RAW support in Android phones—which ones?

[jhansman]

I usually have my dSLR with me, but when I don't I always have my phone with me. So help me out here, folks. Is RAW support in current Android phones a function of hardware, firmware, the OS, or what? Googling turns up contradictory info, and none of it less than a year old. My GS5 (which I love, but it is getting a bit long in the tooth) will need replacing one day, and when that day comes, I'd like a phone with a good camera and support for RAW shooting. Reading a lot good things about the LG V10, but I'd like some info on other choices and why, exactly, this feature is not available in all Android phones as of, say, 2014. TIA.

 

[Graze]

Its the phones OS if I am not mistaken. Samsung(and others) baked it into versions of Android that didnt support it.
Anything lollipop and up supports it...of course you will need a camera app that can shoot in RAW also

 

[jhansman]

Its the phones OS if I am not mistaken. Samsung(and others) baked it into versions of Android that didnt support it.
Anything lollipop and up supports it...of course you will need a camera app that can shoot in RAW also

So, my GS5 is running Lollipop, and I installed Camera FV5 specifically to shoot RAW, but it is not a choice in that app when I go to options, JPEG only. This leads me to believe that some other factor determines whether it can be done. If you read the notes for that app, it specifically names the phones that will shoot RAW with it, which leads me to think it's a hardware thing.

 

[sweenish]

It's definitely not purely an OS thing. Manual Camera has a tester app for the new API, for future reference.

 

[jhansman]

Right, that figures. Which takes me back to my original question: if a phone has the ability to do RAW capture, then it must be a hardware capability in concert with the right app. So, somewhere, there must exist a list of phones that can do it. I reckon sooner or later all good phones will, but for now I'd like to know what my upgrade choices are. There has to be a way to run this down.

 

[postmortemIA]

HTC A9 and 10 support RAW ... and probably other older models that are supported by HTC Camera app

 

[ChronoReverse]

It's uncommon enough that it'd be mentioned in reviews.

For instance, the Htc 10 has RAW support right out of box using the default camera app.

 

[thesmokingman]

Guide for the S7.

To access raw on the Galaxy S7 you have to run through the following process.

1. Open the camera app
2. Head into MODE and select the Pro mode.
3. Tap the settings dial
4. Toggle on the "Save as RAW file" option

That will then mean that your phone is saving the raw files, as well as saving the JPEG images as normal.

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/137148-samsung-galaxy-s7-camera-raw-shooting-expert-guide

 

[KeithP]

In addition to using lollipop (or higher) the camera has to use the camera2 API which not all lollipop phones use. And, as I understand it, even then not all apps support raw on all phones that meet those requirements.

I don't know if the application support is better under Marshmallow.

-KeithP

 

[thesmokingman]

In addition to using lollipop (or higher) the camera has to use the camera2 API which not all lollipop phones use. And, as I understand it, even then not all apps support raw on all phones that meet those requirements.

I don't know if the application support is better under Marshmallow.

-KeithP

You can easily get editing apps in the store.

 

[Graze]

You can easily get editing apps in the store.

yep. Adobe lightroom for one.

 

[jhansman]

In addition to using lollipop (or higher) the camera has to use the camera2 API which not all lollipop phones use. And, as I understand it, even then not all apps support raw on all phones that meet those requirements.

I don't know if the application support is better under Marshmallow.

-KeithP

I believe you've hit on it. I'm in Lightroom daily, so whether I shoot with my dSLR or my phone, I want the advantage of starting with RAW data. As much as I dislike TouchWiz, I'll probably end up getting the S7. I'd prefer a Nexus device, but you can't get one subsidized and I'm not shelling out $600 for a new phone. Still have to wonder why this feature is not standard on all flagship phones.

 

[shortylickens]

You dont need RAW when your sensor is an eighth of an inch wide.

But anyway, I've found the free RAW apps are actually not bad at all. Also the barebones programs that come with cameras are nice too.

 

[jhansman]

Sensor size aside, you ALWAYS get more data from an image written out to RAW than some shitty compressed format like JPEG. Try processing a both in LR sometime; the difference is easily noticeable. The goal is to capture on the phone, get the image off the phone and into my PC, an then into LR. Above 5x7, JPEG is garbage.

 

[Shlong]

Sensor size aside, you ALWAYS get more data from an image written out to RAW than some shitty compressed format like JPEG. Try processing a both in LR sometime; the difference is easily noticeable. The goal is to capture on the phone, get the image off the phone and into my PC, an then into LR. Above 5x7, JPEG is garbage.

Is there an image codec like ProRes for video... where the image quality isn't degraded enough that you can work with it in post / color grading without taking up huge space like RAW.

 

[jhansman]

Is there an image codec like ProRes for video... where the image quality isn't degraded enough that you can work with it in post / color grading without taking up huge space like RAW.

Dunno; wish there was, but if there is, I haven't found it. Personally, I'm not overly concerned with space, as stills (even in RAW) don't take up all that much, especially with the smaller sensor size noted above. With up to 128GB of storage available in mobile devices now, I shouldn't think image size would be a major factor. My 16MP dSLR puts out RAW files of about 24MB, which allows me hundreds of shots on a 16GB card.

 

[thesmokingman]

Is there an image codec like ProRes for video... where the image quality isn't degraded enough that you can work with it in post / color grading without taking up huge space like RAW.

I don't think video is processed after capturing.