Just when Sony and Canon started getting ahead of the game, Apple went and incorporated 10-bit LOG video capturing capabilities into the iPhone 12 Pro. I mean, most people have never seen 10-bit color, ever.
Even if they think they have seen it, they haven’t. Most 10-bit color monitors and sets are really just 10-bit FRC color, meaning they’re 8-bit but they are tricking our eyes into thinking we’re seeing more color.
So will the 1.07 billion colors (that’s 1,053,300,000 more colors than 8-bit) really make a difference when we’re reviewing content from the iPhone 12 Pro Max? Absolutely!
Let’s check out what difference a billion more colors makes from the camera that’s sure to take over the entire video industry in just a few years! iPhoneographers has put together this detailed comparison between 10-bit LOG V3 vs 8-bit LOG V2 in FiLMiC Pro that might actually surprise you.
Filmic Pro is arguably the best app for capturing video on the iPhone, and a few updates back they finally added the ability to shoot in 10-bit LOG V3 on the iPhone 12 Pro.
Prior to that, Filmic was only capable of shooting in 8-bit Log V2 and Dolby Vision, which didn’t give iPhone shooters the full effect of their new mobile’s redesigned image sensor.
But if you think this isn’t a big deal, you’re sorely mistaken.
Most of us are completely biased against the iPhone as a professional tool, but every day we’re getting closer and closer to the reality that a lot of productions will be using it exclusively in just a few years.
I don’t know what they’re doing over at Apple HQ, but previous-generation iPhone models just couldn’t capture this level of color, which takes up a lot more space on your device too. By simple comparison, you can see how much more vibrant the colors are in 10-bit.
Whereas, 8-bit is more washed out and bleached-looking.
But that alone isn’t what makes this upgraded camera more useful to filmmakers like us, the 10-bit color and new LOG V3 gamma not only means that we can do more with it in post, but there is little to no banding and there is now a nice, smooth gradient roll-off in the colors.
This more subtle gradient gives our videos a more-realistic-professional look, and eliminates distracting artifacts from the action.
To illustrate the differences further, iPhoneographers created a custom false-color LUT to illustrate what color information is actually there and what is just an illusion.
This really draws out the ugly banding that is present all over the 8-bit footage and is barely visible in 10-bit.
There really isn’t much more to it than that, 10-bit simply collects more color information than 8-bit and when you look at it under a microscope is very obvious that everyone who is shooting with the iPhone should be filming in 10-bit.
How do you think the new 10-bit mode looks coming out of FiLMiC Pro? Do you think Apple’s iPhone could replace all other cameras one day and take over the world of video and independent film production?
Let us know what you think about that in the comments below.
[source: iPhoneographers]
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