Anyone here uses their cell phone to make videos?

[itsmagical]

Not necessarily vlogging, but just making a video documenting your trip. I've used my Iphone in the past,, but I'm trying to find ways of getting better quality footage. I see some videos on youtube where people are using an Iphone 6, but you'd swear they are using a top of the line camera. Not that the footage I get isn't of good quality, but I'm just trying to find ways to make it better. Thank you!

 

[networkpro]

Not necessarily vlogging, but just making a video documenting your trip. I've used my Iphone in the past,, but I'm trying to find ways of getting better quality footage. I see some videos on youtube where people are using an Iphone 6, but you'd swear they are using a top of the line camera. Not that the footage I get isn't of good quality, but I'm just trying to find ways to make it better. Thank you!

I dont for a few reasons:

• Battery utilization, while its ok for a couple of snippets here and there it drains lots of amps.
• Storage. The higher quality, the larger the files.
• IO or Input/Output. Speed, speed speed. writing while capturing, retrieving or transferring to another device.
• Sound quailty. Most phones' microphones for lack of a more descriptive phrase suck.

 

[itsmagical]

What camera do you use? Your first point, the battery, is one of my main concerns. I went to Disneyland for the first time in April and used my phone, but that video had mostly pictures with videos sprinkled in and it didn't really effect the battery all that much:



but I also made this video two weeks ago, and it's exclusively video. Drained my battery like crazy:

 

[atjimfromdisney]

A lot of times when you see people who vlog with iPhones they will use a handheld stabilizer, which will give them smooth rather than shaky shots. Even just that can tremendously affect the overall quality of the video. Outside of that, the latest iPhone models all shoot video in HD. You can always tweak/edit the videos in different post production apps. ie. iMovie, etc.

 

[networkpro]

Oh you're going to get into holy war territory pretty fast. I use a Canon EOS Rebel T6i because its a good fit halfway in between photography and video (30FPS). I use USM lenses because I'm lazy

 

[thomas998]

While the quality of video you get from an iPhone today is pretty good, there are simply some things you cannot get with an iPhone when it comes to video.. The depth of field with any camera phone is always so deep that you can't tell where the viewer is supposed to focus their attention. Go watch a movie with people speaking to each other and notice how sometimes the camera will be focused on the one talking and the other one becomes blurry and then it shifts when the other one talks... that is an effect you can get with a decent video camera using a fast lens... That isn't really possible with any phone cameras... So it really depends on what you are talking about when you say phones are up to snuff with video cameras. They can get good looking video, but the ability to do things like I just described just aren't there.

 

[RScottyL]

Not necessarily vlogging, but just making a video documenting your trip. I've used my Iphone in the past,, but I'm trying to find ways of getting better quality footage. I see some videos on youtube where people are using an Iphone 6, but you'd swear they are using a top of the line camera. Not that the footage I get isn't of good quality, but I'm just trying to find ways to make it better. Thank you!

You "can" use your cell phone, but I only would with the latest cell phones, as they would have the better quality video capability!

If you do go that route, you would want to have a gimbal to help keep it steady while you are shooting it! Also, most cell phone cameras are not that great in low light.

You would probably not want to, in case you need to use your cell phone to make phone calls, and using your phone to shoot videos would use up the battery faster!

I would recommend getting you a separate camera for shooting videos!

 

[donsullivan]

If you're using a modern smartphone then (assuming it's set up properly) you'll get great footage on all of them. The handheld stabilizer can make all the difference in world with your footage. It's human nature that the phone will bounce all over the place, not always be flat, have jerky motion etc.. The stabilizer or gimbal I use is The DJI Osmo Mobile 2

You connect it to your phone with Bluetooth and then you control the phone from the Osmo when shooting and can get very smooth and stable footage.

Another tip is to make sure you're using the highest quality footage you have storage for on your phone for the day. If you can fit 4K, then go for it. You can always downres it later but you'll never get that detail back if you didn't record it in the first place.

 

[drakestravels]

I use a Samsung Galaxy 8 for youtube videos. I'm just getting into publishing videos but I like using a phone since no bulky equipment or bags needed. If you use as your camera, make sure you have enough storage and consider a battery pack charger if needed. Newer phones are getting so much better and I think a good video editing software program helps to clean things up. Here's my latest video from DisneySea in Tokyo all shot using the Samsung Galaxy S8.

Tokyo DisneySea 35 Happiest Celebration

 

[thomas998]

I use a Samsung Galaxy 8 for youtube videos. I'm just getting into publishing videos but I like using a phone since no bulky equipment or bags needed. If you use as your camera, make sure you have enough storage and consider a battery pack charger if needed. Newer phones are getting so much better and I think a good video editing software program helps to clean things up. Here's my latest video from DisneySea in Tokyo all shot using the Samsung Galaxy S8.

Tokyo DisneySea 35 Happiest Celebration

I'll agree that the phones are getting better for the video side... but I'm still in the camp that prefers videos made with cameras or camcorders. Not because of a dramatic difference in video, because sometimes the video is just fine. My bigger issue is with the quality of the sound, to me the sound recorded with a phone just doesn't sound right compared to what I can get from a camcorder or camera with an add-on mic.

 

[SirWillow]

I use a mix of my Samsung Galaxy S8+ using a handheld stabilizer (can't quite afford a gimbel), where I've added memory and always shoot 4k. Honestly for something spur of the moment it does pretty well.

But depending on what I'm shooting, I'll also use a Canon Vixia HF R80 camcorder or my Nikon D3300, both of which can get shots that my camera can't hope to get between onboard video features, zoom capabilities, and being able to use a dedicated microphone for improved quality. And those are both on the cheap end. I'm hoping to upgrade to a better camera later on, but it's going to be several hundred dollars.

For starting out though, there's nothing wrong with using what you've already got in your hand.