[Written By: Elisha McMahon]
Something my viewers comment often is: I’d like to make high quality YouTube videos, but I can’t afford an expensive or professional camera. I’ve made over 200 HD videos on YouTube and people are utterly shocked when I tell them I film using my iPhone! Most people cannot believe such clear and crisp video can come from a smart phone, but it’s true. Currently I’m using an iPhone5, but for a year and a half I was using an iPhone4. The 4 boasts impressive video specs: rear facing 5-megapixel camera, video recording in 720 HD up to 30 frames per second with audio. The front video camera captures at up to 30 frames per second and has tap to focus video. Not too shabby for a smart phone! I would use a basic tripod set up and film with the rear facing camera. The iPhone4 video quality rivals that of a more expensive video camera and is just as clear as any of the top webcams out there. But one thing lacking was the front facing camera only produced video in 4:3 ratio, and you could only produce widescreen video with the rear facing camera. I found it extremely annoying not being able to see myself in the screen while filming, which led to elaborate set ups of mirrors behind the phone! I still occasionally used the front facing camera but cringed when I saw the black rectangles that would frame the final video. It just looked outdated and noobish. But in all, the 4 provided everything I needed for basic filming.
My excitement was mounting over the release of the iPhone5 this year, and the perspective of a totally rad new video camera to play with. The video cameras specs are a rear facing 8 megapixel camera, video recording in 1080 HD up to 30 frames per second with audio, autofocus, simultaneous HD video and image recording, touch focus, face detection, video stabilization and the front camera is now 720p 30fps with face detection!
What does that all mean? Now you can take photos while recording videos (really important for YouTube thumbnails!) and best of all the front facing camera was upgraded to 720p (which is essentially the old rear camera on the iPhone4). The auto face detection is truly wonderful, a green box lights up around a face onces its detected and the camera automatically focuses. The improvements overall are clear in videos and should not be overlooked. The videos are bright and color balanced even in low lighting.
The best thing about using the iPhone5 to shoot is the portability and convenience. If you are a user, you can agree you always have your phone on you! It has created a platform to record and capture all the beautiful moments out there and recall them just as we see in our minds eye. You don’t need a professional expensive camera to create high quality HD videos, just your iPhone and a good editing app!
Let me know if you have any questions about apps or tricks and I’ll cover them in a future post!
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Great post!