A video shoot in Edinburgh compared the iPhone 17 Pro's capabilities to a professional BlackMagic Pyxis 6K camera. The test revealed strengths in the phone's portability and color grading, though it fell short in depth of field and lens flexibility. Director of Photography Cal Hallows highlighted the iPhone's value for quick, creative shots.
To assess the iPhone 17 Pro's potential in professional video production, a test shoot was organized at Santu, a coffee roastery in Edinburgh. The setup pitted the $1,000 smartphone against a $3,300 BlackMagic Pyxis 6K cinema camera equipped with high-end lenses, including Arles Primes, a DZO Film XTract probe lens, and Sigma cine primes.
The iPhone footage was captured using the BlackMagic Camera app in ProRes raw codec, stored on a Crucial X10 external SSD, with a variable neutral density filter for consistent shutter speeds. Accessories like Moment's SuperCage aided grip for smoother shots, while the phone's built-in main, ultrawide, and telephoto lenses were used without externals. A storyboard guided the single-day production, aiming to replicate angles across both devices.
In replicated scenes, such as opening the store room, the iPhone's video quality closely matched the cinema camera's, especially after color grading the ProRes raw files for striking results. However, fixed focal lengths on the iPhone complicated framing, unlike the adjustable cinema lenses. The probe lens excelled in isolating subjects with natural bokeh, a feature the iPhone's ultrawide lens couldn't replicate, leaving distracting background elements visible.
The iPhone's compact size proved advantageous in tight spaces, like rigging it inside a cooling machine to capture dynamic bean-churning shots, aided by a SmallRig wireless monitor. Such angles would have been impossible with the bulkier cinema rig.
Cal Hallows, who has worked on shoots for Aston Martin, the BBC, IBM, and Hilton Hotels, praised the iPhone's creative freedom: "The thing I really found with the iPhone was simply the creative freedom to get shots that I'd have never had time to set up." He recounted using it professionally for a sunset shot that became a film's final scene, emphasizing that "a good shot is a good shot."
Yet Hallows noted limitations: "The depth of field and the overall look of the cinema lenses still come out on top—you're just not going to get that on a phone." Grading iPhone footage required workarounds, and quality degraded in challenging scenes compared to the BlackMagic.
Overall, the iPhone augmented the production with unique perspectives, blending well into the final video without replacing professional gear. It demonstrates accessibility for aspiring filmmakers, leveraging Apple's advanced video features like large sensors and Log profiles.