There’s now some competition in the pro iPhone filmmaking space when it comes to apps. FiLMiC Pro ran wild for years with unbeatable features and performance.
Since they have moved to a questionable subscription model a lot of people have started looking at the alternatives. One such option is called Cinema P3.
An option that both these apps have is the ability to shoot in 10-bit ProRes using a Log gamma to maximize dynamic range. On the iPhoneographers channel, they have checked out both these apps in a side-by-side comparison to see if the image quality is the same or better in one of the apps.
Since log isn’t exactly a standard option on iPhones this is something that has been developed independently by app developers. The addition of ProRes on the iPhone should make these log options even more capable.
To perform the first test he found a simple high dynamic range scene with some heavy shadows and bright sunlight. He will be doing a test with the standard profiles in auto and then in log with the exposure locked. All in 10-bit ProRes.
Image Credit: FiLMiC Pro
There are some differences between both profiles. In standard mode, you can see that the sky in FiLMiC Pro is a bit hotter and the shadows a bit darker. Cinema P3 appears to have a bit more brightness in the shadows while keeping the skies.
Log was similar in the shadows, but Cinema P3 went a little brighter on the sky. It’s hard to see exactly but it may be approaching clipping on Cinema P3.
He does the same test again with another landscape.
Image Credit: Blackburn Apps
In this test, you can see that in standard profiles the sky is a bit brighter on FiLMiC Pro. Same thing holds true for log. Both look very good though and are very similar after some simple grading.
Switching over to the tele lens on the iPhone 14 Pro you are getting a different camera tech so could get different results.
FiLMiC Pro in auto exposure seems to almost blow out the details in the sky. The Cinema P3 app seems to keep the details. FiLMiC Pro seems to have been confused during its tone mapping, though after grading the results are similar.
Image Credit: Apple
If you are looking for an alternative to FiLMiC Pro it seems like competitors such as Cinema P3 will deliver all the quality you would expect. This was obviously not super scientific with the use of auto exposure but they still looked quite similar in most scenarios.
Which app are you going to use? Are you going to subscribe to FiLMiC Pro to try out alternatives like Cinema P3.
[source: iPhoneographers]
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