Upgrading iPhone Video and Audio with Filmic Pro and the Fostex AR-4i
Using the iPhone is a very handy and tempting solution for production, especially when you need something fast. iPhone video using the device's standard controls and built-in audio leaves a lot to be desired. With the addition of a video app, and an external audio interface, you can make a huge improvement in the quality of the video you produce with the iPhone.
The Future
Apple has changed new products over to a completely different digital connector. Devices like the Fostex AR-4i deliver the audio directly to specific analog pins on the dock connector and the compression happens in the phone. Apple's new connector is all-digital, so this will force any future device to include circuitry for digitizing the audio and delivering it as data to the iPhone 5 and beyond. That's likely to increase costs.
But what this also means is that truly capable "smart" devices (iPhones) will be available on the used market and they can be snapped for much cheaper than new, without any monthly contract or forced data plan. They can shoot the quality video you've grown to expect, with the new control I've demonstrated here. They can edit the video "in camera." Then they can use WiFi to upload finished video clips.
So, just as Samsung and others are creating Android-based smart still cameras, the combination of an off-contract iPhone, Filmic, and the Fostex AR-4i delivers a smart video camera.