AI Analysis

RawCull requires macOS 27 (Golden Gate) and an Apple Silicon Mac.

RawCull provides optional local AI for search and review. All inference runs on the Mac; RawCull does not upload photographs to an external AI service.

How the Models Are Used

RawCull uses three vision models:

• DataComp CLIP converts images and text into comparable vectors. RawCull uses those vectors to index every ARW file in a catalog for semantic search, visual similarity, and burst grouping.
• SAM 3 locates subjects in selected images. Deep Review uses a subject mask together with sharpness, CLIP, and camera autofocus evidence; Objects keeps separate masks for individual visible instances.
• Qwen3-VL assesses selected images against editable criteria. In Objects mode it can suggest object concepts and describe the numbered objects, their relationships, strengths, and possible problems.

CLIP is compact and fast enough to index all ARW files in a catalog. SAM 3 and Qwen are substantially larger and require more computation, so RawCull reserves them for deeper analysis of selected photographs rather than running them across the complete catalog.

AI results are review aids, not automatic decisions. Semantic-search scores describe relative similarity rather than confidence, and the photographer always makes the final selection.

Catalog-Wide CLIP Indexing

DataComp CLIP does not create captions, keywords, or fixed labels while indexing. It converts each image into a normalized numeric embedding that summarizes its overall visual content. RawCull stores that embedding locally and can reuse it for both similarity analysis and semantic search.

Enable DataComp CLIP in Settings > AI, then select Index Similarity or Re-index in Similarity view. Indexing runs the image encoder once for each ARW photograph that does not already have a compatible cached embedding. This catalog-wide index supports both similarity and semantic search without invoking the larger SAM 3 or Qwen models.

CLIP embeddings are specific to the model and its preprocessing configuration. Installing an incompatible model version requires a new index. Similarity and semantic search require compatible DataComp CLIP embeddings.

See Similarity, Bursts, and Search for the catalog workflow.

Deeper Analysis of Selected Photographs

Select photographs in Grid View, or use photographs rated two stars and higher, then open AI Analysis. This focused workflow avoids the time and computational cost of running the larger models on every ARW file in the catalog.

• SAM 3 + CLIP isolates the subject and combines subject-aware detail, sharpness, autofocus, and coverage evidence to rank the selected photographs and recommend a frame.
• Qwen Vision evaluates each selected photograph against editable criteria such as composition, exposure, subject visibility, expression, and obstructions. It returns an advisory assessment with scores, strengths, possible problems, confidence, and subject details.
• Objects combines SAM 3 and Qwen to find and assess individual visible objects. Choose Automatic to let Qwen suggest concrete concepts, or Specific Concepts to enter comma-separated terms such as bird, deer. SAM 3 draws a separate mask and numbered outline for each retained instance; Qwen then describes the objects and the photograph. The table shows object counts, concepts, Qwen assessment confidence, and status. Select a row, then a numbered object, to inspect its crop and detail.

The numbered overview and crops are views of one source photograph. A SAM 3 mask percentage measures the model’s confidence in that mask; Qwen assessment confidence is a separate judgment. Neither proves that an object was found or described correctly. Check each outline, crop, and description against the original photograph before making a culling decision.

All three analysis modes run locally on the Mac. See AI Step by Step for a practical Objects workflow and AI Screenshots for examples.

Semantic Search

After a catalog has been indexed with DataComp CLIP, enter a short description such as puffin, raven, or squirrel. RawCull ranks the catalog using the cached image embeddings, so later searches do not have to reprocess every image.

Search terms work best in English because DataComp CLIP was primarily trained and evaluated with English text.

Supported Models

RawCull supports DataComp CLIP for catalog-wide similarity and semantic-search indexing, plus SAM 3 and Qwen3-VL for deeper analysis of selected images.

The upstream files on Hugging Face are the source models. RawCull requires model bundles converted and validated for Apple Core AI on macOS 27.

Model Downloads

The AI models are not included in the RawCull application or its release download. Open Settings > AI and select Download AI Models to view the available models, their purpose, publisher, version, licence, and installation status.

Downloads use macOS Managed Background Assets. macOS stores and manages each asset pack, and its location can change between app launches. RawCull validates an installed model before enabling it and falls back safely when a required model is missing or invalid.

Review the licence in the model manager before selecting Download. Progress and cancellation are shown in the same window. After installation, the models run locally; photographs are not uploaded as part of downloading or using a model.

Keeping the models separate makes the application download smaller. It does not remove the upstream model’s licence conditions. Follow the RawCull release notes for the model versions supported by each beta or release rather than installing an arbitrary conversion.

Model Licences

The RawCull application licence does not replace or extend the licences for the separately downloaded models.

• The DataComp model page identifies its licence as MIT. Its model card also documents the training data, intended uses, and limitations.
• SAM 3 is distributed under Meta’s separate SAM License, not the MIT License. Access to the official Hugging Face files may require signing in, sharing the requested contact information, and accepting Meta’s terms.
• Qwen3-VL-2B-Instruct is distributed under the Apache License 2.0.

Review the complete licence and model card shown by RawCull before downloading or using a model. RawCull records the exact model revision and licence version applicable to each converted bundle. If a model update changes its licence, RawCull must present the new terms before downloading that update.