New iPhone 4G shoots 720/30P HD!

[Dan Brockett]

If you go to one of the live blogging sites and follow...

"10:56
But that’s not all: it records HD video, says Steve. 720 p at 30 frames per second. “It’s real HD video.”

* Tap to focus video
* Built-in video editing
* One-click sharing
* LED Flash will stay on to illuminate scenes for video recording.

With a few taps you can e-mail, MMS, send to MobileMe or YouTube.

Read More http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/06/live-blog-apple-wwdc/#more-41449#ixzz0qBz1gEI1"

Very interesting development. I predict a lot more video-style accessories and a lot more projects being shot on the new iPhone. Not going to replace "real" cameras but will definitely make an indent in the low-end and micro budget world.

Dan

[Jack Zhang]

Ahem... The iPhone won't be the first. The HTC EVO also does 720p video:

Sprint HTC EVO 4G video recording quality demo

[Mike Butler]

Studio Daily Blog Editing Gets Small on iPhone 4

Hey, iMovie for the iPhone, cool! When are they gonna have FCP for the iPhone? LOL!

[Andrew Smith]

Well, Steve Jobs did say that the next version of FCP would be "awesome".

Andrew :-)

[Aaron Fowler]

Originally Posted by Jack Zhang

Ahem... The iPhone won't be the first. The HTC EVO also does 720p video

You're right, the iPhone wasn't first... But you know it's going to be way more popular...

Originally Posted by Dan Brockett

Very interesting development. I predict a lot more video-style accessories and a lot more projects being shot on the new iPhone. Not going to replace "real" cameras but will definitely make an indent in the low-end and micro budget world.

I think it might be a viable solution to use for behind the scenes footage... For anyone in a breaking news situation... For celebrities to make revealing video scandals... The possibilities are endless! :)

Right now... I'm bracing myself for the influx of iPhone 4 videos on YouTube upon its release. :P

[John C. Chu]

There are already a few very good iPhone video editing apps since the 3GS came out last summer. Reel Director is one such app.

Since the new iPhone shoots in HD...it should definitely be interesting.

I wonder if the iMovie app will allow the use of music brought from iTunes? (for personal use of course).

[Matt Sturns]

sorry to burst the parade but 720 is very quickly becoming the new SD. I have yet to see any sort of impressive 720P from consumer products let alone a phone. looking to be impressed though about 4+ years and counting. Rather have better quality SD than horrible 720P

[Robert Turchick]

I can imagine spontaneous commercial creation...

Walk into your fav restaurant shooting vid. get a few pan shots of the whole place, video your waiter/waitress, the presentation of the meals. Video comments from your friends, Take a snapshot of the logo. Edit the spot with music, titling and VO and present to the manager at the end of the meal! "Wanna barter the meal for a spot I just put together?"

[Dan Brockett]

Matt:

I come from the exact opposite direction. I have been shooting primarily 720P since the inception of the Varicam, through all of my P2 cameras. Oh yeah, a good percentage of Planet Earth was shot on 720P Varicam. I have shot a lot of broadcast and delivered product to the studios that has been shot at 720P and output to 1080 60i from my Aja Kona 3. 99% of non-engineer people cannot tell the difference. 1080P is overrated and is really only of supreme importance when the project will be projected theatrically. On normal sized monitors and the web, I find 720P to look totally acceptable as do my clients. Most of the Canon 5D MKII footage I shoot ends up being downconverted to 720P via Compressor.

While I will concede that things may be a little different for consumer gear than pro gear, the Go Pro HD camera 720P looks amazingly good. Hopefully the footage from the iPhone 4G will look as good. I hope that they equip it with a true wide angle lens. Forget the zoom stuff.

Resolution does not automatically equal greater quality.

Robert:

Sad thing is that you are probably outlining a good portrait of trying to make a living in video production in the future. Video is becoming as ubiquitous as computers and cell phones so what will be the market for professional quality video/film when everyone is just doing it themselves?

Dan

[Robert Turchick]

Well Dan, from going through this exact scenario in the music production/recording biz about 15 years ago, I knew it was only a matter of time til it hit video production. The only good news is that most of my music clients who bought their own recording gear would still come in for final mix/mastering because of my ears and attention to detail.
Hopefully the same will apply in the video world but with Youtube being "the standard" people have become used to, it is a bit disconcerting.
We'll see!

In the mean time, I might just do the "insta-spot" thing as a fun exercise!

[Osman Flique]

I think the iphone capabilites, to shoot video are great. You will see alot of new iphone movies.

[Jonathan Palfrey]

Remember though just because someone has the tools to do it doesn't mean they have the skill.

SLR's are cheap now but pro photographers still have work, computers are powerful enough to do any programming but we still by software and builders still have work despite the tools being low priced and easily accessible at DIY stores.

I'm sure some people will try to shoot a friends wedding on their iphone but at the end of the day people still want professionals because we are the ones will the skill and knowledge in that area.

[Dan Brockett]

I don't know Jonathan. I used to echo your words back when I had a $70,000 Betacam and this new toy, the Sony VX-1000 hit the streets. Who would ever use a DV camera for professional production? Wouldn't clients and networks still pay for quality? They did, to a point but that camera really started the ball rolling.

Now multiply that equation times a thousand and that is where we are today. I think it is becoming nearly impossible to make a living as a still photographer, the number of working pros making their living in stills has reduced over 78% in the past fifteen years. While the use of video has become much more common, the public's perception of what is quality in regards to production has dropped amazingly quickly.

I seriously think that it will become almost impossible to just make a middle class living in production very soon, for many, it is the reality today that while they can work in the industry, many of us are constantly losing work to clients who will just "do it themselves" or will "do it in-house". Can we, as pros do it better? Definitely. But the bar for what is acceptable is lowering by the minute. I have clients who tell me all of the time, "yes, we know you can make it look professional, but we just don't have the budget to hire a pro, we will just do it ourselves".

I have a sort of client who booked me for three days of shooting for his new website two weeks ago. We did a location scout and had a production meeting. He has dabbled with video before in the past but really doesn't know what he is doing. He booked me three days of shooting. The production days approached and he "shot some tests" and sent them to me for a look. He then proceeded to tell me that he was just going to "do it himself". This is camera, lighting, sound, teleprompter and he is the on-camera talent. He is too cheap to hire a pro to do it right. His website is a new venture, he doesn't want to spend the money on a pro to do it right. He thinks his talent is good enough. Now he is talking about hiring me to do post. I am not holding my breath. This is reality today, this is happening quite a bit.

There will be a lucky and talented few who will continue to make good money with their skills and talent in production. But tools like the new iPhone will definitely take away some work from some pros on an ongoing basis. 720 30P and iMovie are good enough for the vast majority of non-broadcast, non-high end video. And in this economy, frankly, most clients are having trouble making ends meet. This even includes the studios. I have seen press junkets cut in half as far as crew, gear and number of interviews because even Warner Bros. can't spend the money, this was on an A-list feature I was booked on a few weeks ago. It is affecting everyone at every level.

Dan

[Shaun Roemich]

Originally Posted by Jonathan Palfrey

Remember though just because someone has the tools to do it doesn't mean they have the skill.

Maybe not BUT they have the ability to undermine the VALUE of the work being done AT a professional level...

[Shaun Roemich]

Originally Posted by Dan Brockett

I used to echo your words back when I had a $70,000 Betacam and this new toy, the Sony VX-1000 hit the streets.

The VX-1000 was the "shot fired across the bow". The PD150 WITH DVCam and 7.5IRE setup was the "beginning of the end" death knell. We shot a BUNCH of stuff for broadcast on the PD150, transfered to BetaSP BEFORE going into post and as long as we were careful, we ALWAYS met broadcast restrictions of "NO DV!"

Don't ask, don't tell...

And for the record, up until that point, I shot EVERYTHING in BetaSP, rented at $200 (UVW100) to $650 (BVW600) a day. Clients didn't want to pay for gear anymore so... we did what we had to BUT we ALWAYS pointed out they weren't getting what they COULD if they would only budget for better gear...

When I went to BUY, I had the choice - a used UVW100 or a new PD150 for the same price. I chose the PD150.