Samsung"s Pro Mode vs Expert Raw

I am trying to get myself to use the camera on my S22 Plus more often...what is the saying?? "The best camera is the one you have with you?"

Has anyone done testing with the camera app's Pro Mode (which produces Raw DNG files) and the Expert Raw app that is available on the Samsung Store? Most reports that I have read suggest that the Expert Raw app is the way to go...multiple images merged into one file for great dynamic range. My very limited experimenting suggests that Expert Raw images come out of the app sharpened...not just sharpened but over sharpened. Is this really a raw image that it produces?

Any insight and experience by anyone who has used these two apps for awhile would be appreciated.

Regards,
Michael

Me too, would be great for a list of tutorials or youtube channels that focus on this subject

Photos taken in the Expert RAW application are not real RAW - they are already subject to artificial intelligence processing. For lazy people, this is the best thing, because you don’t have to worry about a lot of settings :)
The only advantage of the application is almost immediately the correct white balance.
Don't be lazy, take the same photo in both applications and compare the result in the image editor. Experiment yourself and do not look for the truth in different reviews on the Internet.

If you use expertraw you have to use a raw editing tool, since the jpeg it produces are quite bad imo. I think lightroom mobile for samsung should be free to use on your phone (is on my s21 ultra). If you then use the profiles specially made for expertraw in lightroom, decrease sharpening and edit to taste you can get good results. But its more work, so i really only use it in situations where i have to or the standard app produces results i dont like. If there is plenty of light i feel normal promode in jpeg mode gives the most natural looking images.

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I have tried both the LR mobile app as well as the On1 mobile app....I don't really want to "work" on my images on my phone, just take the photograph. I would transfer the images to my desktop computer for editing and keep the files in the raw format for as long as possible.

I have shot a few images outside as well as inside for my comparison and have to say that so far the Pro Mode in the standard app works better for me.

Posting 2 images taken with the S22+ in Pro Mode.
The first image (Phone027) is the raw image with some very basic edits using ON1 Photo Raw 2023. Much better control of the shadows!. All raw images are captured at the sensor's 3:4 aspect ratio. I then cropped to my normal 2:3 ratio.

The second image (Phone 028) is the original unretouched jpg that you get as well when shooting Raw in Pro Mode (16:9 ratio).

I then exported both to a lower resolution jpg format (I don't know what format/color mgmt. issues exist here.

Regards, Michael

I just got S23 Ultra. I tested Pro vs Expert RAW. I prefer Pro RAW. It is just what I'm used to coming from regular cameras (Canon 6D and Sony a6400).

RokasM mentioned this above, and I confirmed. Pro mode is more of direct capture. I don't know for sure that it has zero processing, because you never know with today's smartphones. It definitely doesn't have obvious AI and HDR. Expert RAW has AI and HDR applied. HDR is very easy to tell.

On the RAW output, Expert RAW has more sharpening than Pro mode. Expert RAW probably has slightly more dynamic range, because it has HDR baked in. Other than that, they can be edited to be the same. Not sure if these are good for bad. Because the sharpening and HDR in RAW image are not reversible. It might work in some conditions, but might not in other cases.

Then if you care about the JPEG output from these modes, they are very different. Pro mode JPEG output is very typical of RAW files. A bit flat, muted, low contrast, not sharpened. Expert RAW JPEG output is extremely and heavily processed. Almost comical and cartoonish. Not sure if this is only the case for S23 Ultra, or common with other Samsung S phones.

My comparison photos: imgur.com/a/qniO3n6. I use Raw Therapee for the RAW edit.