Shoot 4K log video on your iPhone.

What it does

Four things the app does

Questions

Common questions

Is this the same app as Log Cam: Open Gate by RAW Cam?

No. Log Cam: Open Gate by RAW Cam is a different app, by a different developer: Sebastijan Grabar, who also makes RAW Cam: Open Gate DNG Video. Log Cam: RAW 4K Video Camera is a separate product with no connection to either of them. The clearest difference is what happens after you press stop. In Log Cam: RAW 4K Video Camera, the app’s own gallery holds every clip you record, and you can export it to a drive. Log Cam: Open Gate is a specialist tool for people who already shoot log.

Why do log clips look flat and gray?

Because that is what log does. A log picture profile records a wider range of highlight and shadow detail than a standard profile. The price of that detail is a flat, low-contrast picture straight from the camera. You grade the clip afterwards, and the grade turns the extra range back into contrast and color. You do not have to watch the flat picture while you shoot, because the viewfinder has a Look mode that shows you a normal one. Install a LUT and Look shows you the graded picture instead.

Can I record a finished picture instead of a flat log clip?

Yes. Install a LUT in the app, and you can bake it into the recording. The clip then holds the graded picture, and it needs no editing app. You cannot undo that, so the log version of the clip does not exist afterwards. The other mode, monitoring, shows the LUT on screen and keeps the plain log signal in the file. Pick monitoring for anything you intend to grade.

Which log profiles can I shoot in?

Seven: Apple Log, Apple Log 2, S-Log3, Log-C3, V-Log, F-Log and F-Log2. Shoot the curve your grading workflow expects. The conversion you apply later is then the one built for that curve, and not an approximation of it. If none of that means anything to you yet, start with Apple Log.

Can I shoot log if my iPhone does not support Apple Log?

Yes. Apple states that its own Log recording needs an iPhone 15 Pro or later, and Log Cam: RAW 4K Video Camera does not use it. The app applies its own log curves in its own GPU pipeline, and does not ask iOS for Apple’s Log. So the seven profiles, Apple Log included, are not limited to the phones Apple’s Log covers, and the app needs iOS 17.6 or later. How far a given phone goes at a given resolution, frame rate and bitrate is a separate question. That question is about the phone, as it is in any camera app.

Where do my clips go after I stop recording?

Into the app’s own gallery. That is where you look at what you recorded. The gallery is the same place every time, so you always know where a clip is. From there you can export it to an external SSD, a hard drive, or the Files app.

What happens to my clips if I delete and reinstall the app?

Files that an app keeps inside itself are deleted with the app. That is as true here as it is anywhere else. An export is what protects your clips. A clip that you send to a drive or to the Files app lives outside the app. If you remove the app, the clip stays. So export the work you care about before you delete the app.

Can I get my clips onto an external SSD without a computer?

Yes. You can export to an external SSD or hard drive connected directly to the phone. No computer is necessary. The Files app is the other destination, if you prefer to move your clips from there. At ProRes bitrates, a direct export to a drive is the only practical way to work a whole day.

Can I record ProRes, and at what bitrate?

The app records ProRes 422 HQ, ProRes 422 and ProRes 422 LT. It also records 10-bit HEVC in 4:4:4 or 4:2:0, which makes a smaller file. Bitrate presets run from about 30 Mbps to more than 200 Mbps. So you set that trade yourself, between a small file and the most data you can keep.

Does it have autofocus, or do I have to focus everything manually?

Both are there, and you choose. The app has autofocus and tap to focus. It also has manual ISO, shutter and white balance, for when you do not want the camera to decide. You can pick which of your phone’s lenses records. You can adjust focus, ISO and shutter while you record.

Can I use an external microphone?

Yes. You can pick a wired or USB microphone connected to the phone as the recording input. The app shows Bluetooth microphones in the list, but you cannot pick one as the input. So use a cable or a USB interface, and not a wireless microphone.