Smartphone as your main camera.

[webrunner5]

He makes some pretty good points like it or not. If you are not making a full time living doing this stuff not sure starter or even moderate cameras are worth buying now. Sure, a Phase One 160mp MF is the way to go but I doubt many could afford that type of rig. 

I do know it is a lot harder to screw up a shot or a video with a smartphone any more than to try to do it with a "real" camera. They have come one Heck of a long way as of late. Food for thought.

 

[webrunner5]

The thing that is hard for me is to buy the several real good quality lenses you need to actually have. These new phones have most of the lenses you need in them already. And there are some really good apps out for them available also.

[kye]

Haven't watched yet, but the idea of a smartphone with its multiple cameras / focal lengths combined with high-quality codecs from third-party apps or Prores is certainly a compelling offering.

There are other issues with these of course, such as:

• you'd want to use the most recent model for the best optics and sensors, but you'd also want to use the latest one as your actual phone, which means putting it on airplane mode while shooting or risking taking a call or messages while shooting
• phones aren't designed with enough battery to film hours of footage per day
• not that easy to rig up either, and if you use cases to protect them from drops then that can also introduce thermal issues (I've overheated phones before while shooting)

I think phones are the ultimate suckers in the BS specs race though because they have the worst quality pixels because they're so small.  If you don't care about the 8K you still pay for it, both in price as well as quality as downsampling still leaves you with brittle images and poor DR.  If someone used a 4K sensor that had much larger pixels, or combined them via dual-gain architecture then you'd get a much better outcome.

This video clearly shows that the 8K smartphone sensor isn't actually getting more than about 2K in real resolution anyway after being compressed almost to death, so the only thing that the 8K sensor is making look good is the spec sheet, so going for quality over quantity is actually the only path that will yield higher quality results.

 

[webrunner5]

You need to watch the video. Itis geared more toward the photography end of it but they are better than you think.

There is really Zero reason for the average person to buy a "real" camera anymore. And less and less reason anymore for me to buy one to be honest. Nobody on here is going to buy a Arri, get real. They might use one but...

[MrSMW]

Outside of work or being a ‘keen amateur’, most people are best served with a decent phone.

I know that for the last 3-4 years, I have gravitated over to using my phone for anything that isn’t work because…

A: It’s convenient

B: It’s good enough (and these things just keep getting better)

I was late to (smart) phones really, starting out with an iPhone 5, then 7, currently 8+ (which replaced both my 7 and my iPad mini).

Probably not this year, but next I reckon I’ll go for whatever is the highest spec, but previous gen and in the smallest size.

I’m not even sure where things are right now with Apple but is it 13 or 14…but one gen back for the best balance of bang for my euro.

And it will be an iPhone, not because I am a fanboy, but it’s just easier to keep it all in house across phones, laptops, iPads etc.

[leslie]

their up to 13 although i have seen some talk  / pr stuff about the 14. Not that it really interests me. 

being a pc windows fellow, apple seems to make you jump through a few more steps or its damn near impossible to get at those raw photos or videos on the iphone. Its pretty annoying however it doesn't frustrate me enough to get a apple laptop. There is software that will connect the pc  an iphone and lets you see those files. i downloaded the free 30 day version but have yet to pony up for the paid version.

[leslie]

oh by the way iphone 13 fanboy here 😉

not too fussed on extra lenses, i would like to add the moment anamorphic that adds the golden flares and a case.

I think you need the case anyway for the moment anamorphic. Other than that a case does add extra protection and its alot of money tied up in that little box. I'm already on my second set of gorilla glass protectors or whatever their called.🙄

[PannySVHS]

I indeed received my second BMMCC, no batteries, no anything. Had it sent to my parents house, cuz Berlin and packages, you know.

I turned it on and recorded a few dropped frames of DNG due to average SDs at my parents house, so it does work, looks good from outside. Need to test it at home with monitor and adequate SD. Anyway, got it for 267 EUR including fee and shipping. Barebone body. But made me think, rigging it without a cage just a 3 inch monitor and set. 400EU 60p raw setup. That could become my cinemacube to go. No rigging, cage, nor acessoiries as with my first BMMCC, which has a RAWlite filter by the way.:) My smart way for a main cinemacam to go, without having to deal with phonecalls ringing in my camera. 🙂

Funky skintones on that fella, had to stop watching after few seconds.:) @webrunner5 But I get your point that a potential device still to come with lack of artificial sharpness could do many tricks.

[webrunner5]

5 hours ago, MrSMW said:

Outside of work or being a ‘keen amateur’, most people are best served with a decent phone.

I know that for the last 3-4 years, I have gravitated over to using my phone for anything that isn’t work because…

A: It’s convenient

B: It’s good enough (and these things just keep getting better)

I was late to (smart) phones really, starting out with an iPhone 5, then 7, currently 8+ (which replaced both my 7 and my iPad mini).

Probably not this year, but next I reckon I’ll go for whatever is the highest spec, but previous gen and in the smallest size.

I’m not even sure where things are right now with Apple but is it 13 or 14…but one gen back for the best balance of bang for my euro.

And it will be an iPhone, not because I am a fanboy, but it’s just easier to keep it all in house across phones, laptops, iPads etc.

Oh my god even my iPhone 10 was crazy bad compared to the newer ones. You would be Amazed how much better say an iPhone 11 Pro is compared to your 8+! They have moved forward at an amazing pace. 

I was out with my Canon 1DC a few days ago. God talk about something hard to get great video on. No auto focus using C Log, so trying to keep shutter speed at 50 fps, holding ISO to the best setting of ISO say 400, and no in body IBIS, thing weighs 20 lbs. with the lens it seems like, yeah, I could have shot 5 times as much video on a Smartphone and all of it would have probably been useable, not so much with the 1DC. 

Times have changed. I am not saying if you get it right on the 1DC it is not going to kill the smartphone, but damn it is hard to make that happen time and time again over and over. Is it worth it for home use? We all have limited time to do most things. Do you want to lug around 10 pound tripod and use a light meter, and have to have an external monitor to see if it is in focus, and make sure WB is perfect on and on to take a few video for a few seconds of a duck lol.

Sure who doesn't like a challenge but hell that is getting close to self harm! Yikes.

[MrSMW]

I think the main downside to the phone is ergonomically it’s shit.

Tiny lenses and less low light capability aside etc and of course there are various software solutions that can overcome some of that, but for pro use, nah.

It’s not even the ‘what would they think of me’ scenario as what people think of what gear choices I make doesn’t concern me, so for me it’s not so much a case of could you, but should you?

My personal line is the compact camera. I have zero issues using a compact camera for pro use and to be honest, if any of them had 4K 50/60p, I’d be using them for all my video work.

I used to use only a Sony RX100v for an entire season.

OK, I had to limit the clips as it overheated a lot and low light, it was a bit shit.

Last year and this, I use a Sony ZV1 on a tripod with a powerbank, for my full length ceremony and speeches productions.

That side of what I deliver to clients is not meant to be some work of art, but long duration, as it happened, single take productions.

And for that, it’s just fine and for speeches in lower light, I’m lighting the scene anyway.

All my considered capture throughout the day is all full frame Lumix.

So my pecking order as it were is:

’Proper’ kit for serious filmmaking + compact kit for static longer form stuff + phone for all things not work related.

I do have an itch for an X100V or a Sigma FP though… 😉

[webrunner5]

From what I have seen the Sigma FP seems to be only really good in Cine DNG. That would be a pretty wicked way to edit with all the time. Sure, the best way to get the best but someone is Really going to like all the storage you have to buy!

But it is nice looking stuff edited right.

[MrSMW]

I don’t know about $ and presume it will be about the same, but storage can be had at around 20£/20€ per 1TB, so pretty cheap IMO?

Iphone 13 mini however, with 256gb storage, how much?!

Well over 1k euros…

Equivalent 12’s, almost half that…

But I’m not in any rush to replace my 8 at the moment, mainly because I have near zero time for anything personal right now and won’t most of the rest of this year.