The iPhone has been the very best smartphone for video seize for a while, and the iPhone 13 Professional is not any totally different — it’s at present our pick in that category. So, naturally, including ProRes 4:2:2 10-bit functionality solely makes that higher, proper?
The brief reply to that’s sure: completely. The lengthy reply is a little more sophisticated than that.
What’s ProRes, and Why Ought to I Shoot in It?
I’ve shot a number of clips with the iPhone 13 Professional in ProRes within the native digicam app and have examined the recordsdata intently over the course of the final couple of weeks. What I’ve discovered is that, typically, these taking pictures video this fashion received’t actually discover quite a lot of variations between the usual video format and the brand new ProRes choice. That is truly much less of a knock on the power to seize ProRes as it’s an endorsement of the fundamental video capabilities of the iPhone 13 Professional.
ProRes is a file format that has a really excessive knowledge price that preserves the element in high-dynamic-range imagery generated by the newest sensors. ProRes HQ preserves dynamic vary a number of occasions better than typical video recordsdata and has widespread adoption throughout the skilled cinema panorama. This codec helps full-width, 4:2:2 video sources at 10-bit pixel depths, whereas remaining visually lossless via many generations of decoding and re-encoding.
As a little bit of background on why it is best to care what I take into consideration this, I owned and operated a video manufacturing firm out of San Francisco for the higher a part of eight years and have labored with just about each digicam system that got here out over that time period. From Canon DSLRs via RED cinema cameras, my workforce and I used what was the very best match for a shopper’s undertaking.
In some circumstances, that completely meant an iPhone. In others, the Panasonic GH5. Suffice it to say, I’ve seen and labored with tons of upon tons of of hours of various video clips from each main producer.
One factor that has all the time held fixed throughout all cameras is that if I wasn’t already taking pictures in RAW video, the one purpose to shoot in 10-bit 4:2:2 was if I used to be additionally planning to paint grade that footage, through which case I’d shoot in log. A log profile, or logarithmic profile, is a gamma curve taking pictures profile on cameras that gives wider dynamic and tonal vary.
Capturing in log captures extra knowledge within the shadows and highlights so there’s considerably extra latitude when adjusting colour and publicity in put up. Capturing this fashion is a nasty concept when you aren’t capturing as a lot knowledge as potential, therefore why I all the time shot in 10-bit 4:2:2 any time I used to be taking pictures in log. You possibly can typically get away with 10-bit 4:2:0, however I’ve seen log footage completely disintegrate with little or no post-production utilized when captured in 8-bit 4:2:0.
Likewise, if I wasn’t taking pictures in log, that meant I didn’t plan to paint grade and there was nearly by no means a degree in trying to file that a lot knowledge.
Is there a bonus to taking pictures in ProRes HQ 4:2:2 10-bit when not capturing log? Technically, sure, I suppose so. Some argue that regardless when you plan to paint grade or not, the element preservation in positive movement that comes with ProRes is value it. Nevertheless, I feel that for most individuals exterior of high-end circumstances, it’s a lot much less apparent and often not value the additional file sizes.
And boy, are these recordsdata sizes further on the subject of ProRes on the iPhone.
Extra Information All the time Means Higher Video High quality
That brings us to the iPhone 13 Professional and its 10-bit 4:2:2 ProRes HQ codec. This can be a beastly codec that chews via storage on high-end skilled camcorders and that’s no totally different when utilized to the iPhone.
At 4K and 24p, the info price is 704 MB/s and at 4K and 30p, it’s 760 MB/s. A 4K file would require slightly below 6 GB of storage for every minute of footage captured. In Full HD 1080 at 30p, the storage price is about 1.7GB per minute of video.
To place that in perspective, a ten second 4K 24p clip shot in Apple’s customary profile is 24.3 MB. The identical 10-second clip shot on ProRes is 781.6 MB.
Evaluating footage facet by facet in a wide range of lighting situations, I solely noticed a significant distinction in what I’d outline as “sophisticated” lighting and colour environments. In my examples under, each have been colour graded to push the recordsdata.
To start out with, let’s take a look at what I’d name a “regular” scene captured exterior. Under are two stills from clips I captured one after the opposite, and I problem you to inform me the distinction between the ProRes and the usual variations.
However complicate the set a bit, and ProRes does stand out as higher.
On this second set, the nuance of colour is extra outlined within the ProRes file, which is most blatant once you take a look at the gradations of colour on the nebula on my left-side pc monitor. The shadows are additionally barely improved on the ProRes facet, although I think about this might develop into much more pronounced had the iPhone’s native app allowed me to seize each choices in log.
Taking a look at single frames isn’t one of the best ways to gauge high quality, and I acknowledge that. ProRes will truly seize positive movement higher too, however you actually must be in search of it with the intention to see it. Falling rain, blades of grass blowing within the wind, or mud kicked up by tires all could have a lot better-defined pixels that can stand as much as scrutiny. How typically will iPhone footage of those sorts of issues be topic to that degree of scrutiny? I say hardly ever, however that’s as much as the creator to determine. If this type of element is essential to you, ProRes is a should.
One other factor that ProRes did appear to offer me are clips which are barely much less over-sharpened. I do imply barely, however trying intently, I feel the ProRes recordsdata typically look extra pure and extra like a devoted video digicam. That’s to not say there nonetheless aren’t issues which are endemic to tiny smartphone sensors although that can present up no matter your format. Shadows and low-light environments get very noisy in a short time, and that’s not one thing you’ll be able to repair in put up very simply.
Craving for Extra
I discussed log and that sort of connects to my total needs for the taking pictures expertise: I discovered myself wanting extra. Apple’s interface is designed to be easy, however after I’m taking pictures footage I care about sufficient to seize ProRes, I need to have extra choices and extra visibility.
Fortunately, we have now third-party apps for that. FiLMiC Pro, for instance, provides much more skilled of an interface with scopes, management over totally different body charges and facet ratios, and much more taking pictures choices together with a number of ProRes codecs. It truly makes the iPhone really feel like a devoted video digicam, which is superior. The native iPhone digicam app is ok, nevertheless it’s very primary. You are able to do so much with it, nevertheless it’s not going to really feel like taking pictures on an actual digicam does.
And that’s sort of the conundrum. The individuals who would profit most from ProRes aren’t going to need to use Apple’s native app due to that easy interface, and people who most likely could be simply positive utilizing the native video codec received’t actually need the rather more out of the digicam app.
I assume what I’m saying is that the oldsters who profit probably the most from Apple enabling ProRes are FiLMiC Professional — who made an awesome video seize app even higher now — and its clients.
As talked about, FiLMiC affords the power to shoot in a number of totally different ProRes codecs, together with ProRes Proxy which affords 90% of the advantages at one-fifth the storage capability of ProRes HQ. I feel that’s most likely value it, particularly in comparison with the bear that’s ProRes HQ. FiLMiC can also be engaged on enabling its iPhone log profile in ProRes, which I feel could be an awesome addition.
Workflow Wants Work
For those who’re taking pictures and enhancing fully in your iPhone, you’re most likely not going to have any points with the workflow. For those who’re planning to edit in your pc, nonetheless, it’s not the very best expertise. Initially, most individuals will need to flip off HDR video seize in the event that they aren’t enhancing in an HDR-friendly system. Premiere Professional is a ache on this regard, however Remaining Minimize makes it a bit simpler.
The principle challenge for me is the bottleneck that occurs once you try to transfer footage off the iPhone. You should utilize a Lightning connection, however the switch charges are fairly gradual: it caps out at USB 2.0 speeds. You would additionally passively add footage utilizing iCloud, however I don’t know many editors who shoot footage and are prepared to attend a day to get to a spot the place they might obtain them on high of the time that obtain would take.
The opposite choice is to make use of AirDrop, and whereas I discovered this to be very steady even with a bunch of recordsdata, it slowed down my WiFi connection so my pc was fairly ineffective through the switch course of and it took a really very long time: about 10 minutes to switch 8.5GB of footage. In distinction, it took 12 seconds to maneuver that very same batch of recordsdata onto my Thunderbolt onerous drive array after they have been AirDropped onto my iMac.
USB-C would have been a boon right here, and I discovered myself fairly jealous of the iPads which have already ditched Lightning for it.
A Nice Digicam for Video is Even Higher
I need to make two issues clear:
- I don’t assume most individuals actually need to shoot in ProRes HQ on the iPhone.
- I feel including ProRes HQ to the iPhone is a superb factor.
Complicated, proper? I can’t fault Apple for including an impressive video profile to the iPhone. Fairly the opposite, truly, I give them quite a lot of reward for it as a result of it legitimately makes the iPhone higher. Even when most individuals received’t have any use for it, those that make content material in FiLMiC Professional are going to utterly love getting access to this format. That’s to not say taking pictures ProRes on the native app doesn’t have its benefits, they’re only a lot much less obvious and infrequently not well worth the knowledge price tradeoff.
Are There Options?
Proper now the iPhone is just about it on the subject of getting access to this high-quality of a codec. As talked about, the expertise is definitely higher when utilizing FiLMiC Professional as a result of you’ll be able to shoot in ProRes Proxy, however FiLMiC required Apple’s {hardware} acceleration with the intention to provide ProRes as a seize format to start with; so applause for everybody.
Ought to You Use It?
Sure, when you’re taking pictures via a third-party app that helps ProRes LT or ProRes Proxy. A log profile could be good, too. For those who’re planning to only seize ProRes HQ footage utilizing the digicam app, the usual video recordsdata are already fairly darn good and ProRes doesn’t typically make that a lot of an considerable distinction that’s well worth the tradeoff of huge file sizes.
