The iPhone 15 Pro is starting to look like a professional Super 16mm camera for filmmakers. A larger 1/1.28″ main sensor which is nearly Super 16mm size, Apple LOG, 4K ProRes recording externally, 28mm & 35mm modes and a pretty cutting edge zoom optic on the back in addition.
Although it shouldn’t be missed that an Android phone can record 6K RAW internally in Cinema DNG format, Apple has taken the iPhone to new heights for videographers with the iPhone 15 Pro.
A shout out to Dave for the video above and his discovery of the SD card trick.
Although I had expected Apple to go USB C, I hadn’t expected them to go all out with it. Fast transfer speeds, external ProRes recording, you name it.
How long before we get ProRes RAW on an iPhone?
There’s also the new Blackmagic app for the iPhone. This doesn’t shoot BRAW, but does offer some handy manual controls and different flavours of ProRes from LT to 4444. The LT data rate in particular is very useful for a phone, with little sacrifice in image quality for much smaller file sizes compared to 422 HQ.
But it is Apple LOG which is the headline feature of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. This disables the tone-mapping of HDR 4K and the over sharpening, as well as giving you the ability to use LUTs (in-phone with the Blackmagic app and in post) and making the most of the dynamic range of the new larger 1/1.28″ sensor.
Although the iPhone doesn’t shoot 6K or 8K yet (unlike many Android phones, some of which can record 6K in Cinema DNG RAW with the MotionCam app), video quality and codec quality goes to Apple if you just want LOG and find Cinema DNG file sizes too much to handle.
The other great thing about Apple LOG (and the new Blackmagic app) is that you no longer need to stump up for Filmic Pro’s rip off subscription fees.
I will look forward to getting the iPhone 15 Pro Max when it is more readily available, and the shallow DOF mimicking Cinematic mode for video shooting has also taken another step forward. Amazingly for video, you can now select the focus point during editing on pre-recorded material in this mode.
The future seems to be getting brighter all the time for smartphone cameras.
What chance now of Apple giving us a standalone camera? They have all the expertise and more, but with an iPhone this good perhaps they don’t need to bother.
