iPhone X Video recording variability in low light

[davidra]

My X has been a great phone, great pictures and great video in most lighting. Last night I took a video at a concert, from the first row with a great view of the stage. It came out spectacularly.....except for the fact that every now and then it seemed to be trying to readjust the aperture....it would get slightly darker, then slightly lighter. It is pretty easily evident. The camera was actually on a tripod, so it wasn't moving around from one part of the stage that better let to another, and it didn't seem to relate to people moving around on the stage (which might have an effect because of reflected light in a different position. This variability occurred with absolutely movement of the camera, people on the stage, or the lighting on the stage. I've attached two screen shots taken literally a second apart to try and demonstrate this; don't know how it will show up on the forum, but note the difference in the lighting of the bass player and how the singer is overexposed in one of the pictures. Has anyone else seen this kind of variability? After posting I realize the difference looks subtle, but watching the actual video it's pretty apparent when it shifts.

 

[MICHAELSD]

The iPhone actually has a fixed aperture, so the camera app is just automatically adjusting the exposure. To avoid this I would recommend using a third party camera app with manual controls like ProCam, ProMovie, or FilmicPro.