Please note that everything that I am laying out here and for this entire guide translates well over to Android. Its simply a matter of preference for me, and there are a lot of great Android Camera phones as well such as the Google Pixel series and Samsung Galaxy. One of the obvious issues with using an iPhone as a camera is that you only have a limited amount of storage. Assuming a 64 GB iPhone, you’re already losing space to the OS itself, and the applications you have downloaded on the phone. So then you’re kind of stuck deleting stuff constantly and hoping that you do not run out of storage for that one shoot. Not with iCloud With iCloud, you are able to have an easily accessible method of keeping all your files in one place. This is great if you already have a MacBook or iPad as you can transfer files easily and quickly. The way that I use iCloud is as space where I keep all the assets I may use in a video, as well as any finished projects I've worked on for the year, which eventually goes onto a hard drive for archival purposes. When I record a video off of my iPhone, I will save the video to a folder on iCloud specifically for that purpose, and then in about ~5 minutes, I will be able to download that file onto my iPad, which would allow me to make a quick project via iMovie, or my Mac, where I can do more complex edits. Keep in mind Airdrop can also accomplish this, but with the downside of not being able to remove the file of the iPhone to save space. When combined with a high capacity iPhone, space is literally not an issue anymore and you are able to move your files fluidly. There is one downside though: sharing files. iCloud completely blows when it comes to this and it's one of the reasons I am looking to switch to Google Drive in the future. There’s really no downside either as the sharing options for both iCloud and Google drive are in the same place and ill be able to actually send download links to people. It's the simple things Apple fucks up.
I ditched my camera setup to use a iPhone instead. (Part 5: comparison to the Nex-7)
One of the main reasons that I cited for why I ended up liking my iPhone 7 Plus over the Sony NEX-7 had to do with Optical Image Stabilization. If you don’t know, OIS is a camera sensor feature that dynamically moves the physical sensor in the frame in order to compensate for shaky footage. I have a incredibly bad shooting hand and OIS is a lifesaver when I used it in action. It has been a year since I last shoot any video, and my phone situation has changed during that time as well. I now have a iPhone 8, which does not have OIS. I have some projects to record, so now a couple questions arise: can I have a similar experience without OIS given my shaky hand and can it hold me over until I can afford a upgrade?
The answer is yes and no.
The great thing about iPhone camera quality is that with every single year, they made slight alterations to get the best possible hardware/software solution and there is a small albeit noticeable change going from a 7 plus to a 8. This goes for even Android with the Google Pixel series making large leaps in image processing with each new version of android. This has been a upgrade to my 7 plus experience in quality and I have no complaints with that.
OIS is still a dealbreaker though….for me
Without OIS, I would surely need to either obtain a massive amount of focus or purchase a gimbal to compensate. But think about what I said. Basically, the only thing that separates the cameras is whether or not you use a gimbal or not! When I started this series, this would be a pretty hard choice to make as you would either have to pay more and get a bigger phone with. OIS, or pay less and get no OIS. With the release of the iPhone XR, Apple has made OIS standard on all of its phones, with the higher end models having OIS on both of their rear cameras. With all of these options to choose from, it is very important that you identify your own needs and choose the phone that fits your needs. I will be making a buyers guide as the final part of this series to help pick what works for you. Until then, In the next post I will detail my mobile workflow I’ve made, which uses iCloud storage as the glue that allows me to move media seamlessly between devices and keep working on a project no matter where I am.
I ditched my camera setup to use a iPhone instead. (Part 4: comparison to the Nex-7)
Using an iPhone as my camera has been an interesting experience, to say the least. Right off the jump, the default camera app is hot garbage. Very few options make for a lackluster experience (outside of portrait mode, more on that later). I did some research and I decided on using the Mavis Pro app for my video needs. It allows for fine-tuning of focus, ISO, and other functions that a camera guy would fawn over. This allows me to retain the manual adjustments that I love so much. In addition to this, you can disable the cameras built-in stabilizer, which will be essential when purchasing a gimbal. Speaking of the stabilizers, the Optical Stabilizer in the iPhone 7 Plus is phenomenal for shooting and Its really hard to take an awkward shot with that camera.
One thing that I did not expect to be such a big plus is the phone screen itself. The NEX-7 has a 2.5 inch, non-touch display for the viewfinder, and an Electronic View Finder (EVF). The EVF is pretty awesome for setting up the shot, but this is a video comparison so let’s talk about the display. The display sucks for monitoring footage. It sucks even more for reviewing footage. I usually just pop out my SD card and review the footage on the spot if I want to see how it will turn out. This experience is topped off by the annoying AVCHD format that is used when using 1080p footage, but this is more of a "this camera is old as hell" Issue. By comparison, the iPhone 7 Plus is a 5.5 inch, 1080p touchscreen display, which makes it a joy to see stuff as it’s happening and even better when reviewing the footage.
Other pieces of comparison
- The iPhone 7 Plus records at 4k 30 FPS, but I don’t care about that cause I think 4k is still pointless.
- The NEX-7 is pretty heavy when compared to the iPhone 7. This was the most surprising part for me cause I moved to the NEX-7 from the Canon Rebel t3i due to the difference of weight between those cameras and the hand fatigue that the T3i caused.
- Using my iPhone allows for a completely wireless workflow, reducing the need for tedious connections and waiting for items to transfer off my phone. I will go into detail about my new wireless workflow here
- It’s going to be hard getting used to shooting in landscape mode to avoid the infamous bars of doom (just kidding, don’t record in a portrait please, it’s the dumbest thing ever in any circumstance.
- Portrait mode works pretty well most of the time. Not as well as a camera but it makes for some pretty dope effects
- Screw you, apple for removing the headphone jack. It makes life hard.
Overall, this has been a fun experiment. You can't help but appreciate how close smartphones are getting to dedicated camera quality. Apples advertising with the iPhone 6S, 7, and now 8/X has shifted the focus of the smartphone camera from a tool that is used to get good shots with friends or family to one of the iPhone being a creative tool that is more than equipped to handle all the rigors of professional cinematography and photography. I think that it also opens the doors for potential creators to build a workflow for creating content using the phone they already use every day for everything else, which saves a ton of cost that would be used to invest in a good camera. So whether you are a semi-pro looking to lose a couple pounds of hand strain, or someone with many different ideas with a very low budget for equipment, perhaps your next camera for creation will be what you're using to read this right now.
Below I will give a full list of everything that I used during the duration of this project, including the computer that I use. There will also be links to buy (most) of the stuff on Amazon.
**update**
From the time of originally writing this, I upgraded to an iPhone X, which I then eventually got rid of as I was on a hiatus from shooting video for about a year since writing this. The iPhone X is a beast of a camera and is definitely one of the better options, even today with the iPhone 11 series and its tri-lens setup. I am currently using an iPhone 8 to record, but it is nearing the end of its usable life for me. I plan to either buy an iPhone 11 Pro and base all of my efforts around that system for the next two years or save up for an actual camera and end my iPhone camera experiment. With the large volume of projects I am working on, I will probably lean towards getting an 11 Pro as it is easier to obtain than my dream camera with lenses.