iPhone cameras have always been praised for their excellent results in photography and video. But that’s not the only thing that makes these phones unique. The North American company has also recently implemented the ability to record video in ProRes and take photos in ProRAW, two formats that provide more flexibility when editing later. And that, if you take photography or video seriously, can make the difference.
And now you will ask yourself: how are these formats activated? What do you need to use them? The first thing to check is:
- Utilize 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.
- Save in ProRes; you must have an iPhone 13 Pro or an iPhone 13 Pro Max. The model, moreover, must have at least 256 GB of capacity. That is, the 128 GB variant does not support these recording modes.
How to Enable ProRes on a Compatible iPhone
- First, you need to go to Settings > Camera > Formats.
- Once there, check the “ProRes” box.
- Then go to the camera app.
- Switch to video recording mode.
- Before pressing the button that starts recording, look at the top of the screen. There you will see a button that says “ProRes.” Tap it to enable recording in that format.
- You can now record in ProRes.
Once you have finished recording in ProRes, don’t forget to disable the format by clicking the same button as in step 5. Otherwise, you may quickly run out of iPhone storage because 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 Enable ProRAW on a Compatible iPhone?
- Go to Settings > Camera > Formats.
- Once there, enable the “ProRAW” box.
- Then go to the camera app.
- Look at the top of the screen. There you will see a button that says “ProRAW.” Tap it to enable recording in that format.
- You can now shoot in ProRAW.
Why doesn’t iPhone 13 have ProRes if the processor is the same?
Apple did not give a reason. However, from a technical point of view, some differences between iPhone 13 and Pro variants might be related to the absence of ProRes from the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini models. For example:
- The iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max have 6 GB of RAM, while the other models in the family (13 and 13 mini) have 4 GB.
- The more advanced models also have a five-core GPU, while the other two have a quad. Cores.
ProRes is also a way to differentiate standard models from Pro models regarding the catalog. For most people, recording in ProRes is a waste of memory. This makes sense only for the most demanding users considering using the iPhone as a professional recording tool.
Why is ProRes not supported on the iPhone 13 Pro or Pro Max 128GB?
According to Apple estimates, one minute of 10-bit ProRes HDR in 4K occupies 6 GB. Therefore, about 20 minutes of video recorded in this format would be enough to occupy the 128 GB of the iPhone has total capacity.
The reason is, therefore, nothing other than common sense. Recording multiple video clips in ProRes using a 128GB iPhone would be next to impossible.
Why does neither iPhone 13 nor iPhone 12 have ProRAW?
In this case, the reasoning is similar to ProRes. The only technical reason that could explain this situation is the RAM memory. The iPhone 12 and 13 feature 4GB of RAM, while the respective Pro versions feature 6GB.
If you want to take RAW images with these models – but not ProRAW – you can use apps like Halide, which also offers much more control over settings like ISO, exposure, etc.
