Apple the iPhone 12 Pro Max with ProRAW photos, LiDar and Dolby HDR

Run&Gun said:
I may have mentioned this a few pages back, that’s what’s getting scary about the iPhone. It balancing some of these shots out that we can’t with cameras that cost 30x-100x as much. Of course, we don’t always want that...

Like so many other things in life, these advancements are a double edged sword.
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What I'd like to see is what the same tech could pull off in a real camera with a real sensor and real lenses...

One cool, related thing is that it seems like samyang/rokinon performance wide-open is much improved in their AF lenses because the camera can correct the chromatic aberration (as well as distortion). Those two issues are the main problems with the samyangs. The third is softness wide-open which cant be fixed. But they're good enough for HD and generally good enough for portraiture. they have a pretty look when you fix the bad stuff

Surely the same applies to the iPhone. How good could those cheap little lenses actually be?
 
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filmguy123 said:
Let's not forget all the easily forgettable things from last year - multi lens recording simultaneously, etc. Quite seriously, in a couple years an iPhone 14 Pro Max might be a (very) viable b-camera without any level of accessorizing.
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Absolutely. For some time now, while shooting press conferences and the like, I’ll get some wide shots with my iPhone to cut in with the primary camera covering the podium. I’ve even picked up some additional broll shots with my phone while doing some PBS affiliate work. With this new era of phone tech, who knows where this will end up... Well, besides lower day rates and decreasing amounts of work :-/ .
 
ahalpert said:
Disagree. It seems they were able to fake some lighting in post building on what the lighting was in reality, but it's clear that the post-production lighting was closely directed by Chivo. There is no magic fix-it button. Someone has to helm the creative decisions. Even lighting in post you have to make decisions, and they're still using 2D tools to fake 3D effects, so it probably would have looked better if lit fully in real life.

https://www.indiewire.com/2015/02/h...ecipe-for-best-picture-winner-birdman-188705/
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I didn't say it was going to be so easy that a goat could do it. But technology marches forward and people get used to it. It may not qualify them as an Oscar contender ... so they'll adjust their fees accordingly.

Jim Feeley said:
.. But maybe Rockwell doesn't consider Adams a practitioner of "real photography." :) So closer, perhaps, to what Rockwell's thinking, photographers such as Salgado, Mary Ellen Mark, Winograd, and my photojournalist friends all spend/spent time working on their images after the shutter closed. I guess getting it all in camera can be a goal for certain types of photographers... But it's not for a bunch of others. So maybe I'm just missing something here...
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A few years ago, Kai W., when he was still working out of Hong Kong for Digital Rev, had a series of clips of "what can a pro do with this camera?" He'd bring a guygal, give him something like a "Hello, Kitty" toy and leave them alone to do their thing. The one I recall was some young but very successful fashion shooter, who was mostly working with the medium format cameras. Kai gave him something off a "you want it? .. go ahead, take it" pile. The camera was crap. Even worse, it didn't even have a working viewfinder!

Oh and the images that came out were gorgeous.

PS. And OpelReel is just a beginning. This sort of a business can be done from almost anywhere.

NorBro said:
They are not interested in making ARRI money, they are interested in making Apple money.

The 100 million units by 2025 phone money.
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More like 250 million units annually for Apple.

Camera companies actually realize they can't compete with that. So, they threw in a towel and trying to leech the consumer before the business is gone for good. And, with iPhone13 coming out in 2021, the only truly safe space will be left for the action/sports/BiF photographers.

And folks with Signature Primes.
 
David Saraceno said:
This out of Alex 4D's Facebook page:
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It will very interesting to see how the Dolby Vision support in FCPX is implemented. It would be truly amazing if Apple negotiated a license that allows FCPX editors to encode Dolby Vision content shot with other cameras without having to pay an additional license fee. Dolby is under a great deal of pressure from HDR10+ so I can only dream.

Dolby Vision grading is processed live and sustained during editing, whether in the Photos app or iMovie, and coming to Final Cut Pro X later this year.
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https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/10/apple-introduces-iphone-12-pro-and-iphone-12-pro-max-with-5g/
 
So, on streaming - just talked to a friend (in an undetermined secret location). He has the budget for their annual corporate meeting that has to be done virtually (or semi-virtually, as it were). He wanted to know more about the cameras that the video company will use. I told him it was a legitimate brand/model.

Oh, and the price tag for the two hour event is above $50,000.
 
DLD said:
So, on streaming - just talked to a friend (in an undetermined secret location). He has the budget for their annual corporate meeting that has to be done virtually (or semi-virtually, as it were). He wanted to know more about the cameras that the video company will use. I told him it was a legitimate brand/model.

Oh, and the price tag for the two hour event is above $50,000.
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And what was the model?
 
Just checked out some of the footage. The dynamic range is pretty mind blowing. If they can eventually get rid of the crispy edge sharpened look, I would definitely never bring a dedicated camera with me for travel or many other non-client related situations.
 
DLD said:
He's under the NDA and I don't want to post anything that someone can sleuth. The camera's been discussed here in the past, albeit not as much as ...
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I can tell you that in live streaming, clients are MUCH less concerned about the cameras used than in traditional production. It's all going to end up as 1080 30p at 5-6Mbps if they're lucky so in a way,
the cameras used barely matter. I know, GIGO, but I have yet to come across a live stream client who would pay for more than an FS7/C300 MKII type camera for a live stream.

In live streaming, what the client should be paying for and concerned about is having a GREAT webcast engineer and systems, component and Internet redundancy. Cameras are way down the list.
 
My friend is not involved in the production. The info just came across his desk. They may pretape some, broadcast some live, edit everything down to a shorter duration film afterwards. He's not even sure if this going to be done on a stage in front of a green screen or prerecorded off the various interviews that will be done prior to the event. He just rattled off the name of the camera model and it took me a few seconds to recognize all the consonants. He's actually thinking of the iPhone 12 for himself.
 
filmguy123 said:
This is getting insane. Not sure whether to laugh or cry. I choose laugh.

So the Pro Max essentially has iBIS now. Shoots in true 10-bit Dolby Vision like at 4k 60fps. Camera has RAW with added access to the computational layers? LIDAR with depth mapping for focus... crazy.

When they add pixel dimming (essential, pixel level electronic variable ND) that will be a huge deal. Right now iPhone video still has that edgy high shutter motion and it looks cheap. As soon as that pixel level VND is in and running on auto to lock in 24fps 180 motion, or whatever you set it to... wow.

Let's not forget all the easily forgettable things from last year - multi lens recording simultaneously, etc. Quite seriously, in a couple years an iPhone 14 Pro Max might be a (very) viable b-camera without any level of accessorizing.
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So many cool advancements but still no adjustable aperture or build in ND to compensate or bright light. I don't consider any camera pro if I can't shoot outdoors with a normal 180 degree shutter. Its fine for photos but these things real need a variable ND
 
I’m wondering if Apple may at same point ever the camera industry more officially with an interchangeable lens camera. Something that plays right around the $3k-$5k price point. I can’t even imagine what they could do it they send their software/silicone advantage into this, but if camera companies continue to struggle and they join an existing lens mount they could be an overnight behemoth. Steve Jobs according to the bio had said he was very interested in the TV market, and the photography market.
 
I’m wondering this too David. I’m just guessing here but based on how micro the lens system is, I’d say they will instead pursue ND dimming for light control at the pixel level (all electronic). To adjust depth of field, my guess is that the camera will not stop down aperture but instead take multiple exposures in a millisecond and combine then to get a deeper DoF (essentially the reverse of their fake shallow DOF algorithm). Conceivably, this could even work for video thanks to how many calculations the cpu is doing, Lidar, and multiple lens arrays. If not now, then perhaps within 2 years.

Frankly nothing surprises me anymore so perhaps they will have no problem implementing a variable aperture lens in such a thin body, I’m just curious how they could cram more into such a small space.
 
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