Seven log profiles, ProRes and HEVC

Which log profiles and codecs can I record in?

Log Cam: RAW 4K Video Camera records in seven log profiles, from Apple’s own two curves to the ones Sony, ARRI, Panasonic and Fujifilm designed. Each profile encodes highlight and shadow detail differently, so the conversion you use in editing must match the recorded profile. You can record any profile to ProRes, or to 10-bit HEVC at a selectable 30 to 500 Mbps.

Which profile to start with

If you do not need to match footage from another camera, start with Apple Log. Each profile encodes tones differently, so use a conversion designed for the profile you recorded. Choose a different profile when your editing workflow calls for it.

If your other camera records S-Log3 or V-Log, you can select that profile on the iPhone too. This lets you work with the clips in the same editing workflow, using a conversion suited to the recorded profile.

ProRes or HEVC

ProRes keeps more detail and makes larger files. You pick one of its three levels: 422 HQ, 422 or 422 LT. With 10-bit HEVC you choose the bitrate yourself, from presets between 30 and 500 Mbps. Its lower settings make much smaller files and leave less room for heavy color grading.

Apple Log support and iPhone compatibility

Apple's built-in Log capture is available only on supported Pro iPhones. This app applies its own log curves in the GPU pipeline while recording, so its seven profiles do not require Apple's built-in Log capture mode.

The app requires iOS 17.6 or later. Available resolutions, frame rates and codecs depend on the iPhone model.

Exposure tools for log recording

A flat log picture is hard to judge by eye, so the app gives you three exposure tools. The histogram shows the RAW sensor levels for each channel, before white balance and the log curve. Zebras mark areas that reach the IRE threshold you choose. False color shows Rec.709 brightness as colors, so you can see where skin tones and highlights land.

LUT preview and baking

LUT preview shows the graded picture while you shoot. Import your own .cube LUT and switch the viewfinder from Std to Look to see it on screen.

You then choose how the LUT is used. Monitoring keeps the plain log signal in the recording and shows the LUT on screen only. Baking writes the LUT into the clip, and that cannot be undone. Pick monitoring when you want a clip to grade, and baking when you want a finished picture from the phone. The choice appears once you import a LUT, so a phone with no LUT in the app records the plain log signal.

Anamorphic, open gate and gyro logging

The app also has anamorphic desqueeze at 1.33x, 1.5x and 1.55x, for an anamorphic adapter. Open gate records the full height of the sensor. Gyro logging writes a Gyroflow GCSV file for each clip. You stabilize the clip in Gyroflow afterwards.

• Codecs: ProRes 422 HQ, ProRes 422, ProRes 422 LT, and 10-bit HEVC in 4:4:4 or 4:2:0.
• 10-bit HEVC bitrate presets: 30 to 500 Mbps.
• Resolution: 4K, 3840 by 2160.
• Frame rates: 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97 and 30.
• Open gate: the full height of the sensor.
• Anamorphic desqueeze: 1.33x, 1.5x and 1.55x.
• Gyro logging: a Gyroflow GCSV file for each clip.