- ProRAW, what is it?
- Enable ProRAW
- Always take ProRAW photos
- Edit ProRAW
- When to use?
- Photo formats
- Why ProRAW?
Apple ProRAW, what is it?
As the name suggests, Apple ProRAW is Apple’s own photo format. This feature has been available since iOS 14.3 and combines two features:
- Computational photography: smart photo techniques that use advanced algorithms
- RAW editing: the option to do extensive editing after shooting the photo
The photos are taken in a resolution of 12 megapixels. From the iPhone 14 Pro (Max) you can also take photos in 48-megapixel resolution.
Which iPhones have ProRaw?
You will only find ProRAW on recent high-end models:
- iPhone 14 Pro (Max)
- iPhone 13 Pro (Max)
- iPhone 12 Pro (Max) and newer
Enable ProRAW
To use ProRAW you must enable it manually. To do this, take the following steps:
- Go to Settings > Camera > File Formats.
- Turn on the switch on Apple ProRAW.
- Go to the Camera app. You will now see an icon for RAW with a line through it.
- Tap the icon to activate RAW.
If there is a line through the RAW icon, the camera takes standard JPEG/HEIC photos. Tap the RAW icon to take RAW photos and tap it again to turn it off.
You can take ProRAW photos with all camera lenses on supported iPhones, including the front selfie camera.
Always take ProRAW photos
So you always have to manually indicate that you want to take RAW photos. That’s because the photos take up a lot of space (tens of megabytes). It is not always necessary to take ProRAW photos. Especially if you rarely do post-processing, it is nonsense to shoot everything in RAW.
If you want to have ProRAW enabled continuously, you can do so by saving the camera settings for the next session:
- Go to Settings > Camera.
- Tap Save settings.
- Turn on the switch for Apple ProRAW.
- All photos will now be shot in ProRAW format.
A photo in JPEG/HEIC format is around 2.5 to 3 megabytes, while the same photo in ProRAW takes up about ten times as much storage: around 30 megabytes. So you will use up your storage faster. If you choose a 48-megapixel photo (on iPhone 14 Pro and newer), the photo will take up around 100 megabytes.
Edit ProRAW photos
ProRAW photos use the DNG file format, making it compatible with a wide range of photo editing apps, such as Adobe Lightroom. DNG is also supported by Apple’s own Photos app. If you shot a photo in ProRAW, you will see a RAW icon in the top left corner of the Photos app. Then tap the button to edit and you can go crazy on all kinds of aspects.
Most social media services don’t support uploading DNGs, so you’ll almost always have to edit. The Photos app automatically converts the photo to JPEG format after editing, making it compatible with all kinds of social media.
When do you use ProRAW?
Apple ProRAW does not automatically make your photos better. In fact, if you’re an avid amateur photographer who doesn’t want to bother with post-processing, you’re better off with the normal camera settings. All kinds of smart techniques ensure that your photo is optimized in all kinds of ways. RAW photos don’t look very nice to the eyes of an amateur: they are too dark and the details do not come out well. This is because you are supposed to edit the photo extensively, choosing which parts of the photo need to be highlighted.
For (semi-)professional photographers, however, RAW is a solution: it opens up the possibility of adjusting your photo down to the smallest detail and giving it exactly the atmosphere you are looking for. You especially benefit from ProRAW for photos that you want to put extra effort into, for example a special moment or a special scene. You then have less chance of underexposed or failed photos, because you can adjust all kinds of aspects later. This is also possible with normal JPEG/HEIF photos, but you have less control over them.
ProRAW is especially useful in situations with low light and high contrast. You can easily switch between HEIC/JPEG and RAW so you can experiment. This way you can immediately see the difference when editing photos.
Photo formats: JPEG, HEIF and RAW
Apple switched to new photo and video formats in iOS 11: HEIF and HEVC. HEIF is an alternative to JPEG and takes up less space, while the image quality is the same. This is fine for your daily snapshots, but professional photographers prefer to shoot in RAW format. These files are virtually unedited and offer unprecedented freedom to make all kinds of edits afterwards. With a RAW photo you can adjust the white balance, exposure, color tones and color later, without the quality deteriorating. The disadvantage of this is that the files are very large and complex.
Why Apple ProRAW?
Apple ProRAW is actually an interim solution. It is a simpler variant that combines the best of both worlds. Previously, RAW photos could not benefit from the benefits of new photography techniques such as Smart HDR and Deep Fusion. The makers of the Halide app therefore developed their own variant, Smart RAW, which made it possible to combine RAW with smart computational techniques.
Now Apple also has such a variant with ProRAW. It offers the benefits of computational photography, such as composing a photo from multiple frames, Deep Fusion and Smart HDR, but it combines this with the possibilities and flexibility of RAW. The CPU, GPU, IPS, Neural Engine and the four cameras in the device work together. You get the standard RAW with all image information, so that you have complete freedom to edit afterwards. You can edit in Apple’s Photos app itself or in third-party apps such as Lightroom. There is an API for third party apps that want to use ProRAW.
When taking a RAW photo, amateur photographers will get the impression that the photo is not that nice. An automatically optimized photo that you take with the latest iPhones looks much nicer. Multiple images have been combined into a perfect shot, where smart software techniques ensure that every detail is properly exposed and where noise reduction ensures that almost everyone can take beautiful photos.
The question is whether ProRAW is the solution for professionals. They now have more options for taking RAW photos, but will often still fall back on the photo equipment they already own. With Apple ProRAW, shooting in RAW should become as accessible as normal photography on the iPhone. That means: you don’t have dozens of sliders and settings, but the computer does most of the work.
This may still be too simple for professional photographers, because they want RAW as standard and want to set everything manually, without the camera having already made certain choices. But for a very large group of users who have pro ambitions, but do not have the knowledge of a professional photographer, it can be a nice addition.
