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RAW images and how to focus? (1 Viewer)

Joker9937

Well-known member
I will post in the digiscoping forum too, but thought someone might be able to help me here.

I have a Samsung Note 10+ that I use to digiscope. The camera has a "pro" mode, and it allows RAW images to be stored, alongside the JPG. However, most of the time, the RAW image is unfocused.

If I focus my scope on a target, and then attach my phone, and change nothing, THEN I have a mostly focused image. But, if, after having focused the scope, then attaching my phone, I change the target and/or refocus the zoom, my RAW images are no longer focused, even though the image on the screen is focused.

Any advice?

I have attached one shot that shows the image on the screen (no vignetting) and the RAW (evidence of vignetting in the corners).
 

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I don't quite know how to explain it but you have to have an app on your phone to 'see' the image created by the raw file.
 
I usually need to focus through the camera, not focus with my eye then put camera on. I use an iphone, so cannot help with your android issue.

Also, is the raw unfocused or unsharpened? The phone might be applying sharpening to the jpg.

I use a program called ProCam. it lets me save raws. It also has nice features like not taking the photo until vibration has stopped or taking the photo after a delay. It also lets me set speed, ISO, WB, etc. I believe some phones can also take photos using a mic push-to-talk button as a remote trigger, but I don't use that.

Marc
 
pics for illustration...

I don't quite know how to explain it but you have to have an app on your phone to 'see' the image created by the raw file.

By "see the image", are you saying that there is an app that would allow the RAW image to be on my screen INSTEAD of the "phone-adjusted" (sorry, I am not sure of the proper terminology) image?

If so, do you happen to know the name of any of those apps? Thank you, either way.

I usually need to focus through the camera, not focus with my eye then put camera on. I use an iphone, so cannot help with your android issue.

Also, is the raw unfocused or unsharpened? The phone might be applying sharpening to the jpg.

I use a program called ProCam. it lets me save raws. It also has nice features like not taking the photo until vibration has stopped or taking the photo after a delay. It also lets me set speed, ISO, WB, etc. I believe some phones can also take photos using a mic push-to-talk button as a remote trigger, but I don't use that.

Marc

Marc, I see your point about focusing through the scope and THEN placing the phone/camera onto the scope, but, if I implied that I do things in that order, I made a mistake. I have tried doing things in that order, and that does seem to allow the RAW image to appear to be more sharply focused. However, as a practice, I mount my phone/camera, and do my focusing AFTER it is in place on the scope.

As to your question about "unsharpened" vs "unfocused", I am not sure how to tell the difference. I use those descriptors interchangeably. What is the difference I should be looking for? The RAW looks "soft", I guess. Other times, it appears to be completely fuzzy. Sorry. I hope that makes sense. I attached another shot that illustrates, pretty well anyway, what I am dealing with. Not sure it is a better example than the cardinal, but thought it might help.

Besides the native camera, I downloaded an app called FilmicPro Firstlight. It is a pretty handy app, and easier to adjust the settings on the fly. But, since the native camera has the RAW images, I thought maybe I should try that instead.

Along the same lines, I think, I have another question. I attached a Kingfisher photo that I took with Firstlight. I see beautiful detail in my scope/camera screen, but in the photos, the feathers are most of the time well-detailed, but with a weird digital-sans-lifelike look. Is this due to using my digital zoom to eliminate vignetting, an optical failure in my scope, or just the "breaks" when using a phone camera for digiscoping?

Thanks, again, to both of you for your input.

Marc, also, I forgot to mention, that I use a Bluetooth trigger from PhoneSkope to snap my photos.
 

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