Smartphones are here to stay, and as weโve pointed out many times, when a company (business) sees a reason to improve or enhance a particular feature, they will push forward, often surpassing the โgood enoughโ standard for practical use. Apple is a great example with their iPhone 15 Pro/Max line and the recently announced iPhone 16 Pro/Max. In the right hands, these phones are capable tools for producing high-quality images, while if you are just a hobbyist, you can still pull out nice-looking clips as this is the essence of the thing, democratizing the making of content creation for all.
But, marketing efforts aside (who can compete with Appleโs budget), have any of you guys ever used a smartphone to film a commercial project? Todayโs poll asks whether smartphones are truly becoming a viable tool for filmmakers and if theyโre moving in the โright directionโ to capture the interest of those making movies of any kind. Weโre curious to hear your thoughts. In my opinion, for certain types of productions, it can serve as a backup tool (and it has done so) or a support device, especially if your main camera encounters any issues. As capable as some of the modern phones are, my โissueโ is that the idea of taking something really small and portable and beefing it up with so many accessories to bring it to the point of using it โprofessionallyโ makes little sense to me for now. But again, we all work differently, have different budget restrictions, and treat the โcool factorโ of using such devices in diverse ways.
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So what about you? Have you ever used a smartphone to film a commercial project, and if you did, how was your experience? Is it something you are willing to do again, or do you feel โit is not there yetโ? Please share your comments with us in the section below.
