New Apple iPhone 13 Pro series promises a quantum leap in video tech

New Delhi: Apple two new smartphones- the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, claims to make a big leap in filmmaking technology. Powered by A15 Bionic's unmatched performance, the Pro's camera system gets its biggest upgrade ever with new ultra-wide, wide, and telephoto cameras that aim to capture stunning photos and videos.

"For long now, smartphone cameras have been a key battleground for OEMs to differentiate their premium flagship phones in a hyper-competitive smartphone market. With new features such as 3x optical zoom, macro photography and the Cinematic Mode, Apple has been able to bring new camera capabilities to its iPhone 13 series," CMR's Head, Industry Intelligence Group Prabhu Ram told IANS.

New computational photography features like photographic styles personalise the look of images in the camera app, and both models now include a Night Mode on all cameras... Cinematic mode, macro video, Time-lapse and Slo-mo, as well as improved low-light performance make the video a huge leap forward in quality.

"The Cinematic mode, in particular, brings powerful visual storytelling capabilities to consumers everywhere. The cinematic mode will further democratise professional-grade film-making sans the need for expensive cinema cameras," Ram added.

With new sensors and lenses for all three rear cameras, optimised to work seamlessly with iOS 15 and powered by the new image signal processor (ISP) in A15 Bionic for improved noise reduction and tone mapping, the iPhone 13 Pro lineup features the best camera system ever on iPhone.

"For creative control, the focus can be changed during and after capture, and users can also adjust the level of bokeh in the Photos app and iMovie for iOS, and coming soon to iMovie for macOS and Final Cut Pro, making the lineup the only devices able to edit the depth-of-field effect in the video even after recording. Enabled by A15 Bionic and advanced machine learning algorithms, Cinematic mode records in Dolby Vision HDR," Apple said.

Apple has also posted a new ad for the iPhone 13 Pro highlighting its cinematic video recording capabilities. The ad was directed by two-time Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow.

"That's really bringing it up to the professional film cameras," cinematographer Greig Fraser, who was joined in a promotional video with Bigelow, said during Apple's Tuesday event. "We're going to very, very soon see filmmakers make films in a different way" he added.

By using the iPhone's Cinematic mode, the users are expected to enjoy a better depth effect. There are a number of options for adjusting depth-of-field during and after capture, and users can also do so using apps like iMovie for iOS, Photos, and Final Cut Pro for macOS and Windows, making these devices the only ones capable of editing depth-of-field after recording. Cinematic mode records in Dolby Vision HDR, thanks to A15 Bionic and advanced machine learning algorithms, which are enabled by A15 Bionic.

Further, Apple's new iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max also feature ProRes, a high-quality video codec that is widely used as the final delivery format for commercials, feature films or broadcasts, thanks to its higher colour fidelity and reduced compression. A Dolby Vision or ProRes-capable iPhone is currently the only smartphone that offers an end-to-end workflow: capture, edit and share.