If you follow mobile video & filmmaking then you likely know that the "king" of the video camera apps today is the Blackmagic Camera app. But a few years ago it was FiLMiC Pro. So things can and do change, and sometimes very quickly.
The Kino app is from the guys at Halide who make one of the best photo apps for iPhone. So when they announced they were creating a video camera app I was intrigued, however, I wan't that interested in actually using it as I am a convert to the Blackmagic Camera app (I was a FiLMiC Pro user for many years before), so I wasn't looking to change.
But after trying it I have to say it's a nicely designed app and does now have a place in my mobile filmmaking app arsenal.
Check out this video to see it in action and compared to Blackmagic:
For me it's a great "in between" app. By that I mean it's better than using the native camera app, but it's not the same as using Blackmagic with all of its professional control.
So I use it when I'm shooting more casual stuff - often using auto settings - but not when I'm doing anything more involved or when I need precise control. But I should note, you CAN use it in a professional way and ultimately get the same or similar results to the Blackmagic Camera app. It's just I prefer the Blackmagic app and the more granular control aspects, but for some that can be overkill.
The other thing is that the Blackmagic Camera app is FREE. So for a lot of folks that makes a big difference. However, not for me as the Kino app at the time of this writing is only a one-time payment of $9.99. If they were a subscription app, then that would be a factor (and that's a big reason FiLMiC Pro lost their market share as they went to a subscription model - and also the Blackmagic app really hurt them too).
Remember that this "free" model is what Blackmagic does and they have the company size to do it. They have a free version of Davinci Resolve too. Back in the day that literally cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to run in a post house. Today it's free and runs on an iPad. And the reason they do this is to get customers into their ecosystem and sell them other stuff (mainly hardware like switchers or cameras, etc.). But even the Blackmagic Camera app is a gateway to their other products like Blackmagic Cloud, which I now subscribe to (it's only $5/month).
At any rate, they have an advantage over the competition in that regard and a lot of people like free apps. But again, the Kino app is very affordable and only a one-time purchase, so I think it's a good deal.
Ultimately I think both of these apps are very good and for me really serve different purposes. But either can be used to shoot amazing footage and so just choose the one that works best for you.
Download the iOS apps:
And note: Blackmagic is also available for Android.
Do you use either of these apps? If so, which do you prefer? Let me know in the comments below or hit me up on YouTube.
Happy filmmaking!
-BC
P.S. If you'd like to learn how to use the Blackmagic Camera app you might considering enrolling in my course here.
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