Jonathan Reed

85 posts on MacStories since February 2024

Jonathan is a freelance graphic designer. As well as being a long-time Apple user he is a huge film and television aficionado and is very interested in the intersection between the two mediums and technology. He lives in London with his wife and daughter and is writing his bio in the third person.
jonathan@macstories.net

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Apple Announces Final Cut Camera 2.0 with Support for ProRes RAW and Genlock

Today, in tandem with new video recording capabilities and lenses in the iPhone 17 Pro line, Apple announced version 2.0 of Final Cut Camera, its pro video recording app for the iPhone.

The update introduces support for ProRes RAW and genlock, which the new iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are able to record in. ProRes RAW is an industry-standard way to record video, allowing the capture of RAW data, which unlocks incredible control of recorded video in post-production. In upcoming releases of Final Cut Pro for Mac and Final Cut Pro for iPad, exposure, color temperature, tint, and demosaicing can all be adjusted on ProRes RAW footage.

Genlock, a process of synchronizing multiple video sources by having them lock onto an external reference signal, will allow filmmakers to make frame-accurate edits in a fraction of the time it would take when doing so manually.

As part of the recording process, version 2.0 supports open gate recording, allowing the use of the whole camera sensor to capture video, instead of the current cropped version. This opens up possibilities for reframing shots, stabilizing footage, and setting final aspect ratios without reducing the quality of the image.

As well as these announcements, Final Cut Camera introduces the following new functionalities:

  • Support for recording in portrait and landscape using the new square sensor-equipped front-facing camera. The new camera can shoot portrait or landscape video without the need to rotate the device
  • Manual adjustment of the new front-facing camera on the iPhone 17 Pro
  • Support for Apple Log 2, which features a wider color gamut
  • New Timecode options like Time of Day or other external timecodes.
  • Support for recording ProRes up to 4K60 fps with the new 200mm telephoto lens on the iPhone 17 Pro

Final Cut Camera will be available later this month.

Apple’s September 2025 Event: All the Small Things (Bento Box Version)

Several things are ubiquitous with Apple Events. Tim Cook’s “Good Morning!”, Craig Federighi being, well, Craig Federighi, and the keynote bento boxes. Offering up a summary to each keynote section, these bento box slides provide a great way to recap a new product.

So, after today’s bumper announcements, let’s take a look at today’s bento box slides.

iPhone 17

iPhone Air

iPhone 17 Pro

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A New Event Channel, Obsidian Frustrations, and More

Among the highlights on the Club MacStories+ Discord: The new #awe-dropping-event channel was busy with predictions and wishes. I’m looking forward to chatting with members there during the event this Tuesday at 10:00 AM Pacific Time. (Link) Member tommertron started a conversation about the frustrating lack of AI options in Obsidian. (Link) Antonio reported the...

Home Screen Titling, Off-Hand Phone Usage, and More

Among the highlights on the Club MacStories+ Discord: Tommertron shared a clever idea to avoid getting lost amongst multiple home screens of apps. (Link) Paul showed off his new home screen, which sparked a conversation about using your phone with your non-dominant hand. (Link) Nicolas captured some incredible moonrise shots. (Link) Want to join the...

HomeKit App Roundup

While writing my review of the Aqara G410 Video Doorbell last week, I found myself browsing through the many third-party HomeKit apps available on the App Store. I was surprised to see a couple of clever new ones, as well as to rediscover significantly updated versions of apps I hadn’t touched in months. Here’s a...

One Month with the Aqara G410 Video Doorbell

Last month, after an advanced preview at CES back in January, Aqara released an update to its G4 smart video doorbell dubbed the Doorbell Camera Hub G410 Select. I had been keeping my eye out for this release ever since its announcement, and it just so happened to coincide with the passing of my existing smart doorbell from Netatmo. That was more than enough reason to purchase the G410, and over a month of daily usage, I’ve been enjoying several of the camera’s excellent new features while also wishing for some improvements in other areas.

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Macrowave

A few weeks ago, I wrote about an update to one of my favorite apps (at least design-wise), Poolside FM. In talking about it, I marvelled at the minor design details and reminded myself that I need to use more apps whose UI design delights me. Enter Macrowave, the new app from developer Lucas Fischer,...

Browser Engines, Funky Keyboards, and More

Among the highlights on the Club MacStories+ Discord: T.G. Cid made a funky new keyboard. (Link) Members compared the battery health on their iPhones. It’s more interesting than it sounds. (Link) Niléane’s post about Japan forcing Apple to lift restrictions on browser engines on iOS started a discussion on the subject. This is a good...