Adobe Transforms iPhone Photo App with Powerful SLR Features – Free for Users!
Adobe Transforms iPhone Photo App with Powerful SLR Features – Free for Users!
Adobe’s latest Project Indigo harnesses advanced computing power to deliver a more natural appearance for your photographs, akin to the quality typically produced by an SLR camera.
Available for download in the App Store, the free Project Indigo app serves as a potential alternative to the default Camera app. However, it requires specific types of iPhones. The app is compatible with all Pro and Pro Max iPhones starting from the iPhone 12, as well as all non-Pro iPhones from the 14 onwards.
Adobe emphasises that Indigo employs advanced computing capabilities, so the more recent your phone, the better the experience. In addition to being free, the app does not require an Adobe account or sign-in.
Indigo boasts several features designed to enhance photo quality, as outlined in Adobe’s recent research post. Firstly, it offers manual controls, allowing you to adjust shutter speed, ISO, exposure, focus, temperature, and other settings. Secondly, it enhances your images with a more natural, SLR-like appearance. Lastly, it leverages computational photography, a feature worth exploring.
Typically, most mobile camera apps capture a single image of a scene or subject. This often results in what Adobe refers to as the “smartphone look,” characterised by over-brightness, low contrast, excessive colour saturation, and a softness that can sometimes appear overly sharp. This is not always the desired outcome.
In contrast, computational photography tends to underexpose shots and, crucially, captures multiple images of the same scene. These images are then combined to minimise noise and other issues, resulting in a higher-quality photograph. Indigo takes this process a few steps further:
“First, we under-expose more than most cameras,” Adobe explained in its blog. “Second, we capture, align, and combine up to 32 frames when producing each photo. This means our images have fewer blown-out highlights and less noise in the shadows. While using our app may require a bit more patience after pressing the shutter than you might be accustomed to, the reward will be a superior photograph after a few seconds.”
Indigo’s computational process is effective regardless of the format you choose. Many seasoned photographers prefer to shoot in RAW format rather than JPEG, as RAW retains higher quality and provides more editing options. However, RAW images can consume a significant amount of storage. With Indigo, the computational benefits apply to both RAW and JPEG formats.
Additional Features of Indigo
The app includes two modes for still photography: Photo and Night. Photo is the default setting, but if the lighting is low, the app will recommend switching to Night mode. In this mode, Indigo not only adjusts to a longer exposure time to capture the darker environment but also takes multiple images each time the shutter is pressed. Longer exposures necessitate keeping the camera steady to avoid shake, which may require a tripod or other stabilising object.
To learn more about Indigo, you can refer to Adobe’s detailed research post, which explains how it works and showcases various captured photos.
How to Use Indigo on Your iPhone
To get started with Indigo, ensure your iPhone is compatible, then download the app from the App Store. Experiment with the different modes, such as Photo and Night, and utilise the manual controls. You may want to compare photos taken with the built-in Camera app and those captured with Indigo to see the differences.
Looking ahead, Adobe has expressed interest in developing an Android version of Indigo. Additionally, they are considering alternative “looks” for the app, including personalised options based on how you wish to capture a scene. Other potential features may include a portrait mode for higher quality and options for panoramic and video recording.
“This is just the beginning of Adobe’s journey toward an integrated mobile camera and editing experience that leverages the latest advancements in computational photography and AI,” stated Adobe in its post. “We hope Indigo will appeal to casual mobile photographers seeking a natural SLR-like aesthetic for their images, as well as advanced photographers desiring manual control and optimal image quality, along with anyone who enjoys exploring new photographic experiences.”
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Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter is a British photographer, photography journalist, editor and curator and the founder and editorial director of TheAppWhisperer.com, an independent international photography publication established in 2009.Her journalism, criticism and commentary have appeared in The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Financial Times, BBC, Vogue Italia, LensCulture, Popular Photography, Android Magazine, NikonPro, DPReview, Which Digital Camera and Which Camera. She has lectured internationally on photography and mobile art, served as a juror for international photography awards, and exhibited her own photographic work across the UK, Europe, South Korea and the United States.Alongside her editorial work, Joanne's photographic and postgraduate research explores death, grief, memory, representation and social inequality through contemporary photography, participatory practice and visual research methods, with the longer-term aim of developing this work through doctoral research.Through TheAppWhisperer, she continues to publish independent photography journalism spanning contemporary photographic practice, mobile imaging, photographic apps, computational photography and emerging imaging technologies.Joanne is available for editorial commissions, photography projects, judging, curatorial work, speaking engagements, consultancy and selected collaborations.
