BlackRAW Studio Brings Blackmagic Color Grading and ProRes RAW to iPhone

The gap in the mobile video workflow has always been at the grading stage: you can capture excellent raw video on iPhone, but the color grading tools available on the device don’t match what you’d have in DaVinci Resolve or Final Cut on a desktop. BlackRAW Studio closes a significant portion of that gap by putting professional-grade color grading tools — the same Lift/Gamma/Gain/Offset model that Blackmagic Design uses — directly inside the mobile app.

The combination of supported capture formats and the depth of the grading toolkit makes this a different category from existing mobile video apps.

Supported Capture Formats

BlackRAW Studio supports five formats:

• ProRes RAW — Apple’s raw video format, available on iPhone 15 Pro and later with supported recording
• Blackmagic RAW — Blackmagic’s raw format (relevant when used alongside Blackmagic’s mobile hardware)
• Apple ProRes — the standard ProRes codec (4444, 422 HQ, 422, 422 LT, 422 Proxy)
• H.264 — the universal codec for distribution and social
• HEVC (H.265) — Apple’s preferred compressed format for space-efficient capture

For most mobile video shooters, the relevant pairing is ProRes RAW for capture (maximum latitude) and the grading tools for color work before exporting to H.264 or HEVC for distribution.

Color Grading Tools

Lift/Gamma/Gain/Offset wheels: The four-node color grading model that DaVinci Resolve uses for its primary color correction. Lift controls the darkest values, Gamma controls midtones, Gain controls highlights, and Offset shifts the entire image up or down without changing contrast relationships. This is a more powerful and precise model than the three-way color wheels in most mobile apps.

Y/R/G/B curves: Per-channel curves for luma (Y), red, green, and blue channels independently. Standard in professional grading software, rarely available in mobile video tools. Per-channel curves let you adjust, for example, the red channel in just the shadow region without affecting red in highlights.

HSL (Hue/Saturation/Luminance): Targeted hue adjustments — shift specific colors in the image without touching others. Common use: adjust skin tone hue without affecting the sky.

ColorSlice: Selective color tool that lets you make adjustments limited to a specific color range sampled from the image. Similar to DaVinci’s Qualifier or Hue vs. Hue curves but implemented for touch-based mobile interaction.

LUT import: Custom LUTs (Look-Up Tables) can be imported for one-click look application. This means LUTs developed for Fujifilm film simulations, manufacturer-provided LUTs, or custom production looks can be applied without a desktop round-trip.

Export Options

Export formats: H.264, HEVC, ProRes 422.

The ProRes 422 export option matters for professional workflow integration — if BlackRAW Studio is an intermediate grading step before delivery to an editor or colorist, ProRes 422 gives them a high-quality file to work with rather than a transcoded H.264.

Pricing

BlackRAW Studio is available at three tiers:

• Monthly: $4.99/month
• Annual: $39.99/year ($3.33/month effective)
• Lifetime: $69.99 one-time

The lifetime option is worth considering given the toolset depth — at $69.99, if the app replaces even a fraction of the mobile-to-desktop round-trip workflow for color grading, the ROI is fast.

Who This Is For

iPhone Pro shooters who grade their own footage: The target user. If you’re shooting ProRes RAW on iPhone 15 Pro or 18 Pro and your current workflow is “import to Mac, grade in DaVinci or Final Cut, export, back to phone” — BlackRAW Studio potentially short-circuits that loop for work that doesn’t require full desktop precision.

Content creators who need fast turnaround: Getting from capture to graded, exported content on a single device removes the transfer and transcoding steps that add 30–60 minutes to a mobile video workflow. For social-native content where turnaround time is the priority, this matters.

Videographers exploring Blackmagic RAW workflows: If you’re using Blackmagic hardware alongside iPhone (Blackmagic Pocket, Blackmagic Micro), having an iPhone app that reads Blackmagic RAW natively is a workflow integration that doesn’t exist in other mobile apps.

Source: PetaPixel

Content created with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy.