Apple: Will the iPhone camera app finally get pro features?
[12:21 Fri,12.May 2023 by Thomas Richter]
Apple has just introduced a special (subscription) version of its editing program Final Cut Pro for iPad www.slashcam.de/news/single/Apple-Final-Cut-Pro-und-Logic-Pro-kommen-noch-im-M-17912.html - a special new feature has now boosted rumors about upcoming improvements of the iPhone camera app in the new iOS 17. The existing camera app only offers some basic features, for more professional features users have to rely on special apps like Filmic Pro for video or FiLMiC Firstlight or Halide Mk II for photos, which upgrade features like full manual control, RAW shooting, long exposure times or special (AI) filters.
The new white balance options in Pro Camera Mode
Part of the new Final Cut Pro for iPad is the so-called "Pro Camera Mode", a camera integrated into the program with some new features compared to Apple&s standard camera app that comes pre-installed on the iPad and iPhone. So far, Apple has only announced rather sparse information about the new Pro Camera Mode.
Photo
. What is clear, however, is that the new Pro Camera mode in Final Cut Pro finally offers manual settings in Photo mode, such as focus, exposure, and white balance, which are operable in both landscape and portrait modes. White balance can be adjusted more accurately than before based on the current lighting conditions. Thus, in addition to the previously known automatic and fixed WB options, there are more available (including the light temperature in Kelvin) such as daylight, shade, cloudy, incandescent, fluorescent and flash.
Audio level during video recording
Video
While recording video, the audio levels of the internal and also external microphones are also displayed for better leveling, as well as the remaining recording time (depending on free memory and selected recording format). There are also overexposure indicators included if desired, which could likely be implemented through classic features like zebras and/or false colors that indicate which areas of the image are getting too much light. Apple also mentions fade-in grid lines that help filmmakers with image composition. On the iPad Pro with M2, videos can also be recorded in Apple&s high-quality ProRes format. Unfortunately, it is not yet clear which tools are hidden behind the "Tool" tab in the camera app.
Options for recording video in ProRes.
When will Pro Camera mode come to the iPhone?
These improvements have led to speculation as to whether Apple could soon make the functionality of the new Pro Camera mode available on the iPhone, in the form of an update to the existing camera app. Because of the small display, there is no dedicated FCP version for iPhones, so their owners would actually have to do without the pro features of the new camera mode - even though the latest iPhone Pro has a better camera than the iPad. Video can be captured directly into the Final Cut Pro timeline and edited there as well.
Apple&s Final Cut Pro on the iPad
But why shouldn&t Apple take a chance and integrate the already developed app in a version adapted to the smaller screen of the iPhone at least in the current iPhones (Pro/Pro Max) as an update and thus offer the users real added value? The next opportunity for such an update would be the next version of iOS 17, which will be presented in less than a month on June 5 at the Apple WWDC 2023. However, Apple might save the new Pro features for the new iPhone 15 Pro - or even Ultra, according to rumors - we will see.
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