Smartphone Video Shooting

One of the greatest achievements in this century is the smartphone. A computer that fits in your pocket, if you were to show someone in the 1980's these slabs of glass the wouldn't believe it! The technology used in smartphones gets better and better. Faster phones mean faster hardware capabilities to utilize new processors. Such so that the camera on your phone is actually not that bad. iPhones are regarded as one of the best smartphone cameras on the market. Other phone companies like LG are starting to roll out phones that have manual camera controls and rawDNG video recording. It's safe to say that smartphones are at a point where they are capable of pulling great images out of such a tiny sensor. So how do you utilize your phone's camera to it's fullest?

There's an app for that!

First developed for iPhone, and recently on Android, "FilmicPro" gives your phone manual controls. It does cost money, 10 dollars both on iPhone and Android, but gives you full manual controls, different file formats and whatever the max resolution your phone is capable of. However, there is a catch for Android users. Not ALL the features are available. There is a free app that tells you what you can and cannot do based on your system and hardware. As of right now, the Android version is glitchy and not as polished as the iPhone version but it's still worth a look(I ran it on my LG G4 with Android Lollipop so your experience might vary depending on your phone).

"But what if I don't want to use an app?"

Use the default camera app on your phone! Some default camera apps give you the capabilities to lock focus and adjust the brightness. That's pretty much all you need if you just want to go out and shoot. However, once again, Android users beware. Some default camera apps (like the one on my LG G4) add sharpness to the image. This is why using an app like FilmicPro is useful because there are no post process effects being used. The iPhone camera app is simple to use. Just hold on what you want to focus and it'll lock exposure and focus. If you want to change the brightness, simply slide the sun logo.

So with this info in mind, it seems pretty easy to just go out an shoot video. If you have any kind of camera, go out and shoot something. You'll be surprised with how much you can create with something so little