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For those who don’t know the tool: Blackmagic Design makes cinema cameras and the DaVinci Resolve postproduction platform; Blackmagic Camera turns supported iPhones and iPads into acquisition devices with manual camera controls, professional monitoring, metadata, external-media recording, remote operation and Blackmagic Cloud hand-off.
A real iris, at last
The headline change in Blackmagic Camera 3.5 is physical. The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max use a 48 MP Fusion Main camera with a variable aperture. Apple specifies four recommended positions: f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8 and f/4.0. Blackmagic Camera can now control that aperture directly, putting it beside the exposure controls the app already provides. The Main camera is a 24 mm-equivalent module with second-generation sensor-shift optical image stabilisation and 100 percent Focus Pixels. The same sensor also provides Apple’s 12 MP optical-quality 2x view at a 48 mm equivalent focal length. The other rear cameras do not inherit the moving iris.
From f/1.48 to f/4 is about 2.87 stops. The individual jumps are unusual rather than neat cinema-lens thirds: roughly 0.56 stop from f/1.48 to f/1.8, 1.27 stops from f/1.8 to f/2.8 and 1.03 stops from f/2.8 to f/4. That gives operators an actual optical variable in the exposure triangle. Opening the iris admits more light and reduces optical depth of field; stopping down reduces light and increases depth of field. On a small phone sensor the latter will not suddenly produce full-frame portrait separation, but it is genuine lens behaviour rather than a simulated blur slider.
It also means shutter angle can remain where motion rendering requires it while aperture absorbs part of an exposure change. ND filters have not been made redundant. At f/4 the iPhone is hardly peering through a pinhole, so daylight work at a conventional cinema shutter still has plenty of opportunities to involve glass in front of glass.
The API is more interesting than four numbers
Apple’s AVFoundation changes reveal more capability than the four stops shown in Apple’s Camera interface. A capture-device format can now report its minimum, maximum and default physical lens aperture as well as an ordered array of recommended aperture stops. AVFoundation also exposes a custom-exposure method that accepts lens aperture, exposure duration and ISO together.
The framework defines automatic aperture and current-aperture values, can report whether the aperture is being controlled automatically and includes a rate limit for automatic iris movement. A developer can also query whether a specific combination of aperture, exposure duration and ISO is supported by the selected capture format. That is useful context for Blackmagic Camera because the operating system now provides an actual physical-aperture control surface to third-party camera applications rather than simply reporting a fixed f-number.
It does not tell us exactly how much of that API Blackmagic exposes. Blackmagic’s 3.5 notes say the app can control the variable aperture to adjust depth of field and exposure. They do not document whether Blackmagic Camera presents only Apple’s four recommended values, permits intermediate values within the physical range, supports automated aperture, or permits a programmed iris move during recording.
Pro Video Storage is not just another folder
The second addition needs a little more explanation than “record ProRes internally.” Pro Video Storage is new system infrastructure in iOS 27 for sustained high-data-rate video recording. Apple exposes it through the AVProVideoStorage class, which manages storage pre-allocated by the user.
The reason is I/O determinism. Normal filesystem traffic competes with applications, system activity, memory pressure and ordinary storage housekeeping. That variability becomes uncomfortable when a camera is trying to sustain a high-bandwidth stream without dropping frames. Apple’s Pro Video Storage reserves capacity specifically for video capture. The user configures the reservation in Settings under Camera and Formats. The amount can subsequently be changed or removed when the space is wanted back for less cinematographic pursuits.
At API level, AVProVideoStorage is a system-wide shared resource. Applications can query whether it is supported, its initial allocated capacity, remaining capacity and whether the resource is currently busy.
Applications opt compatible recording pipelines into Pro Video Storage. Apple documents support through movie-file output and AVAssetWriter workflows. Blackmagic Camera 3.5 can now record Apple ProRes to that storage. That is different from Blackmagic Camera’s established choices of app storage, Photo Library and Files destinations on internal or external media. Pro Video Storage is not a new filesystem, codec or removable volume. It is a reserved high-bandwidth recording resource managed by iOS.
ProRes still has rules
Apple requires Pro Video Storage to be configured before enabling ProRes on iPhone 18 Pro models. Apple’s native ProRes implementation records up to 4K at 30 fps internally. On iPhone 18 Pro models, 4K at up to 120 fps requires compatible external storage. Blackmagic’s 3.5 release notes announce ProRes recording to Pro Video Storage but do not claim that this removes Apple’s external-storage requirement at 4K 120 fps.
Apple documents ProRes RAW support on iPhone 18 Pro through compatible applications, but Blackmagic’s public 3.5 release notes specifically name Apple ProRes for the new Pro Video Storage destination. So “ProRes to Pro Video Storage” should currently be read exactly as written. Adding “RAW”, “120 fps” or other ambitions to that sentence requires evidence Blackmagic has not published.
Apple also states that ProRes is unavailable in Cinematic, Time-lapse and Slo-Mo modes. That becomes particularly important because the next Blackmagic 3.5 bullet is Cinematic recording. They are two features, not a secret recipe for Cinematic ProRes.
Codec, colour and proxy plumbing
Blackmagic’s iOS specification lists Apple ProRes 422 HQ, ProRes 422, ProRes 422 LT and ProRes Proxy, plus HEVC/H.265 and H.264, with availability depending on the device. Documented recording resolutions are 4K, 1080p and 720p. For codecs that expose a selectable bitrate, the application offers Low, Medium, High and Max settings.
Colour-space choices listed by Blackmagic are Rec. 709, Rec. 2020, P3 D65, BT.2020 HLG10, BT.2020 HDR10, Apple Log and ACES, again subject to device capability.
The app can automatically create a 1920 x 1080 HEVC proxy alongside each recording. Upload behaviour can be set to proxies only or originals plus proxies, with automatic or manual transfer into a selected Blackmagic Cloud project and an option to restrict upload to Wi-Fi.
Blackmagic Camera integrates with Blackmagic Cloud and DaVinci Resolve 18.6 or later. Record-run and time-of-day timecode are available, and Tentacle Sync E is supported over Bluetooth for external timecode workflows. That makes Pro Video Storage an acquisition-side change rather than a new post format. Downstream editorial still receives the codec and colour pipeline selected for the recording.
Sound, glass and useful plumbing
The app can use no audio, the device microphones or compatible external microphones. Documented audio formats include Linear PCM, IEEE Float and AAC, with mono, stereo, dual-mono or four-channel recording. Sample rate can be automatic, 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz.
Monitoring supports VU or PPM scales, and compatible external audio sources can expose gain adjustment from the meter interface.
For lens accessories, Blackmagic Camera includes 1.33x and 1.55x anamorphic desqueeze options and image flipping for appropriate SLR-lens configurations. HDMI monitoring is available through compatible Apple Lightning or USB-C adapters, with either screen mirroring or a video feed and configurable overlays.
Bluetooth accessories documented by Blackmagic include Nucleus wireless lens control and Tentacle Sync E. Camera remote mode can make an iPhone a controller or a remote camera, provide control-and-monitoring or monitoring-only access, synchronise recording across cameras and suppress or dim remote-camera feeds during recording.
For more elaborate rigs, the separate Blackmagic Camera ProDock adds full-size HDMI 2.1, 3.5 mm microphone and headphone connections, BNC timecode and genlock inputs, USB-C for external recording media and accessories, and external power. That hardware is not required for the three new 3.5 functions.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/blackmagic-camera/id6449580241
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagiccamera
https://www.apple.com/iphone-18-pro/specs/
| Product | Blackmagic Camera for iOS |
| Developer | Blackmagic Design |
| Version | 3.5 |
| New device support | iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max |
| New in 3.5 | Variable-aperture control; ProRes to Pro Video Storage; Cinematic video recording; performance and stability improvements |
| Variable-aperture camera | 48 MP Fusion Main, 24 mm equivalent, second-generation sensor-shift OIS, 100% Focus Pixels |
| Physical aperture | f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8, f/4.0; approximately 2.87 stops total |
| Fixed rear apertures | Ultra Wide: 13 mm equivalent, f/2.2; Telephoto: 100 mm equivalent, f/2.8 |
| iPhone 18 Pro Cinematic capability | Rear: up to 4K Dolby Vision 60 fps; front: up to 4K Dolby Vision 30 fps |
| Pro Video Storage | User-configured, system-wide pre-allocated storage for sustained high-data-rate capture under iOS 27 |
| Apple ProRes limitation | Apple documents internal ProRes up to 4K30; iPhone 18 Pro 4K120 ProRes requires compatible external storage |
| App codecs | ProRes 422 HQ, 422, 422 LT, Proxy; HEVC/H.265; H.264, device-dependent |
| App resolutions | 4K, 1080p, 720p, device-dependent |
| App frame rates | 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 48, 59.94, 60, 100, 120 fps, device/codec-dependent |
| Off-speed capture | 4–60 fps, played at project frame rate |
| Shutter angle | 1.1–360° |
| Shutter speed | 1/24 through 1/8000 second, device/frame-rate-dependent |
| ISO | 21–5472, device/lens-dependent |
| White balance | Auto, presets or manual 2500–10,000 K |
| Tint | -50 to +50 |
| Exposure compensation | ±3 stops, device/lens-dependent |
| Colour spaces | Rec. 709, Rec. 2020, P3 D65, BT.2020 HLG10, BT.2020 HDR10, Apple Log, ACES |
| Proxy recording | Optional automatic 1920 × 1080 HEVC proxy per recording |
| Timecode | Record-run or time-of-day; Tentacle Sync E supported over Bluetooth |
| Audio | Linear PCM, IEEE Float or AAC; mono, stereo, dual-mono or 4-channel; 44.1/48 kHz |
| Monitoring | Zebra, false colour, histogram, focus assist, frame guides, safe areas, LUT display and HDMI output |
| Stabilisation | Off, Standard, Cinematic, Extreme, device-dependent |
| Cloud workflow | Blackmagic Cloud with DaVinci Resolve 18.6 or later |
| iPhone OS requirement | iOS 16.6+ for the app generally; iPhone 18 Pro features depend on iOS 27-era hardware/system support |
| Availability | Apple App Store |
| Pricing | Free |
