HEIC/HIEF-Support

I’ve been using my iPhone 11 Pro Max a lot for the last month. Heif files are really nice. When I import them into On1 they are much, much better than the jpeg’s. They are sharper, can be cropped further and have much less noise. I am really impressed. I’ve been able to print up to 13x19 using Qimage to print (it upsizes very well). I’ve purchased PL3 and would love to be able to see what it can do with Heif/heic files. I’ve settled in to using On1 and PL3 as my photo goto apps.

3 Likes

Hi Mike I’m with You!

The combination of HEIC & P3 on my iPhone produces absolutely amazing images - so much so that I have pretty much stopped shooting RAW (more work~time for a slightly better image) - even for high dynamic range images.

Note: I am using the Halide app.

1 Like

I spoke with a representative of C1 Pro yesterday. Their version 20 (which should release end of this month) won’t have HEIF either for the moment, however it is definitely in their pipeline.

Same for Adobe. The sooner PhotoLab 2 is releasing this, the more of an advantage they can have over their competitors. :slight_smile:

Adobe support HEIC since June 2018 an Mac and August 2018 on Windows. DxO is really late.

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-cc/kb/heic-files-support.html

1 Like

Android 10 will also support HEIC. I really hope PL will support it too.

1 Like

As far as I am aware, they only support HEIC (Apple version of HEIF) import. The majority of us shoot raw, hence we will greatly benefit from be able to export to HEIF.

4 Likes

I second that export to HEIC is more important than import. So far only my iPhone saves in HEIC while all my real cameras save RAWs and the vast majority of picture I edit in PL3 are from those. So HEIC import would be nice but not important in my workflow.

HEIC export on the other side would make a big difference. I cannot use DP3 as a DAM due to its slowness. Thus I need to bake any edits into a file via export to see them in another DAM or the OS. TIFFs are too large and JPEGs limit me to 8-bit colors. With HEIC export I would get kind of a PL3 developed RAW useable directly in every OS and software that supports HEIC.

IMO in HEIC you can store multiple pictures in one file. Maybe it could even be possible to have the original RAW and the DP3 developed picture in the HEIC file and delete the original RAW.
It could probably speed up the DP3 DAM as well, if it can use the developed picture in the HEIC for preview instead of recreating it from the RAW each time.

JPEG is still the standard but HEIC is the future. Things might change rapidly once the major camera manufacturers start to support HEIC. Better to be prepared then.

2 Likes

@Marie Taking into account the sheer amount of benefits exporting RAW to HEIF will bring a cross the board, the interest from users, as well as the competitive advantage for PL3 (at this time), could you please try to make this a priority feature?

Hi Pete!

Which iOS version are You using? If it is v10 or higher have a look at the Halide app where You can shoot Raw (DNG). The other issue would be which iPhone model are You using… PhotoLab supports up to the iPhone X (based on this page).

1 Like

Thanks for this status update.

Meanwhile, there are 2 options for the HEIC enthusiasts:

  1. Be patient (*)
  2. Export to TIFF and convert TIFF to HEIC with existing tools
    For MacOS the Preview app natively supports conversion from e.g. TIFF to HEIC (8 bit/channel), or you could play with e.g. this command-line tool (you’ll have to compile it with XCode).
    For Windows, there are apps that can do the same, although I’m no longer very active on the Windows environment.

(*) For the time being, most commercial photo print services still rely exclusively on JPEG JFIF file format.

2 Likes

I’m finding PL 3 useless for new photography since picking up an iPhone 11 Pro Max. HEIF? Nope. DNG? Nope. Lens corrections on JPEG? Nope. I can’t be the only person waiting on support in these areas.

1 Like

I’m more or less in the same boat. For every day photography I often use my iPhone 8. Due to missing HEIF support Lightroom is still my preferred tool.
HEIF support was postponed several times. Currently it’s promised for beginning of 2020 but I wouldn’t hold my breath. It’s still not clear what kind of support DxO is planning - import, export, …
Some argue that PL is a raw developer and as such export is sufficient. I disagree as it supports JPEG on the import side as well and not only RAW.

@Marie could you please tell us if the planned HEIF support is import, export or both?

3 Likes

HEIF support is even more of use for saving if DxO will not protect adjustments from changes in the future. It would enable a much smaller backup to protect processed images against future program changes in the program.

3 Likes

DxO users should be aware that HEIF is a proprietary and legally protected format https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Efficiency_Image_File_Format#Patent_licensing and definitely not an open standard. I don’t know what legal hoops DxO would need to go through to use HEIF.

It’s one that Canon is reportedly going to be using next year so there will be a need to be able to use it

2 Likes

Any news when we will get HEIC support and what kind of integration your are planing, i. e. import, export or both?

4 Likes

Hi @Marie , As we are currently in Q1 of 2020, I was wondering if you have an update in regards to HEIF. In your last post, on Nov 19th, you mention that you were resuming your work ,and planned to add this feature in the beginning of 2020.
Any news?

2 Likes

If it would be import only, it would basically be useless for most of us (unless you are planning to buy the latest Canon or iPhone). The whole topic was about exporting RAW to Heif. That would be a real benefit, over any competitor.

Actually HEIF support in iPhones goes back to at least the iPhone 7+, but completely agree with your point. Having a 16-bit HEIC export would be awesome.

Sorry, but I have to disagree. You don’t need the latest iPhone for HEIF support as Apple uses this codec for a couple of years now. Furthermore the whole thread was started with a general question about support for this format and NOT about export only.

Some people need import, some need export. So why should HEIF support be limited to only one area?

1 Like