High-end video camera apps for iOS
Filmic Pro
£14.99 FROM Filmic, filmicpro.com NEEDS iOS 11 or later
Shooting controls
Essentials are available on the main screen – zoom, tap-to-focus, manual focus, exposure and a well-designed white balance controller. Live control of colour and tone are behind an in-app purchase. Switching lenses on dual camera phones is quick and easy.
Meters and analysis
The live analytics controls include zebra stripes, clipping, false colour and focus peaking and are available on any device with an A8 or faster processor. There’s also a small audio level meter and the option to use an external or Bluetooth mic, as well as an optional on-screen spirit level.
Ease of use
The app crams a lot into a slick interface, with the basics at your fingertips and more advanced menus available in pop-up windows. It’s among the friendliest pro video apps around. One-handed operation is possible.
Editing features
Saved clips can be trimmed, and colour, tone tint and exposure edited with simple sliders. You can also down sample in-app to smaller frame sizes. Clips can be saved out using the iOS share sheet to your Camera Roll or other apps or cloud services, including iCloud. There’s no iMovie-style timeline editing available.
Mavis – Pro Camera
> Free, offers in-app purchases > FROM WattenEarth, shootmavis.com > NEEDS iOS 10 or later
Shooting controls
Zoom, manual and autofocus and all major parameters are shown on the main screen and there are options to customise controls. An expanded view shows more feedback; a smaller live view is useful when metering light conditions. Custom audio inputs are available.
Meters and analysis
There’s a real-time full-scale vectorscope for colour work and waveform monitor for exposure monitoring. Focus peaking, expanded focus, zebras and false colour are easy to invoke. Audio levels are shown in a good-sized strip to the right. Metering tools are quite advanced.
Ease of use
Mavis relies more on menus and the learning curve is steeper. Actions take more taps, but most features aren’t too hard to locate. It uses preset slots for some parameters, so you can quickly flip while previewing your image.
Editing features
Beyond tagging your captured clips, editing isn’t really possible. You can have clips saved straight to your Camera Roll or use the share option to export them to other apps or cloud services like iCloud. From there you can import them into another iOS or desktop-based video editing package for proper editing.