Apple's Final Cut Camera 2.0 to Support ProRes RAW and Genlock

I’m so genuinely stoked about this. I’m part of the 0.001% that uses my phone for video production with the Final Cut Camera app.

While “real cameras” are better, one can buy five of these for the same cost of a middle range mirrorless camera and a single lens. That enables some crazy capabilities, even if you need clip on ND.

I think of GarageBand (and Logic) and what they did for musicians and and music. This seems like the same thing, but equipping the next generation of filmmakers to fall in love using VERY accessible tools, at least compared to the cost of “real cameras.”

I bet 90% of the target market don't even know what genlock is for, or will never use it.

I produced and directed a live TV broadcast once a week. Four cameras and full studio with graphics and lower thirds. Nothing was genlocked as it was all digital. The equipment took care of syncing all the sources. Switching sources there were no resync issues or dropped frames.

The default Apple Camera app can record in 4K 60fps consistently while the Final Cut Camera app even after setting it to 4K 60fps the resulting video will have a weird fps between 50 to 60. It does not seem to respect the Auto FPS disabled setting.

Genlock on iphones is insane.

I bet 90% of the target market don't even know what genlock is for, or will never use it.

I'm sure the 0.0001% of iPhone users that have been clamoring for this will be thrilled beyond belief... but for the other 99.9999% maybe a Siri that you don't keep telling to F off would be a nicer update (yeah I know they're workin' on it).

Seems like they're really behind on the backlog items that will really make the iPhone "great again" and need to throw in whatever the Marko MBAs can present a "wow! cool!" (since it seems them, finance and the supply chain folks run the show and the design/engineering folks just say "whatever you want boss!")

I'm sure this is an unpopular opinion here.

Apple just needed yet another marketable gimmick they could sell to "pros" (who won't direct on iPhone anyway if they value quality). Camera sync was there for ages, indeed

Define "pro," because the line of what constitutes Pro Video has been stratifying for 25 years since MiniDV/DVCAM and Final Cut 1.0 landed. Your comment sounds like all the "Pros" that laughed and said Apple's $999 offering was a 'toy' and would never compete with their $100,000+ Avid and ProTools workstation setups. In 10 years Final Cut was dominating everything from high schools/colleges, corporate and event video, news, and even blockbuster movies shot on film. Do you know why?

Because suddenly you could buy everything you needed to produce broadcast quality video for less than $10k. Power Mac + Final Cut Pro + Canon GL1 + A Half Way decent microphone and you'd only have been at $7,000 back in the day. Plus, Apple was smart, they let Final Cut run on almost anything and made it easy to pirate. So you had an entire generation of high school and college kids LimeWireing it onto their G3 iBooks learning the software for free. Some of those aspiring pros made it big, and some of those high school and college kids went on to get jobs in production with years of Final Cut experience already under their belt. The rest is history... until Apple messed up a great thing with the initial release of FCP X. But that doesn't change the key to the original success of the technology was accessible by anyone that wanted to engage with it.

History repeats and here are some observations:

* Apple is doing something that breaks the video mold again, only this time on the hardware side, improving with every Pro iPhone release.
* They are partnered with Blackmagic who, with Davinci Resolve, are the rising star of the industry.
* The current crop of high school, college kids and other aspiring pros already have the iPhones in their pockets.
* Blackmagic offers Resolve and their Pro video camera app for Free.
* The free version of Resolve runs better and is more capable on a $300 used M2 Mac mini than on most new $1500 PCs.
* The Blackmagic Camera app has an identical UI/UX as every "Pro" video/cinema camera that Blackmagic makes from the $1,000 4k pocket to the $32,000 Immersive/Spacial Video shooter.

None of that is on accident, and none of the next generation of "Pros" currently using these affordable/accessible tools are going to have the same hangups you have about using an iPhone as the means to accomplish their vision/idea/story.

I’m so genuinely stoked about this. I’m part of the 0.001% that uses my phone for video production with the Final Cut Camera app.

While “real cameras” are better, one can buy five of these for the same cost of a middle range mirrorless camera and a single lens. That enables some crazy capabilities, even if you need clip on ND.

I think of GarageBand (and Logic) and what they did for musicians and and music. This seems like the same thing, but equipping the next generation of filmmakers to fall in love using VERY accessible tools, at least compared to the cost of “real cameras.”

This guy get's it. :)

IIRC the Prores Raw 4k60 is 18GB per minute. There are compressed raw codecs like from Red and Nikon (Nikon now owns Red).

Honestly the exciting part is perhaps that means third party iOS editing software will support Prores Raw. It would be nice to be able to preview and possibly do small edits of Prores Raw on my iPad.

If there is a true raw signal path, I wonder if Blackmagic will bring BRAW to their camera app if Apple will let them. 5:1 or 8:1 compressed RAW would be an even bigger game changer on an I phone.