Leica Looks for RAW files

[reemas]

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I noticed if I shoot with RAW files only, the Leica Look is retained when downloading via the app to my iPhone. Even in the Photos app, the RAW file maintains the Leica Look while editing.

 

However, when sharing the file to Lightroom via the app (or really any other method) the Leica Look is lost and it's a regular untouched RAW file. Does anyone know how this works? Is there a way to get Lightroom to maintain the Look the way Photos does?

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[RQ44]

I too have been trying to solve this puzzle since owning a Q3. I don't know why Leica doesn't allow Adobe to add these looks to their auto detected presets/profiles.

[Tarekith]

The only way to keep the looks is to work with the jpgs from camera sadly.  The RAWs you see in Apple Photos and your iPhone look like they have the look applied, but I was told it’s just a smaller version of the jpg embedded in the RAW.

[reemas]

25 minutes ago, Tarekith said:

The only way to keep the looks is to work with the jpgs from camera sadly.  The RAWs you see in Apple Photos and your iPhone look like they have the look applied, but I was told it’s just a smaller version of the jpg embedded in the RAW.

That sounds like what I suspected. But oddly, when you edit in RAW (in Apple Photos) they start with the look applied.

Edited March 29 by reemas

[Guest]

4 hours ago, reemas said:

That sounds like what I suspected. But oddly, when you edit in RAW (in Apple Photos) they start with the look applied.

Unfortunately, this is the same as Lightroom. You are still seeing the embedded jpeg and as soon as you edit the RAW you will lose the "look".

[Guest]

8 hours ago, RQ44 said:

I too have been trying to solve this puzzle since owning a Q3. I don't know why Leica doesn't allow Adobe to add these looks to their auto detected presets/profiles.

It's not quite as simple as that.Although the RAW metadata contains the name of the applied "Look" the full info for the "Look" is not embedded in the RAW file. Adobe would need to create the camera matching presets, perhaps working with Leica.

[jaapv]

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The point is that a raw file is not an image file but a data file from which image files can be created. So a Leica Look cannot be applied to a raw file. 

As John says, the instructions to create a Leica Look JPG in the computer could be sent by  sidecar file or embedded in the DNG, but that is not the case. It is not needed either, as one can simply use the OOC jpg. The one automatically made in the computer would be exactly the same. In the Photos app that is proprietary to Leica the Leica Look appears to be stored, so the app only needs a flag on the DNG to reapply it to the JPG. 

 
But is it not better to create your own look from a raw file that does not depend on the factory precooked ones?

[reemas]

2 hours ago, jaapv said:

The point is that a raw file is not an image file but a data file from which image files can be created. So a Leica Look cannot be applied to a raw file. 

And yet in Apple Photos my edits on a RAW file start with the Leica Look applied. 
 

Agree about creating your own looks though. Was just curious why this happens with Photos and not Lightroom. 

Edited March 29 by reemas

[jaapv]

That only means that Apple bought the rights or reverse-engineered them. But are you sure? is Apple Photos maybe importing DNG+ JPG ? 

[reemas]

It might be an Apple / Leica partnership as Apple also carries Leica products and I thought they had some kind of partnership in promoting each others brands. 
 

And yes I’m sure, I switched to DNG files only on my Leica and imported the DNG to both Apple Photos and Adobe Lightroom when testing this. 

[RQ44]

19 hours ago, Corius said:

It's not quite as simple as that.Although the RAW metadata contains the name of the applied "Look" the full info for the "Look" is not embedded in the RAW file. Adobe would need to create the camera matching presets, perhaps working with Leica.

Yes. I noticed if I use an internal preset on my XPro3, the preset automatically appears in Adobe Camera RAW or Lightroom. I think this is what the person is wondering about as am I.

[hdmesa]

On 3/28/2025 at 5:31 PM, reemas said:

I noticed if I shoot with RAW files only, the Leica Look is retained when downloading via the app to my iPhone. Even in the Photos app, the RAW file maintains the Leica Look while editing.

 

However, when sharing the file to Lightroom via the app (or really any other method) the Leica Look is lost and it's a regular untouched RAW file. Does anyone know how this works? Is there a way to get Lightroom to maintain the Look the way Photos does?

Leica would need to partner with Capture One and Lightroom to create presets that match the JPEGs. I assume that means Leica paying them to do it.

Until then, try Capture One's new "Match Look Tool". Import both the JPEG and the RAW, and copy/paste the look from the JPEG to the RAW. It should work well considering you're not copying the look from a photo with different lighting, they're identical.

https://support.captureone.com/hc/en-us/articles/22188770298269-Match-Look-Tool