I woke up to the news of a firmware update, enabling a bunch of new features on my camera. Most notably, a log mode. Log mode essentially strips out a lot of artificially added contrast and color in order to preserve highlight details and increase the overall dynamic range in the image. I got to immediately put it to use on some interview footage today, and it performed admirably! 

A few things I've discovered about shooting in LOG:

1. It's not the easiest path. Without an external monitor with LUT overlays it becomes tough to understand where your image could wind up in post. Proper exposure is critical, as over/under exposed + desaturated color is a recipe for an ugly final product. 
    
2. It takes time. There's no quick and dirty when you've pre-committed to coloring each and every scene.
    
3. It plays nice. The footage becomes easier to blend with different cameras as they can all be graded to match.
    
4. It needs bits. Low bitrate video doesn't take color correction very well, so pay attention to your codec.

As there are hundreds of articles about color correction, I want to talk instead about firmware and support. I have reached a point as a consumer that I'm skeptical about anything that relies on connecting to your iPhone. The most profitable company in the world stops supporting their products after just 5 years, and there are pieces of production gear that can last seemingly forever. We used to joke that the C-stands and Mole fresnels they rented us in school were used to shoot SPARTACUS. I'm hesitant to believe small hardware manufacturers are up to the herculean task of performing regular security updates until the end of time. What could go wrong, right?