28 Years Later, a sequel to the 2002 zombie movie 28 Days Later, was reportedly shot using an iPhone 15 Pro Max. Wired did some investigating after seeing an on-set image shot by a paparazzo, and says that “the use of Apple smartphones as the principal camera system on 28 Years Later was subsequently confirmed to Wired by several people connected with the movie.” This news comes shortly after Apple spent a considerable amount of time touting the iPhone’s capabilities as a video camera during its iPhone 16 Pro announcement event.

Looking at the on-set image posted by Just Jared, you’d be forgiven for not spotting immediately spotting the phone. Like with many ‘Shot on iPhone’ productions, it’s buried beneath tons of gear, including what appears to be an external lens, monitor, matte box, and more.

The rig on the right of the image reportedly contains an iPhone. Image: Just Jared

The movie’s director, Danny Boyle, and cinematographer, Anthony Dod Mantle, are no strangers to using cutting-edge and sometimes unusual cameras to make their movies. In 2009, Dod Mantle’s work on Slumdog Millionaire – also directed by Boyle – earned him the first Oscar for Best Cinematography awarded to a movie shot mainly using digital cameras instead of film. The pair also worked together on 127 Hours, a movie partially shot on Canon DSLRs.

Perhaps the most relevant precedent is 28 Days Later itself. Boyle and Dod Mantle shot much of it using the Canon XL1, a CCD camcorder that recorded to DV tapes. In the 2012 documentary Side By Side, Boyle talks about how using several of the relatively inexpensive cameras helped them shoot the iconic scene where Cillian Murphy walks through an empty and trashed London despite the production not having enough money to shut down the city.

Image quality-wise, the iPhone 15 Pro – which can shoot Log footage at 60FPS in ProRes – is vastly superior to the XL1. Talking about shooting 28 Days Later in Side By Side, Boyle reminisced, saying, “if you were in a wide shot with a small figure in it, they were just two or three pixels. I mean there was nothing there, there was just the color.”

Still, shooting 28 Years Later with iPhones is an interesting choice. The original movie had an estimated budget of around $8 million – that wasn’t a lot of money to shoot a film with in 2002, so it’s easy to see why they didn’t want to spend a ton on camera gear. 28 Years, meanwhile, has a reported budget of around $75 million.

While that’s relatively modest by today’s standards, entry-level cinema cameras have gotten so inexpensive that the crew almost certainly could’ve afforded them if they’d wanted to use them. For reference, the 2023 sci-fi film The Creator had an estimated budget of around $80 million and was famously shot using a Sony FX3. Alex Garland, the writer of 28 Days Later and 28 Years Later, also recently shot a $50 million movie that made use of the DJI 4D-6K.

We likely won’t know why this decision was made until the crew publicly acknowledges the iPhone’s role in filming, but when they do, they’ll likely talk about it extensively. The decision to shoot on smartphones has historically been a big focus in the PR cycle leading up to the release of films shot on them, such as 2015’s Tangerine or 2018’s Unsane.

According to Wired, the iPhone wasn’t the only camera used to shoot 28 Years Later: unspecified action cameras were also used to film scenes involving farm animals. The outlet says Apple was informed the production would be using iPhones and that the company “provided technical assistance to the moviemakers.”

28 Years Later is set to release in June 2025 and will reportedly be the first of three new movies in the franchise. Its sequel is currently being called 28 Years Later Part II: The Bone Temple, though there’s currently no information on what it’s being shot with.

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As part of our twenty-fifth anniversary, we’re looking back at some of the most significant cameras launched during that period. Without question, the Fujifilm FinePix X100, announced fourteen years ago today, is one of those cameras.

It wasn’t the first large-sensor fixed lens compact: that honor goes to Sigma’s DP1, which squeezed one of its 20.7 x 13.8 mm Foveon chips into a small, minimalist body, but it was the first to really catch the collective photography imagination.

Back in 2010, the first Mirrorless cameras were arriving, so you could buy a Panasonic GF1 with the company’s 20mm F1.7 lens or an Olympus PEN, also with the Panasonic 20mm F1.7 if you had any sense. But those were the only options if you wanted a small camera with good image quality. Both were, at that point, very obviously a technology and lens system that was still developing.

Beyond these you only really had two choices: you could buy a DSLR if you wanted a Four Thirds sensor or anything larger, or an enthusiast compact based around a Type 1/1.7 chip (7.4 x 5.6mm), which was, at best, one-fifth of the size. Maybe a Type 2/3 (8.8 x 6.6mm) if you were really lucky, but that’s still a two-stop difference compared with the smallest-sensor DSLR, simply because the sensor is no better than 1/4 the size. But even the smallest DSLRs weren’t particularly small, especially once you put a lens on them.

Read about the subsequent history of the Fujifilm X100 series

With its APS-C sensor and F2 lens, the X100 had an immediate image quality benefit over any existing compact camera, and its self-contained nature meant it made more sense as a second camera for DSLR owners who didn’t want to have a foot in two lens mounts by becoming a Mirrorless early adopter.

Then there were its looks. These may not play a part in the end images (though the “is that a film camera?” response from bystanders wasn’t a bad way to raise the idea of taking their photo), but they made the camera look and feel a bit special. And who ever said photography is a pursuit based on cold rationality?

This is probably what people mean when they refer to ‘classic styling.’ Photo: Andy Westlake

So the X100 had appeal on multiple levels: it was one of the smallest cameras to offer such high image quality, it would work alongside other systems without complicating your commitments, it looked good and took really good-looking photos.

It was also, at launch, recognizably a work in progress. Our original review had a page dedicated to bugs and odd behaviors, many of which got ironed-out over a series of firmware updates. It was slow, it was quirky and yet it caused an awful lot of photographers to fall in love with it.

I still have my original X100 and will sometimes still use it (which probably wouldn’t have been the case were it not for the significant improvement in autofocus that came nearly three years after its original launch). After fourteen years it really shows its age, and my experience is somewhat spoiled by having spent a considerable amount of time shooting with its five successor models.

The X100 (Rear) has long ago been superseded but its most recent descendent, the X100 VI (Front) is still very much in demand. Photo: Richard Butler

We’ve seen many attempts by other manufacturers in this space: Leica’s APS-C X series pre-dated the X100 but seems to have been superseded by the full-frame Q models, while the 28mm equiv Nikon Coolpix A and X70 and XF10 from Fujifilm seem to have fallen by the wayside. Only Ricoh’s move of its much-loved GR premium compacts to APS-C seems to have had anything like the longevity of the X100 series. And, while there’s plenty of skepticism from people who aren’t 35mm equiv fans and those put off by its recent five minutes of fame on TikTok, the X100 started a series that’s still very much in demand, fourteen years later.

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DJI has announced a new action camera, the Osmo Action 5 Pro. The announcement comes hot on the heels of GoPro’s recent unveiling of its new flagship camera, the Hero13 Black.

The Osmo Action 5 Pro can record 4:3 4K at 120fps, something the Action 4 could only achieve at 16:9. The company also says the camera has ‘excellent low-light performance,’ with the ability to shoot up to 4K 60fps in low light.

There’s also a separate ‘SuperNight’ mode, which shoots up to 4K/30 footage at 16:9. The company says the mode uses ‘AI noise reduction algorithms’ to ‘overcome the darkness in extremely low-light environments.’

The camera now has a subject tracking mode, which works similarly to modes we’ve seen in vlogging-focused cameras from DJI and Sony. The camera can detect a subject and keep them centered in the frame, adjusting the composition as they move. Because this mode involves cropping in, it’s unsurprising it’s only available at resolutions up to 2.7K.

DJI says the Osmo Action 5 Pro uses a ‘next-gen’ sensor.

The Action 5 Pro is built around a 40MP Type 1/1.3 (10 x 7.5mm) sensor with 2.4 μm pixels. While it’s the same size as the sensor in the Osmo Action 4 – albeit with nearly four times the resolution – it’s substantially larger than the Type 1/1.9 (6.3 x 5.5mm) sensor GoPro has been using for the past few years. DJI also claims its sensor can capture up to 13.5 stops of dynamic range.

In front of the sensor is an F2.8 lens with a 155-degree field of view. DJI says the lens can focus as close as 35cm (approx. 14″), slightly closer than the Osmo Action 4 could.

The Osmo Action 5 Pro is waterproof to 20m (65.5ft) without a case. Images: DJI

DJI also claims the Action 5 Pro will last substantially longer than its predecessor. Not only is its battery physically larger – 7.5Wh versus 6.8Wh – but its processor is also now built on a more efficient 4nm process. The company says it’ll be good for ‘up to 4 hours of continuous use’ and that it can even ‘reliably record video for up to 3.6 hours’ in temperatures down to -20°C (-4°F). The Action 5 Pro also has quick charging, with the company saying you should be able to get up to two hours of recording time with only 15 minutes of charging.

The Action 5 Pro now includes 47GB of onboard storage, which can be expanded with a microSD card. You can offload footage from it via Wi-Fi 6 or USB; like its predecessor, the Wi-Fi connection can also be used for live streaming.

The dual screens on the Action 5 Pro are a little larger and brighter than the previous generation’s. The Action 4 had a 3.6cm (1.4″) front screen and a 5.7cm (2.25″) rear screen, which both run at around 750 nits. The Action 5 Pro’s front screen is now 3.7cm (1.46″) with a max brightness of 800 nits, and the rear screen is 6.4cm (2.5″) with a peak brightness of 1,000 nits, which should make it a bit easier to see in harsh sunlight.

The Osmo Action 5 Pro is available today. The standard kit* will cost $349, while an ‘Adventure Combo’ will cost $449 and includes a mini quick-release adapter mount, battery case, and 1.5m extension rod.

* The standard kit includes the Osmo Action 5 Pro, a battery, a protective frame, quick release adapter mount, curved adhesive base, locking screen, USB type C to C cable, a rubber lens protector, glass lens cover, and anti-slip pad.

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