With the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Apple made several improvements to the camera quality. It’s still packing an 8-megapixel sensor (f2.2 aperture), but there are a few new features that make the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus camera stand out. There’s a certain level of quality that most people expect when shooting video or photos with an iPhone, but this cinematic camera demo takes it to another level…
First off, Apple introduced Focus Pixels with the iPhone 6 & 6 Plus’ 8-megapixel sensor. This technology allows the camera to focus better when shooting photos or video. It’s very quick. I was immediately impressed by the focus speed when compared to the iPhone 5s. Along with that, we now have the ability to shoot 1080p video at 30/60 frames per second and Slo-Mo video in 720p up to 240 frames per second.
On the iPhone 6 Plus, Apple added optical image stabilization, which uses its gyroscope and processing power to track your hand movement and correct shakes and slight bumps. The actual lens is being moved to counter any possible interruptions in smooth video. As mentioned, this is only available with the iPhone 6 Plus, but it’s a very handy feature to have when taking photos or shooting video. In our testing, it does appear to be very aggressive at times and unfortunately there’s no way to disable it, but that’s not a deal break. It’s a welcomed change across the board. Though it would have been nice to see it on the iPhone 6 as well.
Check out our iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus cinematic video demo below, but I highly recommend that you click this link to open it up in a new window and watch it in 1080p on YouTube.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPncFZap1Yg]
As you can see in the video above, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus camera can be amazing. The cinematic camera demo above features standard 1080p samples as well as iOS 8’s time-lapse feature and 240 frames per second Slo-Mo video. I personally shot and edited the entire video. All footage was captured between the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus and then taken into Adobe Premiere Pro for color correction and editing. It’s not raw iPhone 6 camera footage, but it will give you an idea of what’s possible.
This video is obviously being shot in the best possible conditions, but the results are nothing short of amazing. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus camera quality is sharp and has very good dynamic range for what it is. I’d honestly go as far as saying that the iPhone 6 camera can roughly complete with some cameras I’ve owned in the past. Currently, I shoot with a Panasonic GH4 and while the iPhone can’t compete with that, it definitely blows most point-and-shoot cameras out of the water. This is definitely up there as one of the best videos I’ve ever made when it comes to cinematics and it was shot entirely on an iPhone.
For more great Slo-Mo and Time-Lapse video demos, be sure to check out our “best of” round-up. If you’re stuck deciding which iPhone 6 model to purchase, head over to our iPhone 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus vs iPhone 5s article for a healthy comparison. Also let us know what you think about the iPhone 6’s camera capabilities in the comments.
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The Pan shots were not done by hand correct?
Sliding shots were done with my Kessler slider. Pans were done by hand using my Manfrotto 502 fluid head.
Hi Dom,
I know this is a completely amateur question, but… Does your slider work (specially talking about this video) with your hand pushing the camera or did you use some “automatic/ programable” resource?
Loved the video. If you don’t mind, share the model of that slider.
Thanks buddy.
Great stuff. Really impressive.
Wow.
nice work Dom! Very impressive quality indeed
Take that Galaxy S10 or whatever the name is :)
May I suggest watching some clips taken by myself some weeks ago with iPhone 5s? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-GRpwSf1BA&list=UU8blvcpMXhCi564kmPZ4VMg
Definitely more epic than the one in the article above!
thanx a lot ;-)
I do have an 5S too and definitely this is a really nice video, buddy!
By the way, you didn’t use a slider (or something like that) at any point, right? I mean those were only, lets say, “free-hands-moves”, am I right?
sure, free hands only! Keep in mind that 4 seconds of slow motion “slide” takes only 1 second in real time, so it’s really simple to get…
Epic. Watching people walking and birds flying in slow motion is ‘epic’? More like boring as hell.
epic boring, better? :-P
The impressiveness of the shots comes from the DP. He’s using cinematic technique and supporting equipment. The actual quality of the video from the phone is not “amazing.” Depth of field is too wide for useful selective focus, the dynamic range (see the blown out skies) is very low, etc.
I’m not knocking the iPhone…for a phone it’s a good camera…I’m just saying that it remains a very poor cinematic tool. That’s what cameras are for…at least for now.
If THAT is not enough for you, nothing will ever be. Go buy an IMAX camera, would ya.
Even a $200 used Canon DSLR will do better if your goal is to be “cinematic” … and that’s not even a particularly good tool for the job. Again, I think you’re noticing the shooter’s technique, and ignoring the lackluster/poor performance of the actual camera.
Again, this isn’t a slam on the iPhone … any camera with that small of a sensor will have the same limitations.
Not impressed by that video (I’m impressed) then see what I took and made with my iPhone on Sunday. All footage was taken with the iPhone and edited with iMovie on the iPhone.
https://vimeo.com/106781649
Nice video. The Choice of music was bizarre as elevator music doesn’t fit bmx too me and made it boring.
Love the Imogen Heap!!
@Scumbolt2014 thanks… I’ve never done this before but I knew I wanted a slow song but but was the only track that came to my mind. I also think it wasn’t the right track for the video.
Awesome video! Did you shot this with the iPhone 6 of 6 Plus? And can you change from 60 fps to 240fps and vice versa while recording?
Great Video and Music :)
I only saw a 720p option, no 1080p option on YouTube. VIdeos like this should be on Vimeo though, the quality there is much much higher than YouTube offers.
There is the 1080p option under this video….
On youtube also you can use option even above the 1080p…..just sayin’…
With bullshit levels of compression
Pretty cool.
Not taking away from the quality of these shots, but without hundreds/thousands of dollars of extra equipment, all us amateurs aren’t going to get video this nice.
Is that the Apple leather case on the iPhone shown in the video?
Check out this video these young men did using the iPhone 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWjerRU2ENg
How did you import the video into adobe premiere?