I have seen in a few places now about how the new iPhone 3Gs is a great replacement for those "clunky" big professional cameras, and I thought I would hop on the band wagon with a few thoughts of my own...
XLR audio inputs are stupid, a 1/8" mini mic input is the GREATEST thing EVER. The whole self-locking thing on XLRs is just extra hassle. Anyone who warns that a 1/8" input can easily fail if it is accidentally pulled out of place, are the same people who say "Duck and Cover" won't save you from a nuclear bomb.
Two separate audio tracks? Who thought that was a good idea? Out in the field I want mono everything. Mix that wireless and camera mic together! Two person interview is of no concern because every human being on the planet speaks at the same level. Mayor at the podium? I think I should hear the camera guy next to me breathing just as much as I hear the Mayor. And if you don't like it, I'll just use the "remove Mono" filter in the audio effects, it is right between the "remove echo" and "make better" filters in Final Cut.
While we're talking about audio, why even bother with professional mics? Heck I'll just use the on iPhone mic, if I can't hear the Mayor at the podium I will just give running commentary, or fix it in post. It is always much easier to fix things in post anyways.
Now timecode? Man I have always hated that thing. Completely useless.
Setting TC to time-of-day is just something I would say to confuse the intern. We faked that whole reporter being able to take notes by just looking at the clock instead of asking me what the TC was.
Whats next... video quality? Yes video quality. The picture quality of 3CCDs on a HPX3000 or 3MOS on a HPX300 (and nearly any other Panny, Sony, Canon, JVC, Ikegami, etc.) always bugged me. I really like it when there is more movement from jello than from the objects in the frame moving.
I want my ENTIRE newscast's picture to be floating around like we are about to go into a dream sequence on a bad TV show!
Manual white balance? See above & fix it in post.
Batteries? Get rid of that "S." Purchasing extra batteries was just a scam. I am sure that I will be fine and never miss a shot with one (and only one) internal battery that will stay charged for 24 hours if unused, and drained in under 24 minutes if I use two of the built in features.
If I want have any control on my lens I'll just attach the iPhone to a Letus. That will be a piece of cake since those adapters are much easier to use than just having glass that attaches directly to the camera.
Ejecting media? Such a thing of the past. I have always hated tapes & flash cards, and being able to record for hours & hours by just replacing media in a matter of seconds. I don't want to hand off my raw footage to a reporter, editor or producer in tape or card form, when it comes time to log & edit, I want to completely lock up my camera from being able to be used as a camera.
Wait a second! Why have I bothered to edit video all of these years? Boy have I been a fool.
Now that I'm empowered by the iPhone, I will NEVER edit anything again. Raw video is always more interesting to watch. Voice over, cut aways, etc... forget about it, I'm uploading my raw video directly to YouTube, and since it is on YouTube, people will know it is better than "Gone with the Wind" and billions of people will watch it, and I will become famous and YouTube will pay me tons of money for just how great I am.
Man, this iPhone is totally a game changer.
