iPhone cameras have always been praised for their excellent results in both photography and video. But that’s not the only thing that makes these phones special. The North American company has also been implementing in recent years the ability to record video in ProRes and take photos in ProRAW, two formats that give more flexibility in subsequent editing. And that, if you take photography or video seriously, can make a difference.
And now you will ask yourself: how are these formats activated? What is necessary to use them? The first thing to check is the following:
- To use ProRAW You must have an iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 13 Pro, or iPhone 13 Pro Max. That is, one of the Pro models of the last two generations.
- to record in ProRes you must have an iPhone 13 Pro or an iPhone 13 Pro Max. The model, in addition, must have at least 256 GB of capacity. That is to say: the 128 GB variant does not support these recording modes.
How to activate ProRes on a compatible iPhone
- First of all you have to go to Settings> Camera> Formats.
- Once there, check the “ProRes” box.
- Then go into the camera app.
- Switch to video recording mode.
- Before you press the button that starts the recording, look at the top of the screen. There you will see a button that says “ProRes”. Press it to activate recording in this format.
- You can now record in ProRes.
Once you finish recording in ProRes, do not forget to deactivate the format by clicking on the same button as in step 5. Otherwise, you’ll likely run out of iPhone storage quickly, as ProRes clips take up much more space than the conventional format.
BTW: ProRes does not support recording in 4K at 60 FPS. Therefore, you should set the recording to a maximum of 4K and 30 FPS.
How to activate ProRAW on a compatible iPhone
- Go to Settings> Camera> Formats.
- Once there, activate the “ProRAW” box.
- Then go into the camera app.
- Look at the top of the screen. There you will see a button that says “ProRAW”. Press it to activate recording in this format.
- You can now take photos in ProRAW.
Why don’t the iPhone 13 have ProRes if the processor is the same?
Apple has not given a reason. However, from a technical point of view, there are certain differences between the iPhone 13 and the Pro variants that could be related with the absence of ProRes from the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini models. For example:
- Both the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max have 6 GB of RAM, while the other two models in the family (13 and 13 mini) have 4 GB.
- The most advanced models also have a five-core GPU, while the other two have a quad. cores.
ProRes is also a way to differentiate the standard models from the Pro models as far as catalog is concerned. For most people, recording in ProRes is a waste of memory. Only for the most demanding users who plan to use the iPhone as a professional recording tool does it really make sense.
Why isn’t ProRes supported on the 128GB iPhone 13 Pro or Pro Max?
One minute of 10-bit ProRes HDR in 4K occupies 6 GB, according to Apple estimates. Therefore, about 20 minutes of video recorded in this format would be enough to occupy the 128 GB that the iPhone has of total capacity.
The reason, therefore, is none other than good sense. Recording multiple video clips in ProRes using a 128GB iPhone would be next to impossible.
Why do neither the iPhone 13 nor the iPhone 12 have ProRAW?
In this case, the reasoning is similar to ProRes. The only technical reason that could explain this situation is RAM memory. Both the iPhone 12 and 13 have 4 GB of RAM, while the respective Pro versions have 6 GB.
If you want to shoot RAW images with these models -although not in ProRAW-, you can use applications such as Halidewhich also offers much more control over parameters such as ISO, exposure, etc.