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A7IV vs iPhone pro 14 for videography ?

Started 6 months ago | Discussions
Kolbyk New Member • Posts: 1
A7IV vs iPhone pro 14 for videography ?

I take photographs for small clothing stores, photos on models, ghost mannequin, product photography, etc. I've been using a Sony A7 for years now and have invested more in lenses (within budget). I am fairly familiar with Capture One and Affinity Photo. For coloc correction I use Colorchecker passport. Now there is a demand to see if I would also shoot some product videos and possibly some social media videos. The videos are not high on artistic impression, fps, etc. Rather, it's about balancing colours well and delivering a large number of videos quickly to youtube and social media. If I were to buy the A7IV, I would sell the A7.

If I bought A7IV, the videos would be quite professional (after I learn how to do it), but I assume time consuming to edit and export to social networks(transfer to macbook, edit, export). I'd have to switch between stills and video while shooting with the model. I can't work with any desktop software for video editing, color grading, etc.

With the iPhone 14 Pro/max, there are articles everywhere about how high end the video is. I imagine editing videos is quicker as you won't have to transfer and export from another device. I would continue to shoot product photos on the A7, put the iPhone on a tripod and shoot video and stills on A7 at the same time. I assume simple apps would be available for color balancing and subsequent editing.

My question is, how naive is my idea of using the iPhone for product videos? My primary focus is photography, I have justification for both purchases, but I don't know which way to go.

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Roger Wilco Junior Member • Posts: 39
Re: A7IV vs iPhone pro 14 for videography ?

I used to say for most people iPhone videography/photography had progressed so far there was little reason to upgrade into an actual camera setup unless you were professionally obligated to or just enjoyed using cameras.

Lately, though, I've been so disappointed with the quality coming from the latest iPhones. The colors and noise reduction are so over the top that I've gotten more "uncanny valley" sort of results out of mine (iPhone 13 Pro). You can bypass this a bit with third-party apps but it takes the fun and ease of using a phone.

That said, if I'm using an actual camera to video something I want to share immediately, or close to it, I video in a non-log color profile (usually S-Cinetone on my A7Siii or Cine-4 on an A7C), bring the footage into something like Adobe Premiere Rush (free, pretty simple and easy video editor) with a SD dongle, and can have it edited and published in just a few minutes.

All THAT said, the iPhone video look is so ubiquitous it's probably a nonissue in real life. If your client is happy with the colors then I wouldn't hesitate.

Off The Mark Veteran Member • Posts: 6,934
Re: A7IV vs iPhone pro 14 for videography ?

To be honest, if the iPhone works, then probably stick with it.

I would look more at lighting. Having accurate colors is crucial for fashion. Even something as simple as a white reflector can make a big difference.

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apekkpul Senior Member • Posts: 1,497
Re: A7IV vs iPhone pro 14 for videography ?

With iPhone, would you do all video editing just by using the phone? It is feasile but sounds like a nightmare. If you use desktop for editing, remember that the lightning connector is very slow. regarless what would you use for shooting video, you could use the Color checker with (free?) Davinci Resolve to color correction.

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