Reality of iPhone Reporting

There are three main areas of concern over using iPhone as a tool for mobile journalism:

• Video quality. Here is a side by side test of the 4S and the Canon 5D Mk II -http://vimeo.com/30606785 shows them hard to tell apart. But there are reasonable criticisms; shaky images and a tiny lens. To address these issues there is a device which holds an large accessory lens, weighs more and has many extra points of attachment for accessories and mono/tripods. The Owle Bubo now sells under another name but is still available.

• Sound. There is an extremely expensive app, Lucie Live is Skype on steroids, which is currently used by broadcasters like the BBC. It can use the iPhone internal mic, which produces broadcastable sound. But, with an impedance matching cable from VeriCorder you can use unpowered or self powered XLR broadcast quality mics. The iPhone handles sound at above broadcast specs. If you need Phantom power then there are pre-amps you can get. I regularly use reporter, radio mics and rifle mics in my work.

• Power. There is one rule, always be charging. However, I carry a 12v battery from an alarm system which keeps going all day.

There are some great apps you can use. Best of all for journalists are from VeriCorder (http://vericorder.com). 1st Video and Voddio are $10 at entry level and provide stunningly good in-app editing. Two video and two audio channels for films and four audio channels for radio. These apps are designed to integrate with news servers as well as FTP and hosting sites like Soundcloud and YouTube etc. They can compress edits for practical filing of packages over cellular data or WiFi from the field. Bambuser and Ustream etc are good for streaming content.

You should not underestimate the ability to edit/finish in the phone. It makes turn around times incredibly fast. I covered the Digital Medi Europe 2012 conference as the sole reporter and turned out 23 interviews (55 mins total) in three days. Each package was online generally within 30 mins of the interview. I had to attend the presentation, construct and execute an interview and then upload while attending the next presentation. Not me being clever, I had a little help from a spotter, but there was no other kit I could have used to do this. http://wan-ifra.icmbusinessvideo.co.uk/

Filmic is one of the best camera apps. It provides a range of frame rates and allows control over focus, white balance and aperture. It's very easy to feed the clips into an iPad or laptop, or transfer them to VeriCorder's app.

There are other benefits to using such tools. You don't need a carnet to travel with an iPhone shooting kit, including lights. You don't need to look like a journalist when it's either dangerous or inconvenient. The camera is one of the least intimidating I have ever used. In extremis, the kit is very cheap to replace and a new phone can be brought online really fast. Newsrooms can turn stringers into their own journalists remotely - all they need do is download an app and they're up and running.

I have noticed something else too. The fact that these are very simple cameras and edit packages means that you have to get all your impact through good storytelling - and the more you do, the better you get. This translates well to bigger, better gear.

This is not the only solution for multimedia journalism - but if you have the kit and have practised using it then you have increased your range. It has its place.

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