Shooting Video On A Phone Vs. Professional Film Cameras

17th October 2019 by CH

Read time: 1 min

With the announcement of Apple’s new iPhone 11 Pro, it’s clear that phone manufacturers are taking video more seriously than ever. But what does this mean for professional filmmakers and UGC?

Ultimately, very little.

Phones can be a great way to capture ‘in the moment’ content because of their compact size, accessibility and decent image quality, but they’re still a long way off purpose-built cinematic cameras and experienced filmmakers.

But why?

Well, even the newest smartphones typically have a small sensor and a low dynamic range compared to cinema cameras. Simply put, this makes them unable to process a large range of lighting conditions.

As you’ve probably experienced, it’s pretty hard to take photos or shoot video in low light. Remember that big night out when your mate did that hilarious thing? You get it on camera and look at the phone the next morning and it’s barely visible. Damn it!

Cinema cameras are just more versatile and can handle different lighting conditions with ease, producing much cleaner, clearer and impressive footage.

Shooting on a phone obviously eats battery power too. When you’re shooting a really important moment and the dreaded ‘battery low’ warning pops up, your heart drops. You need more charge but it’s too late, you’ve missed it.

Phone storage can also take a hit, whereas a battery change and card swap on a professional camera is a relatively minor affair. Batteries last a long time and you don’t need to worry.

Compared to using a smartphone, a cinema camera provides greater control over everything you capture and the way you manage your data.

So yeah, you could just shoot a video on your phone but consider who your audience are. Will you be able to catch their eye with shaky footage, or do you want polished, high quality content to better communicate to your audience? Ultimately when you use professional equipment and crew, you get professional results and your video stands out in an over-saturated market.

Speak to us to find out more (if your phone has enough battery to do so!).