Despite the advancements in smartphone cameras, I’m still reluctant to leave the house without a camera. Somewhere deep in my DNA is a concern that I’ll capture that oh-so-amazing image only to have it fall short of my expectations because it was shot with my iPhone.
Then I discovered 645 PRO for iPhone (I’ve also been using the app on my iPad Mini as well). The $2.99 app is loaded with more features than you can shake a stick at but the heart and soul of this app is its ability to save a TIFF file within the app while simultaneously saving a JPG image to your iPhone’s camera roll.
When you take a photo with your iPhone’s native camera, it compresses the photo automatically into a JPEG file and in the process, loses a lot of the original pixel information. The TIFF image saved within the app lacks any in-app post-processing, nor is there any JPEG compression at any time.
Unfortunately, accessing the TIFF files requires plugging your iPhone into your computer, launching iTunes and copying the files onto your computer through the iTunes file sharing feature.
Where I see the practical use here is the ability to cover breaking news with your iPhone, uploading the JPG images for the digital platforms, then later in the day downloading the hi-res TIFF files for potential publication in the print edition.
Sound like more trouble than it’s worth? Take a look at the sample images and judge for yourself. What you’re comparing is the JPG photo that was saved to my iPhone’s camera roll to the TIFF photo that was saved within the app and downloaded via iTunes. Neither image was adjusted in any way other than cropping.
You can download the app here: 645 Pro
Looks a little intimidating, doesn’t it? In all honesty, it requires a little learning but the effort is well worth it. So far, my primary praise is for the app’s ability to shoot in extremely low-light conditions. It’s for this reason alone that I so often rely on a camera other than my iPhone, but this app appears to remedy the problem.
I’m sure you don’t care to see my dog, but I love shooting photos of him for image tests because his coat really helps me see how well the camera does at capturing detail. So below are two frames in the same, low lighting conditions, shot just moments apart. I used the ‘night mode,’ in 645 Pro, which according the the developer allows the camera to shoot at slower shutter speeds than the native camera app. The first frame is shot with 645 Pro and the second, with the native iPhone camera app. (PLEASE, click the images so you can view the hi-res files, which is where you’ll really notice the difference in image clarity.)
Amazing difference, isn’t it. Given these two images, I think it’s fair to say that if you’re shooting in low light, you’re much better off using 645 Pro than the native camera app. EVEN IF this was the only thing this app did, it would make it worth the few bucks.
As confusing as things might seem on the control panel, it really isn’t that bad, just keep in mind that most every button does one thing when you tap it, and another thing when you tap and hold it. I’ll also tip my hat to the developer for including a great instruction manual, within the app. Forget how to do something? You can quickly refer to the manual.
As for a few of the app’s highlights:
• night mode for low-light photography
• exposure lock, focus lock and white balance lock (all independently of each other)
• spot or multi-zone metering
• variety of image ratios
• live histogram display
• saving raw image data (optional)
NOTE: While the app will record raw image data in a .tiff file, don’t be lead to believe it saves RAW files – there’s a difference. The developer never claims that the app records RAW files, just raw data.
Long story short, I highly recommend this app to anyone who has mastered the native camera app and hasn’t had to break out a camera terminology book to follow along thus far. I would also recommend it to most anyone who frequently shoots in low-light conditions.
Here are a few other screen shots for you to get a better sense of what the app looks like and how it works:
