This Captivating ‘Vintage’ Video Was Filmed Using a 9-Year-Old iPhone

While the majority of high-end smartphones — including Apple’s iPhone X and Samsung’s Galaxy S9 — are equipped with the latest in imaging technology capable of rendering videos in stunning 4K HD resolution, one well-known videographer used a nine-year-old iPhone model to record his latest project — and the results are actually quite impressive!

Enter the self-described cinematographer/colorist, Matteo Bertoli, who’s built a reputation for recording stunning 4K videos using the latest high-end smartphone flagships. For his latest project, Bertoli opted to shake things up a bit, scouring eBay in hopes of finding the cheapest but most capable mobile phone he could find. Ultimately, he ended up purchasing a used iPhone 3GS for just $32 to film the short clip.

“I know it sounds weird, but I think it came out really good and it was a very interesting experience,” Bertoli said in an exclusive interview with PetaPixel. “I just wanted to know if it was possible to shoot something decent with a 9 year old phone.”

Bertoli chose the iPhone 3GS, unveiled back in the summer of 2009, because it’s the first of Apple’s iPhone models capable of recording video — albeit at a significantly lower, VGA resolution of just 640 x 480 pixels.

Boasting a measly 3.15 MP camera sensor, Apple’s iPhone 3GS is capable of recording video at 480p resolution, in comparison to 4K’s standard 2160p.

The video Bertoli uploaded to YouTube this week, which you can view below, was allegedly recorded within the vicinity of Temecula, California, where the artist captured about 700 MB of content using the device before running it through the popular Mac video editing app, DaVinci Resolve.

Bertoli notes, as we can clearly discern for ourselves, that the video gives off a very unique ‘retro/vintage’ look, which actually does make it look kind of cool.

He conceded some of the obvious, of course, noting that “Dynamic range is pretty bad, especially when you compare this phone to an iPhone X or 8 Plus” — however “if we are going for a retro/vintage look I really think this phone does an absolutely fantastic job.”