RAW Power 2 launches, offering full file browsing and powerful raw editing on macOS and iOS

 

 

Last year, I reviewed RAW Power, a raw photo editor which leverages the power of Apple's raw image engine. The software is available for macOS and iOS devices and it does a great job of allowing flexible, non-destructive editing of individual images on both platforms. However, users wanted more. Specifically, they wanted a full file browser. Enter, RAW Power 2, which includes a full file browser.

In a recent live demo with the developer, Nik Bhatt, who used to lead Apple's Aperture team, he showed off the revised software, including demoing its file browser and improved editing features. Regarding the file browser, adding images to your library is a breeze and it works a lot like the Finder in macOS. You can add individual folders, maintaining any subfolder hierarchy, but you can also utilize standard Mac keyboard shortcuts to create new tabs, switch between windows and more. The very useful "Quick Look" functionality of macOS is present in RAW Power 2 as well, as is the new Dark Mode in macOS Mojave.

While not new in version 2.0, RAW Power 2 has a preset system. A neat feature of this preset system is that you can create camera-specific presets. Suppose you shoot with a few different cameras and you want to automatically process images from a certain camera in a specific way, you can set up a preset to automatically apply only to images shot with a specific camera as you add them to your library. Further, with a new full file browser, there is also new batch processing, allowing control over many settings such as size, format, compression, resolution, color profile and custom naming.

Regarding new editing tools, there are five new adjustments in RAW Power 2. While you could convert images to black and white in the original software, you now have access to a dedicated palette for black and white editing. The monochrome mixer has red, green and blue channels and also offers filter simulations such as a red, blue, yellow, green and orange filter, much like you see on Fujifilm cameras with their black and white Film Simulations. There is a new vignette tool and new lens correction tools for perspective corrections and addressing chromatic aberration.

Within RAW Processing, there are two new additions to the "Enhance" adjustments, Deepen and Lighten. These are like shadows and highlights sliders on steroids. Often, when you adjust shadows in other software, you will lose contrast. The idea behind these new adjustments is to maintain richness, color and contrast when addressing the shadows and highlights. In my upcoming RAW Power 2 Review, this is a feature I'm excited to discuss.

Moving specifically to the iOS version of RAW Power 2, the software has full access to your Photos library. You can create and delete albums at will and can also batch process images. There aren't camera presets on the iOS version like there is on the Mac version, but you have the same editing and processing features available. Thanks to iCloud integration, you can start editing on your Mac or iPhone and then pick up where you left off on your other device. All editing is nondestructive and sharing and exporting is easier than ever on your iOS device.

Regarding pricing, there have been some changes. Originally, RAW Power was free on iOS and then different editing tools were locked behind a paywall. This time around, there's a small upfront cost and some editing tools are locked, although the paywall is lower this time to unlock every feature and tool. The upfront cost of RAW Power 2 on iOS is $2.99 and there are two Advanced Adjustment packs available for $1.99 each. Pack 1 includes Depth Effect, Curves and White Balance. Pack 2 includes Chromatic Aberration, Vignette, Perspective and Black and White Adjustments. For macOS, RAW Power 2 is a free upgrade for existing owners. For new users, it's $26.99 through the end of November and $29.99 after that. You can learn more and purchase the software by clicking here. Stay tuned to Imaging Resource for a full review of RAW Power 2 for macOS and iOS.