Apple iPhone 3G S

Motion (5.75)

The iPhone 3G S records all video at 640 x 480 with a 30p frame rate. Its video is actually surprisingly smooth and sharp, especially for a device that records with a 30p frame rate. When viewing these videos, remember that they have all been heavily compressed in the upload process. Click on the links below each video for higher quality and HD versions of our test footage.  (More on how we test motion.)

The iPhone definitely showed some artefacting in our motion footage, but there was less than we expected. The JVC GZ-MG670, a traditional standard definition camcorder, actually showed more artefacting in our test footage than the iPhone. The footage had some blur, but it wasn't too bad because of the progressive 30p frame rate. One gripe about the iPhone's footage is the fact that it doesn't capture a true 16:9 widescreen image (even when the phone is on its side). This is why the YouTube video above has black bars on the left and right.

The Samsung Omnia is a terrible device for recording motion. It records at very slow and unusual frame rates (often as slow as 10 fps) and footage from the phone looks extremely choppy as a result. Its video also had tons of artefacting—more than any camcorder we have tested this year. The iPhone 3G S captured better motion in every way compared to the Samsung Omnia. The Omnia does, however, offer three record sizes: 640 x 480, 320 x 240, and 176 x 144.

The Flip UltraHD has very similar motion to the iPhone 3G S. We noticed slightly less trailing on the Flip UltraHD, but that's about it. Of course, the UltraHD does record HD video (at 1280 x 720), which gives it a significant advantage over the iPhone. Compared to the standard definition Flip camcorders, the iPhone 3G S stands up very well. Its image is sharper, has more detail, and much stronger colours.

The MHS-PM1 has a number of size options for recording video. It can do 1440 x 1080, 1280 x 720, and 640 x 480, all with a 30p frame rate. Even though it is able to capture HD video, the PM1 had numerous artefacting problems with our test footage. Big splotches of discolouration appeared on the RGB pin-wheel and motion wasn't very smooth.

Video Sharpness (6.34)

The iPhone 3G S measured a horizontal video sharpness of 500 line widths per picture height (lw/ph) and a vertical sharpness of 375 lw/ph. These are good scores for standard definition video, but they cannot match the sharpness an HD camcorder is capable of. This is why the Flip UltraHD and Sony MHS-PM1 did so much better in this test. This is really the only test where the iPhone 3G S wasn't able to measure up to the Flip UltraHD and the Sony MHS-PM1. It did, however, record a much sharper image than the Samsung Omnia (also records standard definition video). (More on how we test video sharpness.)

Video Sharpness Score Comparisons