What you need to know
- Apple's iPhone 13 lineup will launch with Cinematic mode, bringing a Portrait mode effect to video.
- Videographer Jonathan Morrison created a full music video showing off its capabilities.
- While generally good, the video does show some of the issues Cinematic mode will have at launch.
Apple's new iPhone 13 devices will launch tomorrow and bring a new feature with them — Cinematic mode will offer an effect similar to that of Portrait mode, but this time it will be applied to video. Apple has already shown off some impressive examples of what Cinematic mode is capable of and now videographer Jonathan Morrison has done the same.
By creating a video showing Julia Wolf singing Falling In Love, Morrison was able to show how Cinematic Mode copes with various lighting conditions and plenty of movement. It's pretty good for the most part, but it's clear Apple still has some work to do if it wants to improve the look of Cinematic mode videos.
Check it out.
Went hands on with the iPhone 13 Pro and immediately wanted to test out the camera and cinematic mode. It's limited to 1080p 30fps but I was surprised to see how sharp it was AND that it retained Dolby Vision.
The main issue I see is a shimmering halo around Wolf as she walks. That's something we've seen in static form in photos, but the way it moves as Wolf walks immediately pulls the eye to it. Hopefully this is the kind of thing Apple can improve with a future software update. Remember, this is very much early days for Cinematic mode.
Issues aside, there is no doubt in my mind that the new lineup includes the best iPhone for filming video in the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Its cameras are the same as the iPhone 13 Pro of course, but that bigger screen shouldn't be discounted.
