Definitely my smartphone, Google Pixel 4a. For the reasons you give. I've been making short films with friends on our smartphones, thanks to your encouraging videos!
You make many good points. I’ve done some great projects with an iPhone. However, I’ve been using my Canon C500mk2 and all my lights and crew. The results are much different and I would say better for the projects I do. Sure, you can tell great stories with an iPhone. I like the image quality of the Mk2. First, have a great story. Second, have great talent. Third, have great light. Then... use a great camera.
Nikon Z50 in 1080p format usually with the 16-55 mm lens. It is light, intuitive, the controls come readily to hand and with an external microphone the sound capture is excellent.
9:54 that is so true ....short story I went to a festival in Japan with my Canon EOS fully kitted out and they asked me to stop🛑🥺🛑 filming went back the next day just with my cell phone nobody even cared🤭🤣🤭🤣🤭
Had the same experience too. Was on vacation and joined a conducted tour through this restored historic mansion when the project architect who was also the guide stopped to announce that ‘professional photography’ was not allowed. She might have noticed me unpacking and switching lenses from my backpack(I must add that I was at the rear of the group and was working as quietly as possible). Realizing that she was directing her message to me I asked if it’s alright if I used my phone like everyone else, to which she said “that’s fine” with a smile and we continued
Totally agree. Upon asking one of the best local cinematographers (I've worked with in indie filmmaking) what would he recommend so far as a camera, he replied..."It doesn't matter. A camera is only a tool. It's the people behind it and in front of it that makes the difference". Right now, my filmmaking "weapon" of choice is the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max for the very reasons you talked about in your video.
This channel and you sir are much appreciated. I've fell victim to exactly what you're speaking of. Been making excuses to not start my project. This is right on time. Respect and thank you.
Well, i'm sorry to be the bad guy here, but u can see in ur videos that u used an iphone. Not that its bad, but the lack of depth and the colors really give it away
This is one of the most original and informative videos I've seen on RU-vid in a while. You hit the nail on the head - it's all about lighting, framing, and movement.
This sir, was one of the MOST inspiring videos I’ve watched in a long time. You absolutely nailed it! Thank you for taking the time and telling it as it is 🙏🏼
Thanks for making it, I feel like as a beginner, you are always looking for an edge and instead of long process of learning , just pick an easier choice. I think more people who are starting out in the field , should watch this.
Excellent video, I constantly find myself drawn to your channel because you have such a keen eye for balancing equipment and skill. Too many channels are all about the latest gear and I find that after a watching a handful of them they all start to look and sound the same. Also, after watching a gear video I always come away with this empty feeling because I don't have the piece of gear I just watched being reviewed. So, thanks and keep up the good work please!
I love the fine line between fact and comedy in this video...brilliantly done! This video is also very reassuring, because I intend to start filming vlogs on my smartphone soon. Thank you!
For sure. I kept delaying the start of my channel because I always thought I didn't have the proper gear yet. One day I just decided to go on with it using whatever tools I had at my disposal. After 16 videos shot on smartphones I never looked back.
I started out by saying that I'd shoot my short film on a Cell Phone. Of course I lied that there would be a DSLR too.I did not have a DSLR. The actors came but there was no amateur cinematographer with experience or confidence to do it on a cell-phone. I ended up hiring a cinematographer with a Full frame camera and a crop frame camera to complete the film.
Yeah, kind of regret getting the A6400 and Sigma lens. The biggest issue for me is the hassle of setup. Also, now that I have a Sekonic light meter and Amaran light, I can get great results using my Pixel XL2 and mcpro24fps. Thanks for this video, Simon. 👍
Yes! So much yes! This is exactly why, after buying a used DSLR and three lenses a couple months ago, I returned them! I hit me one day after shooting some stills of the same subject with both the DSLR and my iPhone 12 Pro Max that I'd made a serious mistake. Of course, I also had input from many of your great videos. So, I sent it all back and am focusing on learning with only the iPhone. If and when I reach its limits for something I want to do, well, then I'll consider what I actually need. Thanks for validating my decision!
I would like to add this, because we watch reviews after reviews we make ourselves believe or we buy onto the fantasy of if I only had this this my film or photos would look amazing. I am guilty of that. I am currently working on myself with this purging my way of thinking and watching content purposely. Just a thought. By the way I really enjoy watching your Chanel.
Good points! We have an iphone 11 pro max and had done some stuff on it but decided that it was time to invest in a Blackmagic 6k pro because we loved the super 35 sensor and it just has that cinematic look you can't get in an iphone as they look almost too realistic and sharp (without going into all the details why). Ultimately it depends what YOU do as you said. I think the stigma against iphones makes it hard to actually get clients and in part i feel like i'm contributing to it with my purchase, but you can certainly do passion projects cheaply. For me, shooting passion projects on a "proper" camera benefits me because I know that when I go to film stuff for other people they are either 1) going to want me to use that camera or 2) be familiar enough with proper cameras so they can get me to hire one that they like the look of. I think what makes DSLR or the likes is that they are somewhat attainable relative to an arri or a red or a high level canon camera. For me, the blackmagic strikes a nice balance. For sure, the story at the end of the day matters but if you're someone that has a tonne of stories in the pipeline, have wanted a nice dedicated camera for a number of years but could never afford it but now you can, i think it's okay if you're willing to eat the costs a little bit because you have plans to make money with the gear. Ultimately people should weigh up their needs and wants and what their long-term plans are with the industry. You want to make a short film for fun as a one off but have no gear? Use your iphone or phone camera or whatever you got. You want to make films/doco as a career and make some money whilst doing it? Not a bad idea to invest in something that'll last you long term or that is a bit more dedicated. Great video by the way!
The problem is - if you want shoot a movie with smartphone you need to do many things to hide the fact you are shoiting on smartphone. You also need good light, sound etc.
Arguably one of the larger factors that makes a video look "cheap" is the "soap opera" effect or basically 30/60fps that the cheaper cameras used shot those shows at. The app shoots at 24fps and more and more video streams are shifting to 60fps so it doesn't really matter that much anymore. Past that I would say proper subject and foreground/background separation that comes with a camera. Worth pointing out jumping to a DSLR or BM setup is kind of dumb, you can actually get a solid condition GX85 and used lenses for cheap and you have a decent 4k rig (actual cages for the gx85 are harder to get now, but it's there). Or go with the EOS-M and Magic Lantern and you've got a tiny easily expandable body that outputs raw. The same logic applies at the end of the day, though. I'm strictly a photographer, but I'm not going to get magically better at photography by buying a 10k USD Leica (body only). It's the time spent experimenting and observing other works. I could do that with my Pentax Q7 TBH.
i was thinking of buying a mirrorless camera for making videos and stuffs but i ended up buying a secondhand iphone X and i am not regretting it .i took too many videos while going on a trip which i couldnt have took if it was a dslr camera . and thanks for the video. i wanted to buy iphone 2020 se for more dynamic range but iphone x has more battery so yeah i am not dissapointed . if dynamic range was everything then them movies that were made 50 years should have been bad, . this line was so great thanks . now everything i need to learn is color grading , camera movement
Been watching videos for hours. I really want to up my creative by filming my youtube videos better. I´m about to buy a new phone but wasn´t too fond of the options. STarted to consider a "real" camera for filming. But this video right here changed my mind. Time is really something i barely have which was a reason i stopped using my DSLR for most stuff and rather went with good cameraphones. I see this still applies and i would be way more capable to actually produce my youtube ideas with a phone thna with a camera which i most likely wouldn´t have with me all the time! Thanks for making this so obvious!
I discovered this gem exactly on the right time. This did clear a lot of doubts I had and probably gave me enough confidence and ways to execute my upcoming project. Thanks man, you've earned a new subscriber.
I bought a dji drone, dji gimbal, canon r5, several aputure lights, and a atomos ninja 5. But before I bought all of that I bought at least ten books that deal with lighting, composition, screenplays and lenses. With All the equipment in the world you still need to know how and what to do in order to get the best quality pictures shots and storylines.
I'm not that much into filming. But I'm shooting approx. 3,000 photos a year - almost all of them with a highend smartphone (currently Samsung S22 Ultra). You can achieve good results with some afterwork in lighting, perspective, color and sharpness.
Thank you for your work on these videos. They are both informative and inspirational. I come to the world of cinematography in order to reimagine my live dance projects on film. It is a totally new world to me (outside of pointing the camera and shooting), but I imagine that, like dance, I will get better with time, experience and training. It's good to know I've been able to get started with just my smartphone (in fact, my OLD smartphone). Will it be good enough? Well, I have yet to see a dance video that has ever gone viral solely because of it's amazing cinematography.
The last digital camera that made feel like I was shooting film again was my Nikon D300s. Some of my best portraiture work was made with it. (I know, you will say it's primarily for sports but anyway.) Everything I've used after that stood in my way of taking photos to some extent. If by a professional camera you mean a camera that doesn't talk back but simply shoots then yes, I am game. But I don't really need one.
Statistically how many smartphone users get creative? 1%? Less? When you get into movie making you will need to eventually buy stuff. Sure, there were some phone made movies. Good ones! But please don't forget that those movies were made by huge team and it often was a marketing move. Wondering why Apple TV productions are not filmed with iPhones ;) There are some good points here though. It's all about getting creative and at the begginer stage camera is not important.
Wow, thank you so much for that video. All the points you have mentioned are so true and really fit to the struggles I had in the past. I was wasting so much time comparing cameras, while I had the most fun just using my iPhone - which then also produced the best shots. Now I own a second hand camera but barely use it... Also to your list: - You can edit your Phone video directly on your iPhone (-> Luma fusion) - A BlackMagic or bigger DSLM will require a expensive computer to edit - Recent iPhones are waterproof so they can give you under water shots ...
It depends on what you want, the phone quality is so so if you want to vlog quickly without having to make plenty of adjustment. A Canon SL2 with 24mm f2.8 and 50mm f1.8 with the oem 18-55mm will do plenty and will stay under 700$ CAD.
@@SiHorrocks Yes I do too shoot with my note 20 ultra when I'm in my office and I can control the lightning. Been doing many tests for the past month, with and without the moment lens, filmic pro and native app, shooting in log and color grading vs natural, 10 bit VS 8 bit, playing with all the filmic pro features, etc. During the day, with enough light and ND filters, you can get amazing results. But, I shoot inside, in my collision center where adjusting the lightning is more difficult. I have tried everything because I wanted to be able to shoot with my phone only, but at the end of the say, shooting with my SL2, flat profile, 24 or 50 mm lens, even in 1080P, quality is higher.
@@jimmyruptash6885 why not try without Log? I don't think you need a flat profile for vlogging. If you use flat you lose the advantages of tone remapping. I just use Samsung Pro Video mode and leave everything in auto. The Samsung has face detection so it should lock onto your face for focus
How on earth do you get around the fixed camera apature? It's impossible to make a complete film with an phone unless you just want the same f/1.7 throughout or whatever.....
Spot on with all this information. My favourite camera is the GH5 because it is the Swiss army knife of digital cameras. I will say that my super 8mm camera from the 70s is really growing on me though.
The biggest disadvantage of using smartphone cameras compared to more professional oriented cameras is haptics. Manually pulling focus, zooming, aperture, shutter speed, etc. is very clumbsy on smartphones if your smartphone even allows you to do these things manually in the first place. And thats where the issues begin. The most smartphones have fixed aperture and zoom on all their cameras - even the main one. Ultra wides often even have fixed focus (even on flagship phones) since the depth of field isnt gonna be very shallow at these super wide angles on small sensors anyway, but even that is completely fixed very often.
Excellent video. I use my smartphone and my Nikon Z50 especially with the 50-250mm zoom. In a similar way its why I prefer aps-c to full frame, everything is smaller, cheaper and lighter.. quality is the same. But I have to admit my older Samsung s9 can produce imagry that rivals any DSLR. I do think using my zoom on the Nikon does justify using both cameras. It gives me some imagery my smartphone cannot.
I want to agree with you, and I mostly do, but to suggest that the camera quality itself isn't relevant to the quality of the cinematography really doesn't sit well with me, and the reason is pretty simple. If you want to do professional, high-quality cinematography for a short film, try doing it with an old webcam. Or that $100 4K camera from Amazon. Or a cheap VHS camcorder. Yes, you can still tell a story with these tools, but it will be severely limited, mostly to "found footage" or experimental films. You're kidding yourself if you think you can shoot Skyfall, or even a typical short film, on a Connectix Quickcam or a Nokia flip phone. All the cinematography fundamentals in the world will not make a film shot on an iPod Nano look professional. You could argue this is just a technicality, but I think we take for granted how good recent smartphone cameras have gotten. Even 10 years ago, most peoples' smartphone cameras weren't capable of approaching cinema quality. To say, "You don't need a DSLR/mirrorless/cinema camera to make good-looking films," says more about where we are now with smartphone tech than about cinematography. Obviously, a professional filmmaker will make a better film with an iPhone 12 than an amateur like myself could make with an Arri Alexa. Skill is definitely important. But so are the capabilities of the camera itself. If the camera has little to no manual control, a tiny image sensor, low resolution, or a choppy frame rate, the video is going to look terrible. What filmmakers need is a camera that is *capable.* If you have a flagship or midrange smartphone, that might work. I have a $200 phone from 2018; unless I have a lot of light, pictures and videos on this phone will look like garbage. It's fine for basic photography after installing Open Camera, but video never looks very good. You can look up "(camera or phone name) short film" on RU-vid and see what others have done with your gear. Nobody's making short films on my 4-year-old budget Android.
Brilliant! I reckon within the next couple of years, the video quality between mobile phones and mirrorless cameras will be indistinguishable. Filmic pro is marvelous, it really extended the capabilities of my OnePlus 5T. I used it to shoot video plates for my visual effects classes.
Inspiring! Thank you for this video. For whatever insane reason, I have recently felt compelled to get into shooting and editing on my smartphone. I'm absolutely terrible at the moment (my footage is mostly hilariously bad!) but watching myself get better will be at least half the fun of practicing! 😁
The lesson is imagination and skill is more important than equipment. That is the case in many fields, but we live in a world where new equipment is thought the answer to everything
the thing i dont like about mobile cameras are that their standard camera is a wide angle but it doesnt work most of the time if you want to make something
I already made 2 movies using my iPhone 12 max, and some short ones with it. I have 2 dslr cameras but could never learn it (I guess I’m just too lazy to dig deeper more on how to use it because I’m more familiar with my iPhone which is far more easier.) And yes, it’s really convenient. From shooting to editing, it’s all right in my iPhone.
I make most videos with a phone camera, but I also have a dslr simply because the photos from a dslr with a good quality lens are razor sharp and give me much more creativity. That's why in this very informative video (thumbs up!!!) I miss a little thing that I can't do with a phone camera.... depth of field. Oh yes there are electrical options to achieve this, but that's not really the best of the best... or you'll spend just as much money on buying as on a good ehhhh dslr. I would like to see that option in a phone app. O and ehhh while recreatively filming my wife in a fairly empty trainset of the london tube, the driver came to report over the intercom that this was not allowed. :(
well there are downsides of using a smart phone, e.g. you can´t simply change battery and continue shooting, you can´t simply change lens to "zoom in" to get closer to the action, when it is not possible to move the camera closer,... so there is no perfect camera, just the best camera for a certain task.
Of course. That was my point in the video. Although I have 2 smartphones with telephoto lenses built in. So it's even easier to switch than with a DSLR/mirrorless
Smartphones are great for practicing and near-zero budget works, but as a director who cares about the visuals I woluld almost never shoot with smartphones except for the stories where, for example, hero uses smartphone to shoot smth. There are lots of reasons not to use smartphones: compression, low bit depth, lack of metadata, inability to input the external timecode, bad skintones, color grading would be really tricky and so on. Can you make a Renaissance painting with Aliexpress markers? Well, maybe. But using the proper tools will make it much easier. Since the filmmaking is usually a big process involving many professionals, everything should be as good as you can afford. If one day of shooting costs me about 10K$, I wouldn't put my team at risk by using the smartpone instead of a professional camera which I can rent for like 500$.
A few points you made about how smartphones are so versatile and not a single DSLR can beat that, l would certainly agree with that. However, this video is catered towards people who are in that beginner stage thinking it's the camera which provides great image quality which is true, to an extent, but these people also forget that fact that your camera won't follow you, it doesn't know that framing and lighting is more important than resolution on your sensor. Experienced filmmakers and photographers know this, but once you improve, getting a better camera means getting better results, it's as simple as that. I know for a fact that my Canon R6 has way better dynamic range than my smartphone which helps tremendously when post-processing images and videos, as you can easily recover shadows and highlights if need be. Then there is focusing points, 10 bit color, c-log, dual SD UHS-II support, bigger sensor ofc and much more. The point l am trying to make, if you are a beginner then you don't need anything better than your smartphone to start filming or taking photos, but once you improve and understand everything about cameras, as well as filmmaking and/or photography, getting a better camera will certainly improve your work as you get to fiddle with more features.
Excelente vídeo. Me he visto varios vídeos tuyos y son muy buenos. Mas tarde me seguiré viendo muchos más... Mil gracias por compartir tus conocimientos. Saludos desde Lima Perú.
Very inspiring! It’s true, the person behind the camera should be the one dictating not just the camera. Combination of camera or mobile phone and person holding it should also take place, however the person have the full capacity to learn skills and to maximise the full capacities of camera and mobile phone... and you’re right Sir, keep practicing. Thank you for inspiring us.
This is eye opening. It is true that my phone takes better 4k than my camera, but how do I get different lens options that give shallower depth of field, have better low light capabilities, give options for wide/narrow depths without a camera? Are there lenses for phones that can do this now?
the new iPhone 12 Pro Max and my Samsung Note 20 Ultra have bigger sensors so there is a shallower depth of field with the main lens. Then you can add a conversion lens which adds a little more. It's not the same as a camera + lens, but they are getting closer. Of course you can add a DoF adapter by Beastgrip or Ulanzi
There are many good technical reasons why professional film makers don't shoot with smartphones, otherwise, the entire Hollywood would be shooting movies with smartphones. Professional cinematography is all about the skills AND proper equipment. But if you are an amateur, sure, it is fun to use a smartphone when you have the skills.
You always have a brilliant point. And you are right. It is the idea and the effort to make it a reality is very important. What you said in the video about equipment i have experienced it. I bought Sony ZV1 though. Although it has better quality, but i have to learn new settings, understanding about aperture, ISO and etc, which is a new world for an iphone user like me. Yet it is still fun and i develop better understanding about phone camera as well as 1-inch sensor camera. Both devices are worth my experience in my journey to learn how to make video. Yes the iphone is still a better acquaintence to me for making video as it is always in my pocket pants. Just sharing. Without you in the beginning i have never has a courage to try shoot video with smartphone. With your videos i encourage myself to buy a camera, which is a new experience. I appreciate what you have taught and never sway. But your teaching inspires me to learn more. Thus the ZV1. Thank you sir.
Hi, loving the content and your channel. I noticed a Macbook Air (M1 2020) now showing up in your editing equipment. How are you finding it? Did you find LumaFusion too limited.? I would interested to see a video about your thoughts on the Macbook Air.
Thanks Dominic. There's just some things you can't do on an iPad. I got it partly because I was waiting for the M1 chip laptops to come out and my old 2015 laptop just wouldn't work anymore. Then a MacBook Air seemed a decent cheap option. Too many things I miss from Premiere, so I went back. Being able to edit with my files on an external drive, warp stabilizer, animated titles, for example. Premiere still isn't native to M1 though... oh you're right I need to make a video 😄
I appreciate everything you do and contribute. Your knowledge and insight is so refreshing. I am a believer that smartphones are going to get better. I also think that someday platforms will begin to recognize how one can be even more creative with smartphone film making. I have been struggling to decided to get a DSLR or camorder. But I just keep second guessing myself because I think of the workflow. I am curious about Camera Phone (smartphone) film festival. Does that exsist? Just for giggles I use a galaxy S23 Ultra. I can get the bokha effect, just make sure to use (Full aspect ratio) Lol.
The instant Logic and wisdom of these videos are Excellnt things to Ponder. Then make decisions based upon this Information as a form of research added to all the other information That I gather... So thank you for the Generosity of your Experience and expertise.
