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Pixel 5 only Android phone with computational RAW?

Started Mar 16, 2021 | Discussions
Sgt_Strider Senior Member • Posts: 2,674
Pixel 5 only Android phone with computational RAW?

I had no idea the Pixel 5 got this before iPhone 12 Pro. Any other. android phone with this capability? Is it possible to get computational RAW with a third party camera app or I have to use the stock Google camera app?

Patrick T. Kelly Veteran Member • Posts: 4,629
Re: Pixel 5 only Android phone with computational RAW?

For me, I'm not sure the term "computational RAW" isn't an oxymoron.

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Patrick T. Kelly
Oaxaca, Mexico

PhotoFactor Veteran Member • Posts: 4,171
Re: Pixel 5 only Android phone with computational RAW?

And the Nexus phones (Nexus 5, about 7 years ago), was the first with HDR+, which is a technique now used by nearly all phones. But Google had it many years ago.

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Wayne Larmon Forum Pro • Posts: 10,694
Computational RAW?
1

Patrick T. Kelly wrote:

For me, I'm not sure the term "computational RAW" isn't an oxymoron.

For the Pixels, it means that it does tiled stacking with all the frames it has captured in raw mode (so as to effectively multiply the effective size of the sensor.)  It saves the single stacked raw image.  It hasn't been demosicaced or tone mapped at this point so it is still considered a raw file.

The tiled stacking is the "computational" part.

Wayne

OP Sgt_Strider Senior Member • Posts: 2,674
Re: Computational RAW?

Wayne Larmon wrote:

Patrick T. Kelly wrote:

For me, I'm not sure the term "computational RAW" isn't an oxymoron.

For the Pixels, it means that it does tiled stacking with all the frames it has captured in raw mode (so as to effectively multiply the effective size of the sensor.) It saves the single stacked raw image. It hasn't been demosicaced or tone mapped at this point so it is still considered a raw file.

The tiled stacking is the "computational" part.

Wayne

I can't seem to find any definitive sources about the Pixel 5's computational RAW feature.

PhotoFactor Veteran Member • Posts: 4,171
Re: Computational RAW?
1

Sgt_Strider wrote:

Wayne Larmon wrote:

Patrick T. Kelly wrote:

For me, I'm not sure the term "computational RAW" isn't an oxymoron.

For the Pixels, it means that it does tiled stacking with all the frames it has captured in raw mode (so as to effectively multiply the effective size of the sensor.) It saves the single stacked raw image. It hasn't been demosicaced or tone mapped at this point so it is still considered a raw file.

The tiled stacking is the "computational" part.

Wayne

I can't seem to find any definitive sources about the Pixel 5's computational RAW feature.

It's in an article right here on DPR:

https://www.dpreview.com/articles/7921074499/five-ways-google-pixel-3-pushes-the-boundaries-of-computational-photography

This is a also good article:

https://www.cnet.com/news/googles-pixel-3-camera-rewrites-photo-rules-with-nifty-new-tricks/

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jacosta Regular Member • Posts: 224
Re: Pixel 5 only Android phone with computational RAW?

There are plenty of mods of Google camera that you can use on any phone that supports camera api 2 (and preferably with a Qualcomm chip) It's best to get a phone popular with cam modders, xiaomi etc.

https://www.celsoazevedo.com/files/android/google-camera/

Search the xda forum for the recommended gcam mods for your device

There is also a free project that does the same, Photoncamera: https://github.com/eszdman/PhotonCamera/releases

OP Sgt_Strider Senior Member • Posts: 2,674
Re: Computational RAW?

PhotoFactor wrote:

Sgt_Strider wrote:

Wayne Larmon wrote:

Patrick T. Kelly wrote:

For me, I'm not sure the term "computational RAW" isn't an oxymoron.

For the Pixels, it means that it does tiled stacking with all the frames it has captured in raw mode (so as to effectively multiply the effective size of the sensor.) It saves the single stacked raw image. It hasn't been demosicaced or tone mapped at this point so it is still considered a raw file.

The tiled stacking is the "computational" part.

Wayne

I can't seem to find any definitive sources about the Pixel 5's computational RAW feature.

It's in an article right here on DPR:

https://www.dpreview.com/articles/7921074499/five-ways-google-pixel-3-pushes-the-boundaries-of-computational-photography

This is a also good article:

https://www.cnet.com/news/googles-pixel-3-camera-rewrites-photo-rules-with-nifty-new-tricks/

I'm surprised there aren't more articles written about the Pixel 5 and whether there have been any advancement in its computational RAW technology.

Wayne Larmon Forum Pro • Posts: 10,694
Lack of interest in Pixel 5
1

Sgt_Strider wrote:

PhotoFactor wrote:

Sgt_Strider wrote:

I can't seem to find any definitive sources about the Pixel 5's computational RAW feature.

It's in an article right here on DPR:

https://www.dpreview.com/articles/7921074499/five-ways-google-pixel-3-pushes-the-boundaries-of-computational-photography

This is a also good article:

https://www.cnet.com/news/googles-pixel-3-camera-rewrites-photo-rules-with-nifty-new-tricks/

I'm surprised there aren't more articles written about the Pixel 5 and whether there have been any advancement in its computational RAW technology.

Because Google sort of plateaued. All the top researchers left Google's Pixel department and people are underwhelmed because Google has shipped essentially the same camera hardware since the Pixel 2.

Case in point: I have a Pixel 2. I was blown away with its image quality at the time it was released. But I never found any of the later Pixels compelling enough to upgrade to one of them. I'm forced to replace my Pixel 2 because the battery has started to swell. I didn't want to pay to upgrade to any of the newer Pixels, so I just (this morning) ordered a $100 refurbished Pixel 2 to tide me over. There will be a new Pixel 6 released next fall. I want to wait to see if they finally upgrade the camera hardware.

Wayne

I2K4
I2K4 Senior Member • Posts: 1,441
Re: Pixel 5 only Android phone with computational RAW?

Sgt_Strider wrote:

I had no idea the Pixel 5 got this before iPhone 12 Pro. Any other. android phone with this capability? Is it possible to get computational RAW with a third party camera app or I have to use the stock Google camera app?

Above comments explain a lot about the Pixel / GCam mod computational HDR and stacked RAW/DNG output generated with that. I'd be careful not to mix that up with what Apple has done in its ProRAW implementation - it is different in some important ways from what Google has been doing. The best long-form I know of on that is Halide app developer Ben Sandofsky's post last December.

An interesting quote, from the Android perspective is "ProRAW is not a proprietary or closed format. Credit where it is due: Apple deserves kudos for bringing their improvements to the DNG standard. When you shoot with ProRAW, there’s absolutely nothing locking your photos into the Apple ecosystem."  So it appears possible that Android developers can build or modify what Apple has done without violating intellectual property rights.

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