a standard RAW format along with iPhone image processing, which gives you more flexibility when editing the exposure, color, and white balance in your photo."

 

[ultimoInfierno]

FYI: ProRes and ProRAW are different things. [Cut]

I know. Slight of hand. I meant Apple ProRAW DNG format in this case ;-)

Regards

 

[CAcreeks]

https://petapixel.com/2020/12/14/apple-proraw-review-the-best-way-to-shoot-raw-on-an-iphone/

Tom_N, post: 64853785"]
FYI: ProRes and ProRAW are different things. [Cut]

I know. Slight of hand. I meant Apple ProRAW DNG format in this case
[/QUOTE]
In the Petapixel comparisons, can you see any big advantage of using ProRaw instead of HEIC? Usually the HEIC looks better due to slightly higher midtone contrast.

It's difficult to compare because all samples are separated by plain DNG in the middle.

 

[ultimoInfierno]

https://petapixel.com/2020/12/14/apple-proraw-review-the-best-way-to-shoot-raw-on-an-iphone/

Tom_N, post: 64898765, member: 700823"]
FYI: ProRes and ProRAW are different things. [Cut]

I know. Slight of hand. I meant Apple ProRAW DNG format in this case

In the Petapixel comparisons, can you see any big advantage of using ProRaw instead of HEIC? Usually the HEIC looks better due to slightly higher midtone contrast.
[/QUOTE]
I use ProRAW in most cases on my iPhone 12 Pro (size matters to me I chose the 256GB version; that fits my use case perfectly. I often edit on my iPad Pro with 512GB - or on my MacBook Pro 13 (or my Asus Elitebook B9450) typically connected to a Dell 4K HDR monitor and loads of “extras”.

Space is not really of any concern to me, since I always move images to my NAS for long time storage. I have the small iCloud 50GB subscription (USD 1 + local taxes per month?), and 1000 to 1500 ProRAW’s are easily handled in iCloud, when on walkabout (on travels later in the year, after vaccination and when travel is possible again). Typically most if not all images are organized when coming back to home/hotel again. During travel I have several 2TB water proof HDD disks for backups (safety more important than speed here). Editing is done on my Thunderbolt 3 SSD (~2500/2000 read/write MByte/sec - sustained due to using Samsung 970 Pro 1TB).

I prefer ProRAW DNG (average 25GB) any day instead of “normal” RAW DNG (average around half) because ProRAW delivers, sometimes much, lower noise in low light, than ordinary DNG, and at the same time is more forgiving than Apples heic (priority: low space), when larger adjustments are required.

Mostly I use Apples native iOS/ipadOS Camera App, until I’m sure how well other apps really work (most are lousy, to be diplomatic ;-). The non-destructive editing inside the Photos App will mostly do the job. Especially since I can work on and off, starting on the iPhone when that’s all at hand, then continuing on the iPad or the “big screens” later, all supporting the DCI P3 color space.

Lightroom Classic is “really weird” when working on ProRAW on Windows 10 Pro 20H2 or macOS Big Sur. Really only usable for “real cameras” RAW files in my view. Conclusion: Now I KNOW!!!

The mobile version is not my cup of tea at all. I hate it. That’s a purely personal decision. You may have a completely different view, for all I know, and as long as you’re happy with your choice: Good for you!

RAW Power and/or Affinity Photo does the job for me in most cases, where I decide to use alternatives for some reason. I have iPad plus PC and Mac licenses for the full Affinity suite too.

The Photoshop included in the Lightroom Classic subscription has not even been installed yet. If Adobe does not create a Lightroom Classic subscription at lower price, no cloud storage and no Photoshop, I’ll stop subscription after this, one year. I’ve had all Lightroom licenses since the beginning up to version 6. Decided to try the Classic version 10, but... I’m really not impressed, where Apple ProRAW is involved. Since I’m free to choose... you guessed it ;-)

In some situations, I use Camera Pixels to deliver both ProRAW DNG and heic (or jpg) in one go, and I’ve asked to get 4:4:4 chroma. Both heic and jpg files seem to be a factor two larger, than normal (less compression is never bad in my view). I’m still experimenting with different Apps, and I have not yet established, whether I actually get 4:4:4 chroma or not in real life (takes “heavier tools”, that I plan on kicking into overdrive next weekend).

The gist of it is, that ProRAW really has benefit in “tight situations” - especially noise is surprisingly to shockingly low in all low to available light situations, where ordinary RAW DNG’s from smartphones absolutely are no joy to edit (even when using “real cameras” and F2 or lower lenses noise levels can be an “acquired taste” ;-)

It's difficult to compare because all samples are separated by plain DNG in the middle.

I do not “get”, what you’re trying to say. It’s probably just me, but please elaborate.

Regards

 

[CAcreeks]

The gist of it is, that ProRAW really has benefit in “tight situations” - especially noise is surprisingly to shockingly low in all low to available light situations, where ordinary RAW DNG’s from smartphones absolutely are no joy to edit (even when using “real cameras” and F2 or lower lenses noise levels can be an “acquired taste” ;-)

Seems absolutely true. Thanks for your comments about Adobe products, and other software.

Probably I should buy an iPhone!

It's difficult to compare because all samples are separated by plain DNG in the middle.

I do not “get”, what you’re trying to say. It’s probably just me, but please elaborate.

In this comparison, which shows low-light improvement of the iPhone's multi-shot imaging, it would be easier to compare if ProRaw were in the middle. Obviously plain DNG sux.


from Petapixel article, op. cit.

 

[ultimoInfierno]

The gist of it is, that ProRAW really has benefit in “tight situations” - especially noise is surprisingly to shockingly low in all low to available light situations, where ordinary RAW DNG’s from smartphones absolutely are no joy to edit (even when using “real cameras” and F2 or lower lenses noise levels can be an “acquired taste” ;-)

Seems absolutely true. Thanks for your comments about Adobe products, and other software.

Probably I should buy an iPhone!

It's difficult to compare because all samples are separated by plain DNG in the middle.

I do not “get”, what you’re trying to say. It’s probably just me, but please elaborate.

In this comparison, which shows low-light improvement of the iPhone's multi-shot imaging, it would be easier to compare if ProRaw were in the middle. Obviously plain DNG sux.


from Petapixel article, op. cit.

Go to the bottom of the article, and you find a link to the original files, that you can download to your computer (or iPhone or iPad) - I got a zip-file containing everything.

Regards