My thoughts and results of shooting and editing a Real Estate Video and stills completely on the iphone 11 handheld. I then also did the editing on the iPhone as well in a local coffee shop. The standalone video from the iPhone and the stills taken are below.
The iPhone video of the property
And the Stills taken and edited on the iPhone 11
Thanks for this Grant. As you know, I too am playing around with this. Not for my regular and high end properties, but for some client needs where they need something either really fast for an ad deadline or short and snappy social media video blast. My old shaky arms and hands can’t hold the camera as still as you are able to do even with the inbuilt stabilizer so I have been playing around with the Zhiyun Crane M2 which I can use for the GoPro as well as my crop sensor Sony A 6500. I ordered a back order SmallRig Arca Quick Release Clamp for Zhiyun Crane M2 DPC2508 (https://www.smallrig.com/smallrig-arca-quick-release-clamp-for-zhiyun-crane-m2-dpc2508.html) which is on back order since it has a small quick release that will also make it easier to balance the iPhone on the base. I hope!
I think that to an extent you can set the color balance. Its a 3 ball icon on the extreme right of the control settings. You swipe up from alongside the shutter button and you get another set of control. It is on the right. Rudimentary but you can choose warm, cool, more saturated and then a bunch of things I will never use.
I was just doing a preliminary exterior shoot for a client since she has an print ad deadline day after tomorrow and needs things fast. But I was not yet ready to shoot it with the iPhone although I shot some shots with the iPhone sitting on top of my 80D. But that ultra wide is indeed very ultra and too ultra for many of the compositions I want while the regular is a bit too tight. You can zoom in with a finger pinch, but I am afraid that it simply crops the full frame and will result in less resolution. Early days yet.
But I am not sure if my clients will appreciate the quality difference especially when viewing the video on the net. They are more concerned with speed and cost especially in our slow market here with little inventory and slow sales. Much to test out.
Hey Peter – yes the iPhone is definitely getting there but for me it keeps coming back to the form and fiddle factor, you can get some amazing results out of the phone but its a lot of fiddling and trying to set exposure, focus etc when even on a Canon 80D I am quicker and have more control of the variables I need, I know the results I will get. Sometimes I feel with iphone or smartphone video making its doing it for the sake of saying it was done on a phone as opposed to doing it on better tools! Cheers
Hey Grant, I shot some video clips at a wedding a few months ago and noticed that color shifting to be the biggest problem as well as lens flare, due to the flat camera lens. Of course the quality is one other aspect of the video when shot indoors. Needs to be lit well with light for it to Not look super grainy and as you mentioned that super wide angle lens is not so good for the quality of video, where the other two lenses are better. Always nice to show people these problems, so they are aware of why Professionals with the right equipment, get the best results.
Absolutely – I forgot to mention in the video about the flare when using in sunlight due to the flat exposed nature of the lens. Its definitely a tool that is getting better and better with each new generation. Cheers
Personally I don’t see using the iPhone 11 in place of professional equipment. I see it rather as another piece of equipment for particular needs. Not an either/or situation. I find its quality amazing actually, but with limited application. But within those applications, there is nothing around, except perhaps the GoPro, that can beat it or even rival it. I do have clients who need results quickly, short videos to get a property listed. Low end properties that don’t justify the higher end and higher price for a quick video where this will fit the bill. Not everyone of course wants to work within this part of the market and I understand that. But my market is very small, and to make a living you have to supply what the market wants and can afford. So this is a good tool, for me, to address that market and even get realtors who think they can’t afford video to try it and hopefully get hooked. For social media where it is likely to be only seen on YouTube, FaceBook or Instagram, I think the quality level when seen on mobile phones and tablets holds up. Not in comparison to the pro equipment naturally. But for me, I also shoot food and hotel travel stories and it is perfect for that. Light weight for air travel, compact, and fast and easy to use when no one wants you around. Plus no one wants a pro filming them and this makes me look like just another guest recording his holiday.
Yes I agree with you better as another tool we now have at our disposal and there is certainly a place and applications for them. I’m talking to my wifes property management business she works for and suggesting they would a great tool for the property managers for their site inspections.
Interesting you should say that. We have something with the US MLS that allows listing agents to host videos but only those taken on a cell phone. You have shown that you can not only take them but edit them on the same phone. I have never done this myself but I know some photographers are doing this for their clients. This changes that dynamic.