Blackmagic Camera for iOS 3.5 is out with support for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. The free update adds manual control of the variable aperture on the 48MP Fusion main camera and records Apple ProRes straight into Pro Video Storage.
Blackmagic Design announced the release last week. The app requires iOS 18 or later. It first arrived in September 2023 as a way to turn an iPhone into a digital film camera.
The new version 3.5 notes list five changes:
- Support for iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max
- Control of the variable aperture on the 48MP Fusion main camera to adjust depth of field and exposure
- Apple ProRes recording directly to Pro Video Storage
- Cinematic mode video recording
- General performance and stability improvements
The Update Gives iPhone 18 Pro Owners Manual Control of the Variable Aperture
The iPhone 18 Pro launch put two phones on sale on September 18, the iPhone 18 Pro at $1,199 and the iPhone 18 Pro Max at $1,299. The variable aperture on both phones moves between f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8, and f/4.0.
Blackmagic’s notes say the app can now control that aperture to adjust depth of field and exposure. It joins the manual controls the app already offers for frame rate, shutter angle, white balance, and ISO. Wide open at f/1.48, the camera gives a shallower depth of field. Stopped down to f/4.0, more of the scene stays sharp.
The notes don’t say which aperture settings the app exposes, or whether the aperture can change while a clip is recording.
ProRes Recording on the iPhone 18 Pro Starts With Reserving Pro Video Storage
On the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, ProRes will not record until storage is set aside for it. Apple’s iPhone User Guide lays out the steps. Open Settings, tap Camera, tap Formats, and turn on Apple ProRes. Then tap Configure Pro Video Storage and choose how much storage to reserve. This only has to be done the first time.
Blackmagic Camera 3.5 can now record ProRes directly into that reserved storage. Apple says ProRes files can be up to 30 times larger than HEVC files, so the reservation is worth sizing before a shoot. Buyers still deciding on capacity can read which iPhone 18 Pro storage size to buy, since the phones now start at 256GB and top out at 2TB.
Apple’s limits still apply to third-party apps, with ProRes recording up to 4K at 30 fps to internal storage and 4K at 120 fps on the iPhone 18 Pro models only with compatible external storage. The release notes don’t mention ProRes RAW or Apple Log 2, which the app added in version 3.1 alongside iPhone 17 support.
The app runs on iPhone XS and newer, so older phones can still install it.
Download Blackmagic Camera from App Store
P.S. check out our guide on how to get the iPhone 18 Pro film look on older iPhones.
2 comments