I tried Final Cut Camera, and it is now my default iPhone camera app

Apple’s stock camera app is what millions of people use on a daily basis to take selfies, portraits and all kinds of videos. It’s functional, yet simple and easy to get used to. Call it the perks of having in-house hardware and software development, but this simple camera app has made the iPhone the face of mobile videography, for a few years now.

That said, once you get into more professional use-cases, the stock camera app may not always cut it. This is why Apple newest recording app focuses solely on videography, and boy does it do it well! I took the Final Cut Camera app for a spin on an iPhone 15 Pro Max, and here’s what I loved about it.

The need for Final Cut Camera

For years, professional videographers you have found the stock iPhone camera app a tad underwhelming. Some advanced video options (that you may need to quickly switch between on the go) are tucked a little too deep inside the settings app, if not completely missing!

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If you’re well versed with terms like focus peaking or manual focus control, you’ll know exactly why third-party apps like Blackmagic Camera are so popular on iPhones.  This is precisely where Apple’s Final Cut Camera steps in.

What Final Cut Camera does

A serious videography app, Final Cut Camera offers manual control over focus, exposure, resolution and frames. It also comes with some other quick toggles that let you switch between video encoding options, or even switch your audio input device on the fly.

This isn’t all. Final Cut Camera also lets you sync the recording ability of your iPhone to say, a supported iPad, allowing professionals to leverage a full-fledged multi-camera setup with ease. Although I haven’t yet had the chance to try this out in person, I assume creators and short-film makers will appreciate this massively.

Why I love the app

For starters, despite the app offering such granular control over video elements, Final Cut Camera retains Apple’s familiar design language and does not overwhelm you with too many controls. This makes it really easy to get used to, whether you have prior video experience or not.

This is something I have not been able to say for many third-party apps that offer similar functionality, discouraging those new in the video recording space (like my 2023 self). Moreover, Final Cut Camera also offers all its functionality for free.

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Even after you record clips, the preview layout is slightly different from the one in the stock camera app, letting you quickly mute a clip, scrub through it, or even share it while reviewing, all of which now require as few taps and touches as possible.

I also like the fact that Final Cut Camera maintains its own library. This means everything you shoot on Final Cut Camera is stored in its own dimension (for lack of a better word) from where they can be directly shared using AirDrop or any other cloud drive, for instance.

This means these clips do not populate your Photos app, which is an underrated, yet awesome perk. As someone who occasionally uses my iPhone for office videography, the fact that I can go through my personal pictures without scrolling through work-related footage is quite handy.

How to get Final Cut Camera

Getting your hands on the Final Cut Camera app is as easy as downloading and installing any other free app on the App Store.

Simply search for “Final Cut Camera” and hit the Get button. As this is a native, free app, there’s no cost or subscription involved either.

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Do note that Final Cut Camera doesn’t support very old iPhones. However, anything above the iPhone XS/XS Max should work. You must also be running at least iOS 17.4 for this app to work, so if your iPhone is not yet updated for some reason, that is where I’d start.

That’s it for this week, but stay tuned to Unboxed by Croma for more cool apps showcased every week.