Raw photos low resolution after editing (Mac Ventura)

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Level 1

8 points

Raw photos low resolution after editing (Mac Ventura)

Hi all:

Still haven't found a fix for this. After upgrading to Ventura, RAW photos (Canon R7 cropped sensor) look fine in Photos until edited. After editing, they stay low resolution, even in full screen. If you hit return to enter the edit process again, it pops into full resolution again.

Another anomaly is that the edited RAW photo cannot be uploaded into a shared album and will "choke" the process if you try to upload other photos at the same time. The only workaround I have found is to export the edited photos to JPGs to the desktop, import the exported JPGs. Then they function as expected.

Not acceptable that Apple cannot handle photos edited in their own program!!

Frustrated:

rcarbaugh

Posted on Apr 21, 2023 10:07 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

SaratogaScenes

Level 1

9 points

Sep 8, 2023 3:36 PM in response to rcarbaugh1

I have read through the whole thread, and want to confirm that I have the same problem: RAW photos from a Nikon camera are displayed in high resolution before editing, but after editing they are only displayed in very blurry low resolution in Photo on Mac with Ventura 13.5.1. This used to work in the OS before Ventura. It is HIGHLY FRUSTRATING that so-called "upgrades" in OS then eliminate very basic functionality. This is totally unacceptable and very poor quality control by Apple !!!

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Answer 2

Apr 23, 2023 11:08 AM in response to rcarbaugh1

Hi rcarbaugh1,

For help regarding editing photos on your Mac, test the steps and information below found in the article here: Use a RAW file as the original in Photos on Mac - Apple Support

"Use a RAW file as the original in Photos on Mac

Some cameras allow you to shoot photos in both RAW and JPEG formats simultaneously. When you import photos from these cameras, Photos uses the JPEG file as the original—but you can tell it to use the RAW file as the original instead.

In the Photos app on your Mac, double-click a photo to open it, then click Edit in the toolbar.
Choose Image > Use RAW as Original."

You can also check additional settings with the steps here: How the Photos app and iCloud Photos handle RAW images and find additional information here: Reprocess imported RAW files in Photos on Mac

If the issue remains, reach out to Apple Support directly to report and further assist.

Contact - Official Apple Support

Contact Apple for support and service - Apple Support

Best.

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Answer 3

Sean_B1

Community Specialist

Apr 24, 2023 2:50 PM in response to rcarbaugh1

Hello rcarbaugh1,

Thank you for that information. Just to confirm, which version of macOS are you running? If you have any updates avaiable, please update the macOS now with the steps in this link: Update macOS on Mac - Apple Support

"Use Software Update

Before following these steps, it's a good idea to back up your Mac.

From the Apple menu  in the corner of your screen, choose System Settings or System Preferences.

If you chose System Settings, click General on the left side of the window. Then click Software Update on the right.
If you chose System Preferences, click Software Update in the window.

2.Software Update then checks for new software.

If Software Update finds new software, click the button to install it. The button might be named Update Now, Upgrade Now, Install Now, or Restart Now, for example. You might then be asked to enter your administrator password.
If Software Update says that your Mac is up to date, then no new software is currently available for your Mac model. Software Update shows only software that is compatible with your Mac."

This will help to ensure that Photos has the latest information from Canon.

Cheers!

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Answer 4

djwe

Level 1

13 points

Oct 14, 2023 5:43 PM in response to SaratogaScenes

I'm also dealing with this same issue. Incredibly frustrating and also prevents me from easily sharing photos. I find that I can export the picture as jpeg to a folder on my desktop and then I can share it and it looks like it is full size. Extremely frustrating that all of this worked just fine a few weeks and now apple apparently has no fix for this.

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Answer 5

ShannonM1

Community Specialist

Apr 24, 2023 1:13 PM in response to rcarbaugh1

Understood rcarbaugh1,

Before we go further, could you confirm for us if these are straight RAW files or ProRAW files? We know that a Canon camera looks to be involved, we just want to make sure there's not differing kinda of RAW-based files. ProRAW files have different handling, as listed at About Apple ProRAW - Apple Support.

Cheers!

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Answer 6

Mar 6, 2024 2:57 AM in response to Zero Hz

Me too, and I am using a Sony AR7 IV creating RAW files (called .ARW).

MacBook Air M2 Ventura 13.6.4. Photos Version 8.0

Seems clear that it is a flaw of the Photos app.

Perhaps Apple could add a 'viewing proxy' function that matches the resolution of your screen and generates these in the background so that if you need to screen the images to friends (or clients), it's sharp. It could happen in the background so we don't even know it's happening!

I for one will not be exporting and re-importing as suggested above - that would waste much more space (not to mention time) than the 'viewing proxy' idea, plus the manual management factor keeping RAW and JPEG pairs of every photo I adjust - I don't even want to think about that!

Anyone know if this has been repaired in the latest OS?

EDIT: Can answer my own question - just found another thread and it appears the Apple have fixed it in macOS Sonoma - bottom of the page above my post:

Blurry After Editing - Apple Community

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Answer 7

rcarbaugh1 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 24, 2023 12:58 PM in response to OrigamiFan1

Hi OrigamiFan1

Thank you for responding so thoughtfully. Unfortunately, none of these articles addresses the problem of a RAW photo edited within Photos which then only shows the thumbnail resolution and will not upload to a shared stream.

Grateful,

rcarbaugh

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Answer 8

rcarbaugh1 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 24, 2023 2:38 PM in response to ShannonM1

Hi ShannonM1:

Apple ProRAW files seem to be generated by iPhone photography. Before your post, I had never heard of the ProRAW format. The photos in question are standard RAW files from my Canon R7 mirrorless camera. The photos are imported as JPG and RAW into photos. I have an MacBook Pro M1 laptop which is running Ventura 13.2.1. Both the camera and the laptop were purchased new as of Dec 2022. I bought a SanDisk 4T SSD drive to contain my Photos library, since it surpassed my 2T SSD drive last year.

On a given travel weekend, I might shoot 700 - 2000 photos in RAW format at a conference. I import them into Photos as both JPG and RAW. I do minimal editing (mostly exposure) with the Photos editor (by hitting Return) on a small percentage (5-10%) of the photos. I switch to RAW format only on the ones I edit. The info on the photo switches from 9Mb to around 40Mb once it is edited.

At that point, Photos will NOT load the high-resolution photo when I scroll through the photo album or library. However, it DOES load the high-resolution photo if I hit Return again, going into edit mode. The edited photo also will NOT upload to a shared photo album. The only work-around I have found is to select the edited photos, export them to a folder, then re-import them to the Photos Library. Curiously, they are still 40Mb-ish in size, but they are JPG, not RAW. Then, and only then, can I upload them into a shared album. I use Keywords to separate the edited, RAW-based photos from the other JPG photos before I upload the latter to the shared album.

I have seen others on this forum who seem to have a similar issue, but I have not seen any workarounds other than the one I have uncovered (with help from Apple Support).

Here's another bit of data: If I simply switch the original to be RAW instead of JPG, it still loads and uploads to the shared albums properly. However, if I edit it, it then will not upload to a shared album but gives this error warning:

"The operation couldn’t be completed. (PHResourceLocalAvailabilityRequestErrorDomain error 0.)"

Thank you again,

rcarbaugh

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Answer 9

rcarbaugh1 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 24, 2023 4:07 PM in response to Sean_B1

Hi Sean_B1:

I have an MacBook Pro M1 laptop which is running Ventura 13.2.1. Both the camera and the laptop were purchased new as of Dec 2022. I bought a SanDisk 4T SSD drive to contain my Photos library, since it surpassed my 2T SSD drive last year.

Regards,

rcarbaugh1

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Answer 10

jmarse1

Community Specialist

Apr 24, 2023 4:23 PM in response to rcarbaugh1

Hi rcarbaugh1,

In that case, we would recommend reaching out to Apple directly to look into this with you further. You can get started on that from here: Get Support

They should be able to help out there.

Cheers.

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Answer 11

rcarbaugh1 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 24, 2023 4:29 PM in response to jmarse1

Thanks jmarse1:

I spent an hour or so on the phone with Apple to get where I am today. It got escalated and I got a next-tier support person. That's how we figured out that it was the edited RAW photos that were the problem. Together we discovered that the only solution/workaround (so far) was to export and re-import them.

I'll call again eventually, but I thought I would give this forum a try just in case someone else has dealt with the same problem and solved it more satisfactorily. It's interesting that this is not more common among Photos users.

Thanks to one and all. Hopefully, Apple will figure this out and update something somewhere.

Regards,

rcarbaugh1

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Answer 12

Zero Hz

Level 1

12 points

Oct 14, 2023 7:39 PM in response to rcarbaugh1

Same exact issue as rcarbaugh1 and others only, with a Sony camera and MacMini with M2.

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Raw photos low resolution after editing (Mac Ventura)

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