There is no single Halide preset that works best for every photo. For more editing latitude, enable RAW and plan to develop the DNG; for easier sharing, keep a rendered companion. Choose an exposure priority based on what you need to control, and treat focus peaking as a guide—not proof that the subject is in focus. The controls available depend on your Halide version and iPhone: Halide 3.2’s Aperture Priority, for example, is limited to iPhone 18 Pro.
Best Halide settings for RAW photos: start with the result you want
RAW is most useful when you expect to make development choices after capture, such as adjusting exposure, contrast, or color. Halide saves RAW as DNG, but a DNG is not a finished-looking image on its own: software has to render the sensor data for display. Halide describes its Photo Lab as a streamlined developer, with Quick Edit, Exposure, Film, and Balance panes—not a full-fledged general photo editor. See Lux’s Halide Mark III overview.
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- Choose RAW when you intend to edit. It gives you source data to develop, including room to adjust exposure in Halide’s Photo Lab.
- Keep a rendered companion for convenience. A processed image is generally the safer choice for sharing and opening across apps. Lux warns that other apps may render RAW files differently from Halide in its Halide 3.1: Scarlet Edition notes.
- Use RAW-only only when your workflow calls for it. Halide 3.1 added optional RAW-only capture. It avoids a processed companion, so choose it when you already know how you will develop and use the DNG.
RAW capture and the image’s processing look are separate decisions. For challenging light and convenience, start with the standard iPhone processing look. If you prefer a more minimal rendering and are willing to make exposure decisions yourself, consider Process Zero. Its manual explains that it preserves raw sensor data for later exposure adjustment, but skips computational techniques that can help in difficult lighting. In a bright-window portrait, that can mean choosing between detail in the person and detail in the bright background. See the Process Zero Manual.
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First decide which photographic constraint matters most: motion, noise and brightness, or—on a supported phone—aperture. These priorities are ways to direct the camera, not universal numeric recipes; the right shutter speed, ISO, or f-number depends on the scene and the result you want.
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| Control | When it helps | Version and device context |
|---|---|---|
| Auto exposure | Use when you want Halide to choose exposure rather than prioritize one variable. | Documented on the Halide Mark III product page; availability can depend on the installed app and device. |
| Shutter Priority | Use when shutter time is the key constraint—for example, how motion is rendered or the risk of camera shake. | Documented on the Halide Mark III product page. |
| ISO Priority | Use when you want to prioritize ISO as part of the noise and brightness tradeoff. | Documented on the Halide Mark III product page. |
| Aperture Priority | Use when choosing the f-number is important and you want Halide to choose shutter speed and ISO. | Halide 3.2, released September 30, 2026, supports this on iPhone 18 Pro. Lux specifies variable apertures from f/1.48 to f/4.0 on that device. |
In Mark III manual exposure, Halide displays an exposure meter. Use it as an aid, then review the captured photo: a meter cannot decide which part of a high-contrast scene should retain the most detail. The Mark III product page documents auto exposure, manual exposure, Shutter Priority, and ISO Priority; the Halide 3.2 aperture update documents the newer, device-specific Aperture Priority feature.
Halide 3.1 also changed viewfinder-tap behavior: when manual focus is active, tapping the viewfinder no longer updates focus; when manual exposure is active, it no longer updates exposure. If a tap does not change the setting you expect, check whether you are in manual mode and adjust the relevant control directly. This behavior is described in the 3.1 release notes.
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How do I turn on focus peaking in Halide?
Focus peaking overlays an outline on areas the app identifies as sharp. It can help you judge manual focus, especially for close-up work, but it is a visual aid rather than a guarantee that the important detail is in focus. Lux’s documented Macro Mode instructions describe switching from autofocus to manual focus and using peaking, including an option for it to activate while adjusting focus. Those directions are from earlier Halide material, not a verified current Mark III menu path. See Lux’s iPhone Macro guide.
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- Check your installed Halide version and its current focus controls. The exact Mark III focus-peaking path is not established by the current Mark III documentation.
- If your version offers manual focus and focus peaking, switch from autofocus to manual focus and enable peaking using the control shown in that version.
- Adjust focus until the outline falls over the detail you want sharp. For macro subjects, make small focus adjustments and inspect the result rather than relying on the outline alone.
Lux’s Mark III preview said focus peaking was still planned at the time of that preview. That historical note does not establish whether a later Mark III release added the feature or where it appears; consult the current app interface rather than assuming Mark II directions apply. See Inside Looks: A Mark III Preview. Mark II remains selectable from Mark III’s ellipsis menu, according to Lux, but Mark II will not receive new features; its controls should not be presented as Mark III controls.
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Use exposure aids, then review the image
Halide’s Mark III materials describe an exposure meter and a Photo Lab histogram. Read these as evidence about exposure, not as automatic judgments of what the final image should look like: the histogram helps you see the distribution of tones, while your subject and intended rendering determine which highlights or shadows matter most.
Halide’s older Mark II materials discuss waveform, histogram, and zebra-stripe aids, including visualization of real RAW sensor data when RAW streaming is active during interactive exposure adjustment. These are Mark II-era details, not a guarantee that the same aids or workflow exist in Mark III. The 2020 Mark II announcement described that feature; it should not be read as a current Mark III control guide.
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A dependable capture-to-share workflow
- Choose the look. Use standard iPhone processing when convenience in difficult light is the priority. Consider Process Zero when you want minimal processing and expect to make exposure decisions yourself.
- Decide whether you will develop the file. Enable RAW when you want to adjust the DNG later. Keep a rendered companion unless you have a known RAW-only workflow and an editor that handles the file as intended.
- Set the exposure priority to match the constraint. Use Shutter Priority for shutter-time control, ISO Priority when ISO is the variable you want to prioritize, or Aperture Priority only on a compatible iPhone 18 Pro running Halide 3.2.
- Focus and verify. Use manual focus and peaking if they are available in your installed version. Inspect the captured image at the detail that matters; an overlay is not a substitute for review.
- Develop and export deliberately. Review the RAW in Photo Lab and compare your adjustments before sharing. If the destination app renders the DNG differently, use the processed companion or export a rendered version from a compatible editor.
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