Witness CameraWitness for documentary and investigative filmmakers: picture quality with provenance
When to shoot for protection, when to shoot for the grade, and how to tell the two apart.
Documentary and investigative work often needs two things that pull against each other: a picture good enough for broadcast, and a record that shows the footage is what you say it is. Witness Pro puts both in one phone app, with the cost of each choice shown in file size and upload speed. This guide is written by the developer of Witness Camera, so read it with that in mind. Everything about other tools comes from their own sites and store listings, and where Witness is the weaker choice, it says so.
Short answer. Witness Pro lets filmmakers shoot 4K at 24, 25 or 60 fps in HEVC 10-bit, with Apple Log on iPhone 15 Pro and newer (or 10-bit HDR on Android), a combined picture-in-picture video, and ProRes 422 on iPhone for archive-grade masters. Every recording still gets SHA-256 hashes, a manifest and an independent time-stamp. The trade-off is upload speed: 4K can outrun a mobile connection, and ProRes never uploads. For planned interviews and site shoots, use Pro quality. For anything where the phone might be taken, use the free 1080p setting that uploads fastest.
Two kinds of shoot
- The protected shoot. A confrontation, a raid, a street. The risk is losing the footage. Use the free 1080p setting: it uploads fastest, and uploaded footage is what survives a seized phone.
- The planned shoot. An interview, a site, a location you control. The risk is a flat picture, not a seized phone. Use Pro quality on a fast connection or Wi-Fi.
What Pro gives you
- Resolution and frame rate: 4K, at 24 (cinema), 25 (PAL), 30 or 60 fps.
- Codec: H.264 or HEVC 10-bit, plus ProRes 422 LT or HQ on iPhone. On Android the equivalent is Mastering, a very high bit rate HEVC.
- Colour: Apple Log on iPhone 15 Pro and newer, with HEVC or ProRes. On Android, 10-bit HDR (HLG) on phones whose camera supports it. Android has no vendor-neutral Log profile, so tell your colourist what you are delivering.
- Both cameras in one file: a picture-in-picture video in addition to the two separate files. Both cameras at once is limited to 1080p, 30 fps and H.264, so choosing anything higher turns the front camera off.
- Highlight cut (iPhone): a shorter version with the dead air trimmed and the talking kept, in addition to the full recording.
- Burned-in date, time and location: optional, for outlets that want it on screen.
What it costs in file size and upload speed
These figures use the app's own formula and are estimates.
| Setting | Upload speed needed | Per minute | Uploads live |
|---|---|---|---|
| H.264, 1080p 30 | 8 Mbps | 60 MB | Yes |
| HEVC 10-bit, 4K 30 | 51 Mbps | 384 MB | Yes, on a fast connection |
| HEVC 10-bit, 4K 60 | 102 Mbps | 768 MB | Yes, on a very fast connection |
| ProRes 422 HQ, 4K 30 | 880 Mbps | 6.6 GB | No, stays on the phone |
Typical LTE gives 5 to 10 Mbps up. Nothing is lost when the queue falls behind: every piece stays on the phone until your storage confirms it, and a small preview copy goes first. But ProRes and Mastering are saved to the photo library or gallery and never uploaded, so copy those masters off the phone promptly.
A workflow that keeps both
- Shoot the planned material in Pro quality and copy the masters to your edit drive as usual.
- Keep the session folder (video, manifest, time-stamp) with the footage. It travels with the shot.
- For anything contentious, generate an evidence package: a PDF report with the timeline, device, first location fix, segment hashes and verification steps, plus the manifest and time-stamp proof. It contains no video, so it can go to a lawyer or an insurer without exposing the footage.
- Do not edit the original. Cut on a copy, so the hashes keep describing the camera original.
If you only need Log or ProRes
Free camera apps such as Blackmagic Camera and Final Cut Camera are listed as free on the US App Store, and are built around manual control and high-end formats. If picture format is all you need, they may serve you better. Witness Pro is for when you also want the footage hashed, time-stamped and, where the settings allow, uploaded to storage you own.
Price
- $1.99 a month, or $29.99 once, on the US App Store. The Pro page in the app shows every control before you pay, and the controls are inert until it is unlocked. The one-time purchase has nothing to renew. See Is Witness Pro worth it?
Questions
Can Witness record Apple Log?
Yes, with Pro, on iPhone 15 Pro and newer, with an HEVC or ProRes codec. Both cameras at once cannot use Apple Log, so only the rear camera records when Log is on.
Does 4K upload live?
Only if the connection is fast enough. Nothing is lost if it is not: pieces stay on the phone until your storage confirms them, and a small preview copy is sent first.
What happens to ProRes recordings?
They stay on the phone, saved to the photo library, and are never uploaded to your cloud or sent to an emergency contact, because they are far too large to send live.
Is there an Android equivalent of ProRes and Apple Log?
Android has no ProRes encoder and no vendor-neutral Log profile. Witness offers Mastering, a very high bit rate HEVC kept on the phone, and 10-bit HDR on phones that support it.
Try it free first
The free app already has the parts that protect and verify footage. Pro is unlocked from inside it, and its controls are visible before you pay.
More guides by profession
- Witness for journalists: footage that survives a seized phone and shows where it came from
- For newsrooms: how to verify footage recorded with Witness in ten minutes
- For lawyers: what a Witness evidence package contains, and what it does and does not prove
- Witness for legal observers and legal-support teams
- Witness for NGOs and human rights teams: a field documentation workflow
- Tamper-evident documentation for work sites, tenancies and damage claims
- Is Witness Pro worth it? Who should pay, and who should not
- Witness for Professionals: how Witness Pro works
Written on 27 October 2026. Features and prices change. This is not legal advice.