A RAW image offers us a range of post processing tools such as corrections to lens distortions, white balance, and makes it easier to colour correct our images.
Pro iPhone models offer Apple ProRAW i.e. you can click photos in the RAW or DNG format straight off the Camera App. However Pro iPhone models cost at least two times more than the basic models making it out of the reach of many people.
That’s where apps such as Varlens, Halide Mark II, and ProCam fill this gap. They let you save your images in the DNG file format, opening up all these artistic possibilities.
This creative flexibility is important to me, so I click all my images in the RAW format with either the Varlens or Halide Mark II app. Varlens offers wonderful image presets, so I set my image format to RAW+. That way the app saves two images for every click, one RAW and the other HEIC with a preset that I select such as Chrome 64, Gold 200, or Pro 100. Varlens also offers different image dimensions such as 1:1, 2:3, 3:4, and 6:7 whereas Halide Mark II offers only the default 3:4.
Halide Mark II offers no image presets and so I set the image format to RAW only. That way it takes less time to save my images, speeding things up just a little, but not enough to make the iPhone a viable street photography tool.
The leveling tool is important for me because I’m very particular about straight lines. Both apps show a nice rectangle at the centre of the screen within the ⅓ lines of the frame. This rectangle tilts around when I move the phone and glows and vibrates when it’s in level when I use the Varlens app. This is wonderful because very often I cannot see the rectangle very clearly when I’m clicking pictures in bright sunshine. The rectangle glows on the Halide app too, but doesn’t vibrate when in level.
Each RAW image takes up over 16 Mb of space, and a HEIC about 4 Mb, which means a RAW+ image can take over 20 Mb. So I have subscribed to 200 Gb on iCloud so that way I can go for a couple of months without having to backup my images on hard drives.
Neither Varlens nor Halide Mark II offer face detection and focus which is a very basic feature, available even on the default camera app of any phone. It baffles me why they decided not to include such a basic feature.
Face detection is an essential tool for street photography and portraiture with iPhones. What makes Varlens and Halide Mark II even less effective for street photography is that once you stab your phone screen to set the focus, the focus point resets back to the centre once you click a picture, and you have to set it all over again for the next image.
I discuss how you can click better street photos with your iPhone in the section, “iPhone camera for Street Photography”
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