Though plenty of videos have surfaced that put the 6s' 4K video to the test, the journalists that make up RYOT have made the first 4K short film using the smartphone, revealing just how powerful of a tool the iPhone 6s can be. You can watch The Painter of Jalouzi below.


Now, even though the iPhone 6s can produce great images on its own, RYOT, like many other smartphone filmmakers, use special tools to make the smartphone more powerful. RYOT used an mCam cradle that allowed them to mount high end camera lenses, handheld stabilizer from ikan, and a DJI Phantom to capture those beautiful aerials. The filmmakers detail their process in the BTS featurette below:

Ever since the iPhone 6s dropped in mid-September, we've been wondering how its new 4K camera compares to its predecessors. Camera+ co-founder Lisa Bettany completed a thorough side-by-side comparison of all of the iPhone iterations, putting it through a series of different tests, including macro shots, backlight, daylight, portrait, and sunset to name a few. If you haven't checked it out, I highly suggest that you do so.

Iphone-comparison-downloadMacro test

Iphone-comparison-download_1Macro (detail)

Iphone-comparison-download_2Backlit macro

Iphone-comparison-download_3Backlit

There's no doubt that filmmakers are starting to realize that films can be well made using smartphones. Sean Baker's Tangerine was shot on an iPhone 5s, Swiss TV Station Léman Bleu has done away with traditional TV cameras and now shoots entirely on the iPhone 6. Even though they have big limitations when it comes to cinema level filmmaking, smartphones are incredibly powerful tools now, and it's exciting to see the work filmmakers are doing using them.

The Ultimate iPhone Camera Comparison

Source: RYOT