For those who don’t know the tool: Blackmagic Camera turns an iPhone into a manual camera app that can feed directly into Resolve workflows, now with wrist control via Apple Watch on iOS. Or the other professional controllers you might have.

A wrist remote for phone rigs

Phone cameras already live in all the inconvenient places. High on a stand. Gaffer-taped to a car. Wedged into a tiny corner for a cheat shot. The update to Blackmagic Camera targets that exact pain point with a companion app for Apple Watch that can control and monitor the iPhone camera remotely.

The Watch companion focuses on practical set tasks. It can start and stop recording, show framing, and display audio levels. It also exposes key controls from the wrist, including exposure, focus, and LUT selection. The whole point is simple: keep all hands off the phone when a touch would wobble the shot, it is too far away, or the camera’s protection against the environment (Animals, Art Directors, the Public) is already in place. The Watch companion installs through the Watch app on the iPhone, and it pairs up as a remote control surface for the camera app. If you want to see it in action, have a look at this video from 9 to 5 Mac:

New hooks for studio style control

This update also adds support for ATEM camera control when you use Blackmagic Camera with ATEM workflows. That matters for anyone building iPhone based multicam setups that need consistent shading and control.

The same update adds support for Blackmagic Focus and Zoom demands when used with Blackmagic Camera ProDock. That pairs the app with physical lens style controls, aimed at a more traditional camera operating feel on a phone rig. Those demands already exist as hardware controls for compatible lenses in Blackmagic’s camera ecosystem. Here, they extend into the phone rig world when you connect through the ProDock.

HDMI portrait output and other workflow fixes

The App Store release notes for the current version list several production-facing additions and fixes beyond the Watch comanion.

The update adds support for full-screen portrait mode HDMI output. That targets vertical capture pipelines where you still want proper monitoring on external displays, without awkward letterboxing or UI clutter.

Pricing and availability

Blackmagic Camera on the App Store is free. Hardware mentioned in the update, including Blackmagic Camera ProDock, carries its own pricing and availability outside the app listing. But you know that, don’t you?

The boring advice that saves shoots

New features feel exciting right up until they meet real world constraints like wireless congestion, rigging compromises, heat, storage, and a director who wants the fifth take to roll instantly. Treat the companion like any other control surface: test it, rehearse it, and build a fallback plan before you rely on it in production.

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagiccamera

The post Apple Watch control for the Blackmagic Camera? first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Mavis has released version 7.4 of its Mavis Camera app for iPhone and iPad. The update introduces Film Kit, an in-app purchase priced at USD $9.99, aimed at users who want professional colour workflows and more flexible framing options.

The Film Kit enables custom .cube LUT import, letting users either preview looks in the viewfinder or bake them into the recorded footage. According to Mavis, this behaviour also applies to HDMI feeds coming from an Atomos Ninja Phone, so users can preview or record LUT-applied video from DSLR or mirrorless cameras in the same interface.

A small library of built-in filter LUTs (Bleach Bypass, Bunny, Cinematic, IR, Monochrome, and Vintage) provides preset looks for quick creative output. These can be used either for final recording or live preview during shoots, and carried forward into downstream workflows such as NDI streaming.

MLUTs and colour management

The update introduces a new format called MLUTs (MavisLUTs), which groups multiple LUTs and their metadata into a single file. Mavis states this is intended to make it easier for teams to organise looks across different colour spaces and productions.

Support for Apple Log 2 has been added to align with Apple’s newer professional capture profiles, while Open Gate capture enables full-sensor recording for later reframing or multi-aspect delivery. Two Open Gate modes are offered: one for Apple Log workflows and one for Rec. 709, both capable of recording above 4K on compatible devices.

Integration with ATOMOSphere

Version 7.4 extends the app’s cloud connectivity by integrating ATOMOSphere Camera-to-Cloud (C2C). The connection enables progressive upload to the Atomos ecosystem for review and collaboration directly from iOS devices.

Refinements and performance

Other improvements include new white-balance presets for faster setup, improved shutter-angle snapping to standard values such as 180 degrees, expanded translation support (French, Spanish, Chinese, German, and English), and general performance updates.

Mavis Camera remains a free download on the App Store, with Film Kit unlocking the new LUT, MLUT and Open Gate functionality through a one-time purchase. As always, users should verify performance and compatibility in their own workflows before deploying the update in production environments – “Pro” is a very fuzzy term these days.

The post Mavis adds LUTs, Open Gate and a “Film Kit” to iOS camera app first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Blackmagic Design has released version 3.2 of its Blackmagic Camera app for iOS. The update introduces native live streaming directly to YouTube, Vimeo, and Twitch, without requiring additional encoders or third-party apps. The app continues to frame the iPhone as a production-ready camera interface with full manual control. Version 3.2 extends this idea to live workflows, letting operators start a professional broadcast straight from the app by entering a stream key for their chosen platform.

SRT for Professional Streams

Beyond platform streaming, the update adds SRT (Secure Reliable Transport) support. This protocol provides encrypted, low-latency transmission suitable for news, remote production, or event coverage over unstable networks. The app can now send SRT video directly to Blackmagic Streaming Decoders or any SRT-compatible receiver, positioning the iPhone as a viable field camera for broadcast environments. Support for custom RTMP and SRT servers allows integration with professional CDNs or in-house streaming systems. Or, you know, Vmix, Streamlabs, Facebook, and all the others.

Smarter Storage Feedback

External recording to SSDs remains supported via USB-C, but version 3.2 refines how the app reports media status. The update adds clear on-screen notifications if an external drive disconnects during recording, standby, or data upload. For mobile ProRes workflows, this is a practical safeguard against lost footage and unclear drive states.

Expanded Remote Control

Multi-view remote monitoring on iPad and Mac has been expanded. Users can now select the number of monitored angles, enabling more flexible layouts for multicamera setups. This builds on the app’s growing role as a companion tool for Blackmagic Cloud and DaVinci Resolve Camera projects.

Under-the-Hood Fixes

Blackmagic Design lists two key bug fixes: a corrected recording issue linked to auto white balance and intermittent audio monitoring dropouts. General stability improvements are included, though no details on performance changes were provided.

Availability

Blackmagic Camera for iOS 3.2 is available now as a free download on the App Store, with no subscription or in-app purchases. As with any newly introduced feature, live streaming and SRT workflows should be tested before critical productions to confirm stability and compatibility.

The post Blackmagic Camera 3.2: iPhone Streams Live, No Extra Steps first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Very soon after making that big arctic wave with DaVinci Resolve (DR for short) version 20.2 supporting ProRes RAW, Blackmagic (BM for short) has fixed some of the most annoying bugs with 20.2.1. Now we can truly explore ProRes RAW from an iPhone 17 and other sources. Clips from an iPhone 17 were kindly supplied by Kurt Friis Hansen from Denmark, who shot some tests with all three lenses, carefully framed and exposed. These are night shots, so we have very high contrast and low-light. We are of course very curious when it comes to noise from that small sensor, and the influence of compression and pre-filtering (if any). So his footage should be perfect to check these – but there was one hurdle.

System requirements for MacOS

While DR is still running fine under MacOS Sonoma 14.8, you’ll not get access to all the advanced adjustments you may expect from a true RAW format. There’s simply no choice under the entry “Plugin” other than “Standard”, so you can only adjust exposure and white balance. After all, in many cases that may already be enough, if you don’t decide to stick to the camera metadata anyway. The decoding from RAW should be set to HLG, as this is the iPhone’s color space, at least it’s not labeled „none“ anymore. But you’ll have the option of decoding into Apple Log or Log 2 (yes, a new, flatter version).

But where is the rest? Well, it was obviously up to Apple to care for that, since it all showed up on a machine with MacOS Sequoia 15.7 installed. Even the current versions of Apple’s Compressor (4.11) and Final Cut Pro (11.2) need Sequoia to receive the updates. Final Cut Pro, or FCP in short, BTW has lost the “X”, just like the new MacOS naming. On a system with those already present and with DR updated to 20.2.1 we had access to all the parameters you’d expect from a serious RAW format. Now, this system had already receiced Apple’s recent Pro Video Formats update and was showing all new features right away. After receiving information from others, who were not as lucky, we needed to dig deeper.

Problems upgrading projects

To check things, we made a virgin installation of Sequoia 15.7, adding only Apple’s video codecs and DR. When trying to copy and open one of our existing projects, we were back to square one: no RAW parameters. We carefully went through many iterations of installing fresh systems, and combinations of DR installed first or after Apple’s codec pack. What worked in the end was starting a fresh project in DR, importing PRR clips and voilá – all parameters availble! We got confirmation that it should work from Sequoia 15.6.1 upwards. But an existing project doesn’t show these when simply adding PRR clips, you need an empty project and import some PRR footage first. After that, you can also import timelines from other projects. Having test clips shot open gate, we configured our project for DCI 4K at 25 fps and scaled full with crop

True RAW, finally

Now it’s all there, even if there’s a minor cosmetic error: as long as Demosaic is set to Standard you can’t really use the three sliders on top of the right side. They should be greyed out, since they only become workable after switching Demosaic to Custom, and they only work on clips from an iPhone 17. What’s more annoying: you still can’t define RAW presets for PRR under Camera RAW in the project settings, so you’ll need to change them one by one. At least, they get copied by using gallery stills. We found all information about those three sliders in the help files for FCP, but not yet in DR.

Color Noise will not increase it, but reduce – of course. The other two are doing pretty much what the name implies: enhance only edges, and/or apply sharpening. As usual, use with discretion, and they can also slow down playback in high resolutions. On our very noisy test shots at night they are pretty useless, color noise didn’t do much and the other two look ugly, as you’d expect. There is another option in Compressor, which Apple seems to keep for themselves: ML Denoise (yes, machine learning) at three levels. It’s not even in FCP 11.2, but Compressor is not expensive, and we’ll do further testing.

The hardware

There’s not really much in the metadata, just the camera, its manufacturer, plus location and date of the shot. You don’t even see which lens was used in the metadata in DR or the shutter angle, even if the latter exists in the file. A bit depth of 16 for video seems slightly exaggerated, even Nikon is just claiming 12 bit for all three of the codecs offered in their new ZR.

Audio in the iPhone is limited to 16 bit and ProRes RAW internally to the standard version, HQ needs external recording. Some claim that you can trick it into using that, by setting up with an external SSD and then removing it. But do you really want such massive data inside the phone? Even if our noisy night shots may be at the upper limit, while ProRes RAW is quite variable, see here.

The data rate for video in our test samples in ProRes RAW open gate (4224 by 3024) is quite high at around 1200 mbps, recording at 25 fps. The best news here: this is constant frame rate! True, there is a beta version of Mavis Camera with CFR, even on older iPhones. But only for the iPhone 17 it’s officially announced. And before you start bothering BM: no, that will not come to older iPhones, you need extra hardware in the phone for this. We got that ‘straight from the horse’s mouth’, as they say. Now, that hardware also allows BM to add their Camera ProDock, which offers the connections needed for professional work, like timecode and genlock. Only SDI output is missing, you’ll need to use HDMI. But for a price of 325,- US$ that’s still impressive.

Image quality

Right from the start, the samples taken don’t look all the same quality wise, even if taken under identical conditions and all set to ISO 5000 in the RAW tab. According to Apple, all the sensors now have 48 megasensels. Yes, I refuse to call them pixels, since this is RAW and pixels only exist after debayering (aka demosaicing) anyway. While the new wide and tele shots have far better resolution than the 12 ‘mpx’ ones in older models, at closer inspection they are slightly worse than from the 24mm f equivalent still called the main camera for good reason.

The wide, a 13mm equivalent, has about 120 degrees of view and one would expect serious distortion from such a tiny ultrawide. It’s actually there, but automatically corrected when Processing is set to “iPhone ProRes RAW”. The correction and the resulting cropping nevertheless result in some loss of resolution, since it can’t use all the sensels at open gate. At f 2.2 it’s a bit slower too, but that does not result in much more noise. If raised from log to good contrast in post, it also vignettes.

Photographers, like Lux Camera, are pretty impressed with the tele, a 100mm equivalent. They even enjoy it when zoomed in further by what Apple calls “optical” zoom quality, while that is not of much interest when filming. Since the stabilization in the iPhone is not working when shooting PRR, a 200mm equivalent would need a tripod made of concrete. Even at its true resolution, the tele is softer than the main lens. Our clip at dark night is also clearly showing the fact that this lens is more than one stop slower at f 2.8.

Conclusion

We don’t expect anybody to replace an Arri Alexa with an iPhone for a major production. But for the first time a smartphone can be teamed-up in a professional environment with reliable synchronisation and serious grading options. No more fiddling with asynchronous sound, no more guesswork where a shot belongs in time or fighting compression artefacts. You can get into really small spaces, hand that phone to actors, or hang it on a pretty small drone. Heck, for that price you can even risk to crash it, if needed to get that perfect shot.

And other cameras, like the BMPCC or the Nikon ZR? We are seeing a shift of paradigm here, away from clunky external solutions, to recording compressed RAW in cameras. Red’s monopoly seems to be gone, and it’s good to have choices! Of course, we’ll have a closer look at BRAW vs. PRR and also at denoising those extreme night shots above.

Hell Froze Over – ProRes RAW for Resolve

The post ProRes RAW News – Fresh from the Freezer first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Uli Plank.

The wildest theories floated around in forums, like exklusive deals with others or Apple and BM not liking each other – even if Apple repeatedly used DaVinci Resolve to demo their newest hardware instead of their own NLE. Many claimed it would never happen. Now, after Apple’s presentation of the iPhone 17 and BM publishing DR 20.2 days before IBC, it’s clear that their cooperation is closer than ever.

Hardware support

Up to now, ProRes RAW (PRR for short) was mainly supported by Atomos‘ Ninja V recorder, with more and more manufacturers of hybrid cameras supporting it. After all, RAW data have to be supplied by the camera and transferred to such recorders. For a long time Red’s intellectual property (how intellectual that may ever have been) has made any internal compressed RAW recording impossible for others. Including even Apple, who went to court over it and failed. Now that Red was bought by Nikon, there’s a new game going on.

Whatever arrangements behind the curtains may be, Apple will support internal PRR in the top models of the iPhone 17, while the new Nikon ZR will offer three choices: a new version of the Red codec, called R3D NE, their own N-RAW, and PRR HQ – all in 12 bit.

A pretty attractive camera, BTW, looking at size, features, and price tag. BM is already supplying a beta firmware for one of their older models, the Pocket Cine 4K, which should be very interesting to compare BRAW and PRR directly. BM will not leave that slice of the cake to their archenemy Atomos, but their Video Assist 12G is going to get PRR recording soon, in particular from popular Sony cameras, like the FX3 and FX6.

Decoding is obviously already supported by specialised hardware in most of the Apple silicon machines, only the oldest ones without the ‘Pro’ denomination don’t have such units. The top models have even more than one unit, so they should be really fast when rendering from PRR into one of the other ProRes flavours. According to Apple, the hardware units have been improved over the years. We didn’t see any significant speed differences between ProRes HQ and PRR when playing back similar resolutions and frame rates on a M4 Pro.

Software support and shortcomings

If you need to know more about PRR, look here, but you may want to know the data rates, at least. Similar to BRAW in its Q flavours (for constant quality), PRR is adaptive to image content. Data rates for the standard version are roughly comparable to ProRes 422 HQ, while PRR HQ ranges between 422 HQ and 4444. Both can be significantly lower for less demanding images, but BRAW is offering far more choices in fixed compression as well as constant quality.

Regarding image quality, we’ll soon try a direct comparison between PRR and BRAW with the same camera. In theory, PRR may have an edge here, since BRAW was developed while still under the restrictions of the Red patent. It is not using pure RAW data, but partial demosaicing. PRR only needs to store one single value per sensel, while a fully demosaiced image would need three times as much for RGB. Those who have reported some first hand viewing claim that PRR is a tad sharper, but more prone to aliasing. That makes sense, since BRAW is obviously receiving some filtering to alleviate compression.

But the image quality of BRAW is generally described as quite pleasing, with a noise structure that’s pretty organic. Others may claim that PRR is the more ‘honest’ picture and your camera should have a proper OLPF. Now, there are other differences. Normally, you’d expect much more flexibility with RAW recordings, being mirrored by the range of adjustments offered. But just like Apple’s own Final Cut Pro X, the RAW tab in the Color page of DR only shows Exposure and Kelvin adjustments, not even Tint. If your Ninja was running an older firmware, you don’t even get those.

The choices on the left are there to tell DR how to interpret colors. There’s already Apple Log 2, a new, flatter profile to be used with the better bit depth of 12 bit where needed. ‘None’ is a bit misleading, it means Apple’s default, which is Rec. 2020. You should choose one of the others according to the camera that was recorded with a Ninja, for example. PRR support is still a bit immature, though. On BM’s Mini panel, when touching the RAW button, the screen will tell you that the clip is not RAW. In DR’s Master Settings PRR is not shown yet, so you can’t define a default interpretation for the whole project.

Finally, there are still some bugs. Under Windows, a clip from the Ninja shot at open gate, like from the Sony A7SIII, shows flickering, coloured lines on the side if not cropped. MediaInfo is telling us those are in 4264 by 2408 pixels, even if that camera has only 4240 sensels horizontally. That does not really explain those lines, which are black under MacOS. But it seems to be a bug in DR 20, since an EXR out of Assimilate Scratch doesn’t show those black bars, as checked by Mazze Aderholt. The bug was also seen by Mark Weiss in footage out of the Panasonic S1RII in 5.8K Prores RAW, recorded without a Ninja V.

Conclusion

Anyway, DR 20.2 may have been gone public pretty early for Apple’s presentation and IBC. It has other rough edges, and we can expect to get fixes pretty soon. Even Apple’s own product page doesn’t list DR as compatible with ProRes RAW as of today. But from now on, die-hard FCP-X or Premiere users may have lost another argument not to use DaVinci Resolve.

The post Hell Froze Over – ProRes RAW for Resolve first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Uli Plank.

Blackmagic Design has announced the Blackmagic Camera ProDock, a dock that transforms the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max into a professional production camera with broadcast-standard connectivity. Introduced on 10 September 2025, the ProDock effectively closes the gap between a smartphone sensor and an on-set camera rig, by providing the missing infrastructure: power, sync, storage, monitoring, and audio.

HDMI Output: Monitoring Without Compromise

The ProDock introduces a full-size HDMI Type A port, a notable upgrade from improvised Lightning or USB-C adapters that often lack reliability in production. This allows direct connection to on-set monitors, switchers, or EVFs, with proper locking cables and without the fragile signal paths associated with consumer adapters. For camera operators, this means the iPhone can finally slot into traditional video villages or live multi-cam environments without a mess of dongles.

Timecode and Genlock: The Professional Core

Two BNC connectors provide timecode input and reference genlock. For professionals, these are not optional extras but workflow-critical features. Genlock keeps multiple cameras frame-accurate, essential for live events, multi-camera narrative work, or LED-wall virtual production. Without genlock, subtle frame misalignment causes visible flicker on volume walls. Timecode ensures every recorded file is aligned to production clocks, enabling precise post sync without guesswork.

Blackmagic confirms that genlock is supported only on iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, leveraging new hardware capabilities in Apple’s latest devices. Earlier iPhones will support most dock features but not frame lock, limiting their usefulness in tightly synchronised multi-camera shoots.

Power Distribution: A Serious Rig Component

The dock includes a 12V–15V DC locking power input, the same style seen on compact cinema cameras. This allows the entire system (phone, dock, attached SSDs, and even accessories powered from the dock) to run from V-mount or Gold mount batteries on set. For mobile productions, it eliminates the typical bottleneck of smartphone rigs: USB-C power banks with consumer-grade cables. A rigged iPhone can now run an entire day’s shoot without swap-outs or dangling charging cables.

Storage Expansion: Beyond Internal Limits

The ProDock adds three USB-C ports. Two are USB 3.2 Gen 1 with enough bandwidth for external SSD recording. This enables high-bitrate ProRes workflows directly to external media, bypassing internal storage constraints and removing the constant need to offload mid-shoot. The third USB-C is USB 2.0, designed for accessories such as focus and zoom controllers. Blackmagic is clearly treating the iPhone not as a phone but as the imaging block of a broader system, expandable with modular components.

Audio I/O: From Consumer Mic to Professional Sound

Audio has not been overlooked. The dock integrates a 3.5 mm microphone input and 3.5 mm headphone output, standard but critical for set usability. This allows proper monitoring with latency-free analogue outputs, and direct input of powered microphones, recorders, or wireless packs. While serious productions may continue to dual-record on external mixers, the dock ensures that sync sound workflows are not compromised at the acquisition stage.

Rigging and Physical Design

Blackmagic has clearly thought about physical rigging. The dock includes 1/4-20 mounting threads on both top and bottom, ensuring easy integration into cages, arms, and standard rigs. It is not a consumer accessory designed for handheld casual shooting, but a unit intended to live inside a larger professional build. A status LED confirms genlock synchronisation, giving immediate visual feedback that the phone is locked to reference.

Workflow Impact

With the ProDock, an iPhone becomes more than just a B-camera or emergency backup. In LED-wall production, it can serve as a synchronised unit. In live events, it can deliver frame-accurate signals directly into switchers. In mobile documentaries or guerrilla-style shoots, it provides reliable media offload and power, avoiding the constant file management associated with internal storage.

When paired with the Blackmagic Camera app, which provides the same UI and image controls as Blackmagic’s digital cinema cameras, the iPhone rig offers a continuity of operation across mobile and professional cameras. Operators can adjust shutter angle, ISO, frame rate, and white balance with the same interface used on the Pocket Cinema Camera series. The ProDock then ensures this mobile footage can be integrated with studio-level gear without bottlenecks or mismatched sync.

Pricing and Availability

Apple’s online store lists it at US$299.95. Regardless of the channel, it is positioned far below the cost of a dedicated cinema camera accessory ecosystem, making it accessible for productions willing to leverage iPhone imaging hardware. And, to find your local pricing, here is a list of all Resellers: BMD Resellers.

Professional Caveats

The dock does not fundamentally change the iPhone’s image characteristics, it remains a smartphone sensor with smartphone optical limits, but it does ensure that once captured, the footage behaves within professional standards for synchronisation, monitoring, and post-production integration. New innovations should always be tested in controlled conditions before being deployed on live productions. The Blackmagic ProDock solves several bottlenecks for smartphone-based shooting, but only production testing will reveal its reliability at scale.

The post Docking Phone to Pro: Blackmagic Adds Pro Controls to Mobile with Camera App and ProDock first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Beeble has released Beeble Camera, a free iOS app that uses Apple’s LiDAR and ARKit frameworks to track iPhone movement in real time while recording. The app anchors captured footage to real-world space and uploads it directly to the Beeble Web platform for AI processing. According to the developer, uploaded shots are processed into camera-tracked, rotoscoped and relightable VFX passes. These passes can then be composited in Beeble Studio, the online Beeble Editor, or exported into Blender and Unreal or using a dedicated plugin, or any other DCC through a straight export.

Setup and Shooting

After installing Beeble Camera from the App Store, users must scan their environment with the iPhone to allow ARKit to detect surfaces. A floor grid can be tapped to set the origin point for tracking. The app also allows insertion of reference geometry by placing a .usdz file into the scene. This can be scaled, rotated and moved as needed. Once the environment is prepared, recordings capture both video and camera metadata. For improved results, Beeble recommends using a gimbal, ensuring a clean lens (D’uh), and shooting under even lighting conditions.

Uploading and Processing

Recorded clips are uploaded from the phone to Beeble Web, where AI routines create roto masks and relightable passes. These are automatically aligned with tracked 3D data from the shoot. The same 3D reference model used on-set can be converted to .glb and imported into the Beeble Editor, where metadata ensures accurate placement in the composite. Alternatively, Blender users can bring in the footage via the Beeble add-on, which carries over the camera-tracking data.

Availability

Beeble Camera is available now as a free download on the iOS App Store. Processing and compositing features require a Beeble Web account.

What’s Next from Beeble

Beeble CEO Hoon Kim has confirmed plans for a local version of the platform in future updates. He discusses this roadmap and accessibility of AI-based relighting in our Digital Production interview, so read on over there :)

We have to talk about Switchlight 2.0

The post iPhone for Tracking: Beeble Camera enables Free “Virtual Production” first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Adobe has released Premiere for iPhone, a free app that brings multi-track video editing, AI-powered tools, and cross-device workflows to mobile devices. Pre-order opened on the Apple App Store on 4 September. (Well insert the link as soon as we have it ourselves) The app takes its cues from Premiere Pro, but is designed for on-the-go creators. Adobe positions it as a way to capture, edit, and publish without leaving the phone, while still allowing handover to desktop for fine-tuning.

Here is a short overview of the workflow in Premiere for iPhone

Multi-track editing on mobile

Premiere for iPhone features a multi-track timeline with coloured tracks and audio waveforms. Users can trim, layer, and adjust clips with frame-accurate precision. The app supports unlimited video, audio, and text layers, 4K HDR media, and automatic captions with stylised subtitles. Adobe says the UI is simplified compared to desktop but retains familiar concepts for existing Premiere users.

Mobile-to-desktop workflow

Projects can start on iPhone and later open in Premiere Pro on desktop. Exports to TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram are available in one tap. Automatic resizing keeps subjects framed when switching between aspect ratios.

Firefly assets included

The app integrates Adobe Firefly for generative AI. Users can access millions of stock stickers, images, fonts, and music tracks or generate unique content directly in the app. Adobe states Firefly is trained on data that respects creator ownership. How many creations and uses are possible is not clear at this moment, and we’ll update as well. Premiere for iPhone doubles as a mobile recording studio. It includes the voice-driven sound effect generation and studio-quality voiceover capture from Firefly and the “Enhance Speech” function designed to clean noisy recordings automatically from Adobe Podcast.

The app is free to download and use, without ads. Costs only apply for generative credits and cloud storage. We’ll keep you in the loop on any updates, and if you don’t have an iPhone, but want to test it: Why not visit the Adobe Booth in Hall 7 of IBC? As with all new tools, Adobe’s mobile Premiere should be tested carefully in production environments before integrating into professional workflows.

The post Premiere Pro on iPhone: Adobe goes pocket-sized first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Nils Calles.

Apple has updated its smartphone filming companion, Final Cut Camera, to version 2.0. The free expansion unlocks advanced recording capabilities on the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, including ProRes RAW recording, genlock, open-gate capture, Apple Log 2, expanded timecode options, and full integration with Live Multicam in Final Cut Pro for iPad and Mac.

ProRes RAW on a Phone

The iPhone 17 Pro models are the first smartphones to support ProRes RAW. This format preserves unprocessed sensor data, providing extended dynamic range and grading flexibility. ProRes RAW files benefit from Apple’s Media Engine for export acceleration and storage efficiency.

Genlock: Frame-Sync for Multicam

Final Cut Camera 2.0 introduces genlock, allowing iPhones to synchronise with other cameras via a reference signal. This ensures frame-accurate alignment and removes the need for manual syncing.

Apple has also released a genlock API, already supported by Blackmagic Design’s Camera ProDock. The feature enables professional-grade techniques such as bullet-time rigs with multiple iPhones shooting in perfect sync.

Support for open-gate capture allows use of the iPhone’s full sensor area, beyond the standard 16:9 or DCI 4K crop. This offers flexibility for reframing, stabilisation and creative aspect ratios in post without quality loss.

Apple Log 2 and Timecode

Final Cut Camera 2.0 adds Apple Log 2, a flatter capture profile available in ProRes and HEVC, with extended colour representation and compatibility with LUT workflows. Timecode handling now includes Time of Day, Record Run, and external timecode input, offering professional clip management and multicam reliability.

The update adds manual controls for the new Center Stage front camera on the iPhone 17 line, including the iPhone Air. The square sensor records in both portrait and landscape orientation without rotating the device, a practical option for vloggers and journalists. Final Cut Camera now supports recording from the 200 mm Telephoto lens on iPhone 17 Pro at ProRes up to 4K60 fps. This extends creative framing options directly from the handset.

Rollout and Requirements

Final Cut Camera 2.0 will be available as a free App Store download later in September 2025. The app runs on iPhone Xs or newer with iOS 18.6 or later, though ProRes RAW and genlock require iOS 26 and an iPhone 17 Pro model. Parallel updates to Final Cut Pro 11.2 (Mac) and Final Cut Pro 2.3 (iPad) are planned to support these workflows, but Apple has not confirmed release dates.

For production teams, this update significantly broadens the iPhone’s potential. Still, as with any new recording format or feature, these workflows should be tested under production conditions before deployment.

The post iPhones Go “Pro” with Final Cut Camera 2.0 first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Together with Paul Kanyuk (Crowd TD at Pixar Animation Studios), we’ll look into the backstory of USDSkel, including how he became involved in its development.

Put simply: UsdSkel is Pixar’s USD module for defining and animating skeletal rigs—complete with schemas (structure), queries (reading), and APIs (writing and manipulation). It’s a bridge between your DCC (Digital Content Creation) tools and USD pipelines, ensuring skinned meshes and joint animations can move smoothly across different tools and engines: OpenUSD.

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Why It Might Matter to Your Workflow

If you’re working with rigged characters, skeletal animations, or skinned meshes, understanding UsdSkel gives you the power to:

• Implement or tweak performance-sensitive parts like caching skeleton data or remapping joints.
• Export rigs from tools like Maya or Blender into USD while preserving joint structure and animations.
• Bind skeletons to geometry and control joint influences programmatically.
• Efficiently reuse skeleton definitions through instancing, thanks to USD’s layer system.
• Query skeleton and animation data within custom USD tools or pipelines.

Watch the FULL event

The post USDSkel: Optimized Character Rigging first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Alexander Richter.

But now the “Scary Fast” event for the release of Apple’s M3 computers was filmed entirely on the iPhone, as the credits alone reveal. On YouTube you can find the “Behind the
Scenes…”, where it also becomes clear that the filming and technical effort was actually the same as always(is.gd/iphone_bts). But the dollies, cranes and the drone were actually just sitting on a new iPhone 15 Pro Max. In addition, the predominant visual theme was “black”, matching one of the new laptop colours.

The EU is to blame

This doesn’t mean that this iPhone is a low-light wonder (it isn’t), but that you can set the light to high contrast and then grade it to black. The decisive factor is that recording in ProRes with Log is now available. Apple would certainly have liked to hold on to an in-house connection for longer. But the EU has demanded that all smartphones that come onto the market here in 2024 must have USB-C. Apple has taken the plunge and has already installed the corresponding socket in the new series this year.

Data transfer

In the early productions with iPhones, the employees must have had incredible patience. Recordings had to be transferred via WiFi or the interface with the euphemistic name “Lightning” (or its 30-pin predecessor), which is very slow by today’s standards. Two short test clips of around 750 MB took over ten minutes via “AirDrop”, via USB-C the process was
the process was barely measurable in seconds.

Initially, there were still rumours floating around the web that, apart from charging the battery via USB-C, Apple might restrict the use of external devices to its own offerings or only allow its own cables at pharmacy, sorry, Apple prices.
None of this has materialised: A standard SSD connected via a normal data cable (not just a charging cable, of course) works without any restrictions. With the iPad, we still had to complain that FCP-X cannot work directly from connected storage devices (DP 23:05). On the iPhone, on the other hand, Apple does not force internal recording, as already available apps show. The Apple event was obviously recorded with the help of the free Camera App from Blackmagic (BM for short), Apple even thanks us in the credits.

Storage media

It is clear that Apple also wants to satisfy its shareholders: the new options are limited to the two top models. With the “Pro”, you also have to pay an extra 130 euros for 256 GB of internal memory to get full functionality with the memory-intensive ProRes even without an SSD. This is the basic configuration for the Pro Max. The internal memory is really fast, with 1.6 gigabytes per second (GB/s) when writing and reading. Measured with Diskio by Sergii Khliustin, a free app with witty comments – is.gd/diskio.

Externally, only regular USB-C is supported, no Thunderbolt. However, with a good SSD, this is completely sufficient to record ProRes 422 HQ in UHD with up to 60 fps directly, for which you only need around 200-225 MB/s. Initially, the app even listed ProRes 4444, but that was probably too much for the system. Even on an Arri Alexa, this codec is not always selected, and 422 HQ is completely sufficient as a source for the iPhone. In UHD at 60 fps, it needs just under 800 GB of space for one hour.

A Samsung T5 SSD, for example, as external storage shows around 373 MB/s throughput when writing, depending on the app being measured. Even a T7, which is not recommended for BM cameras, ran for two hours on the iPhone at 25 fps. The free OWC Drive Speed app can actually directly measure the suitability for various codecs, resolutions and the achievable frame rate. However, it already warns of picture dropouts,
without us being able to detect these in practice for the respective media, so this app is probably not yet fully developed.

Even a T5 is still relatively large for an iPhone, although thanks to MagSafe it can be easily attached to the back with a magnetic ring. Some people wonder whether a smaller flash drive with USB-C would also work. Samsung has relatively fast models for this, currently with a maximum of 256 GB. According to the company (we didn’t have one to test), these should be able to read 400 MB/s, but only write 110. This information is always given with the small addition “up to” and only refers to the 256 GB model. This should still be sufficient for ProRes 422 HQ with 25 fps, but ProRes 422 LT could also go up to 60 fps. Unfortunately, such sticks are often not compatible with the mobile phone case.

We have also not tested the idea of connecting a really fast SDXC card with a small USB-C adapter. But a Sony “Tough” or comparable cards with 300 MB/s should work with a really fast adapter. A card reader can of course also be useful for backups on the iPhone when working with conventional cameras. If you want to edit the material on the PC, you should pay attention to the formatting of the media: The iPhone does not recognise NTFS, but exFAT works up to 2 TB.

Be careful, there is a risk of data loss! The “classic” HFS or the new APFS, which the iPhone naturally supports, are better. One of these formats would therefore also be advisable for transferring to the PC. Under Windows there are programmes such as “HFS for Windows” or “APFS for Windows” from Paragon for using these formats. Of course, the iPhone also uses these two formats.

Power and heat

A fully charged Pro Max still showed 66 per cent charge remaining after one hour at 60 fps, and 42 per cent after two hours of recording in ProRes 422 HQ at 25 fps in UHD, with the T5 SSD also being supplied with power. The SSD absorbed the greater proportion at 25 fps, at 60 fps it is the other way round. The iPhone 15 Pro still had 58 per cent after one hour at 60 fps, the camera app needed the larger share, the SSD about 2/3 of it. This was the app from Blackmagic. This value is not the same for all apps, as we will see in their tests. These are amazing runtimes, but the iPhone does get very warm, despite iOS 17.1.1, which has essentially eliminated the initial heat problems. You should definitely remove any silicone case, we got overload messages at 60 fps on the Pro Max after a few minutes at an ambient temperature of 27 degrees. Another tip from BM was to switch off the overlays when recording, i.e. to “wipe them away”. This allowed the Pro Max to run smoothly even in slightly warmer conditions.

The iPhone 15 Pro may seem more attractive for video with its 3x lens and slightly lower price. However, its battery is smaller; in stand-alone mode with SSD, 20 per cent charge was still left after two hours. Unfortunately, the smaller housing also cools less well, and despite the above cooling measures, 60 fps was over after a few minutes. At 25 or 30 fps, the Pro also lasted without overheating and the app consumed less power in relation to the SSD. Very fast SSDs, such as a Samsung 980 Pro in an NVMe enclosure, require too much power and only run on both iPhones with an external power supply via USB-C hub. You don’t necessarily have to take a hub with you to externally power the iPhone itself, as there are already power banks for MagSafe.

Frame rate and synchronisation

With a runtime limited only by power and storage medium, another question arises: What about maintaining the frame rate and thus the picture-sound synchronisation over a longer period of time? In Apple’s film, no statement was longer than 20 seconds without a cut, which any smartphone can actually manage without becoming asynchronous. But unfortunately, practically all of today’s smartphones do not provide a fixed frame rate, but a variable one (VFR = Variable Frame Rate). Although DaVinci Resolve (DR for short) simply reports a highly precise 60,000 under “Shot Frame Rate”, the iPhone is unfortunately no different. Before recording, we switched to aeroplane mode and closed all other apps to rule out any interference.

However, a further measurement showed that this was not necessary. In the free MediaInfo, the information is slightly more correct, showing a frame rate between 59.940 and 60.181 fps – that’s a deviation of far less than one per cent! A longer recording with a film gate showed that the variable frame rate in DR is relatively unproblematic. The sound ran continuously one frame early for over 30 minutes (at 60 fps!), only at one point did we have the impression that it tended towards two frames. Since in DR the picture occasionally moved one frame ahead of the TC flap, which we kept continuously in the picture, the editing software probably does react to VFR. This is usually manageable, but the iPhone is probably not quite suitable for uninterrupted concert recordings lasting several hours.

Cameras and lenses

A few years ago, the statement “My smartphone has three cameras and a LiDAR scanner” would probably have been met with incredulous smiles. But there are actually three lenses here, each with its own sensor, just like before. In fact, most of it is even identical to the iPhone 14, only the signal processing has been further developed. The ultra wide-angle lens with 13 mm, the regular 24 mm and the 77 mm in the iPhone Pro are identical to their predecessors.

Only the 120 mm in the Pro Max is really new and a very clever design with a multiple prism that basically folds a relatively long focal length into the flat body. To us, such a design seems potentially more durable than a miniaturised zoom lens like the competition (usually referred to as a periscope lens), as there are no moving parts other than the sensor. It is therefore not an optical zoom at all, as is sometimes incorrectly written. Please note that in the following we use the term KB full frame for the photographic full frame of 24×36 mm, because experienced film cameramen tend to mean the S-35 full frame. However, its diagonal is not always the same, but depends on the respective widescreen format. The information provided by Apple and in the apps refers to the equivalent focal length of KB full frame. The main lens 1× has a real 6.86 mm with f 1.78 and the ultra wide-angle 0.5 has a real 2.22 mm at f 2.2, the 3× has 9 mm with f 2.8 and the 5× has a real 15.66 mm, also at f 2.8.

The iPhones also offer a zoom across the lenses, but this is based on continuous digital scaling. Unfortunately, this shows a disturbing jump when switching to telephoto due to the parallax of the separate cameras. In addition, even with sophisticated algorithms, the sharpness drops slightly when the resolution of the sensor falls below 48 megapixels (mpx), which is particularly noticeable on the way to 5x. This is a disadvantage that longer focal lengths also have with conventional cameras: The 77 mm only focuses up to 60 cm at close range, the 120 mm only up to 1.3 m.

You have to be careful here: The iPhone should be set to “Keep setting” for macro control. Otherwise, only the small flower indicates that the macro range is switched to the ultra-wide angle camera, although the original lens is still selected. However, this only has 12 mpx, unlike the standard camera. This automatic function can be deactivated. With the default setting, the photos from the 24 mm lens are downscaled to 24 mpx and recorded in HEIC, the full 48 mpx are only available in RAW (DNG format). The main camera also delivers the best quality for video thanks to downsampling. And for the selfies: The front camera has 2.69 mm at f 1.9, so it looks like a 15 mm, but only has just under 8 megapixels (actually photo cells = Sensel).

Photography

The DP is not explicitly aimed at photographers, but in view of the different resolutions of the sensors, a few comments seem appropriate. In our test of the Sony A7SIII (DP 21:05), we already proved that megapixels aren’t everything. Just as the Sony “only” offers 12 mpx, images from the iPhone would also be perfectly suitable for an A4 page. For large posters, however, we would generally recommend professional cameras, even if Apple sees it differently in its own advertising.

It should be noted that the sensor has an aspect ratio of 4:3, which is even closer to the square than the usual 35mm with 3:2. The HEIC photos are very compact at around 2.8 MB, whereas DNG requires over 67 MB for the same subject. A section in 2,400×2,400 pixels from the iPhone at 120 mm (equivalence) with the same section from the Sony A7 IV with approximately the same focal length differs primarily, of course, in the real bokeh, which is not simulated here on the iPhone either. The slightly different colours can of course be adjusted, as both are raw images with plenty of colour depth.
The resolution of the test chart in 48 mpx from the 24 mm of the iPhone is excellent and shows no moiré, but slight colour noise even at ISO 320.

The counterpart in standard setting as HEIC with 24 mpx shows less noise, but colour moiré and clear edge sharpening. The modern HEIC compression is very high quality in itself, but unfortunately Apple applies all the “image enhancements” to these photos that the fast A17 processor is capable of, such as smoothing and sharpening contours or local colour tone mapping. Edge sharpening in particular looks just as distracting as it does on amateur-class drones. Of course, Apple also knows that the sharpening of details in faces is usually undesirable. Accordingly, skin tones tend to be smoothed out, which often gives them the infamous “plastic look”.

The design of these functions is certainly based on comprehensive market analyses, as the vast majority of users will simply take photos with their mobile phones and presumably find all this attractive. Professionals who don’t want to be deprived of the opportunity to tweak their pictures themselves will therefore have to work with RAW Max (as it is called in the menu) and plan the necessary space for it, either conveniently and expensively in the iPhone or more cheaply on an external storage device. However, raising your eyebrows at “computational photography” in general is not entirely appropriate. After all, most professional cameras have been correcting various lens errors in the background for years, primarily vignetting and distortion. This means that lenses can be optimised in other respects without being sinfully expensive.

The iPhone goes beyond this and achieves amazing things in two areas: bokeh and low-light. The ability to use the (actually relatively coarse) information from the LiDAR to subsequently influence and target the depth of field was already available on a number of predecessor models. But Apple has significantly improved the algorithms and, at least in photography, the results can now only be recognised as fake with intensive pixel peeping, even with hair and other difficult edge zones.

The results in RAW (DNG) are impressively good, while artefacts can be seen in HEIC. However, we also photographed the test panel at 320 ISO for the wide angle and 500 for the telephoto. Vignetting or chromatic aberrations are hardly recognisable and the distortion correction for 24 mm is also better than with the uncorrected professional lens. Even moiré is hardly noticeable at 48 mpx from 24 mm and the resolution is even slightly higher, as the A7IV only has 33. At 77 mm or 120 mm, the A7IV has a recognisable advantage over the 12 mpx of the iPhones, although it was at a slight disadvantage in terms of speed each time. A 13 mm was not available to us for the full frame, so no comparison was made.

The Sony’s HIF images look cleaner because, apart from subtle noise filtering in extremely low light, everything else can be deactivated. In low light, the iPhone does all by itself what, in principle, any camera on a tripod can do: A series of photos that are then combined to reduce noise. Red has been offering something similar for 10 years (see DP 13:03). With the iPhone, this also works with good stabilisation from reasonably steady hands, but you can get even more out of it with a tripod. Some even recommend this for astrophotography; there is even a free app for this, AstroShader, which can also save raw images.

Now, we have too much light pollution near a city for a great starry sky, but you can focus on the lights of the city itself instead. It’s impressive what such a tiny chip can do with the help of a computer. The tree in the foreground was barely distinguishable from the night sky with the naked eye. Apple is clearly making a virtue of the A17’s computing power out of the necessity of the tiny sensor and calculating far better images than you would expect from a mobile phone. However, these calculations take time and cannot be used for video. So how do the 15s perform when filming? We use the Sony A7 IV (see DP 22:05) as a reference here, even if some people seriously compare the images with those from an Arri Alexa in grading(is.gd/quazi_iphone_arri).

Film: Resolution

When filming from the high-resolution 24 mm sensor in UHD, the iPhone not only scales down the 48 million photocells (aka Sensel), but also crops slightly from the 4032 horizontal pixels available per photo to 3840. So if Apple had only added a few more Sensel, the iPhone could even deliver the 4096 pixels of the DCI cinema format. There would be more than enough vertical pixels anyway. Other formats are possible with third-party apps; we will go into this in more detail in the respective apps. The same applies to the Ultra-WW and the telephoto lenses, which logically have less oversampling, but are also slightly cropped.

The downsampling of the 48 mpx at least offers the possibility of noise reduction by integrating the neighbouring pixels or a digital 2× zoom without loss of resolution. However, when zooming through to 5× telephoto, not only does the parallax error mentioned above occur, but the resolution also collapses beyond 2×. Up to 3× on the iPhone 15 Pro, these effects are correspondingly less noticeable. A 28 mm and a 35 mm are still simulated quite well by both iPhones. This is comparable to Sony’s digital zoom in the camera, which works with similarly good algorithms, but cannot deliver the full resolution beyond around 1.7.

The resolution of the iPhones is also reduced at the higher levels of stabilisation. “Standard” only uses optical stabilisation by mechanically tracking the sensor, while “Cinematic” and “Extreme” additionally track a reduced area of the sensor surface. Unfortunately, “Extreme” in particular also shows overshoots – or is this intended to simulate the inertia of a Steadicam? Be that as it may, a small gimbal can do this better. Another disadvantage of the two higher stabilisations are massive deviations in the frame rate in the first second; the iPhone is obviously “stressed” here (thanks to Kurt Friis Hansen for these measurements).

The other sensors with 12 mpx naturally also offer less resolution reserve when filming, but are completely sufficient for UHD. For comparison: On S-35, the 5× lens of the Pro Max would correspond to about 75 mm, the 3× to about 48 mm. Because a suitable prime lens was not available for the Sony, we used a very high-quality zoom lens. However, this actually put the A7IV at a slight disadvantage in terms of speed. In all shots, the film images of the iPhones on the test chart show slight moiré and some loss of resolution due to scaling; the Sony obviously has better downsampling. The differences are small at 24, 77 and 120 mm and the moiré can practically only be seen on the test chart. Other cameras only deliver better results with very good downsampling of images in 6K or more.
It is obvious that a lot of calculations are also carried out on the images in log, as the charts show no vignetting and hardly any distortion, just like in photography. This is not to be expected with such lenses without software correction. The very high-quality Zeiss C/Y zoom on the Sony shows more optical errors due to the lack of software correction. It should be understandable that a lens with a real focal length of just under 16 mm (the 5×) without software tricks does not offer such a differentiated depth of field as a real 120 mm for KB full frame (see above). All lenses definitely show some breathing during focus shifts – if Apple doesn’t simulate this as well ;-)

Film: Compression

Here, too, the comparison with the Sony A7IV, which only records 10 bit with 4:2:2 as H.265 for maximum quality, ProRes is not available without an external recorder. Our endurance test was a water surface in the rain, which can really torture any GOP codec (such as H.264/265). The iPhone only recorded a good 7 MB/s at 60 fps in UHD, while the same motif was recorded in ProRes 422 HQ at 213 MB/s. The Sony A7 IV records this codec at 50 fps with 25 MB/s. Nevertheless, the typical artefacts, such as block formation, can hardly be seen in the correctly exposed motif on the iPhone. However, this does not only speak in favour of the quality of the encoder alone, as the finest details are already reduced before compression.

This becomes clear with a shot of the same subject that is underexposed by just one f-stop and corrected in DR. Despite 10 bit and 4:2:2, the signal in H.265 already shows signs of banding and is overall much less “full” and more coarsely structured than the version in ProRes. The same applies to noise, which is also filtered more heavily before compression and then “muddied” by the codec. The noise remains much finer and more “organic” in ProRes. It is therefore less disturbing in itself and is also more suitable for careful filtering in post-production. Consequence: If you don’t have enough storage space on location, H.265 is perfectly usable in Log, but should be exposed as correctly as possible. ProRes is considerably more tolerant, while Cinema P3 can record better H.265 at higher data rates (see p. 128).

Film: Motion display

We can be brief here and take the liberty of quoting the values from CineD (is.gd/cined_test) because our reference fan was not available. For UHD, our colleagues measured 5.3 milliseconds for the sensor at 24 mm, and even 5 ms at 77 mm and 120 mm. Our subjective impression from our own tests agrees with this. These are excellent values, also in comparison to conventional film cameras. The jelly images of older iPhones are definitely a thing of the past and action is the order of the day.
However, the Bentley film mentioned at the beginning was still noticeable with the jerking of fast movements at only 24 fps. A look at the individual images shows that they lack any motion blur. Even these tiny sensors are too light-sensitive today to comply with the filmic rule for sufficient motion blur in daylight. After all, mobile phones primarily use the time for exposure control, because the aperture is fixed. Without an ND filter, the only option is to regulate the ISO value, which the iPhones also make intensive use of. But this has consequences for the usable contrast range.

Film: Dynamic range and colours

The HDR shots from an iPhone with the corresponding screen are very impressive at first glance, but on closer inspection the sharpening becomes unpleasant. Added to this is the local tone mapping, which is particularly noticeable with intensely coloured light sources and soft colour gradients in the moving image. Only recording in Apple Log avoids these annoyances, which is why we limited ourselves to it for dynamic measurement. Apple Log is excellently tuned, it does better justice to the iPhone than an A7 IV with its S-Log3, because even for 10 bit it is still very flat. Incidentally, in the current version 18.6.4, DR understands the Apple Log with the colours in Rec 2020 with automatic colour management.

The amazing night vision in photos ends for the iPhone when filming, as there is no time for the exposure tricks from photography. We also used the Sony A7 IV for comparison. It is not quite as sensitive to light as the A7S and also works with noise reduction in low light. Compared to the iPhone, however, it shows the richness of detail that a full-frame sensor can achieve when collecting light.

However, we came across an interesting phenomenon that suggests multiple exposures in the highlights. When shooting at 50 fps in Log with a longer exposure time of up to 1/80 second, the highlights are consistently limited to around 70 per cent. If you now go to at least 1/96, the values expand into the space above. Hardly any further information can be found about this function, only CinemaP3 refers to it as EDR (Enhanced Dynamic Range).

In the documentation for developers, the term is primarily used for playback on HDR displays. Red has been offering something similar for recording under the name “HDRx” for some time, but probably does not hold a patent on this (as with the compression of RAW in the camera). Obviously, two (perhaps even more) readouts of the sensor are combined here as soon as the time until the next single image is sufficient. 7.5 milliseconds is obviously not enough, but 10 ms is fine. This is less noticeable at 25 fps, as the usual exposure time of 1/50 with 20 ms is easily sufficient. Here the effect already starts at 1/40, at 1/30 the remaining time is still too short – which mathematically corresponds to the behaviour at 50 fps with just under 7 ms. The resulting distribution across the log curve can be easily controlled using ND and ISO.

At the other end of the scale, it is noticeable that there is practically no recognisable noise. You can simply cover the lens with manual exposure and the line drops to zero. So there is obviously a lot of filtering going on in the camera, because such a small sensor cannot be so low-noise despite all the technical progress. This becomes quite clear when shooting at high ISO values with short exposure times, as the lower mid-tones are already very noisy. Medium ISO with longer exposure times using ND looks much better.

So there is no “correct”, native ISO value that always fits. The iPhone makes too many adjustments for this, even with Log. It all depends on where the important details are: If you want to bring out the highlights, e.g. add structure to a cloudy sky, a higher ISO value is appropriate. EDR reduces the contrast in the highlights, but the details are there. If the shadow areas are the most important thing, on the other hand, you should go for a low ISO in order to provide the sensor with enough light, then the highlights will be compressed, but largely without clipping.

In our exposure series with EDR, 2 f-stops overexposure and 3 f-stops underexposure were still easily correctable, the colours become weaker, but do not derail. Incidentally, they are excellent: especially in the critical area between red and yellow and thus with the skin tones, the iPhone shows a precision landing. Noise is visible in dark areas, but is fine-grained in ProRes and can be controlled in post. We worked with DR’s colour management and only corrected brightness and contrast. We measured an extremely high-contrast motif with a cloudy sky and molleton in the shadowy foreground with 9.5 f-stops – this would still be usable in post (the blue tone on the blacks is scattered sky blue).

After all these observations, I must also note that Gerald Undone and Patrick Tommaso’s categorisation of ISO 1,100-1,400 as the native value should be treated with caution. The two did not explain whether they used ND filters or varied the exposure time(is.gd/undone_iphone). But DXOmark also assumes 1,250 to 1,480. I tend to favour ISO 200-800 for noise reduction and use EDR with sufficiently long exposure times. Of course, ND filters are the order of the day in bright light, otherwise the typical staccato films from action cams will result.

Film: Equipment

Basically, the only indispensable accessory for good pictures is an ND filter. But a variable ND consists of two polarising filters and has the corresponding side effects, from the infamous “X” to altered colours (warmer ones in our case). Conventional ND filters are better. We were unable to observe any noticeable IR contamination with an inexpensive set, even at 10 f-stops; Apple probably has this well under control. Filters can be attached with a simple clamp mount, but this should not cover too much of the interface on the side of the screen. In addition, such a mount does not fit well with the usual transparent silicone covers, as stray light can then enter from behind. Such covers are also not conducive to cooling in warm environments.

If it’s not too warm, a thin, black cover would be useful. If you want it more perfect, you’ll be back on the road to “Frankenrig” at some point, because the accessories industry has immediately adapted to this. But there are alternatives that can still be put in your pocket as a protective frame without all the accessories. The company Beastgrip has been involved in the development since the Bentley advert and also produced the universal cage that was used for Apple’s event. Their “Beastcage” will soon be released in specific versions for the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max and offers a very sophisticated system, including filters, macro lens and anamorphic lenses. Another provider is Freewell with the “Sherpa” – the name of course says it all, especially for the iPhone. It works with clever magnetic holders for filters or lenses.

Freewell not only offers filters, but also anamorphic lens attachments. These are available in both 1.33 and 1.55 and at Freewell optionally with streaks in classic blue as well as in “gold”, i.e. warm yellow. However, the streaks are very pronounced, including the typical side effects such as edge blurring and distortion. However, the 1.55s in particular offer much more horizontal image area, even if they are not easy to align. There is no gain in resolution associated with the anamorphic lenses in ProRes Log. When recording film, the full area of the 4:3 sensor can only be used with H.265 in 8-bit HDR or Rec 709 and then shows all the typical “blurring” effects.

Be careful if you want to use existing filters with a larger diameter via the step-up ring: the 24 mm main camera can then vignette. In addition, the stabilisation of the iPhone does not work with anamorphic lenses and sometimes the iPhone “sees” the adapter as an object and goes into macro mode. So is this more for wannabe Spielbergs? The only filters you really need are NDs and possibly a circular polarising filter, as neither of these can be replaced in post. There are excellent software solutions for everything else, such as “Scatter”.

Advantages and disadvantages

So where do we stand with such a powerful camera phone? Well, first of all, an “always with you” camera is definitely better than no camera at all. In low light, a good hybrid camera like the Sony A7 IV is still clearly superior and you have an almost infinite choice of lenses, but all of this is still much more expensive, even compared to Apple’s prices. If you know your camera really well, you can
blindly with the viewfinder and at the same time see the subject in isolation without distraction. Nowadays, the monitor can usually be swivelled and rotated, but the iPhone’s monitor is still visible even in sunlight.
But you don’t always have all those nice lenses with you. Dust on the sensor when changing lenses is also not an issue with mobile phones. The iPhone is even waterproof, where larger cameras can only withstand splashing water. And you hardly stand out with it, whereas a “real” camera with a longer lens might be eyed suspiciously or even rejected at the entrance. The iPhone 15 can achieve cinema quality in the documentary sector and would certainly have been a dream come true for authors such as Michael Winterbottom with “In This World” or Wim Wenders with “Buena Vista Social Club” – these films were released to the cinema in large parts by DV.

Commentary

Apple has managed an amazing balancing act with the iPhone 15 Pro: 99 per cent or more of users get nice pictures without any great expertise and professionals get a camera that, with the right app, can do far more than a conventional smartphone. The pig called “game changer” is driven through the digital village almost every day – mostly ephemeroptera (mayflies). But the Pro models of the iPhone 15 could actually signal a paradigm shift, similar to the Canon 5D Mark II 15 years ago. Just as that marked the beginning of hybrid photo/film cameras, the iPhone is now a working tool for professionals. And unlike a standard camera, you can even use it to make phone calls..

The post Film with a Phone? first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Uli Plank.

Why use a light meter at all? When photographing with modern digital cameras today, you rarely need such a device if you are not using professional lighting. You simply shoot in RAW and expose to the right, i.e. to the highlights (ETTR), and do the rest on the computer. With film, the whole thing is not so simple: if you were to expose every shot in this way, you would have a massive jump in light with every cut, even in a simple shot-counter-shot situation.

Okay, you can hold the shot with the most intense light just before clipping the highlights and shoot the others with the same values – the rest will have to be dealt with in post-production. But if light is to be set or even just a few reflectors are to be used, then professional light measurement becomes very useful. It is just as helpful to be able to use such a device to judge what you need to bring along for good lighting when scouting for locations.

Why only iPhone and iPad here?

Light meter apps for Apple devices have been available for a long time, while the corresponding metadata was not accessible to developers on Android until recently. And then, Android still did not support metadata for colour. However, this is not only necessary for measuring the colour temperature, but also for evaluating the raw data during exposure measurement. Simply analysing the average image data is not enough for this, as the pre-processing of the camera images in the mobile phone distorts the values in an almost unpredictable way: the direct reading of the image data can lead to incorrect measurements of up to two f-stops.

Nevertheless, we also tried out one of the apps tested here, namely myLightMeter Pro, on Android. We used a Motorola Moto E5, which can be considered a very affordable mid-range mobile phone. Not only did it show that the deviation was greater without calibration than with the iPhone. This would not be a problem for an app with calibration, but unfortunately linearity was also significantly worse. This means that after a calibration with medium brightness, the values in dark scenes deviate in one direction and in bright scenes in the other – this is not really useful. The inexhaustible number of such apps for Android and hardware with cameras of varying quality would turn a reasonably representative overview into an encyclopaedia anyway. (What the hell is an encyclopaedia?)

What is a dome?

There are basically two types of light measurement: that of incident light and that of reflected light. Without special accessories, a mobile phone only ever measures the light reflected by the subject, so you are responsible for either measuring on an official grey card (with 18% reflection) or estimating the optimum exposure yourself by measuring highlights and shadows. For professional lighting, on the other hand, it makes much more sense to use a measuring device to determine the incident light. In order to measure more than just the frontal incident light, such a device needs a translucent hemisphere made of neutral white plastic, as in one of our reference devices, the Sekonic.

A Luxi is therefore certainly the most useful addition to the iPhone as a light meter. This is a white hemisphere made of plastic (the dome, see above), which is clipped onto the mobile phone and covers the front camera. The first model of this Kickstarter project is only suitable for some models such as the iPhone 4, 5 and SE and fits them very well. The only disadvantage of the older model is that it only fits properly if the protective cover is removed. The newer version called Luxi For All fits many mobile phone cameras and tablets, seems to be slightly less attenuating and is therefore about half an aperture more sensitive. It is also closer to the characteristics of a conventional light meter in its light distribution when light falls from the side, while the older model is slightly less sensitive to side light. However, you have to position the new Luxi just as precisely, and unfortunately it slips quite easily on the smooth surface of most devices in hectic everyday working life.

The approx. 25 euros charged for this may seem expensive for a simple piece of plastic. However, it was not only used to finance the production, but also the development of the suitable material and the free programme for it, which can also be used as a simple spot meter without the dome. Several of the professional programmes also work with the Luxi as a measuring device for incident light.

This already applies to the inexpensive myLightMeter Pro, and for Pocket Light Meter and Cine Meter II it is almost a matter of course, including a separate calibration. In principle, you can use any app that can be calibrated, because the dome absorbs some light. Just don’t forget to change the calibration again for spot measurement. By the way: The Luxis also fit on an iPod Touch if you don’t want to use your mobile phone. Another alternative to the light meter for those who despise mobile phones.

The candidates

One of our conditions was, of course, that the respective app still runs on the latest version of iOS, and we spared ourselves the trouble of taking our own measurements for apps with obviously devastatingly poor ratings from multiple users. However, the most important criterion for professional use is the ability to calibrate the app using a professional device as a reference. Understandably, the components for mobile phones are not manufactured or selected with the same tight tolerances that apply to a measuring device that costs several hundred euros just for this one task. Deviations are therefore to be expected from such devices without calibration.

Before calibration, our iPhone SE deviated from the average of the reference devices by around 1/3 f-stop, the iPad Pro by a good 2/3. In contrast, another sample of the SE was almost correct even without calibration. After calibrating as carefully as possible, we were particularly interested in the extent to which the devices still matched when the light intensity changed or when the temperature rose. There is a fairly wide selection of apps under iOS, ranging from simple, free programmes to freely available basic versions with advertising disabled or functional enhancements through in-app purchases to purely professional programmes. We have not included apps that first have to take a photo before anything can be measured. We have also not analysed various specialists for pinhole cameras, nighttime or long exposure photography.

How did we measure?

Our reference devices were a Sekonic L-508 Zoom Master, with which both spot metering and incident light metering are possible, and a Minolta Spot F with pure spot metering. Although both devices have been used in everyday shooting for a long time, they only differed by two to three tenths of a f-stop in the medium brightness range, which is quite insignificant. Most apps can only be calibrated in steps of 1/3 aperture, which is completely sufficient in practice – the aperture can hardly be set more precisely even on cinema lenses. Only Cine Meter II allows optional adjustment and display in 1/10 aperture. After adjustment at medium brightness values, both the iPhone SE and the iPad Pro matched the dedicated meters so well over a very wide aperture range that the display in this app did not deviate any further than the meters themselves.

In low light, these somewhat older meters were already “out of range”, while the app still delivered results that seemed plausible in comparison to the very light-sensitive Sony A7S. Similarly, an older iPhone 5 under iOS 9 still delivered precise results even in very bright light. Models such as the SE, which already contains the 6th generation camera, showed a deviation of 2/3 aperture upwards in very bright light. However, this was only the case in direct summer sunlight from behind on a white diffusion screen; the exposure was then around 9 EV above our grey card at medium brightness for the calibration. This phenomenon only affects the newer devices (or their iOS?), and at least Adam Wilt, the developer of Cine Meter II, is already getting to the bottom of this observation.

Some apps also measure the colour temperature. As we didn’t have a spectrometer available for testing – after all, a Sekonic C-700 Spectromaster costs around €1,300 – we compared this display with the measurements of some cameras. When using a Luxi, the measurements for daylight or incandescent light were quite good with a deviation of 200 to 300 K and quite sufficient for determining a suitable filter. With the more critical energy-saving lamps, the precision was worse, and it was also somewhat less accurate using a grey card.

For beginners and free of charge

With Lightmate by Luis Laugga, the easiest to use of the free offers, fans of classic photo cameras can certainly be happy. This is especially true if the in-built light meter has already died or batteries are no longer available. It is clearly laid out, very easy to understand and is capable of spot metering. Simply tap and wait until the metering circle stops flashing. The only disadvantage: as the values are displayed directly in the image, they are more difficult to read in bright areas of the image. Calibration is not possible, so you can only determine the deviation with a reference device and, if necessary, take it into account by setting a different ISO value. Film cameramen will miss the appropriate exposure times, but here the intermediate step of 1/45 second comes quite close to 1/48 or 1/50.

Lux – Professional Light Meter for Film Photography from Avicora allows calibration in 1/3 f-stops via the compensation value and is also quite clear and easy to use. However, contrary to what the name might suggest, it does not recognise the traditional film speed of 24 fps – this refers to analogue film in cameras. It does, however, offer 1/50th of a second or whole-numbered fractions thereof if the “Shutter Stops” setting is set to “Thirds”. This free and ad-free app is therefore also suitable for filmmakers, the only things missing are separate support for a dome, logging and the display of the colour temperature.

Affordable middle class

Light Meter – Street by Oliver Bojahr for 3.49 euros is one of the simplest of the commercially available products. It is based on the measurement of the camera image in the iPhone, but also allows spot measurements by tapping a point in the image. A simple recording button switches between continuous measurement and holding the current measurement. The display is very clear and, after entering the ISO value, you can easily display suitable time/aperture combinations; the last measurement is also saved when you exit the app. As a nice gag, the now almost forgotten mnemonic phrases are displayed in the style of “Sun laughs – aperture eight”. In American, this is called Sunny 16 (de.qwerty.wiki/wiki/Sunny_16_rule) – not because it is brighter there, but because the ISO values are taken into account. The app (as well as an English version) and the operating instructions on Github have been completely Germanised – the author is from here, after all. However, in favour of a quick overview, it only shows whole f-stops or EV values and does not offer any calibration options or film frequencies. On the iPad, the display can be rotated, but the camera image always remains in portrait format. This app is primarily suitable for photographers who are at war with the English language.

Pavel Bukhonov’s Light & Exposure Meter is ad-financed and can do much more. This app is also aimed more at photographers and is available in English and Russian. At least the values can be calibrated, albeit only in steps of 1/3 aperture and not separately for incident light with Luxi. It does not recognise film frequencies, but with 1/45 second you come very close to the standard exposure time. It can also display the colour temperature and log the values, even with thumbnail and location and time information. Unfortunately, you have to interrupt your work to upload or save the individual logs first. The often full-screen and time-controlled adverts for games interrupt your work even more and are extremely annoying if you don’t unlock the app for 5.49 euros. However, some reviews in the App Store suggest that adverts may still be displayed, which would border on fraud. An enquiry to the support address given in the store was unsuccessful, as our emails did not reach them – we therefore decided not to activate the app for testing.

More serious is myLightMeter from David Quiles Amat, which simulates a beautifully designed vintage-style meter in the low-cost version for 2.29 euros (see Android). In the Pro version for 5.99 euros, it can do pretty much everything a photographer could wish for with spot and dome. There are also film frequencies, at least with 1/25, 1/50 etc., and the calibration in the settings is done separately for reflected and incident light (even if only in steps of 1/3 aperture). Separate exposure compensation for subject composition is offered directly in the meter. The app can calculate average values from several measurements, but there is no colour temperature measurement. Unfortunately, there is also no location or time information in the log function, which simply saves an image with exposure values in your own photo album. The “Read File” function allows you to read out the exposure of existing photos from your mobile phone, but without spot metering.

The unique selling point: it displays the hyperfocal distance for the selected aperture, even for infrared photography if required, and you can save up to five presets for your own lenses, taking the sensor size into account. The wealth of functions requires a little more learning, but there is a detailed instruction manual available for download as a PDF (English). The f/tools offered by the same author facilitate numerous photographic calculations, such as aspect ratios, cropping, motion blur, airy disc etc. and are also worth every penny at 1.09 euros. Both apps are obviously real hobby projects of the author and in this price range my recommendation (the Classic version is also available for Android).

The pros

Nuwaste Studios’ Pocket Light Meter, which used to be ad-supported, is now available for €11.99 without adverts. This is the cheapest app that can also display the typical film exposure time of 1/48 second and measure the colour temperature (uncalibrated). The measurement of the incident light can be calibrated in 1/3 f-stops, but unfortunately, despite the support of a Luxi, no separate calibration is offered for this – not an insignificant weakness. In addition, the app deviates a little more from the professional measuring devices than Cine Meter II in very low or very strong light. The greatest positive is the logging, which not only records all measured values, location, time, own notes and the respective image, but can even automatically store this information in a dropbox. With better calibration, this app would be perfect. However, if you only use one of the two measurement types regularly or change the correction value manually, you are already well equipped with this clear and easy-to-use app.

Cine Meter II by Adam Wilt is in the top class. Although it costs 30 euros, it leaves hardly anything to be desired. In addition to all the requirements already mentioned, not only the display but also the calibration can be carried out in 1/10 f-stops. The latter can also be performed separately for the front and rear cameras and separately for Luxi. The measured values are very precise after calibration and can keep up with the dedicated measuring devices (apart from the slight oversensitivity in full sun, which is probably due to the newer Apple hardware, see above). However, an accuracy of a tenth of an aperture is not a decisive criterion in practice, even a third of an aperture is good enough – which lens can be adjusted so precisely?

Cine Meter II can display the colour temperature and the green-magenta shift (also known as Duv) with Luxi or using a grey card from iOS 8, but of course it does not replace a spectrometer, as it is only based on a normal camera with three basic colours. The author explains the problems of such a colour measurement on his website: http://www.adamwilt.com/cinemeterii/colormetering.html (including detailed comparison tables). The calibration of the colour measurement is also described there. Based on this measurement, the app provides filter values for correction to the desired target value. Another typical feature of film is that you can specify a running speed and then set the aperture angle. Since, for aesthetic reasons, you usually don’t want to adjust the aperture or the time when there is too much light on film, you can specify an ND value instead.

While the exposure measurement is very precise, the waveform and false colour display can only be used as relative values because they are influenced by the camera software. This is nevertheless very helpful if, for example, the even illumination of a green screen is to be checked. The only weakness of this app is the logging: the current values are only written to a CSV file at an adjustable interval. You then only have pure lists available, no images and no location information. However, a long press on the displayed image at least generates a screenshot. Nevertheless, logging in the manner of the Pocket Light Meter would be a very helpful further development. The complex yet intuitive user interface is explained with many practical tips on the author’s website, the links can be found directly in the app under “Help”.

Devices with their own electronics

Cine Meter II is the only device (apart from the manufacturer’s app) that also supports the Lumu Lite, including the colour trim function. Lumu is a Kickstarter project from Ljubljana in Slovenia, very nicely packaged with a leather case in black or silver, but unfortunately out of stock by now. It is a much more complex measuring device for incident light with its own sensor and electronics, which in its second incarnation as Lumu Power 2 is only built for Apple devices with a Lightning socket (the manufacturer will have good reasons for this). Unfortunately, the newer version no longer works with Cine Meter II and is available in different versions from 249 to 499 US dollars, taking into account the requirements of film professionals.

Lumu Power is said to be more accurate than its predecessor with a maximum deviation of only 2/10 in lateral light, and it can also capture grazing light from behind, which is shielded by the mobile phone in the Luxi. Users praise the Lumu for better light sensitivity than many expensive light meters and very good temperature compensation. The rotatable dome makes it more flexible in use than the Luxi, and photographers appreciate the measurement of flash units, which an iPhone cannot provide. We have not yet been able to test the device, nor the Illuminati Light Meter. This goes one step further: the electronics are housed in a separate device for 299 US dollars and communicate with the app via Bluetooth. It is therefore independent of the direct connection to a mobile phone or tablet and its operating system or internal hardware.

Comment

Yes, you can use an iPhone as a professional light meter. If you want to keep all your options open, you need the Luxi, Pocket Light Meter for perfect logging and Cine Meter II for very precise measurements and filter determination. That would be around 65 euros, which is still far less than a solid light meter (without the mobile phone, but an old iPhone 4s or 5 will do).

The post The best light meter .. first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Uli Plank.

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]As usual, our selection of featured products is based on a rather subjective view, i.e. on apps that we personally consider useful or even use (more or less) regularly ourselves. And to ensure that nothing happens to the expensive piece of jewellery, we have also included two protective covers for outdoor use in the exquisite test group. Oh yes, and as there are other smartphones and tablets besides the iPhone and iPad, we also note whether the app is available for Android.

Lens information indicator

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] [vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]CineLenses from the manufacturer of the same name is more of an extensive database than a real app. The user will find a huge selection of different lenses for every application from many well-known (and unknown) manufacturers as well as the corresponding, very extensive specifications in a handy format. The collection is initially divided into spherical and anamorphic lenses, and a selection step further into primes, zooms, teles, macros, fish-eyes etc. If you want to find out more about a specific lens, you first click through the individual criteria to get to the manufacturers and from there to the respective product. In addition to a picture of the lens and basic information, a comprehensive list of focus ranges, focal lengths, T-stops, weight, length, year of manufacture and mount is displayed here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A small button next to each lens allows you to add the product to a shopping / wish list, which you can, for example, share with your camera ace or the producer (so that he laughs heartily and tells you which lenses you can’t get for budget reasons). A useful additional feature is the associated database of distributors, which can sometimes be very useful in foreign countries, but (who would have thought it) is very much geared towards the United States. There is only one distributor for Germany.
For a price of 9 US dollars, CineLenses offers a wide range of lenses with helpful information for production planning. Whether you really need this app on location remains to be seen. If you prefer to plan on your PC, you can get the same features for free on the manufacturer’s website.

CineLenses
Extensive database of many manufacturers and lenses.
Platform: iOS and Android
Full version: 9 US dollars

http://www.cinelensesapp.com

Anti-flare calculator

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] [vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]At which frame rate, which shutter and which Hertz number does the picture flicker? And when does it not? Using a simple (and free) app, the DoP can calculate which angle needs to be set to prevent flickering of HMI or neon light in the image, especially when shooting at higher frame rates. To do this, you select the number of Hertz used (50 or 60, depending on which part of the world you are in), scroll continuously through the shutter angles or the desired frame rate using small wheels and thus obtain the optimum setting for the camera.
The app does little more than replace the familiar blue (60Hz) and red (50Hz) cards, or to be more precise, transfer them to an app. If you still don’t want to do without the cards, you can also find them as an image in the app. If you often film with HMI or in neon light, shoot a lot in the United States or with high-speed cameras and settings, the FLICKERfree Calculator is a great help in smartphone format.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
If you are often travelling abroad, shooting in HMI and neon light and/or using high-speed cameras, you can calculate the shutter angle free of charge using FLICKER.

FLICKERfree Calculator
Converter from shutter to frame rates and vice versa
Platform: iOS
Full version: free of charge

www.cinemaelec.com/flickerfreecalculator/[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Data volume calculator

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] [vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Which codec generates which amount of data? How much disc space do I need to store 90 minutes of footage? How much 4K footage can I fit on a memory card? The free Data Calc app from AJA answers all these questions. The user selects either the data or the time calculation and can use various parameters such as codec, available storage volume or planned shooting duration to calculate how much storage space should be reserved or how much material can be shot until all cards/hard disc recorders are full.
For example, the user can select that they have 64 Gbytes of memory available per card and are shooting in 4K in the XAVC codec and will receive the result that around 34 minutes of material can be recorded per card. Or you have edited a film of 100 minutes and want to export it in ProRES HQ. In this case, the memory requirement would be around 155 Gbytes. The selection of codecs is very extensive and operation is simple. What more could a budding data wrangler want?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
Which codec uses how much memory again? Can we manage with four cards for the shooting day? How big will the playout be exactly? All these questions are answered by the free DataCalc app from AJA.

Data Calc
Calculation of storage capacity or material duration
Platform: iOS and Android
Full version: free of charge

www.aja.com/family/software[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Sun Trajectory Actor

When is the sun where and how does it influence my picture? Adam Ratana’s Sun Surveyor is a very clear and functional app for planning scenery, interviews and other lighting design. Based on the current time and GPS coordinates, the software calculates the position of the sun and its advance until sunset. A 3D compass, a two-dimensional map view based on Google Maps, a live view using the camera and Google Street View (for accurate advance planning) are available as settings. Users will also find a detailed list of all sun-related data such as dawn and dusk, blue hour, sunrises and sunsets, etc.
One function that is particularly useful for planning shoots is the look into the future. Using a cleverly coloured scroll bar, you can view the position of the sun over the next few hours and days. If you already have a fixed shooting date for a production, you can also specify this using the date/time function and see directly at what angle the sun will be shining on location. The only thing you can’t plan with Sun Surveyor is the actual sun, but there are plenty of weather apps for that. Sun Surveyor costs just 10 US dollars and is one of the most useful apps we know (and use) for planning shoots.

Sun Surveyor
App for planning the sun’s rays and course
Platform: iOS and Android, full version: 1O US dollars
> www.sunsurveyor.com

Sun Surveyor is a very useful tool for reliable filming planning. It shows very precisely and in detail where the sun is (and when the filming location is in the shade).

Daily shoot planner

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] [vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]What does an app called Shotlister do? Correct, it lists shots. No more, no less, but it’s actually quite clever and clearly organised, with the option (for a fee) to share the shot list with the team at the touch of a button. If you use the simple version of Shotlister on your smartphone or tablet, you first create a new (film) project and a new scene in this project. Shots are then created within the scene, which can be set up quickly and intuitively with the help of a few settings (INT/EXT, time of day, shooting day, cast, etc.). In addition to each shot, the production manager or DoP also has the option of entering additional equipment such as dolly, crane, tripod, etc. as well as the planned lens and shot size.
All shots can be freely rearranged while still in the planning stage or during the shooting day, with the updated shot list being automatically sent to all registered users’ smartphones, tablets and even Apple Watches. The prerequisite for this is that each user has a Pro licence for 14 US dollars per year. Owners of the Pro version also have the option of importing existing scripts from other programmes and generating a shot list from them. Those who prefer to work on a PC rather than on fiddly smartphones can also purchase the desktop version for 50 US dollars. The handheld version of Shotlister is available for iOS and Android, while the desktop version is only available for Mac OS.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
Shotlists are actually essential for more complex film projects. Even more essential, however, is the ability to send all changes immediately and in real time to the end devices of team members and actors.

Shotlister
App for creating and managing shot lists
Platform: iOS and Android (desktop for Mac OS)
Full version: 14 US dollars

www.shotlister.com[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Focal length comparator (1)

What directors wore around their necks a few decades ago as hardware to better set up or evaluate an image is now available as software for smartphones – a mobile viewfinder, such as Artemis Pro. The app allows you to select various popular cameras from the film and TV sector as well as the corresponding lenses. Depending on whether you opt for zooms or fixed focal lengths, a list of possible focal lengths appears, which you can expand or reduce to suit your own taste.
However, the actual functionality of the app only becomes apparent when using the camera, as Artemis displays the current camera image with different frames. For example, if you choose a 24 mm focal length, the image will be very open; if you opt for a 50, 85 or even 135 mm lens, the image section will be reduced accordingly. Of course, the user also has the option of selecting certain focal lengths and displaying them in full-screen mode (not just as a frame) and even recording photos or videos for comparison purposes.
The app’s other options include adding or removing your own framelines and virtual stand-ins to better judge the size of a section, using preset looks such as black and white, film stock and bleach bypass, and customising focus and exposure settings. With a price of 30 US dollars, Artemis Pro is not exactly cheap, but it pays for itself in shooting situations within a very short time, at the latest when the camera wizard does not have to screw the fifth lens in front of the camera to convince the customer of the choice of focal length. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] [vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]The simulations in Artemis Pro give the DoP a full view through various lenses. Virtual stand-ins and different apertures can also be displayed.

Artemis Pro
Virtual viewfinder with many additional options
Platform: iOS
Full version: 3O US dollars

http://www.chemicalwedding.tv[/vc_column_text%5D%5B/vc_column%5D%5B/vc_row%5D [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Focal length comparator (2)

The Mark II Viewfinder from Dire Studio does essentially the same thing as Artemis Pro, albeit a little more complicated, but also more detailed in parts.
As with Artemis, the user first selects a camera from the list (which surprisingly does not include our generally popular Sony FS7) and a focal length (which in turn contains hardly any manufacturers but only generic specifications) and can then judge the image section based on the focal length frames displayed.
Mark II is somewhat more streamlined than Artemis Pro with quick access to the aspect ratio of the image, a black and white preview and image overrides. The settings also include programmable function buttons, image stabilisation, white balance and other helpful tools. A good organisation for comparison images is also included. Mark II costs just under 30 US dollars and is also in direct competition with Artemis Pro. However, we cannot give a clear recommendation for purchase, as both apps have their advantages and disadvantages.

Mark II Artist’s Viewfinder
Virtual viewfinder with many additional options
Platform: iOS
Full version: 28 US dollars
> www.artistsviewfinder.com

Ambient Light Analyser

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] [vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]The CineMeter II app transforms the iPhone into a simple light meter with corresponding additional information such as waveform monitor, colour temperature and aperture. The software accesses one of the smartphone’s two cameras and can be extended with a Luxi light meter attachment for just under 50 euros if required (although we have not tested this).
In addition to the current camera image, CineMeter II provides a
Waveform display with (Y)RGB values, the shutter speed and an aperture calculated as a function of the ISO value. The user can also perform a white balance and define different colour temperatures. The other, somewhat hidden options include different ND filters, a still mode, warning settings for over- or underexposure and the intensity of waves and lines in the waveform display
Waveform display.
At 25 US dollars, CineMeter is not necessarily a cheap app, but it saves a lot of time when assessing lighting situations and provides all the (necessary) display functions that you would expect as a cameraman or lighting technician, especially with the Luxi attachment installed.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
Everything at a glance: Instead of running around with a light meter and monitor, you can also use your smartphone, optionally with an installed luximeter.

CineMeter II
Virtual light meter with many display options
Platform: iOS
Full version: 25 US dollars

www.adamwilt.com/cinemeterii/[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Scene designer

If you want to set interviews or stage acted scenes, you often spend a lot of time writing down on the back of call sheets or the caterer’s paper napkin how you imagine the set-up and sequence of the scene for the cameraman, the actors and the rest of the crew. The Shot Designer app helps to remedy this situation with its simple operation and many functions. Scenes are created very simply by selecting either a male or female character, positioning them (as a top shot) and positioning the camera and lighting accordingly using drag-and-drop. You can also select simple props and name all elements individually.
One of the major advantages of the app (compared to paper napkins) is the option of splitting a scene into three individual images and playing them back like a film, i.e. simulating the movement of the actors and the camera. Other options include importing storyboard images to match the scene and using the camera to photograph scenes and integrate them into the shot. The Shot Designer is free of charge for individual scenes. If you want to design entire films, work together in a team or plan your work on the desktop, you pay 20 US dollars for the Pro version.

Shot layouts could hardly be easier to design: Characters, lighting, props and cameras can be added and moved along the respective movement axes using drag-and-drop.

Shot Designer
App for planning scenes with numerous options
Platform: iOS/Android, Mac OS and Windows (desktop)
Full version: 2O US dollars

www.hollywoodcamerawork.com/shot-designer.html[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Klappenschlager

One of our favourite apps on iPhone and iPad has always been Movie Slate, a kind of virtual film clapperboard for syncing picture and sound (or cameras without timecode). As with a real film slate, you first write down the project name, director, DoP, camera name etc. in the app. You can also define the production logo and three other fields as well as the unit, time of day and INT/EXT.
To strike the clapperboard, the user simply clicks on the upper part of the screen (where the actual clapperboard is positioned). A three-second countdown sounds, then the flap hits and the app turns completely red. That’s it! The advantage of the app over a manual flap is that the time code (e.g. the real time) is displayed and that a take is counted up for each flap.
The virtual clapperboard runs during the recording so that a kind of log of the individual shots is created, which can be used later in post-production to allocate the settings. There are also numerous options for the camera and production data as well as a Pro version for synchronising between different devices and apps. Although Movie Slate is not exactly cheap at 30 US dollars, it saves time and nerves in post-production.

Movie Slate 8
Virtual slate with many
Additional functions
Platform: iOS
Full version: 3O US-Dollar
> www.movie-slate.com

Green wall assessor

Anyone who frequently shoots in front of a green or blue screen knows how important it is to ensure that the background is evenly lit so that post-production doesn’t turn into a nightmare later on. However, instead of using a light meter to scan the background centimetre by centimetre, you can use a small app to inspect the screen in its entirety and optimise the lighting if necessary (which of course also requires light – the app doesn’t do that).
The way the Green Screener works is actually quite simple: the background is divided into different areas of different shades of grey, depending on how bright the illumination is. You then select a target on the touchscreen of the iPhone or iPad and correct the background lighting until everything is an even green colour.
For just 10 US dollars, this tool is helpful, easy to use and can easily save several hundred dollars in post-production if a key is not sufficiently well lit and a lot of manual work is required.

Green Screener
App for optimising the lighting of green screens
Platform: iOS and Android, full version: USD 1O
> https://www.hollywoodcamerawork.com/green-screener.html

Camera optimiser simulator

Of course, the cameras in modern smartphones are not only very powerful in terms of light intensity and resolution, but can also be fully controlled via the apps supplied, such as Apple’s “Camera”. However, if you want a little more control and overview when shooting with your smartphone, you should take a look at Filmic Pro.
The app offers some functions that you won’t find elsewhere, such as the display of a small level monitor for the audio recording and a running (real) timecode. If you want to go deeper into the settings, you can first adjust the colour correction by either changing the colour temperature, performing an automatic white balance or actually shifting the colours. The lens area gives the user access to the aperture and focus and, depending on the device, the optical and digital zoom can also be used here. Other options include a zebra display for overexposed areas, blue focus lines and a black and white viewfinder. Additional settings also give you access to the integrated camera options such as stabiliser, image size, frame rate, guidewires and all the other frippery you need as a cameraman.
Filmic Pro actually only costs 15 US dollars and is therefore highly recommended for all users who use their smartphone for more than just baby pictures, birthday parties and Facebook Live. However, you should have a reasonably up-to-date smartphone, as Filmic Pro tends to skip frames on devices that are too slow, but does not consider it necessary to display this shortcoming in a warning message.

Filmic Pro
Clearly organised camera app with many useful
Functions
Platform: iOS/Android
Full version: 15 US dollars

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A little more hardware

If you’re often outdoors with your expensive device and may have to work on set in damp, cold or rainy conditions, you naturally want to protect it as well as possible. This is where two cases come in handy, which we tested just before the end.
The Urban Armor Monarch Series offers good basic protection for a comparatively low budget. The case is open at the front, so it does not completely enclose the device and therefore does not fully protect it from water and dust. However, the touchscreen can be operated freely and is not additionally covered. The material of the protective cover is a mixture of rubber on the corners and edges (to protect against nasty drops), a leather back and a durable, lacquered aluminium frame for overall stabilisation. In general, the protective cover is not particularly heavy, so it is hardly noticeable in terms of weight, and it is not much larger than it needs to be to ensure reasonably reliable protection; only the operation of the side buttons could be a little smoother. For 60 euros, Urban Armor Gear offers well-made, lightweight and seemingly reliable protection for the exclusive device.

The protective cases from Armor-X are somewhat less well made than UAG, but also offer all-round protection for the end devices. The iPhone case is made entirely of plastic and completely encloses the device, protecting it from water, dirt and sand. The back and cover are made of transparent film, which reacts more or less sensitively to touch – sometimes you have to press the glass/film a little more firmly to open an app or take a photo.
The real advantage of Armor-X, apart from the complete casing, is the mounting device on the back. Here, the user can mount any device to attach the iPhone to a bike, an arm, a (supplied) carabiner or even a tripod. For our test, we attached an iPad with an Armor-X case to a type of multi-arm, which we were then able to screw onto a tripod more or less without any problems, thus creating a multifunctional second screen relatively quickly. The so-called X-Mounts for the X-Armor cases all cost between 20 and 40 US dollars, so although they are not of high quality, they are sufficient and offer simple solutions for mounting iPhones and iPads on tripods or rigs without gaffa. An iPhone X case from Armor-X for complete protection costs 70 US dollars, while a case with an X-mount device and open front for the iPad Pro costs 35 US dollars.

Urban Armor Gear
iPhone X case (open): 6O US dollars
Urban Armor Gear
Samsung S9 case (open): 6O US dollars
> www.urbanarmorgear.com

Armor X iPhone case: 7O US dollars
Armor X iPad case (open): 35 US dollars
Armor X Multi-Arm G-Lock: 45 US Dollar

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The post iHelper first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Alexandra Kaschny.