PhotoRaw app for iPhone and iPad

4.8 ( 4128 ratings )

Photo & Video
Developer: Alexander McGuffog

9.99 USD

Current version: 4.6.0, last update: 1 year ago
First release : 18 Feb 2011
App size: 3.95 Mb

· View and adjust raw image files at 1:1; unlimited image size
· iOS 16 and iPadOS 15 optimized with multitasking support
· 64-bit processing
· AirDrop for exported images
· View EXIF and GPS data
· Full range of image adjustments, JPEG and TIFF exports, etc
· Pixel magnify - up to 1:4 pixel viewing
· Opens images imported from Eye-Fi cards

PhotoRaw for iOS is a viewer and developer for image files in raw format. Raw file formats from most camera manufacturers are supported, for example Nikon NEF files, Canon CR2 files, Leica DNG files, etc - see the product web site for a full list of supported cameras. PhotoRaw allows you to view these files at full 1:1 pixel resolution, even 100 mega-pixel plus medium format images.

PhotoRaw implements virtual memory. Virtual memory means that if PhotoRaw runs low on physical RAM because of other apps running the background, it can use the devices flash memory to process even the largest images. PhotoRaw has been tested with images of up to 72 MPixels on both iPads and iPhones, even with multiple other apps running the background.

Most images viewers for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch are only able to display low resolution thumbnails of raw images, making it difficult to use the iPhone or iPad to evaluate and view raw files in the field. PhotoRaw changes all that. PhotoRaw incorporates a state-of-the-art AHD raw image demosaicing algorithm right into an iOS app. So now you can view every single pixel in a raw file, without needing a desktop machine or laptop.

To ensure that you see your images in a form as close as possible to what youll see using a full featured desktop raw developer program such as Aperture, PhotoRaw incorporates a full demosaicing engine, as well as basic exposure controls such as exposure, contrast and brightness. You can even control sharpening to make sure that the image looks its best.

You can also export images, or cropped portions of images, from PhotoRaw in JPEG or TIFF format. So you can email a processed, cropped JPEG to clients or friends right from your iPad or iPhone.

Limitations:
· PhotoRaw supports only raw formats; JPEG, TIFF etc images are not supported
· Importing large raw files can take up to several minutes, especially if other apps are running in the background

System Requirements: Raw conversion requires very substantial amounts of processing power and memory. We strongly recommend the following minimum system specifications:
· iOS 8 or later
· iPad or iPhone 4 or later

Pros and cons of PhotoRaw app for iPhone and iPad

PhotoRaw app good for

I have been using PhotoRaw to convert my nef files from Dropbox to jpg. The quality is fantastic and the app is easy to use.

Awesome raw support... But the highlight and shadow recovery have so much posterization, even with slight tweaks, that it is unusable. At least thats what is occurring for .arw Sony A7 files. Fix that and it would be great.

Not perfect but a good easy way to process RAW Files when a computer is not handy. It is much slower than a PC, given that it, it does a very good job allowing to to proof raw images in the field. If you want a very portable raw processor it does very given the constraints of the Ipad.

Some bad moments

Boring and over-simple interface. Crashes constantly. Didnt manage to import a single DNG (Leica) yet. Always reports incomplete import and takes forever despite more than 8G free space. Nearly 9 EUR for software this bad is simply ridiculous.

In was not possible to bring the RAW files from a GX1 into this App. I am not sure whether the problem is the App or "the man in front of the monitor". Anyway: iPhoto solved my problems: easy to use, fast and the transfer to the MAC works.

Definitely can alter hue, saturation, exposure, contrast. Noise appears quickly even with slight changes...changes that produce negligible or no noise in photoshop back at the office. Useless for me as a RAW editor on the road because after setting the exposure, etc, then other apps are required to crop and sharpen. If the image is too far gone to process on the road with a JPG editor then PhotoRaw is no better, and is slower too.

Ive found very consistently, the conversion to jpeg if you choose to do so will indiscriminately crop the file in areas that make it useless.

The power of RAW files is not unlocked by this app. While it can open and do basic processing it really isnt worth the investment, especially not $9.99.

I love the idea of this app. However, every time I try to adjust the shadows and highlights, the resulting images have some harsh dithering in the mid tone areas.

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