This Video Was Shot on iPhone… A $32 iPhone 3GS from 2009

Matteo Bertoli is known for shooting cinematic 4K videos with the latest smartphones and apps to hit the market. But for his latest project, he decided to use the cheapest smartphone he could fine: a $32 used iPhone 3GS from 2009. This 2-minute video is what resulted.

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

Bertoli picked the 3GS from eBay because it was the first iPhone that could shoot video. And while 4K video resolution is becoming standard in smartphones these days, the 3GS has a resolution of just 640×480.

“Dynamic range is pretty bad too, especially when you compare this phone to an iPhone X or 8 Plus,” Bertoli writes. “But if we are going for a retro/vintage look I really think this phone does an absolutely fantastic job.”

Everything was shot handheld in and around Temecula, California, and Bertoli ended up capturing about 700MB of video for the film before editing and grading it in DaVinci Resolve.