If you want the absolute highest quality video you can get out of an iPhone, this is it. In this guide, I’m going to show you how to use the Final Cut Camera app to film in ProRes RAW on the iPhone 17 Pro, which gives you more dynamic range and grading flexibility than anything else Apple currently offers on a phone.

This is for filmmakers who want the most control possible, whether you’re using your iPhone as a main camera, a B cam, or something you want to intercut with footage from a larger cinema camera.

Before we jump in, a quick heads up. I’ve put together a set of color presets called Who Is Matt LUTs, and I’ve tested them extensively with log footage from the iPhone. They work great with Final Cut Camera, the Blackmagic Camera app, and pretty much any camera that shoots log. If you want consistent, natural color no matter what camera you’re filming on, I’ll have those linked below.

What You Need Before Opening the App

Before you even launch Final Cut Camera, there are two things you need if you want to record ProRes RAW. One is mandatory, the other is not required, but I strongly recommend it.

External SSD (Required)

The iPhone 17 Pro cannot record ProRes RAW to internal storage. It has to be recorded to an external SSD. There’s no way around this.

You’ll also need a cable and some way to mount the SSD to your phone. I’ll link to SSDs, cables, and MagSafe mounts that I’ve tested and know work well, because not all drives and cables are fast or reliable enough for ProRes RAW recording.

Stabilization or Gimbal (Highly Recommended)

When you record in ProRes RAW, the iPhone disables all image stabilization. That means even tiny hand movements will show up in your footage.

You can use a phone gimbal like the DJI Osmo Mobile or Hohem iSteady V3 Ultra, or you can go a bit more extreme like I do and use an RS4 Mini with a phone mount. Just keep in mind that most phone gimbals do not play nicely with MagSafe SSD mounts. If you’ve got an SSD dangling off the phone, it can completely throw off stabilization.

Because of that, I’ll also link to some ultra-compact SSDs that are small enough to work with certain phone gimbals while still being fast enough for ProRes RAW.

Enabling ProRes RAW in Final Cut Camera

Once you open Final Cut Camera, there’s one very important thing you need to do first.

Plug in your external SSD before changing any codec settings.

If you try to enable ProRes RAW without an SSD connected, the app will throw an error and switch you back to a non-RAW format. The app has to detect the SSD before it will even let you select ProRes RAW.

With the SSD connected, you can either open the settings menu in the top left and choose your codec, format, and color under Preferences, or you can do what I do and tap the settings bubble on the left side of the preview. That’s the faster option.

From there, you can choose Apple ProRes RAW or ProRes RAW HQ.

ProRes RAW vs ProRes RAW HQ

I know what you’re thinking. If HQ is available, why not choose it?

Here’s the reality. Regular ProRes RAW is already a massive, 12-bit RAW file with extremely high image quality and huge file sizes. The jump from ProRes RAW to ProRes RAW HQ increases file size even more, but the quality difference is not worth it in almost every real-world scenario.

Unless a client specifically demands it, or you’re somehow filming a Hollywood feature on an iPhone, ProRes RAW HQ is overkill. Stick with regular ProRes RAW. The quality is excellent.

Choosing Where Files Are Saved

Once ProRes RAW is enabled, you’ll see a new storage bubble at the bottom of the app. In my case, it says 8TB Editing because that’s the size of the drive I’m using, but for you it may be different depending on the size of your drive.

Tap that bubble and make sure the app is set to record to the SSD. You won’t be able to record ProRes RAW to internal storage anyway, but it’s still good to double check.

One limitation to be aware of is that you cannot choose which folder ProRes RAW files are saved to. Final Cut Camera automatically creates a DCIM folder in the root of the SSD and saves everything there.

This is honestly pretty annoying. The Blackmagic Camera app lets you choose exactly where your files go, and I really hope Apple adds this feature in a future update.

If you’re confused about where your footage is, just look for the DCIM folder on your SSD.

Resolution, Frame Rates, and Camera Limitations

Back in the format settings, you can choose between 17:9 and Open Gate. I recommend 17:9 for most projects.

You can also choose your frame rate, but keep in mind that camera limitations still apply. You can switch between the 13mm, 24mm, and 100mm cameras using the buttons on the left side of the screen, but only the 24mm main camera supports 4K at 120fps.

The ultra-wide and telephoto cameras are limited to 4K at 60fps when recording ProRes RAW.

ProRes RAW With the Front Camera (Yes, Really)

Here’s something genuinely cool.

In the top right of the screen, there’s a camera flip button that lets you switch from the rear cameras to the front selfie camera. And yes, you can record ProRes RAW with the front camera in Final Cut Camera.

This is a big deal because the Blackmagic Camera app only allows ProRes RAW recording on the rear cameras. If you want to film yourself in ProRes RAW, Final Cut Camera is currently your only option.

Using LUT Preview for Better Monitoring

When you first look at your ProRes RAW footage in the app, it’s going to look extremely flat and washed out. That’s normal. It’s log footage.

If you want a more accurate preview while filming, tap the settings bubble on the left and change LUT Preview from Off to LOG2 to HDR.

This does not affect the recorded footage. It’s only a monitoring preview so you can better judge exposure and contrast while shooting.

Manual Exposure and Pro Controls

Tap the sliders icon in the top left to access additional controls. Here you can lock orientation, switch to manual focus by tapping AF, and dial in white balance.

One setting I really want to highlight is exposure. At first, you’ll only see a brightness slider, but if you tap the “A” button at the bottom, it switches to full manual mode.

In manual mode, you can directly control shutter speed and ISO, which is what you want as a filmmaker.

You can also enable the overexposure indicator in the Tools tab of the settings menu. This shows clipped highlights in red, which can be helpful, but it can also be distracting if a lot of the image is blown out. I usually toggle it on and off as needed.

Dynamic Range: Final Cut Camera vs Blackmagic Camera

Dynamic range is how much highlight and shadow detail a camera can record, and this is where Final Cut Camera falls behind.

After a lot of testing, I’ve found that you get less dynamic range in ProRes RAW with Final Cut Camera compared to the Blackmagic Camera app.

Blackmagic appears to be using a multi-exposure technique that combines multiple exposures into a single file, giving you roughly two extra stops of dynamic range. Final Cut Camera does not do this.

You can see this clearly when comparing highlight detail, like tree branches against a bright sky. The Blackmagic footage retains more detail.

If you want to understand how this works in more detail, I highly recommend checking out my ProRes RAW Blackmagic Camera app tutorial, which I’ll link below.

Which App Should You Use?

If you’re filming in a controlled studio environment, it honestly doesn’t matter which app you use. Both will give you great results.

If you’re filming outdoors, I recommend using the Blackmagic Camera app for the extra dynamic range, unless you specifically need to use the front camera in ProRes RAW. In that case, Final Cut Camera is your only option.

Final Thoughts

That’s how you shoot ProRes RAW on the iPhone 17 Pro using Final Cut Camera.

If you haven’t checked out my color presets yet, they work incredibly well with iPhone log footage and with just about any other camera you might be using.

In addition also include a link to my Edit Videos Like a Pro guide. It’s completely free and covers some of the biggest lessons it took me years to learn as a video editor.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one.