Forget SSD’s. iPhone 16 Pro Records to SD Cards?!

iPhone 16, 16 Plus, iPhone 16 pro max, iPhone 15, iPhone 15 pro

[truecuckoo]

The log looks gorgeous. I can’t believe Apple hasn’t done a more traditional “Cinema profile” in all these years. Like Cinetone or Eterna. That auto HDR has been plaguing me ever since it came out as well.

[ShannonRawls]

I CAN CONFIRM....
I have successfully recorded to a UHS-1 Micro SD Card (not a uhs-2) using ProRes. Here is what I have/did:

- iPhone 15 Pro, white, 512GB
- SanDisk Extreme Pro 512GB Micro SD card V30 ($52 bucks on Amazon)
- UNI SD USB-C Card reader adapter ($12 bucks on Amazon)

The iPhone was set to ProRes, LOG, 4k24, main camera. (91 minutes with 512GB micro SD Card)
I formatted the card in my MacBook Pro 13" M1 to ExFAT. Popped the card in the reader, plugged the reader into the iPhone and recorded 1 full minute of video. No errors, no stopping.

Playback was smooth.

CONCLUSION:
NO, you do not need an SSD drive. And also, NO you do not need a faster UHS-2 SD Card. As long as you have a fast UHS-1 card, you can do it.

NOTE:
This will not work with 4k30 or 4k60. If you set your camera to one of those, it WILL record, but your resulting file will end up being some wonky frame rate around 24p'ish. Basically, the iPhone will drop frame rate before it stops recording. So if you need to record 4k30 or 60, you will need a UHS-2 SD Card or an SSD. But 4k24p works just fine using a cheap Micro SD Card UHS-1.

[celebrityrog]

I was already looking up USB MicroSD adapters to use with iPhone 15 Pro rather than a long cable for an external drive. I really want it to be as minimal as possible. Glad to know you can use SD/MicroSD instead of just a full size drive.

[oartehaga]

I've noticed that YouTubers who discuss mobile phone video recording never mention the jittery effect that occurs when panning left to right. It seems that the phone camera's shutter speed may be the culprit. It's frustrating to see video examples that are either in slow motion or completely still like a webcam, as this doesn't accurately represent the normal video experience. It's crazy that phone manufacturers or reviewers aren't being honest about this common issue when promoting new models. Personally, the jittery effect makes me feel dizzy. It would be great if someone could ever address this problem.

[JoshSchorle]

This was amazing! I love how everyone's immediate thought was SSD, but you're over here like "but what if SD Card?" Interesting to see it work.

[knoptop]

Hopefully this means that someone will make some sleek designed cases that will have the card reader built in.

[PopoRamos]

Was great to see that log removed the sharpened phone look! Pro res is great and all, but those data rates are insane. I would love to see LOG on regular H.265. That would be insanely useful for projects that max quality is not needed but also wont look like it was shot on a phone.

[andreaszweili]

Becca from The Verge noticed that if your medium isn't fast enough, it will fall back to 30 fps without any notification. Probably something to be aware of when recording to an SD card. They might be too slow in some cases. In addition make sure that you have the proper cable.

[pdcorlis]

Game changing! When thinking about card readers, think MagSafe attachment to phone or case.

[EluciveArtist]

I've seen someone get a magsafe sticker for their ssd and a 3 inch cable and I think that was great

[JimEdds]

Technically you only need external drive for 4K60p pro res log. 4K30P pro res log can be recorded internally. Glad I got the 1TB internal iphone

[Mickster]

I was already excited for the new phone, but seeing how you utilize this new feature and putting it to work, I’m GEEKING OUT!!! Subscribed for more future iPhone content.

[studiodsr]

The graded log footage looks so much better. Which makes me wonder… couldn’t they eventually build a graded log option into the iPhone? I see no reason why you shouldn’t be able to get that look without having to grade it yourself on a computer

[MrCameraJunkie]

Dope, thanks for sharing. The handle is a great idea. but dont forget an additional USC-C for power during use 😜👍🏽

[nicoletiana]

I got the 16 pro in natural titanium 1tb. I filmed an unboxing and first impressions on my channel. So far this phone has been comfortable in my hands and the camera quality is perfection, lol.

[FCTHETRUTH]

apple log graded footage looked AMAZING! great definitely buying the card reader for my iphone 15 pro

[jotapeoutdoors]

Also worth mentioning that they manage to remove the duplicate ghost thing when there is a direct light in the frame.

[Vastfill]

You can also use a usb c flash drive, just as convenient and even less wobbly

[deu]

Apple has decidedly distinguished the pro models from the base iPhones in the iPhone 15 range.

There's so much possibility now with the iPhone 15 pro max.

A bigger case than can house a portable external SSD and SD card and mic ports plus a small battery bank will really bring out more utility from this powerful smartphone

[RabidMonkeyOnCrack]

Something that would be even better is to just get the Sharge Disk M.2 NVMe SSD enclosure that has a USB-C male port. You can hot swap the SSDs and it’s a tiny box that’ll plug directly into the bottom of the phone, no mounting necessary and way faster write speeds than SD cards