Halide announces Mark II, the popular iOS camera app, to get new updates. Mark II to be available for free for old users.
Halide has launched its Mark II, a new version of its popular iPhone camera app. It comes with many new features, including a re-design, upgraded RAW processing, and a new pricing model.
Halide Mark II
Design
In 2016, Halide set out to make a camera that beginners could approach and be inherent to experts. However, this time, they have come up with a “bottom-up” redesign.
They say that even though they have improved how the app looked or felt, they have retained their strengths.
There’s an “Intelligence Activation” feature that runs throughout the interface in the form of a theme called “Stay out of the way.”
Halide says that describing your actions as you toggle any of the focus dial icons will help new photographers learn and confirm your actions. The display curves up right at the edge, similar to the new iPhone 12.
RAW Power
Halide is well-known to take RAW photos on an iPhone. They claim that they are “ProRAW ready” after Apple announced ProRAW. However, it the ProRAW feature of Apple is is limited to only iPhone 12 Pro.
They say that they address three critical issues regarding RAW photographs. First, the fact that unprocessed RAW looks terrible when we first load them.
Second, many of today’s iPhones cannot perform computational photography while capturing “classic RAWs.” And lastly, the fact that the most popular filter applications cannot load RAWs.
However, they say that Mark II is the first camera to capture both classic RAWs and computational photographs in one fit. This feature is called “Coverage.”
Coverage
Halide says that this feature helps us to take pictures with all of Apple’s smartest processing. That includes Deep Infusion and Smart HDR 3. Further, it also snaps a RAW DNG, allowing us to save it all in one file.
Instant RAW
Their instant RAW feature develops our RAW file in a single tap. Further explained by the developers on their blog, RAW Halide goes through a “17-step process” of effectively developing our files to get the best potential outcomes.
Moreover, instant RAW can act as a midpoint between an unedited RAW and a completely processed JPEG. They also claim that the Instant RAW is a “No Filter” module.
Focus & Exposure Tools
They have added a type of visualization called the “Waveform.” This tool is used in high-end motion picture work, and Halide is the first app to bring this feature into photography.
The next tool is Zebra Stripes. This tool features when parts of our photographs are either trimmed or fall under a noise outset. They have color-coded the Zebra Stripes in case you enter the “danger zone.” They call it “Color Zebras.”
XDR Analysis
This feature allows the app to visualize 14-bit RAW data in real-time, ultimately allowing us to have 64 times more accurate!
The Pricing
Halide is confident to launch its Mark II at $36. However, they will be selling it for $30 to celebrate the launch.
Moreover, they are introducing memberships this time. The membership price is $11.99/year. However, they will be “locking it” to $9.99/year at launch.
The old users of Halide 1 don’t need to worry as Halide says that anyone who has bought the previous Halide 1 gets Mark II for free!
Image courtesy of Aleksandrs Muiznieks/Shutterstock