If you shoot video on your iPhone and care about color grading, you will be happy to know that the award-winning camera app Kino just received a meaningful upgrade. Lux Camera has released Kino 1.4, adding support for Apple Log 2, the improved video format that launched with the iPhone 17 Pro. It’s an update that quietly makes a difference for serious video creators.
What’s new in Kino 1.4
The headlining addition is Apple Log 2 support. According to Kino’s developers, getting there wasn’t as simple as flipping a switch. The Lux team had to expand Kino’s internals to handle the wider color range, build in detection for different versions of Apple Log, and rework parts of the rendering pipeline. The result is that Kino now captures and processes a broader, more accurate range of colors directly from Apple’s sensors.
Apple Log 2 improves on its predecessor primarily in how it handles color. While Apple Log offered more control over exposure and contrast, color handling was noticeably limited. Instead of listing ranges tailored to the iPhone, Apple Log provided values that match those used for HDR televisions.
Apple Log 2 fixes that by using a color space built specifically for Apple hardware. The practical difference becomes clear when shooting in difficult lighting conditions, such as neon lighting or blue stage lighting, where the original Log would waste data on colors the sensor couldn’t capture.
Lux also notes that both Kino and its photography app Halide now share the same Apple Gamut colorspace for image processing, a step toward unifying the rendering system between the two apps.
Why should you care about this update?
If you’re a casual iPhone shooter, you might not notice the difference. However, if you color grade your footage and shoot in challenging lighting conditions, Apple Log 2 provides more accurate data to work with and produces better results in post.
Kino 1.4 is available now on the App Store as a free update for existing Kino users. If you care about getting the most out of your iPhone’s camera for video, it’s a free upgrade worth downloading.
