Hollywood director Rian Johnson (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) has announced a new camera app for iPhone that uses the same image processing techniques as his “Knives Out” films. Here are the details.
Rian Johnson launches the Chromagraph Camera
There’s been no shortage of discussion in recent years about the iPhone’s image processing and, in particular, its often heavy-handed approach to post-processing.
And while things appear to have improved more recently, Apple’s approach to computational photography has helped fuel the development of third-party camera apps that offer greater control over how photos are processed, including Halide’s Mark III – Pro Camera app and the Process Zero feature.
This week, Hollywood director Rian Johnson unveiled Chromagraph Camera, an iPhone app commissioned from cinematographer Steve Yedlin that promises to bring the same image processing used in the “Knives Out” films to the iPhone.
Chromagraph Camera is available for $12.99 with no in-app purchases. It already supports the iPhone Duo, although at least one review suggests that its adapted interface could use some fine-tuning.
Here’s how the Chromagraph Camera is described on the App Store:
Chromagraph starts from the raw image data and builds the image in its own way: not a filter overlaid on the usual appearance processing, but a different process from the start.
FIRST SHOOT, LATER WATCH THE WATCH
As with a film camera, you frame through the viewfinder and see the finished look only after the image has been processed. Take the photo, then open the gallery to see it with the Chromagraph look applied.ADJUST WITHOUT LOSING THE LOOK
Intuitive yet powerful color, tone and texture tools give you real control while keeping each image true to the look that is the heart of the app.A GALLERY THAT PRESERVES THE ORIGINALS
Store full-quality RAW files and view them in the app with the look applied in real time, along with any changes you’ve made. Export smaller files to share with friends or save to your photo library, or turn on automatic export in Preferences to instantly send each photo to your library as a JPEG or HEIC with the look applied.NOT A FILTER
A filter sits on top of the processing the phone has already done. Chromagraph skips that processing and uses its own methods to achieve the polished look favored by director Rian Johnson and cinematographer Steve Yedlin.
On X, Johnson explained that he initially asked Yedlin and color science developer Eric Cameron to create the app for personal use, before they decided to make it available to everyone.
He added that while he had tried numerous third-party camera apps, he wanted a more streamlined solution that combined custom image processing with editing tools for color, exposure, grain, and halo.
To check out Chromagraph Camera, which is currently the highest-paid app in the Photo & Video category of the App Store, follow this link.
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