If you’d like to see the time-lapse work we have delivered for others visit our website lamedia.co.uk and if you have any questions or think we got something wrong or simply want to let us know what we missed… e-mail us at [email protected].
In this time of super-tech, you might be considered a ‘crazy stuck in the mud’ to not be thinking seriously about mobile phone videography and what it means for the future of cinematic video. So as I am sure you are not a ‘crazy stuck in the mud’ you may have been as excited about the new iPhone 12 Pro Max as we were.
Huge screen, bigger sensor, lower f-stops, larger lenses, Dolby Vision HDR and the A14 Bionic six-core CPU…it’s all too much to take in at once. I would even go as far as to say that reading the specs for this iPhone was like reading some form of tech-erotica.
So if you want to get more from your mobile videography in the future then please read on and we will give you our pros and the cons and what we found out when we started shooting with the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
iPhone 12 Pro Max - Some Basic Info:
The main wide camera has a 26 mm-equivalent f/1.6 lens in front of a 12 MP sensor. It features a sensor-based optical stabilisation system, which is a first for Apple (most phone camera modules shift the lens rather than the sensor to offset camera movement).
There’s an ultra-wide 13 mm-equivalent camera and also a 65 mm-equivalent tele-module that offers a 2.5x zoom over the main camera. There is a LiDAR sensor for building depth maps. On paper, the iPhone 12 Pro Max has the most impressive imaging capabilities to date in an Apple phone.
So how does the iPhone 12 Pro Max perform?
The Dolby Vision HDR support does indeed deliver the high dynamic range it promised and there was pleasant tone mapping when our video was played back on a compatible display. Dynamic range displayed a wide improvement, though some highlights still clipped in extreme situations.
Texture and noise were well balanced, with low noise and plenty of detail present when shooting outdoors or in moderate indoor lighting. Light levels had to get quite low before noise became intrusive and the detail dropped. Colour was generally pleasant, despite some slight white balance casts that were sometimes visible. Autofocus was accurate and fast, with quick, smooth shifts when our subject distance changed. Stabilisation was very effective both when we were walking and running. Exposure is generally accurate.
Overall video performance - excellent.
Some negative Issues
It was only when we tried to use our third-party utilities such as lenses, gimbals and filters that we realised the price for Apple's secrecy around this iPhone was paid by third party support businesses which were mostly pushed off the cliff by Apple on the day the iPhone 12 Pro Max was launched.
DJI Osmo 3 gimbal
The iPhone 12 Pro Max was just too heavy for it to handle. While it did balance at a stretch, the gimbal simply collapsed when things started to move more sportily. Even using the available counterweights to try and spread the weight just made things worse.
Movi Cinema Robot gimbal
The iPhone 12 pro Max swapped the position of the wide camera (26 mm) to the inside of the phone body with the result that when the phone is mounted on the Movi Cinema Robot gimbal the centre motor post is visible in the shot. This is also the situation if you try to use the native ultra wide (13mm)
Moment Lenses
to mount these onto the iPhone 12 Pro max you have to have a Moment case for the iPhone. The secrecy around this iPhone meant that Moment had no chance to have a case ready for when the iPhone 12 Pro Max was launched and are talking about Jan/Feb 2021 before they can supply the cases we need to mount our lenses onto.
GOBO Filters
To mount these we needed our Moment Lenses and of course we could not mount them because there is no appropriate iPhone case available just now.
In Summary
The iPhone 12 Pro Max is a massive step forward on the journey towards achieving cinematic videography with a mobile phone and it’s a journey we should all enjoy. Any time I say something negative about this iPhone I simply try to remember that it is a pocket-sized phone/computer that has over 11 billion transistors inside it…crazy and amazing…just like the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
This year, I really feel that finally a new iMac has hit the sweet spot when it comes to pro editing, music composition, and importantly, price.
Below I’ll give you 5 reasons why you SHOULD buy the 2020 iMac right now!
It’s fast!
First off, it’s fast, really fast. If you’ve got deep pockets and have bought a £15,000 12-core Mac Pro look away now.. Cinebench benchmark speeds put the 8-core model on a par with last year's 12-core Mac Pro.. and the 10-core iMac is faster!
I’d recommend starting with the 3.8 GHz 8-core system which can then be configured with the 10-core chip.
You can add lots of RAM.. 64GB more than last year in fact. 128GB of 2666MHz DDR4 dual-channel RAM will be more than enough for 90% of users and too much for most!
Just make sure you don’t buy it from Apple! They charge a huge premium so either go to OWC for US users or in my case, I went to Mr. Memory in the UK, and got 64GB for around £300 - saving £700!!
New T2 chip
HEVC decoding and encoding
Originally included in the 2017 iMac Pro, the T2 chip is now inside the 2020 iMac. The T2 chip helps with many things - Security, the new 1080p camera’s image processing, and more.
Importantly however it also encodes and decodes HEVC (H.265) material. I’ve seen this in action and it really flies! As more and more drones and cameras use this codec, this is a major benefit of this year's iMac.
Finally a decent graphics card (with Navi)
At last… A decent graphics card in an iMac. Even if you’re not a gamer (think Elite Dangerous at 60fps in 4K with the 5700XT), this is a big deal.
Built around the new AMD Navi architecture, this range of GPUs excel in H.264 and H.265 decoding and encoding.
If you’re a serious editor I’d definitely go for the range-topping Radeon Pro 5700XT. Unlike its consumer PC-based variant, this baby gets 16GB of RAM. Very useful for the graphics guys and girls out there. What used to max all 8-cores on my old Mac Pro, doesn’t even register with this new card.
A lot of that is because the software is now written to take advantage of this. When dealing with H.264 and H.265 footage, you’ll find this card is quicker in many instances than the massively expensive Vega II in the Mac Pro - a whopping £2,400 upgrade! This is because it’s built around the newer Navi architecture.
10Gb Ethernet
This is a big deal because a lot of editors bought the iMac Pro back in 2017 because they used shared ethernet arrays.
The iMac Pro came with a 10Gb Ethernet port, now so does the iMac. Great if you have (absurdly) fast internet or work using shared hard drive arrays.
New SDXC card slot
Now included (finally) is an SDXC card slot that supports UHS-II speeds. More than double the speed of last year's model. Going from around 100MB/s to 280MB/s.
As editors we all spend far too much time watching blue bars copying material over, go make yourself a cup of tea instead…
Final thoughts
Of course, the elephant in the room is the impending release of Apple’s own silicon. Is it worth spending money on a new iMac now when they’re about to release their own Apple silicon CPUs?
In a word, yes. How many of you upgrade OS immediately when a new one arrives? Not many.
We wait until all the software developers have caught up. Our systems are our livelihoods, so if we upgrade prematurely and there are bugs, endless crashes, this affects our work and therefore isn’t worth it.
With the other new features, such as an upgraded 1080p camera and microphones (at last!), Bluetooth 5.0, and the option of having Nano texture glass, this year 27 inch iMac is the first I’ve seen that seems to have been geared towards the pro-market and at a price point that’s hard to ignore.
Save yourself some cash, don’t spend £15k on a Mac Pro, spend £3.5k on a 10-core iMac instead and go on holiday! Oh no... wait... Damn you Coronavirus!
If you'd like to get some more buying advice or simply want to check out what we do here at LA Media, visit the rest of our website or give us a call on +44 (0)131 622 0220.
Ok, so if you haven't heard of Apple AirPods and have been living in a cave for the last year or so, let me explain. Released at the end of 2016, these are Apple’s first completely wireless headphones. They use Apple’s glorious W1 chip to connect seamlessly to your iPhone and if you don’t have an iPhone then they'll use Bluetooth. I would however say that you won’t get the full benefit from them if you’re a non-iPhone user... So I will assume that you like to enjoy using a phone and therefore have an iPhone. Ok, next...
Design and Comfort
Shaped similarly to the EarPods, these are not to everyone’s taste or ears. Personally I like the simplistic design. You barely notice you have them in, so fatigue with these is not an issue. AND no more mucking about stuffing wires down your jacket! I do admit that the AirPod case, however, does resemble a dental-floss holder.
Depending on you ear size, some people have reported having issues with them staying in.. As I have small (but perfect) ears, I haven't come across this. But be warned, if your lugs are on a par with the BFG, some third party AirPod covers (like these) may be required. Covers for the AirPods case can also be found very easily too if you’re worried about scratching it whilst in your pocket.
Connectivity
This really is where Apple have nailed it. Literally the easiest thing I’ve ever had to connect... I still occasionally feel like throwing my old Bose speaker against the wall when it insists on connecting to my phone in the kitchen and not the iPad I’m trying to watch Ultimate Beastmasters on... Or it decides to connect to my girlfriend’s phone (because she once used it a year ago). All very frustrating. This however, is a joy. Open up the case and they pop up on your iPhone, tap connect, done.
Sound Quality
I was actually very impressed with the AirPods. Yes, they're not a pair of Shure’s, and so Audiophiles will not, I suspect, be as kind. They have a quite pleasing/easy listening sound with enough bass to satisfy most users. Sure, the highs are not very high and the mids and bass are a bit muddy, but overall it’s an enjoyable sound. Commercial pop music sounds particularly good here. Turning up the volume to full, does somewhat diminish the aural pleasure, but that’s not a huge surprise. I tend to listen at around 80 percent, which is plenty.
My usual daily headphones are the £90 RHA in-ear MA750i’s. These are very nice sounding, reference quality (on-a-budget) in-ear headphones. I feel they match my Sennheiser HD650’s quite well with their flat (natural) frequency response. the AirPods are not what you’d call reference headphones. Does that matter? Well, for the majority of non-audiophile users, I don't think it does. It’s all about listening pleasure at the end of the day. You won’t get the clarity and soundstage of many lesser priced wired headphones, but that’s not entirely what you’re paying for.
What are you paying for?
Well, in a word, convenience. AirPods are just so easy to use. They’re fun to listen to and are excellent for making and receiving phone calls. Once you’ve got over the fact that there’s no volume button, you’ll be happily asking the vastly improved Siri to do your bidding. They have a great 5 hour battery life and work well with most bluetooth equipped devices. At a price of £159.99, they may seem expensive, but in my opinion are one of the best totally wireless (in- ear) headphones around.
Pros:
1. Fantastic W1 chip - The future so it is... Great 5 hour battery life
2. Very easy to use
3. Ok sound quality
Cons:
1. Ok sound quality
2. Might fall out if you have big ears
Visit our website lamedia.co.uk and if you have any questions or think we got something wrong or simply want to let us know what we missed… e-mail us at [email protected] or give us a call on 0131 622 0220
Did you miss the iPhone X unveiling? Don't worry, in this blog LA Media's own Mike 'Tech Guru' Jameson will recap it for you. Find out what's new and exciting about the new iPhone X, the Apple Watch Series 3, and the stunning new Apple TV 4K. What follows is Mike's first impression of last night’s big event!
iPhone X Event: Words by Mike Jameson
It’s that time of year again when all the techies of the world unite and sit glued to Apple’s iPhone event. Now in the brand spanking new Steve Jobs Theatre, this was set to be more special than usual. And so it was… opening up with the voice of Steve himself, Apple delivered a fantastic keynote. In my opinion, the most exciting in years.
There were 3 main releases:
iPhone (iPhone X, iPhone 8 and 8 Plus)
Apple Watch Series 3
Apple TV 4K
What do we think of these new products?
iPhone X
The star of the show was obviously the iPhone X. At £999, you would hope it would be! There’s an all-new design, featuring what Apple calls a Super Retina display.
The new screen is an edge-to-edge 5.8-inch OLED panel with 2436 x 1125 and support for HDR (both Dolby Vision and HDR10).
All very exciting! There’s no home button. Instead, Apple has developed a system they're calling Face ID. Using powerful new 3D scanning technology, the iPhone unlocks itself when you look at it.
This powerful new facial recognition technology opens up several cool features; my favourite being emojis that replicate your own facial movements… Yes, that’s right, you can send a talking poo to your friends. Hallelujah!
The camera
The cameras are also upgraded, with dual 12-megapixel rear cameras with dual optical image stabilisation, and an improved front camera that supports portrait mode, too. On the battery front, Apple says that the iPhone X will last up to two hours longer than the iPhone 7
The Processor
The iPhone 8 is a significant update too - a new 6-Core A11 Bionic processor (the same as in the iPhone X) and an all Apple GPU (which is a first) make this a very powerful device. It also has a glass back which means wireless charging for all the new iPhone variants.
The Cost
The iPhone 8 starts at £699 for a 64GB model, while the iPhone 8 Plus will start at £799 (also for 64GB), although both phones will also have a 256GB model for £849 and £949, respectively. Pre-orders begin on Friday, September 15th, with the new devices set to ship on September 22nd.
The Look
The iPhone X comes in two colours: space grey and silver. It’ll come in two storage configurations — 64GB for £999, and 256GB for a whopping £1,149. Preorders will start on October 27th, with shipping set to start on November 3rd.
Apple Watch Series 3
The big news here is LTE connectivity. Yup, that’s right, no longer are you tied to your iPhone. You can now go for a night out and not lose your phone, but still be able to take calls and message whilst keeping a beady eye your ever-increasing heart rate as you neck that next shot of vodka. Nice.
With a faster W2 chip this, in my opinion, seems like a worthy upgrade.
When and how much?
It’ll be out September 22nd, starting at £329 for the non-cellular version (don’t do it..), and £399 for the cellular-equipped model (do it!).
Apple TV 4K
As the name suggests, the Apple TV has finally become 4K. It also supports HDR (High Dynamic Range) and is compatible with the two main specifications out there - HDR10 and Dolby Vision. Sweet.
Now I just need £3,000 to go out and get that 4K HDR TV. Yes, at the moment HDR OLED (don’t bother if it’s not OLED), TVs are on the expensive side.
Prices will come down as I think HDR and will be here to stay. To go with the new Apple TV 4K, the iTunes Store will also be selling movies and TV shows in 4K and HDR for the same price as HD content, with no charge to upgrade titles that you already own.
When and how much?
The Apple TV 4K will cost £179 when it ships on September 22nd. I want.
Well, that’s it until next time! I’ll leave you with this beautiful image of the iPhone X.
Visit our website lamedia.co.uk and if you have any questions, e-mail us at [email protected] or give us a call on 0131 622 0220