Blackmagic Camera vs Filmic Pro: Which Mobile Filmmaking App Should You Use?

Blackmagic Camera is free, updated every few months and records ProRes; Filmic Pro is a subscription whose original team was let go in 2023 - for most phones that settles it.

Ink and wash drawing of a smartphone mounted on a wooden cine tripod with a small clapperboard leaning against one leg, with the title Blackmagic Camera vs Filmic Pro in a band across the bottom and the byline CODECS.COM/GUIDES

The short answer: install Blackmagic Camera if your phone is on its supported list, because it does everything Filmic Pro charges for and costs nothing.

Filmic Pro still earns a place on phones Blackmagic does not support, and for people who already pay for it and have a workflow built around its log profiles.

Here is what changed since the two were genuine rivals, what each app actually records, and a simple test for which one your phone should run.

What Changed Since 2024

When this comparison was first written, Filmic Pro was the established name and Blackmagic Camera was the newcomer that only ran on a handful of Samsung and Pixel flagships.

Two things moved. Filmic Pro's owner, Bending Spoons, switched the app from a one-off purchase to a subscription in 2022 and laid off the entire original Filmic team in December 2023, and the update pace has been quiet since.

Blackmagic Camera went the other way. The Android build reached version 3.4 in July 2026 with 4K HDMI output, a WearOS remote and pause-and-resume recording, the supported-device list widened to OnePlus and Xiaomi flagships, and it stayed free with no in-app purchases of any kind.

One correction to the old version of this guide. Blackmagic Camera does not record Blackmagic RAW on a phone, and it never has - it records Apple ProRes in four flavours plus H.264 and H.265. If BRAW matters to you, that stays on Blackmagic's dedicated cameras.

Blackmagic Camera: What You Actually Get

The app is built to be the mobile capture end of a DaVinci Resolve pipeline, and that shapes everything about it.

You get full manual control - shutter angle, ISO, Kelvin white balance with tint, manual focus with peaking - plus zebras, false colour, a histogram, frame guides and custom .cube LUTs applied on set.

Recording runs up to 4K at up to 60 frames a second depending on the phone, in ProRes HQ, 422, LT or Proxy, or in H.265 when you want small files.

The part nobody else offers is Blackmagic Cloud sync: clips upload while you shoot and appear in a Resolve project on another machine, which is a broadcast workflow on a phone for free.

The catch is hardware. It needs Android 13 or newer and a flagship-class camera stack - current Galaxy S, Pixel Pro, OnePlus and Xiaomi flagships - and a mid-range phone will either not install it or lose ProRes and manual focus.

Filmic Pro: What It Still Does Well

Filmic Pro runs on far more phones, including older and mid-range Android devices that Blackmagic ignores, and that remains its strongest argument.

Its interface is friendlier for a first-time manual shooter: the exposure and focus reticles, the pull-to-rack focus points and the built-in tutorials are still the easiest on-ramp to shooting with locked settings.

The LogV2 and LogV3 flat profiles and the live waveform and vectorscope are what long-time users stay for, but those sit inside a separate paid Cinematographer Kit on top of the base subscription.

On Android, Filmic Pro records H.264 and H.265 only; ProRes recording is an iPhone-only feature, so the codec argument on Android is not close.

Versus split diagram: a circle divided diagonally, the upper half labelled BLACKMAGIC CAMERA holding a 3D film reel, the lower half labelled FILMIC PRO holding a 3D coin

Blackmagic Camera vs Filmic Pro, Side by Side

What matters	Blackmagic Camera	Filmic Pro
Price	Free, no in-app purchases	Subscription, plus a paid add-on for log profiles and scopes
Codecs on Android	ProRes HQ, 422, LT, Proxy; H.264; H.265	H.264, H.265
Flat and log profiles	Custom LUTs, Blackmagic colour science	LogV2, LogV3 in the paid add-on
Phones supported	Android 13 or newer flagships only	Far wider, including older and mid-range phones
Learning curve	Cinema-camera controls, steeper	Gentler, with in-app tutorials
External monitor	4K HDMI out with audio	Clean HDMI in the paid add-on
Post-production	Cloud sync straight into DaVinci Resolve	Standard files, any editor
Development	Regular updates, 3.4.2 in August 2026	Quiet since the original team left in 2023

The One-Minute Test: Which One Should Your Phone Run?

Check your phone against the list. Galaxy S22 or newer, Pixel 7 Pro or newer, OnePlus 11 or newer, Xiaomi 13 Pro or newer, all on Android 13 - if you are on that list, Blackmagic Camera wins and you can stop reading.
Older or mid-range phone? Filmic Pro is the app that will actually install and give you manual control, so pay for the shortest billing period first and see whether the manual controls are ones you actually use.
Already paying for Filmic Pro with a LogV3 grading workflow? Keep it until the subscription runs out, then try Blackmagic's LUT-based approach on a test shoot before you renew.
On an iPhone? Both apps exist there and Blackmagic Camera is free on iOS too, but this site hosts the Android build only, so the links below are Android.

Sideloading the APK: Blackmagic Camera is a large 129MB install that needs Google Play services for cloud sync. Run the file through the APK Checker before installing, and read how to install an APK safely if this is your first sideload.

Getting Started With Blackmagic Camera

Install it, open the settings cog and set three things before you shoot: the codec (ProRes LT is the sensible default), the frame rate (24 or 25 for film, 50 or 60 for slow motion), and the aspect-ratio frame guide you plan to deliver in.

Then lock the exposure. Tap the shutter readout and set it to 180 degrees, tap ISO and set it to the lowest value that gives a usable image, and set white balance by Kelvin rather than leaving it on auto.

Turn on focus peaking and zebras in the monitoring menu; both are off by default and both are the difference between a soft, blown-out clip and a usable one.

ProRes files are large - budget around 50GB of free storage for a day of 4K - so either shoot Proxy for social clips or offload to a computer between setups.

Playing and Editing the Footage

The stock Android gallery often refuses ProRes. VLC for Android and MX Player both play it for on-set review.

For a phone-only edit, CapCut for Android imports ProRes Proxy and H.265 cleanly; for anything serious, the files drop straight into DaVinci Resolve on the desktop with no transcoding.

If you shot H.265 and Windows will not show thumbnails, the HEVC Video Extension fixes File Explorer, and Codec Info will tell you which encoders your phone exposes if a recording option is greyed out.

Who Should Look Elsewhere

If you mainly shoot vertical clips for social media with the phone held one-handed, neither of these is the right tool - the stock camera app with its stabilisation on, and InShot or CapCut for the edit, will get better results faster.

If your priority is audio rather than picture, an interview app such as Dolby On handles noise reduction and levels that neither camera app touches.

And if you own Blackmagic cinema cameras, the app is a B-camera, not a replacement: the Blackmagic RAW footage from the real cameras and the ProRes from the phone land on the same Resolve timeline, which is the whole point.

Quick questions

Is Blackmagic Camera really free?

Yes, on both Android and iOS, with no in-app purchases, no watermark and no paywalled codec. Blackmagic gives it away for the same reason it gives away DaVinci Resolve: it sells cameras and Studio licences.

Does Blackmagic Camera record Blackmagic RAW?

No. Phones record Apple ProRes (HQ, 422, LT, Proxy), H.264 or H.265. BRAW is only produced by Blackmagic's cameras.

Is Filmic Pro still being updated?

It is still sold and still works, but the original team was laid off in December 2023 and releases since then have been infrequent. Check the store listing's last-updated date before paying for a year.

Will Blackmagic Camera work on my mid-range Android phone?

Usually not well. It needs Android 13 and a flagship camera stack; on other phones it may refuse to install or lose ProRes and manual focus. Filmic Pro is the fallback there.

Which is easier for a beginner?

Filmic Pro, by a little - its reticles and tutorials are gentler. But Blackmagic Camera's defaults are sensible, and the four settings in the getting-started section above are all you need to change on day one.