What are the best Smartphones for making videos and filmmaking?
Each year a new selection of Smartphones are released with continuing improvements to their cameras and their ability to create videos. With the release of the iPhone Pro 12, Apple has again held the bar high for what you can achieve with a Smartphone for filmmaking. There are many apps available for iOS that are only available for iPhone. This makes it the first choice for many mobile filmmakers.
But Android is catching up fast. Pro video camera apps like Filmic Pro are also now available for both iOS and Android. With the release of the iPhone 12 Pro you would think that Apple has the competition beat. However, Android has plenty of great Smartphones available to rival it. So if you are looking for a new Smartphone for filmmaking, here is a selection of some of the best available.
This content uses referral links. Read my ethics policy for more info.
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
With the release of the iPhone 12 Pro Max, Apple has finally added 5G to its flagship Smartphone. It now has Apple ProRAW for stills and a LiDAR sensor, which is for augmented reality (AR). Apple ProRAW will give you full creative control over colour, detail and dynamic range natively on the iPhone or with a third party app. The LiDAR scanner will improve autofocus in low light conditions and it has a Night Mode for portrait photos.
It has extended dynamic range for video up to 30fps and cinematic video stabilisation for video in 4K, 1080p and 720p. Other additions include 10-bit HDR with Dolby vision up to 60fps. The iPhone 12 Pro Max comes with the Apple A14 Bionic chip so it should be super-fast in its performance.
The rear cameras include a Wide 12MP camera with a 26mm lens, a Telephoto 12MP with 65mm lens and an Ultra Wide 12MP camera with a 13mm lens. So there are plenty of choices to film with. If you are into selfies the front 12MP camera has a 23mm lens which will do you just fine. The iPhone 12 Pro Max rear cameras will shoot in 4K UHD at 24/30/60fps, 1080p at 30/60/120/240fps, 720p at 30fps.
The front camera will shoot in 4K UHD at 24/30/60fps, 1080p at 30/60/120fps. You can get a maximum storage of 512GB with the iPhone 12 Pro Max and it comes with 6GB of Ram. There is no memory slot for extra storage and the screen has a maximum refresh rate of 60Hz.
Price: $1099.00 £1099.00 €1099.00
Google Pixel 5
Google has been making its own flagship Smartphones for its Android operating system for a few years now. With each new Smartphone they continue to compete with the competition at an affordable price. The Google Pixel 5 is a great entry Smartphone for filmmaking. It comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G-processor; this should make easy work out of creating great cinematic video.
Its rear facing cameras include a Wide 12.2MP camera with a 27mm lens and a Ultra Wide 16MP. The front facing has a 8MP camera with a 24mm lens. There is also OIS to remove camera shake.
Video quality is good and the rear cameras will film at 4K UHD at 30/60fps, 1080p at 30/60/120/240fps. The front facing camera will film at 1080p at 30fps. The Google Pixel 5 has a maximum storage of 128GB, which should be fine for most filmmaking tasks but might not be enough for bigger projects. There is also no memory slot for extra storage. The 8GB of Ram makes it great for running multiple apps and the 90Hz screen refresh rate should be good enough for most tasks.
Price: $499.00 £499.00 € 499.00
OnePlus 8 Pro
The OnePlus 8 Pro is another great Smartphone for filmmaking. OnePlus have an excellent reputation for producing quality Android Smartphones at an affordable price. It comes with a Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865 processer, which will make easy work of most filmmaking tasks. Its front cameras include a Wide 48MP camera with a 25mm lens, a Telephoto 8MP camera with 3X optical zoom and an Ultra Wide 48MP camera with a 14mm lens.
The front facing 16MP camera will do you just fine for selfie shots, should you need to take them. This Smartphone also includes OIS to remove any camera shake you may pick up while filming.
The rear facing cameras will film in 4K UHD at 30/60fps, 1080p at 30/60/240fps, while the front facing camera will film in 1080p at 30fps. Storage is good and you can get up to 256GB with this Smartphone to store all you lovely video files. There is no memory slot for extra storage should you need it. The OnePlus 8 comes with up to 12GB of Ram, so it can easily handle running multiple apps at once. It has a 120Hz screen refresh rate, which is the same as the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Price: $799.00 £799.00 € 799.00
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
Samsung has a long history in producing excellent Smartphones for the Android operating system. The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is no exception. It is a quality Smartphone that will make easy work of your filmmaking needs. It comes with a Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865 processor, which is super-fast and will easily handle any performance tasks for making videos.
The main rear camera has a huge 108MP 26mm Wide lens and alongside it is a 12MP Telephoto camera with a 120mm lens with a 5X zoom. There is also a Ultra Wide 12MP camera with a 13mm lens for when you need to film in a confined space. The front camera is 10MP with a Wide 26mm lens. OIS is also available to take care of any camera shake should you need it.
The rear facing cameras will film in 8K UHD at 24fps, 4K at 30/60fps, 1080p at 30/60/240fps and 720p at 960fps. The front facing camera will film in 4K at 30/60fps, 1080p at 30fps. There is plenty of storage available for the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra with a whopping 512GB available. It also has a MicroSDXC memory card slot for extra storage if you need it. The 12GB of ram will easily handle any apps you may have open and the 120Hz screen refresh rate will give you a pleasurable viewing experience.
Price: $950.00 £950.00 € 950.00
Other Popular posts like this:
What is the best budget iPhone filmmaking kit?
What is the best budget Android filmmaking kit?
What is the best budget Smartphone filmmaking equipment?