iPhone 17 Pro is finally out and goes on sale from 19 September. While the phone offers multiple powerful camera-focused features, there are five in particular that truly set it apart and make it a cinema-grade, pocket-sized solution. Why? Because it includes several capabilities that are usually found only in high-end cinema cameras, and even some professional consumer mirrorless cameras costing upwards of two lakh rupees do not support them.
Here are five features we discovered that may have gone unnoticed. Chances are you may not even care about these, as they are primarily intended for professional users, but if you are interested, read on.
The iPhone 17 Pro supports ProRes RAW
This is a video codec typically found in high-end cameras. This codec captures a large amount of data, designed for post-production. You can capture ProRes RAW footage on your iPhone 17 Pro by attaching an SSD, then import it into DaVinci Resolve to grade and create cinematic looks. This brings professional-level capabilities to a smartphone, something that has not been possible on Android phones so far.
Apple Log 2
With the iPhone 15 Pro, Apple introduced the ability to shoot in Log, and now the iPhone 17 Pro features Apple Log 2. Apple says this format supports a wider colour gamut, opening up extensive grading possibilities in post-production.
OpenGate on iPhone
OpenGate Recording allows you to capture video from the entire sensor, producing much wider footage. This means you can crop a portrait video from a landscape recording without shooting in multiple aspect ratios. This is a popular feature in cinema-grade cameras and makes content creation more flexible.
Genlock
Genlock and Timecode support are also present on the iPhone 17 Pro, facilitated by the Blackmagic Camera Pro Dock. This enables effects like bullet-time, where there are multiple cameras around a subject. Apple demonstrated this in a promo video, syncing multiple iPhones in a circle around a subject. This is a professional cinematic technique now achievable on the iPhone.
4K 120fps Dolby Vision video
4K 120fps support was introduced with the iPhone 16 Pro, and continues with the iPhone 17 Pro. While 8K video is not supported, this feature allows you to slow down footage while retaining high resolution. What’s interesting is: it is rare to see the combination even in some prosumer mirrorless cameras.
