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I've addressed the technical side of this argument before, but I want to address a side that bother's me quite a bit but I don't see addressed often. Adding co

I've addressed the technical side of this argument before, but I want to address a side that bother's me quite a bit but I don't see addressed often. Adding computational aspects into photography means that the images taken on these platforms will all have the same artistic interpretation at the level that that computation works. This is fine for snapshots, etc. Where it hurts is in artistic expression. It's almost as if all photos will go through an artistic AI after being taken. This process can, and likely will, increase the acceptability of those pictures that we use those cameras for most often. I truly think that computational photography will hurt the artistic expression and the feel of images taken outside of those situations. Right now, with a "real" camera shooting RAW, you keep as much detail of the image as possible and the photographer (artist) edits it to present what their mind's eye told them was there from that RAW data. With anything using computational photography the computer algorithm has already modified that data permanently, pushing and shaping it towards what that algorithm has determined is most pleasing for the largest number of people. I feel like this is a major win for most people who don't care about the art side of photography, but a major loss we aren't yet acknowledging for those who want to explore the artistic expression of the medium.

foldr 4y ago
You can get pretty 'raw' RAW files from an iPhone with 3rd party apps. For example, Halide will save (non-'pro' non-HDR) RAW files. These don't seem to have gone through any kind of AI processing as far as I can see.
- CobaltFire 4y ago
  I use Halide on my iPhone, and it does exactly what you say. It also reduces the perceived image quality from the phone drastically in anything but the best light, which (I think) supports my point. Without computational photography they are acceptable at best; with it they strip a lot of artistic agency. I use mine quite a lot for exactly that type of stuff but I don't even think about touching it for anything I want to edit.
  - foldr 4y ago
    You can do manual multi-shot blending and HDR if you want to. This is a photo I took on the iPhone 12 Pro Max with Halide RAW. It's a (manual) blend of around 10 exposures. The quality is not amazing, but I think it's pretty good for a night shot on a phone that's two generations behind the iPhone 14 Pro. https://imgur.com/a/S9fhQrK https://imgur.com/a/S9fhQrK
    - CobaltFire 4y ago
      Your comments seem to assume I have no familiarity with how photography is used or the tools. I’m not sure why. I’ve done plenty of HDR, Panoramas, etc. in my life. I don’t find the iPhone to be a tool worth my time to invest in those, except in situations where it’s the only camera with me (so anything unplanned, which happens).
- tim-in-stl 4y ago
  I like to shoot with the ProCamera app on my iPhone, using the 'Natural' Capture Quality setting. It applies less post-processing than the default camera app while still giving you usable results. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/procamera/id694647259 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/procamera/id694647259

foldr 4y ago

You can get pretty 'raw' RAW files from an iPhone with 3rd party apps. For example, Halide will save (non-'pro' non-HDR) RAW files. These don't seem to have gone through any kind of AI processing as far as I can see.

CobaltFire 4y ago
I use Halide on my iPhone, and it does exactly what you say. It also reduces the perceived image quality from the phone drastically in anything but the best light, which (I think) supports my point. Without computational photography they are acceptable at best; with it they strip a lot of artistic agency. I use mine quite a lot for exactly that type of stuff but I don't even think about touching it for anything I want to edit.
- foldr 4y ago
  You can do manual multi-shot blending and HDR if you want to. This is a photo I took on the iPhone 12 Pro Max with Halide RAW. It's a (manual) blend of around 10 exposures. The quality is not amazing, but I think it's pretty good for a night shot on a phone that's two generations behind the iPhone 14 Pro. https://imgur.com/a/S9fhQrK https://imgur.com/a/S9fhQrK
  - CobaltFire 4y ago
    Your comments seem to assume I have no familiarity with how photography is used or the tools. I’m not sure why. I’ve done plenty of HDR, Panoramas, etc. in my life. I don’t find the iPhone to be a tool worth my time to invest in those, except in situations where it’s the only camera with me (so anything unplanned, which happens).
tim-in-stl 4y ago
I like to shoot with the ProCamera app on my iPhone, using the 'Natural' Capture Quality setting. It applies less post-processing than the default camera app while still giving you usable results. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/procamera/id694647259 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/procamera/id694647259