Adobe adds Raw HDR capture mode to its Lightroom app on Android and iOS

Adobe, the industry leader for imaging and creative software has added Raw HDR capture mode in its mobile apps for Android and iOS. This new update is massive as it adds the ability to shoot images with a much more dynamic range using your smartphone than the built-in HDR modes in your mobile phone cameras. One important thing to note is that the new HDR capture mode will be available free of cost without any restrictions in version 2.3 for Android and version 2.7 for iOS. [caption id=“attachment_365754” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Image Credit: Adobe[/caption] Adobe Lightroom Mobile users can head to Apple iOS App Store or Google Play Store to update their app to the latest version for the HDR capture mode. The mode automatically scans the scene to calculate the correct exposure range and then captures three DNG files with all the Raw image data from the camera sensor. Then, the app takes the three DNG files and aligns, merges, deghosts and tonemaps them automatically to create a 16-bit floating point DNG. This output file has the benefits of both an HDR image as well as a Raw file. Adobe claims that Lightroom Mobile uses the same algorithms with same quality as used by HDR technology in Adobe Lightroom for desktop and Adobe Camera Raw. [caption id=“attachment_365755” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Image Credit: Adobe[/caption] This is a huge step from the earlier alternative to capture multiple Raw exposure shots suing a DSLR or mirrorless camera and then process them in a Laptop or PC. Conventional mobile phone software that captures the HDR image, merges images with two different exposures and converts them to an HDR JPEG without the ability to tweak it further. [caption id=“attachment_365758” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Image Credit: Adobe[/caption] Additionally, use of two images would reduce the dynamic range of the image in difficult or tricky lighting conditions. If you are a Creative Cloud member, Lightroom Mobile also gives you the option to sync the output 16-bit HDR DNG so that it is available on desktop for further fine tuning. [caption id=“attachment_365756” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Image Credit: Adobe[/caption] One important thing is that HDR capture mode is currently limited to a handful of devices. On the iOS side it is limited to iPhone 6S, 6S Plus, 7, 7 Plus, iPhone SE and iPad Pro 9.7-inch. While on the iOS side of things, the new mode is limited to Samsung S7, S7 Edge, Google Pixel and Pixel XL at the time of writing. The company is working on adding more devices to support the HDR capture mode as we speak. The updates add additional features to the both iOS as well as Android apps. [caption id=“attachment_365757” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Image Credit: Adobe[/caption] The iOS app comes with a new ‘Export Original’ option where you can export the original files including the original DNGs that the camera captured as well as the RAW files along with new gestures to rate and review the images in ‘Rate & Review’ mode. Adobe has also added a new force touch and notification center widget. Adobe has added a new ‘Prevent From Sleep’ option in the settings menu which prevents the screen from locking as long as the phone is plugged in power to improve sync and speed. The Android app comes with new Radial and Linear Selection tools for Creative Cloud members.