Lux Optics, makers of the popular third-party iPhone camera app Halide, has highlighted two major photography features that are in development.

The first will bring special filters optimized to make your shot-on-iPhone photographs look as if taken using film cameras by letting you easily apply various professional color adjustments with a tap. The other will bring custom High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging to the app.

One-tap color grades will bring gorgeous film looks, and you’ll be able to import custom looks created by others. As for custom HDR, Lux says it wanted to take its time “and come up with a thoughtful and nuanced HDR look.” HDR photos pack in a more dynamic range, resulting in images that “pop.” Unlike regular photos, HDR images look great when viewed on an iPhone, and some social media platforms also support them, like Instagram. However, compatibility issues remain as most websites and blogs don’t correctly display HDR photos.

This should improve sooner rather than later thanks to iOS 18, which has introduced the Adaptive HDR feature, which promises to add HDR support to the ubiquitous JPG format. “This should make it easier for every platform to hop on the HDR bandwagon,” Lux said.

The Halide app will also have a new design incorporating the upcoming color grades and HDR features. To that end, developers have started a Discord server for the community to share their thoughts about features in development. Lux has promised to share a Testflight link on Discord for anyone wishing to try out Halide Mark III in early access before it’s released.

Apple’s built-in Photos app also provides various filters and processes HDR photos, as do many camera apps and image editors available on the App Store. Bu Halide is not yet another camera app. It’s arguably the most advanced camera and photography app out there which has consistently won awards, including the Apple Design Award.

One of the best things about Halide is its custom algorithms for features like a super-resolution mode for macro shots, a powerful RAW shooting mode, or its own depth-of-field bokeh mode. For people who can’t stand the over-processed photos coming out of the stock Camera app, Halide provides a special mode with minimal processing.

Earlier this year, Lux released Kino, a pro video app that captures footage in the log video encoding format and lets you change the look and feel of the video with professional color grading presets. Kino has won the App Store Award for 2024 iPhone App of the Year.

Lux also makes the Orion and Spectre apps. Orion turns your iPad into an external display using an external HDMI to USB-C adapter. Spectre is a dedicated app for taking long exposures with an iPhone, and it’s free to use for exposures of up to three seconds.

Source: Lux Optics