You Don't Need Apple-Level Gear to Grab Great iPhone Videos

Apple's latest iPad event was shot on an iPhone, but not just an iPhone—an iPhone at the heart of a whole slew of Hollywood-level gear.

The iPhone's camera is great, and its video-shooting skills are exemplary. It can capture amazing footage in near-darkness and smooth out shakes and bumps, so it feels like you used a fancy Steadicam. But shooting movies isn't just about the camera. It's also about the lenses, the lighting, and how you put it all together. As we shall see, Apple used some seriously high-end gear to film its "Let Loose" event, but the fact is, you can do something very similar at a fraction of the cost.

"In my decade-plus career in photography, I've come to realize that while the camera body sets certain technical limits, it's really the lenses and lighting that transform an image. The Apple's Shot-on-iPhone event highlights this perfectly by using Panavision lenses, showcasing how quality optics can substantially elevate the capabilities of a smartphone camera," professional photographer Jodi Blodgett told Lifewire via email.

Hollywood Here We Come

The camera is an important part of any movie setup, but you also have to think about the lens, the lighting, the framing, and every other tiny thing. That's why pro cameras, both for movies and photos, exist as a part of a system. While Apple shot some parts of the event with the iPhones' own lenses, it also paired the iPhones with Panavision lenses, some of the best cinematography lenses available.

Why? Depth of field. The one thing the iPhone's tiny sensor cannot manage is the dramatic blurred backgrounds that make the subject pop out. Instead, it uses a special lens accessory called a lens relay system. This is a camera and lens without a sensor, which creates an image that you can then capture with the iPhone's own camera. Think about shoving your iPhone's camera up against one eyepiece of a pair of binoculars, and you get the idea.

"'Let Loose' was shot on iPhone 15 Pro Max, and Apple informed me on background that for several shots where a shallow depth-of-field was desired, Panavision lenses were attached to the iPhones using a Panavision-developed mount called the 'Lens Relay System.' This rig is publicly available for rent from Panavision today, although not currently listed on their website," writes veteran filmmaker Stu Maschwitz in his Prolost blog.

You and I probably don't want to pay Panavision rental prices, but you can get a similar effect with a lens rig that focuses the image on a ground-glass plate, from which you capture the action with your iPhone. These depth-of-field adapters aren't cheap, but they are attainable and will make your iPhone movies look amazing.

Another much cheaper option is an accessory anamorphic lens for your iPhone. Anamorphic lenses shoot that wide postbox-shaped format used in Hollywood movies. They do it by squashing the image sideways to fit onto a frame of film or in our case, onto the phone's sensor. Then, you de-squash it later, these days using software. Those lenses can be had on Amazon for under $100.

"There's [still] a distinct separation in control and output quality provided by dedicated professional video cameras. However, the gap is indeed narrowing, and for many creators, especially those starting out or working with very restricted budgets, the advanced capabilities of smartphones like iPhone can serve as a potent, accessible tool for filmmaking and photography," says Blodgett.

But there's another huge part of shooting cinematic video that's already built into your iPhone Pro.

Log Roll

Cinematography is all about color grading. This is where you correct colors, match colors between shots and sequences, and use color creatively to give the movie a characteristic look.

To do this, you shoot the actual footage in the blandest way possible. Straight from the camera, pro movie video is low contrast, flat-colored, and dull. The idea is that you record the maximum amount of picture information for maximum flexibility in processing.

The iPhone 15 Pro can capture in ProRes Log, a format made for exactly this. Anyone can switch it on and use it. Editing all this footage takes some skill, but that's the case whichever camera you use to capture your movies.

In the end, the fact is that the iPhone Pro is an extremely capable video camera, arguably much more capable of shooting movies than of shooting still photos. Add in a cheap anamorphic lens, drop the resulting footage into Apple's Final Cut Pro app, and you're on your way to some incredible-looking movies.