BMC App - iPhone 15 Pro Max - Shallow Depth of Field?

Hey there,

I'm sure this question has been asked before, but I failed to find the answer, so I'm hoping somebody could provide me with what I need to know. It's about my newly purchased iPhone 15 Pro Max. After getting it, I downloaded the Blackmagic Camera App, but not before giving the native camera app that comes with the iPhone 15 Pro Max a try.

One of the best features, in my honest opinion, that the iPhone 15 Pro Max comes with is the Cinematic Mode, providing the view with a shallow depth of field. However, when using the Blackmagic Camera App, I've yet to figure out how to apply that same shallow depth of field.

I've been told that I need to make a decision on whether I prefer the vast amount of control the Blackmagic Camera App provides or the shallow depth of field that the native iPhone 15 Pro Max offers straight out of the box. I'm not entirely sure if this is indeed the case, because that would be a bit of a shame.

To some extent, the shallow depth of field does seem to work when I, for instance, select the 24mm lens and get in really close to whatever I want to view, tap the screen to focus on whatever I've placed my camera in front of, and notice that whatever is behind the object I've told the BMC app to focus on is now slightly out of focus. However, that seems to be the extent of it.

Is there any way I can make the BMC app function like the iPhone 15 Pro Max cinematic mode?

Kind regards!

*edit >

I appreciate all the replies, thank you. It seems the video regarding the anamorphic lens offers a potential solution, although it does result in a significantly bulkier setup. I've also explored DOF Adapter solutions, of which there are some, but again, they tend to add bulk to the smartphone experience. I know it's better than nothing, but... I'm hopeful that perhaps Blackmagic might make it possible to utilize Cinematic Mode directly within their own app. Is it extremely unlikely that this will happen?

The Blackmagic Camera app is only 6 months old. Currently, the app largely mirrors the user interface and features found in a Blackmagic camera. Let’s see what happens at NAB two weeks from now.

In the meantime, there are several videos made with the iPhone 15 that were made by professionals. As I understand it, Apple’s own camera app was used extensively for these. Two notable uses of outside gear are Tilta’s short film The X Gift and Apple’s own Little Garlic, where Claudio Miranda and Cecilia Zhang made some use of Tilta’s Nucleus Nano II for focus pulling. If Tilta’s device is ready for iPhone use by mere mortals, unassisted by software developers on site people aren’t yet demonstrating it on YouTube.

All of the Apple videos, plus the Tilta video and Strada’s new video, which focuses on depth of field and uses Beastgrip’s Depth of Field Adapter Mark 3, are posted in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=191338

Behind the scenes videos about these films are also linked in that thread.

On thing to think about is the role of depth of field in these films. It’s also interesting to learn about the history of depth of field in filmmaking. Interestingly, the current issue of American Cinematographer (April 2024) has an article about the decision to use deep depth of field for the extensive landscape shots in the feature film The Promised Land.

Since you’re particularly interested in depth of field, you might be interested in the video that Strada posted last week:

How We Got an iPhone to Shoot with Cinema Anamorphic Lenses

This is Beastgrip’s DOF Adapter Mk 3, which is shown in the Strada thumbnail: https://beastgrip.com/collections/shop- ... dapter-mk3

To some extent, the shallow depth of field does seem to work when I, for instance, select the 24mm lens and get in really close to whatever I want to view, tap the screen to focus on whatever I've placed my camera in front of, and notice that whatever is behind the object I've told the BMC app to focus on is now slightly out of focus. However, that seems to be the extent of it.

Is there any way I can make the BMC app function like the iPhone 15 Pro Max cinematic mode?

Just to clarify, these are two different kinds of DoF. The 'cinematic' mode is simulating DoF with help of the LiDAR, which is sometimes not looking perfect on fuzzy edges, like hair. But then, that's why you can even modify it in post.
But close-up shots with 24mm in BM's app are showing true, optical DoF. The 120mm would show even more, but can only be focused to about 1.5m. The tiny sensors don't produce any stronger out of focus blur without software tricks.

I appreciate all the replies, thank you. It seems the video regarding the anamorphic lens offers a potential solution, although it does result in a significantly bulkier setup. I've also explored DOF Adapter solutions, of which there are some, but again, they tend to add bulk to the smartphone experience. I know it's better than nothing, but... I'm hopeful that perhaps Blackmagic might make it possible to utilize Cinematic Mode directly within their own app. Is it extremely unlikely that this will happen?

No, that should be possible.