You may have a 4K camera in your pocket right now without even realizing it.
You Probably Have a 4K-Capable Camera Already
4K displays may be scarce, but 4K cameras areeverywhere.
Most recent flagship smartphones have 4K-capable cameras built in.
However, recording in 4K, even for viewing on a 1080p display, is generallybetter.
Since youre recording extra data, you have some flexibility editing that you wouldnt have otherwise.
Note: all of my videos below were taken on a Nexus 6P recording in 4K mode.
As the video above from videographerDylan Lierzshows how stark this difference can be.
Sometimes the quality isnt much better, but you have more to work with from the start.
However, theyre corrected later on.
Heresanother video that demonstrates this same principle.This videoalso explains why this effect occurs.
Get High-Quality Cropped Footage After Shooting
Composing your frame properly is key toshooting video that looks good.
When youre shooting in 4K, you have some extra flexibility.
In the video above, I filmed my drone flying in my backyard.
In the original footage, Im extremely far away from my drone (duh, its flying).
However, I was able to decide how close I wanted to crop the video later.
Since Im working with 4K footage, I was able to get much closer without degrading my video quality.
Stabilize Shaky Footage
When you stabilize digital footage normally, you lose a little quality.
If your camera shakes to the left, the frame is cropped to the right.
The upside is your footage is less shaky.
However, you lose a little resolution to get that effect.
However, I ran that same clip throughAfter Effects Stabilize Motion tracker.
In the second half of the video, you’re free to see the result.
The camera shake is almost entirely gone, yet the video has no less resolution.
Its worth pointing out that stabilizing footage isnt a magic bullet.
Your mileage will also vary depending onwhat method you use.
However, having the extra pixels in your frame gives you a lot more wiggle room.
This gives you the freedom to decide later what punch in of movement you need in your final video.
For example, in the video above, I filmed a wide shot of cosplayerAmber Alertt.
Later, I altered the shot to add a pan.
Once again, theres no loss in quality, despite zooming in and cropping the frame.
Thats enough pixels to take great pictures for everythingfrom social media to printing some sizes of photos.
Simply hit record and grab the perfect shot later.
In the video above, I asked cosplayerLayla Antagonistto experiment with poses while I recorded.
The clip lasted about twenty seconds.
If Id tried this with normal 1080p video, Id have much less to work with.
Illustration by Sam Woolley.
