iPhone X Perplexed by FSTOPPERS conclusion on the iPhone X vs GH5 footage comparison

[iBrooker]

I've just emailed them the following - anyone with high end monitors agree?

Hi,

I just watched your iPhone X vs GH5 video and I was a little surprised by your comments.

I'm just wondering whether you viewed the iPhone X vs GH5 comparison footage on a glossy iMac by any chance? From the YouTube video, here on my (non-glossy) pro Dell display the GH5 footage is noticeably better in each clip and I'm wondering whether your monitor may be the reason why you came to the conclusion you did? It's worth noting that a lot of consumer monitors artificially boost the blacks.

I've looked at the video on two different Macs with two different displays (none of them are 'glossy') and the GH5 footage is noticeably better on both (more so on the higher end monitor).

Perhaps you could make available the original files (in case YouTube's compression is at fault) or, I highly recommend you view the video on a wide variety of monitors (professional displays if you can) as I think you might be surprised with the results.

I hope this doesn't come across as trolling but I'm really struggling to see how you think the iPhone footage was on a par or 'better' than the GH5 footage. I am actually an iPhone X owner and do not own a GH5 (or any other Panasonic camera).

Thanks for reading.

Here's the video:

I've looked into the GH5 significantly as I was going to get one, and all the footage I've seen is considerably better than any phone.

I'll do my own tests once I get the X

 

[finchwizard]

It's amazing the footage you can get out of the iPhone no doubt about it. But the GH5 is clearly better.

iPhones have, and it doesn't matter if they're hand held or on Gimbals, this weird little shake/vibrate or it might just be the autofocus doing a little hunting quickly.

But it's very common and happens in most of the footage I see. That's how you can always tell it's on an iPhone regardless. It could even be just the OIS fighting with Gimbals, not sure.

 

[iBrooker]

It's amazing the footage you can get out of the iPhone no doubt about it. But the GH5 is clearly better.

I agree - the X has a good phone camera, and as much as I'm a fan, it's just not in the same league as a GH5.

Re the problem of jitter with gimbals, I think I found a solution which I posted here:

Best iPhone X gimbal?

 

[finchwizard]

They all say turn off OIS but as far as I knew it's never something you can ever turn off regardless.
It may help reduce sensitivity but I've still seen lots of videos that have a weird little shake. It must be the AutoFocus doing it as well.

When you see a GH5 or even some of the other phones on Gimbals their OIS seems to help make it better, yet the iPhones seem to compete.

 

[wiregen]

It's amazing the footage you can get out of the iPhone no doubt about it. But the GH5 is clearly better.

iPhones have, and it doesn't matter if they're handheld or on Gimbals, this weird little shake/vibrate or it might just be the autofocus doing a little hunting quickly.

But it's very common and happens in most of the footage I see. That's how you can always tell it's on an iPhone regardless. It could even be just the OIS fighting with Gimbals, not sure.

Actually, this is correct, there's no way you can disable OIS on any of the iPhones as far as I am aware. When you put iphones on a gimbal it gives very jerky movements due to the OIS fighting with the gimbal.

A workaround has been plopping a small magnet behind the camera module to prevent this. Will it screw up OIS? No clue...

 

[iBrooker]

Have a look at that video in my link above... hmmm I wonder if he did a follow up..

 

[QquegChristian]

Having just watched the video, he continuously says the gh5 is better. Not sure why you’re emailing them? He basically says that the iPhone is good enough that you wouldn’t notice a big difference on YouTube.

And he’s right. Watching on my X screen at 1440p, the difference was absolutely negligible. Until he zoomed in to show detail, then it was laughably in the GH5’s favor.

In all, it’s not how amazing the iPhone looks, it’s how bad their GH5 footage looks. No depth of field and blown out highlights. It was very mediocre for a camera they claim to be their daily driver. But I think a lot of that is down to technique. I don’t think they were using ND filters for instance.

The camera and a 256gb storage size was a big reason I upgraded to the X. I’m likely shooting/co-directing a decent-sized indie film in a few months and I want to have a reliable camera on set for behind the scenes videos. One that anyone can pick up and know how to use. I had a Canon C100, which was an amazing doc camera and still own a 5Dmk4, but I can’t trust people to use those correctly or fast enough just to grab goofy behind the scenes videos.

We shot behind the scenes videos on an $80 Flip camera (remember those?) for a movie 6 years ago. We were shooting the movie for no money on a 5D2. Because the Flip cam was so easy for anyone to grab, we ended up with 16 hours of footage that showed every bit of drama as we tried to make our first movie with no money. So we shot ourselves talking about the process and turned that horrible footage into a 90 minute documentary that went onto our discs in WalMart and other stores as a special feature. Sure, I wish it was shot on a camera that cost more than $80, but I don’t think it would exist at all if it wasn’t absolutely point and shoot. Didn’t look that bad once we mixed it with interviews and movie footage from the 5D (which has its own problems). Trailer:

 

[iBrooker]

QquegChristian - the difference is very noticeable on my monitor. Not sure what display you've got but I suggest looking at it on a few displays.

Re his comments, he says things like everyone in the office preferred the X footage and makes it sound like it's almost as good as the GH5 - it's not - there's a very clear difference (if you view it on a decent display) IMO.

 

[macTW]

I've just emailed them the following - anyone with high end monitors agree?



Here's the video:

I've looked into the GH5 significantly as I was going to get one, and all the footage I've seen is considerably better than any phone.

I'll do my own tests once I get the X

Almost every “conclusion” on YouTube in these videos is for $$$$ and nothing more. Either their crowd is pro Apple and supporting Apple boosts views, or they’re anti Apple and putting Apple down gets views.

 

[QquegChristian]

QquegChristian - the difference is very noticeable on my monitor. Not sure what display you've got but I suggest looking at it on a few displays.

Re his comments, he says things like everyone in the office preferred the X footage and makes it sound like it's almost as good as the GH5 - it's not - there's a very clear difference (if you view it on a decent display) IMO.

It’s about context. He says everyone preferred the iPhone when he was talking about color. He then says it probably had more to do with his lack of color grading skills. I can see why random people would say it... the iPhone shot has an almost unnatural HDR look. Like a Samsung phone. People like that crap.

But then he continuously says the GH5 is better for the rest of the review. He calls out the IS and terrible low light noise of the iPhone.

I already said, I watched the video on my iPhone X. Displaymate says it is the most accurate screen they’ve ever tested. The only real conclusion the guy came to was that the footage is good enough for YouTube. I agree with him. They look very similar on a 5-inch phone.

If you want me to go into my studio where I have 3 calibrated matte monitors that I use for publishing and filmmaking, I can... but I just don’t care that much. Upstream Color was shot on a GH3, I believe, and it is beautiful. Tangerine was shot on an iPhone and it is beautiful. Any camera is capable in the right hands and the pixels have so little to do with it. There are a hundred downsides to the iPhone compared to a camera like the GH5, but I’d start with interchangeable lenses and filtration and manual controls and a whole bunch of other things before I started dogging it for sharpness or color.

 

[Streetmagus22]

I own both and didn’t bother watching his video. Must be hard times to get views lol

Yeah...the iPhone X has 4:2:2 10 bit color sampling?

 

[Bootleg Gucci]

I just compared my iPhone X 4K video (FCP X) to my GH5 videos (no color correction on either). Obviously, I concluded the iPhone X does not produce color depth nor sharpness at the level of my Panasonic GH5, but for a smartphone, iPhone X's 4K 60fps video is very impressive.

 

[Zeiss]

I've just emailed them the following - anyone with high end monitors agree?



Here's the video:

I've looked into the GH5 significantly as I was going to get one, and all the footage I've seen is considerably better than any phone.

I'll do my own tests once I get the X

[doublepost=1516485662][/doublepost]Watched it on a Sony TV and on an Eizo ColorEdge monitor, I get what the Fstopper guy is saying - impressive and in the range of a GH5, but not ‘better’ - given the size, price and usability, it is a great phone camera and comparable, 10bit and a crap load bigger sensor, with real lenses etc etc. Sounds like the same kind of discussions being had on the release of the Sony A7 cameras against actual video cameras.

There is also a comparison against the Red Scarlett’s kicking around - same conclusions - awesome video capabilities from a phone, and within range of ‘real’ cameras for YouTube / Vimeo playback and distribution etc.