I am new to DxO PL9 (less than 1 week in) and while my iPhone 16 Pro is not my primary camera, I do use it often. I know we can view and edit Apple ProRAW files but there are many apps that are able to produce a true Bayer RAW file. These files cannot be viewed in PL9 but the phone and camera are the same. I can view these files in LrC and have all available edit controls accessible including AI Denoise. What is the reason for this? Is there a work around?
Welcome! PL9 still supports single-frame Bayer RAW files from older smartphones. Only DxO knows the reason for stopping support for these files from newer smartphones. This decision (and the then related stance on ProRaw and HEIC) has been discussed many times in this forum, but DxO did not budge, and I think members gave up asking. Thus, it was a big surprise when PL9 began supporting ProRaw and HEIC files. As you mention, using other applications is one work around. Another would be to explore ProRaw more fully. For example, reducing capture exposure in average to bright light, and in editing, reducing or turning off local tone mapping.
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This is not as mysterious as you imply. DxO published a FAQ response to the problem of mobile-device RAW support here:
Support for RAW generated by smartphones – Help center
Admittedly, there is a little bit of “take our word for it” in this article. But it’s far more clear than the past situation of wondering why DxO isn’t taking more of an interest.
If an app is needed to obtain a Bayer RAW file, then it sounds like it’s being manufactured from processed data. DxO is very picky about where RAW data comes from, being true data from the sensor that hasn’t been put through a virtual machine of some sort. Unlike other software, as far as I know, PhotoLab and PureRAW perform denoising and some other corrections in the demosaic stage of processing. This represents a meaningful difference in how DxO can handle data that isn’t truly RAW.
DxO most definitely has explored supporting RAW files that lack optics modules. For example:
This might be useful for further reading and consideration:
And this:
I hope this helps.
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Thanks for the replies. I will find a way to work with Apple ProRAW for the few photos I want to process.