APP STORE AWARDS

iPhone App of the Year

Kino - Pro Video Camera

Grade Log Movies with LUTs

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With its exclusive film-inspired filters, this simple video camera transforms everyday footage into a masterpiece.

– App Store Editors

It wasn’t until we started using Kino that we realised how cinematic life could be. This powerful but easy-to-use app records video with a timeless, old-school sheen – and offers advanced controls to creators who crave it.

For more advanced creators, Kino offers custom capture formats (top) and an RGB waveform for checking exposure levels while filming.

Unlocking Kino’s magic couldn’t be easier. While driving down California State Route 1, we tapped one of the app’s Instant Grade presets, which are video filters crafted to emulate iconic film stocks. One brought out deep blue hues in the crashing grey waves of the coastline; another gave the concrete arch of the Bixby Bridge a warm, washed-out look.

Then, as the rugged Santa Lucia Mountains rushed past, Kino’s AutoMotion setting helped us document not only what we saw but also how it felt. By adjusting the shutter speed based on the frame rate, the app added a soft, cinematic motion blur – and made the streaks of redwoods towering above more moving in every sense.

For more advanced videographers, Kino offers granular manual controls. Easily adjust film speed (ISO) on the fly by swiping left or right anywhere in the frame – a feature we used at a candlelit dinner party to bring faces out of the shadows. And with the app’s handy focusing dial, which mimics a traditional camera lens ring, we were able to focus on a friend smiling in the background, then slowly transition to the birthday cake in the foreground.

When we wanted to fine-tune colour, Kino gave us plenty of options too. By picking a different white balance, we got the golden glow of a winter sunset to mirror the deep orange we saw before us, replacing the pale yellow that our camera defaulted to when contending with multiple light sources.

Total creative control. Automated artistry. Kino puts its signature aesthetic spin on both – and brings them together like a true maestro.

Quick tip

For more control when editing your video, consider shooting in Apple Log. Similar to RAW files in photography, this format retains unprocessed data to give more creative options in post. To select this, tap the format settings on the upper right of the frame, tap Custom and select Log as the Color Space option.

Fun fact

Some of the app’s Instant Grade presets were created by a pro cinematographer, videographer and photographer. You can also import your own. Kino supports industry-standard lookup tables (LUTs).

Meet the creator

Self-professed photo nerds Sebastiaan de With and Ben Sandofsky also developed the 2022 Apple Design Award–winning camera app Halide Mark II and the 2019 iPhone App of the Year Spectre Camera.