YouTuber shows how iPhone 11 Pro's camera stacks up against a $10k+ RED Camera

iPhone 11 Pro camera (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

iPhone 11 Pro has the best video performance of an iPhone yet.
YouTuber Eric Thayne compared the phone with a RED Scarlet-W 5K Cinema Camera.
The iPhone does well, but it's no replacement for the RED.

At this point we can all agree that iPhone 11 Pro has some pretty amazing cameras. Both stills and videos shot using an it will look pretty great, especially when uploaded to the internet where compression kills pixels. But YouTuber Eric Thayne wanted to see just how well the iPhone can compete with a RED Scarlet-W 5K Cinema Camera.

That camera costs around $10,000 without all of the required attachments, by the way.

We'd strongly suggest you watch the video all the way through because it's well worth 15 minutes of your time. In it, Thayne explains not only how the two cameras are similar, but also how they are different. Ultimately there are situations where you might not be able to tell the difference between footage shot on either one. But there are others where the iPhone falls short – like depth of field, for example.

Most noticable here is how Thayne sees things differently to non-pro users. It's interesting to see someone who isn't a tech reviewer take a look at something like this, giving their perspective as they go. People who shoot video all day and every day will see where the differences are, yet we might not.

Matt says it best.

Things like complimenting the softness in the RED image compared to the over-sharpened iPhone footage was really a step back moment for me. A tech-fopcused review would have zoomed in on the details and said “the iPhone has more details and is therefore better.”Things like complimenting the softness in the RED image compared to the over-sharpened iPhone footage was really a step back moment for me. A tech-fopcused review would have zoomed in on the details and said “the iPhone has more details and is therefore better.”— Matt Birchler (@mattbirchler) October 11, 2019 October 11, 2019

Really though, none of this matters. The videos created on an iPhone look great, especially in the places they'll be used – home videos, Instagram stories, etc. But if you're filming that new action flick, you might want to upgrade.

Watch the video and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.