The iPhone 148MP 8 Pro’s main camera now has a physical variable aperture, with four settings f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8 and f/4. The wider setting
(f/1.48) allows more light into the sensor and can give a subject more separation from the background (narrow depth of field); a narrower setting (f/4) increases depth of field, useful when several people or parts of a demonstration must remain sharp, or when flilming landscapes.
Apple has also added manual controls for shutter speed and white balance, plus a histogram to help judge exposure.
For teams already using a more advanced editing workflow, Apple Log 2 and ProRes offer greater control over the finished image, though they also require more care with colour grading and require more storage so we strongly suggest filming directly onto an SSD drive.
Our verdict: these are meaningful tools for an experienced smartphone filmmaker. They will be most useful to teams that know why they are choosing a particular aperture or recording format, rather than leaving every decision to automatic settings.