stephen

I have used both VND and fixed ND. VNDs are OK when shooting RAW as it is relatively easy to correct the color shift.
For fixed NDs always use 180 degree shutter when shooting at 24fps and depending on the available light choose an ND which is a little bit stronger and adjust (usually raise) ISO for correct exposure. Or vary with aperture if possible. For examaple if I shoot at f8  may raise it to f11 or lower it to f5.6. If aperture is open and can't close it for esthetic reasons (blurred background) then ISO is the only option.   You don't have to worry about base ISO because all modern cameras have huge latitude. Several stops (3-5) above and under the base ISO. Even if you overexpose 1-2-3 stops or under expose 1-2 stops you don't lose information or dynamic range. See for example Panasonic S1/S5 tests in 10bit 4:2:2 V-Log internal on slashcam.de or this test
 
Normally use no more than 3 NDs and sometimes even 2. 3, 6, 8/9 stops, or only 3, 6 stops and then by stacking both 3 and 6 stops ND get 9 stops. This works with most lenses but not all. Vignetting at the corners is not a problem with most lenses because shoot at 2:1 ratio for video and corners are usually cut out of the picture.

Well you can buy and try iPhone 15 as your main camera. There is no better way but to try it personally. My limited experience with iPhone 14 Pro and more extensive with Android RAW showed me that smartphones as cameras have many limitations. The list is long. At the end it is a simple choice: Can you live with and/or work around all those limitations or not. For me answer is clear: I can't and don't want to. I prefer the inconvenience to lug 1 to 2 kg of equipment more for several kilometers, but have great experience shooting rather than the other way around. Here are some examples: When testing iPhone 14 Pro as a camera I used it as GPS navigation too. Mounted on the front dashboard of my car in sunny spring day with temperature around 25-27 degree Celsius it overheated and shut down. Had to stop my car and swap it with my Android phone. It took more than 30 min for IPhone to cool down and be usable again. If you want to have some decent footage you still need ND filters, this means a special case or cage for iPhone as minimum plus probably a handle. How long will the battery last? So maybe an external battery too ? Or external SSD ? But both can't be used at the same time. 🙂  You see, if you want a semi decent footage and shooting experience, you still have to prepare and take several other items, spend time planning, etc. With time and experience for me the weight of my camera bag up to a certain limit is at the bottom of my inconveniences and concerns.
As a camera that is always with me, in my pocket though latest generation of Android phones or iPhone 15 Pro are something that I can't resist. 🙂 Another case to use them would be when I go out for a day or more and am not sure do I want to shoot something or not, will I have the time or not. Having a smartphone as a camera + maybe a case with ND filters for those casual shoots is great.

Realistic assessment of iPhone 15 pro with Apple Log vs pro Camera in good lighting conditions. Good review and tips IMHO.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SiqKfm-8kA
Everybody is trying to push some LUTs but you don't need them There is an official Apple Log to REC 709 transform LUT and CST in latest Davinci Resolve that supports Apple Log and works very well

Panasonic S5 II + BRAW vs BMPCC 6K Pro FF - as expected practically no difference in image quality. Downloadable source files are available too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuzKtL8p5M8a
 

We are different and have different tastes. I like fall in Colorado video. There is some grain applied, color grading is very good IMHO, skin tones are good for me too, overall good image quality. Compare it to other iPhone 15 video posted here and this one for me ranks at the top 10% as image quality. This is exactly the occasion I would use a smartphone, when you are with friends and/or family and your focus are the people and your journey together. Filming is a side job just for memories and some enjoyment of the hobby or profession. For the purpose this video is well done!
As a camera and what it can do iPhone 15 Pro is expensive but for smartphone with ton of features, usability and a camera that is in your pocket IMHO it is worth the money. If I am at the end of my 5 year smartphone upgrade cycle it would be on my list for sure.
Would I buy LG V60 instead for Android RAW video? No. If I choose Android for RAW video it would Xiaomi 13 Ultra or at least Pro. After 5 years with the same smartphone I want the latest and greatest that shoots good video too, I want a great smartphone that has all the bell and whistles. It’s another story how many of them I will use. 🙂  Price may seem steep but let make a simple calculation. 1100 Euro for Xiomi 13 Ultra or 1400 For IPhone 15 Pro for 5 years / 12 months is 1100/5/12 = 18.3, 1400/5/12 = 23.3. 18 to 24 euros (or dollars) per month for the most used and also useful device is worth it for me. A smartphone is much more of a tool that I use every day, rather than a gadget. And I can save much more money from other activities and things.  
For me it would be a consumerism if I upgrade or purchase latest and greatest DJI drones each year for example if drones are not my business or profession.

We are different and have different tastes. I like fall in Colorado video. There is some grain applied, color grading is very good IMHO, skin tones are good for me too, overall good image quality. Compare it to other iPhone 15 video posted here and this one for me ranks at the top 10% as image quality. This is exactly the occasion I would use a smartphone, when you are with friends and/or family and your focus are the people and your journey together. Filming is a side job just for memories and some enjoyment of the hobby or profession. For the purpose this video is well done!
As a camera and what it can do iPhone 15 Pro is expensive but for smartphone with ton of features, usability and a camera that is in your pocket IMHO it is worth the money. If I am at the end of my 5 year smartphone upgrade cycle it would be on my list for sure.
Would I buy LG V60 instead for Android RAW video? No. If I choose Android for RAW video it would Xiaomi 13 Ultra or at least Pro. After 5 years with the same smartphone I want the latest and greatest that shoots good video too, I want a great smartphone that has all the bell and whistles. It’s another story how many of them I will use. 🙂  Price may seem steep but let make a simple calculation. 1100 Euro for Xiomi 13 Ultra or 1400 For IPhone 15 Pro for 5 years / 12 months is 1100/5/12 = 18.3, 1400/5/12 = 23.3. 18 to 24 euros (or dollars) per month for the most used and also useful device is worth it for me. A smartphone is much more of a tool that I use every day, rather than a gadget. And I can save much more money from other activities and things.  
For me it would be a consumerism if I upgrade or purchase latest and greatest DJI drones each year for example if drones are not my business or profession.

We are different and have different tastes. I like fall in Colorado video. There is some grain applied, color grading is very good IMHO, skin tones are good for me too, overall good image quality. Compare it to other iPhone 15 video posted here and this one for me ranks at the top 10% as image quality. This is exactly the occasion I would use a smartphone, when you are with friends and/or family and your focus are the people and your journey together. Filming is a side job just for memories and some enjoyment of the hobby or profession. For the purpose this video is well done!
As a camera and what it can do iPhone 15 Pro is expensive but for smartphone with ton of features, usability and a camera that is in your pocket IMHO it is worth the money. If I am at the end of my 5 year smartphone upgrade cycle it would be on my list for sure.
Would I buy LG V60 instead for Android RAW video? No. If I choose Android for RAW video it would Xiaomi 13 Ultra or at least Pro. After 5 years with the same smartphone I want the latest and greatest that shoots good video too, I want a great smartphone that has all the bell and whistles. It’s another story how many of them I will use. 🙂  Price may seem steep but let make a simple calculation. 1100 Euro for Xiomi 13 Ultra or 1400 For IPhone 15 Pro for 5 years / 12 months is 1100/5/12 = 18.3, 1400/5/12 = 23.3. 18 to 24 euros (or dollars) per month for the most used and also useful device is worth it for me. A smartphone is much more of a tool that I use every day, rather than a gadget. And I can save much more money from other activities and things.  
For me it would be a consumerism if I upgrade or purchase latest and greatest DJI drones each year for example if drones are not my business or profession.

enjoy the tones this guy gets from his videos too

Well you can buy and try iPhone 15 as your main camera. There is no better way but to try it personally. My limited experience with iPhone 14 Pro and more extensive with Android RAW showed me that smartphones as cameras have many limitations. The list is long. At the end it is a simple choice: Can you live with and/or work around all those limitations or not. For me answer is clear: I can't and don't want to. I prefer the inconvenience to lug 1 to 2 kg of equipment more for several kilometers, but have great experience shooting rather than the other way around. Here are some examples: When testing iPhone 14 Pro as a camera I used it as GPS navigation too. Mounted on the front dashboard of my car in sunny spring day with temperature around 25-27 degree Celsius it overheated and shut down. Had to stop my car and swap it with my Android phone. It took more than 30 min for IPhone to cool down and be usable again. If you want to have some decent footage you still need ND filters, this means a special case or cage for iPhone as minimum plus probably a handle. How long will the battery last? So maybe an external battery too ? Or external SSD ? But both can't be used at the same time. 🙂  You see, if you want a semi decent footage and shooting experience, you still have to prepare and take several other items, spend time planning, etc. With time and experience for me the weight of my camera bag up to a certain limit is at the bottom of my inconveniences and concerns.
As a camera that is always with me, in my pocket though latest generation of Android phones or iPhone 15 Pro are something that I can't resist. 🙂 Another case to use them would be when I go out for a day or more and am not sure do I want to shoot something or not, will I have the time or not. Having a smartphone as a camera + maybe a case with ND filters for those casual shoots is great.

Well you can buy and try iPhone 15 as your main camera. There is no better way but to try it personally. My limited experience with iPhone 14 Pro and more extensive with Android RAW showed me that smartphones as cameras have many limitations. The list is long. At the end it is a simple choice: Can you live with and/or work around all those limitations or not. For me answer is clear: I can't and don't want to. I prefer the inconvenience to lug 1 to 2 kg of equipment more for several kilometers, but have great experience shooting rather than the other way around. Here are some examples: When testing iPhone 14 Pro as a camera I used it as GPS navigation too. Mounted on the front dashboard of my car in sunny spring day with temperature around 25-27 degree Celsius it overheated and shut down. Had to stop my car and swap it with my Android phone. It took more than 30 min for IPhone to cool down and be usable again. If you want to have some decent footage you still need ND filters, this means a special case or cage for iPhone as minimum plus probably a handle. How long will the battery last? So maybe an external battery too ? Or external SSD ? But both can't be used at the same time. 🙂  You see, if you want a semi decent footage and shooting experience, you still have to prepare and take several other items, spend time planning, etc. With time and experience for me the weight of my camera bag up to a certain limit is at the bottom of my inconveniences and concerns.
As a camera that is always with me, in my pocket though latest generation of Android phones or iPhone 15 Pro are something that I can't resist. 🙂 Another case to use them would be when I go out for a day or more and am not sure do I want to shoot something or not, will I have the time or not. Having a smartphone as a camera + maybe a case with ND filters for those casual shoots is great.

Well you can buy and try iPhone 15 as your main camera. There is no better way but to try it personally. My limited experience with iPhone 14 Pro and more extensive with Android RAW showed me that smartphones as cameras have many limitations. The list is long. At the end it is a simple choice: Can you live with and/or work around all those limitations or not. For me answer is clear: I can't and don't want to. I prefer the inconvenience to lug 1 to 2 kg of equipment more for several kilometers, but have great experience shooting rather than the other way around. Here are some examples: When testing iPhone 14 Pro as a camera I used it as GPS navigation too. Mounted on the front dashboard of my car in sunny spring day with temperature around 25-27 degree Celsius it overheated and shut down. Had to stop my car and swap it with my Android phone. It took more than 30 min for IPhone to cool down and be usable again. If you want to have some decent footage you still need ND filters, this means a special case or cage for iPhone as minimum plus probably a handle. How long will the battery last? So maybe an external battery too ? Or external SSD ? But both can't be used at the same time. 🙂  You see, if you want a semi decent footage and shooting experience, you still have to prepare and take several other items, spend time planning, etc. With time and experience for me the weight of my camera bag up to a certain limit is at the bottom of my inconveniences and concerns.
As a camera that is always with me, in my pocket though latest generation of Android phones or iPhone 15 Pro are something that I can't resist. 🙂 Another case to use them would be when I go out for a day or more and am not sure do I want to shoot something or not, will I have the time or not. Having a smartphone as a camera + maybe a case with ND filters for those casual shoots is great.

Cinematic Mode doesn't use Apple log. It has all the deficiencies of previous gen iPhone video  like tone mapping and sharpening. They were skillfully hidden in post. Skin tones in the last third of the video where face was lit with warm side light are a little bit off.

Indeed ! I was wondering if ProRes 4444 can be used with the new iPhone 15 Pro and this video gives the response. Good and realistic comparison with bigger sensor cameras, not just oh look it is as good as my Sony FS30. Lots of useful information. iPhone 15 Pro is great for video.

well done video 

DNG files from Android RAM footage can be imported directly in Resolve. They also can be labeled in a way that Resolve see them as DNG files coming from a blackmagic camera. You have access to all the settings, like change ISO in post and even Highlight Recovery ! I'll share my workflow with some sample clips in a few days. It is easy if you have the knowledge.
Funny enough but to shoot in 4K ProRes 60p on new iPhone 15 pro Apple forces you to use external storage, while with Android RAW you can get 4K at 60p internally on the latest generation flagships without any problem. External recording to SSD is available to Android RAW too. With Xioami 13 Ultra or Vivo x90 Pro Plus 1Tb internal storage at 1000-1100 E, you may never need external one.
Going back to IPhone 15 Pro, here is one good example that shows that aggressive noise reduction in high ISOs is also gone with new iPhone 15. Flares are still present but much less than in 14 Pro where they are simply ruining the image.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHT2TEwJJz4
This guy claims that with Blackmagic application you can have Apple Log with HEVC (265) codec. Check the Apple Log part. Hm interesting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOZUfWcGCxk

DNG files from Android RAM footage can be imported directly in Resolve. They also can be labeled in a way that Resolve see them as DNG files coming from a blackmagic camera. You have access to all the settings, like change ISO in post and even Highlight Recovery ! I'll share my workflow with some sample clips in a few days. It is easy if you have the knowledge.
Funny enough but to shoot in 4K ProRes 60p on new iPhone 15 pro Apple forces you to use external storage, while with Android RAW you can get 4K at 60p internally on the latest generation flagships without any problem. External recording to SSD is available to Android RAW too. With Xioami 13 Ultra or Vivo x90 Pro Plus 1Tb internal storage at 1000-1100 E, you may never need external one.
Going back to IPhone 15 Pro, here is one good example that shows that aggressive noise reduction in high ISOs is also gone with new iPhone 15. Flares are still present but much less than in 14 Pro where they are simply ruining the image.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHT2TEwJJz4
This guy claims that with Blackmagic application you can have Apple Log with HEVC (265) codec. Check the Apple Log part. Hm interesting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOZUfWcGCxk

According to same John Brawley there is no licensing cost for any camera manufacturer to implement BRAW recording internally, it is not just for post processing. There is a cost however in development, to put all those algorithms in the processor chip. To my knowledge  processor chip development is quite costly. Companies are using one chip for all of their models and for several years in order to be able to pay for this development.

Exactly ! If you are at Blackmagic and have to make a decision, which mount would you choose ?
Market pushes toward FF, this is clear. Company has to make a move in this direction if it wants to stay relevant.  L Mount seemed to me like a logical move,  Kye gave much more detailed argumentation that I had in my head 🙂 
Yes Blackmagic is competitor for Panasonic but so are Sony and Canon. Blackmagic carved a niche for themself. BMPCC 4K was selling well alongside GH5, GH6, GH5S and again as Kye rightfully noted:  " Panasonic make hybrid MILCs and BM make cinema cameras."  So they have slightly different niches.
I don't know, it just makes sense to me and wanted to share those rumors with all of you. Would be happy to see Blackmagic go in this direction.

People focus in some other directions. So-called professionals because that's for a living : ) This doesn't mean someone outside is not able to show up with more knowledge about ; )
A bit like film critics or a few so-called movie industry experts, the best ones are far to be the most famous ones : )
The same for cell phone cameras, they're the best sellers but this says too little and definitely not prone to offer the best outcome ;- )
Like blockbusters when arthouse is handicraft and is needless to say much more complex to be made as art form, free from formulas in the bag.

I am perhaps the closest here to saying yes to this comment, being that I value size, simplicity, speed of working, stabilisation, and am actively opposed to creatively-inappropriate shallow DoF, etc.
I do, and will continue to, use my phone as my second camera.  I use it when I don't have a dedicated camera with me, I use it for a wide-angle (to complement the normal-tele lens on my proper camera), and I use it to shoot the in-between shots like getting in and out of vehicles and while travelling between locations.
However, it is along way from becoming my only camera, because:
They're crap in low-light, especially the wide-angle camera
I tested my iPhone 12 Mini vs my GX85 and GH5 and I found that the normal iPhone camera had similar noise performance to the MFT cameras when they were at F2.8, and the wide camera was equivalent to F8!
It's always your phone and your camera
You always want to use the latest phone as your camera because they're getting better and better, but you always want to use the latest phone as a phone because the battery life etc is newer and better and they're faster.  Therefore, you are always in danger of getting messages and pop-ups etc on your camera while shooting, or if you put it into aeroplane mode then you might miss important notifications.  They're too expensive to buy two of.
They're a pain to shoot with
No handle, no wrist strap, etc, and if you rig it up then it's a pain to use it as a phone, and a pain to put in your pocket.  Also, if you want to have any external accessories like lenses or NDs, they always require a case, but the cases are completely shit at being a protective case, so you're perpetually changing cases, which screws them up.  Even if you don't use lenses etc you're going to want to use an SSD with it now because Prores.
They lack flexibility of lenses
Even a Panasonic GM5 that shoots low-bitrate 1080p will look better fitted with an F1.2 (or F0.95) lens than a phone for low-light situations.  The GM5 will also look better fitted with a 100mm (or 200mm, or 400mm!) lens than a phone using heavy digital cropping on its longest lens.  The GM5 will look nicer when fitted with a fast aperture lens than the Cinematic Mode which has about the same subtlety in blurring the image as a toddler does when smearing food on themselves at dinner time.

There is no good way to judge colour online - lets review all the possibilities:
log images are shown
this is the purest experience of the camera, but you can't judge anything with this
  log images + manufacturers LUT is shown
this is the best way to judge images, but its random chance how good this will look and doesn't really show the potential of the footage
  graded images are shown, but they look crap
this tells you nothing as you can't tell if the camera is bad, the LUT is bad, the colourist is bad, or all of them
  graded images are shown, and they look good
this tells you what is possible but not what is possible for you.  great images could be because the camera is great and colourist is ok, camera is good but colourist is very good, camera is mediocre but colourist is world class BTW, if camera forums and camera YT had the same level of knowledge about cameras as they do about colour grading then every video would be trying to work out the exposure triangle and failing.  Even rudimentary colour grading and colour science knowledge online is rare outside professional colourist circles - I know more about these things that most and I am at the very very very shallow end of the pool so if I know more than you do then you're basically no-where...

@SRV1981 - I said PROBABLY I would still prefer Android RAW 🙂 Until somebody shares some Apple Log footage that can grade myself or even better, test iPhone 15 with Apple log myself, will hold any judgement. I am skeptical about those comparisons with Sony S Log and FF cameras. We've seen plenty of those over the years with similar claims. I suspect their main purpose is to generate more youtube views. 🙂 Smartphones had never been so good for video, yet nobody throws away their FF, Super35 or m43 cameras and lenses. 🙂
For myself smartphone video will not replace my FF camera and lenses it will just complement them for personal projects and family video.
Workflow Android RAW vs iPhone 14 Pro
Can only compare with older iPhone model as this is the one I had experience with.
Yes Android RAW workflow is more time consuming and space consuming at the beginning
You have two extra steps before starting editing:
    - unpack DNG files from the file container that comes from MotionCam
    - run exiftool to label them in a specific way so Resolve recognize them as DGN files from a Blackmagic camera
However it compensates with easy color correction and grading.
With iPhone 14 Pro initial steps are easy and fast, just drag your footage in Resolve. Color correction is time consuming and no so easy, often with extra steps like applying film look with Dehancer in an attempt to hide sharpening and tone mapping.
I can do something else while DNGs are unpacked and labeled, those operations can run on the background and do not requite my attention. IPhone grading on the other hand does require all of my attention and skills.
I prefer the Android RAW workflow as am able to get the picture quality I like faster and easier.
Again this may change with iPhone 15 and Apple Log but need to test it first.
One big advantage of iPhone is that it has excellent stabilization combining Optical IS with software one. Raw video on Android often can't use Optical IS or results are not good. At least for some smartphone models. It begs for a gimbal. In general shooting with iPhone is easier and better experience. For me the whole idea to shoot on a smartphone is about having a good camera with you all the time and shoot quality video if you suddenly get an inspiration. You just  don't think about it, don't have to take a bag, choose lenses, etc. It is always with you.
For the moment Android RAW video is my personal preference but it doesn't have to be yours. 🙂
 

@SRV1981 - I said PROBABLY I would still prefer Android RAW 🙂 Until somebody shares some Apple Log footage that can grade myself or even better, test iPhone 15 with Apple log myself, will hold any judgement. I am skeptical about those comparisons with Sony S Log and FF cameras. We've seen plenty of those over the years with similar claims. I suspect their main purpose is to generate more youtube views. 🙂 Smartphones had never been so good for video, yet nobody throws away their FF, Super35 or m43 cameras and lenses. 🙂
For myself smartphone video will not replace my FF camera and lenses it will just complement them for personal projects and family video.
Workflow Android RAW vs iPhone 14 Pro
Can only compare with older iPhone model as this is the one I had experience with.
Yes Android RAW workflow is more time consuming and space consuming at the beginning
You have two extra steps before starting editing:
    - unpack DNG files from the file container that comes from MotionCam
    - run exiftool to label them in a specific way so Resolve recognize them as DGN files from a Blackmagic camera
However it compensates with easy color correction and grading.
With iPhone 14 Pro initial steps are easy and fast, just drag your footage in Resolve. Color correction is time consuming and no so easy, often with extra steps like applying film look with Dehancer in an attempt to hide sharpening and tone mapping.
I can do something else while DNGs are unpacked and labeled, those operations can run on the background and do not requite my attention. IPhone grading on the other hand does require all of my attention and skills.
I prefer the Android RAW workflow as am able to get the picture quality I like faster and easier.
Again this may change with iPhone 15 and Apple Log but need to test it first.
One big advantage of iPhone is that it has excellent stabilization combining Optical IS with software one. Raw video on Android often can't use Optical IS or results are not good. At least for some smartphone models. It begs for a gimbal. In general shooting with iPhone is easier and better experience. For me the whole idea to shoot on a smartphone is about having a good camera with you all the time and shoot quality video if you suddenly get an inspiration. You just  don't think about it, don't have to take a bag, choose lenses, etc. It is always with you.
For the moment Android RAW video is my personal preference but it doesn't have to be yours. 🙂
 

I don't have iPhone 15 and can't share any examples or direct comparison with Android RAW.  Few months ago tested iPhone 14 Pro then two months ago  Xiaomi 13 Ultra + MotionCam (Android RAW). I like raw video from Android more as picture quality is obviously better. I expect iPhone 15 with Apple Log to be better than iPhone 14 Pro but not by much. I don't see dramatic difference so far between iPhone 14 Pro and 15 Pro with Apple log. Not in the examples published on youtube. Maybe log footage was not well graded. 
Yes can share some of the clips made by Xiaomi 13 Ultra + MotionCam and iPhone 14 Pro on the thread dedicated to RAW video on smartphones.
Here is a frame grab from one of the clips made using Android RAW video. Background blur is natural from the lens, not computational

Most of my speculations in another theme turned out to be true. 🙂 Blackmagic joins L Mount and produces it's first FF cinema camera. Price is good but form factor is disappointing. Still prefer Panasonic S1/S5/S5II + BM Video Assist 5 12G for BRAW video. Much more versatile combo.