Why?

[Jonathan Cross]

Have recorded videos on both my iPhone 12 Pro and my Fuji X-T4.  Both are full HD H264 AAC 25 frames per sec.  The phone files are .mov and the camera files are .MP4.  The camera files are about 8x larger for the same time span, i.e. 1GB vs 8GB. 

Why the difference?  Is it to do with .mov and .MP4, or something else?    I have tried looking on the web but do not seem to find an explanation. 

Any help would be appreciated.

Jonathan

 

[Bozzdivine]

The file size difference isn't due to the .mov or .MP4 file types, as both are just containers for the video data. It's more likely due to different bitrate settings on your iPhone and Fuji X-T4.

Bitrate is the amount of data processed per unit of time in a video file, and a higher bitrate generally leads to higher quality video (and larger file sizes). Your Fuji X-T4 may be recording at a higher bitrate than your iPhone, resulting in larger files.

Check the video settings on both devices and see if you can adjust the bitrate on your Fuji X-T4 to match your iPhone, if that's what you prefer.

[Jonathan Cross]

The file size difference isn't due to the .mov or .MP4 file types, as both are just containers for the video data. It's more likely due to different bitrate settings on your iPhone and Fuji X-T4.

Thanks for this.  I did wonder, and reduced the bit rate on the Fuji to the minimum for 1080HD @ 25fps to 50Mbps.  I have had difficulty finding iPhone bit rates but have found one forum that quotes a test that shows 10.1 Mbps for 1080HD 30.  That may well explain the difference.  On my iPhone 12 Pro with IOS 16.1.1, I have video set to 1080p at 25fps but do not see any info on bit rates or how to change them.

My reason for asking is that I do recordings that are passed to someone else for preparation and loading to YouTube.  His machine has difficulty handling my Fuji video files that can be 20GB.

Jonathan
 

[Bozzdivine]

Glad you found some info about the bitrates! You're right, that could certainly explain the file size difference. As for changing the bitrate on your iPhone, it's a bit tricky. iOS doesn't typically provide an option to change the bitrate directly.

That being said, you can indirectly influence it by adjusting the video quality settings. Higher resolutions and frame rates generally increase bitrate, while lower ones decrease it. But it seems you've already set it to 1080p at 25fps.

About the large Fuji files, have you considered compressing the videos before sending them to your colleague? Software like Handbrake can help reduce file size without a noticeable loss in quality. This could make the videos easier to handle on his machine.

[Rhossydd]

but do not see any info on bit rates or how to change them.

You might like to have a look at third party video apps.
Fimic Pro is a very well respected app for squeezing the best results out of phone videos. Certainly the Android version I use has various quality options (ie bit rate). Annoyingly the current version has gone subscription, but from what I've read you can just take out short licences for jobs if that suits your shooting needs.

It's always worth doing proper detailed tests to establish exactly what settings you need or you can drop to.

[Jonathan Cross]

You might like to have a look at third party video apps.
Fimic Pro is a very well respected app for squeezing the best results out of phone videos.

Thanks for this - I will look at it.

Jonathan