Adobe has released an update to Lightroom for Mobile that adds a new raw HDR capture mode for recording images with a wider dynamic range.
The new HDR mode automatically creates an image with a wide tonal range. (Source: Adobe.)
The new HDR mode utilises the latest mobile hardware on both Android and iOS and the new updates, version 2.7 for iOS and version 2.3 for Android, which were released today make the HDR mode available for free. The updates for both Android and iOS can be downloaded by tapping here.
HDR recording is achieved by scanning the scene to determine the correct exposure range and then capturing three DNG files which are then automatically aligned, merged, de-ghosted, and tone-mapped in the app. This produces a 16-bit floating point DNG, with all of the benefits of both an HDR and a raw photo, which is processed by the same algorithms with the same quality as the HDR technology built into Adobe Camera Raw and Lightroom. Creative Cloud members get the additional benefit of automatically syncing with their desktop, ensuring that the photo, and all of the edits that were made to the photo, are backed up and available in the desktop version of Lightroom.
For iOS users, the HDR mode requires a device that can capture in DNG, such as an iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7 Plus, iPhone SE, or iPad Pro 9.7″³. For Android users, at this point only the Samsung S7, S7 Edge, Google Pixel, and Pixel XL are supported.
Other features included in the new updates depend on the operating system. For iOS devices, Export Original, enables users to export the original files, including DNGs captured in the camera as well as raw files imported through Lightroom Mobile and Lightroom web (Lightroom Desktop does not upload originals to the server). They can also use gestures to rate and review in the Rate & Review mode, greatly speeding up the review process. A New Force Touch and Notification Centre widget, makes it easier and faster to launch Lightroom’s camera, while a new option available in settings, Prevent From Sleep, prevents the screen from locking as long as the phone is plugged into power. The updates also provide improved synchronisation stability and speed, and general bug fixes, performance enhancements, and UI tweaks.
For Android Creative Cloud members, the Radial and Linear Selection tools are now available, as well as general bug fixes and speed improvements. For more information, check out the Adobe blog post here.
