How to Quickly Zoom While Shooting Video with an iPhone PLUS a Bonus Quick Tip

Save Time and Money Tip #1

Autumn Splendor, Central New Jersey, USA — photo © Andrew Darlow

Hello! I’m excited to be posting my very first photograph and article on Medium.com! I have been reading stories on Medium for over a year and have gained a lot of knowledge and inspiration from authors on the platform. So I’m jumping in head first and plan post tips that have helped me in different ways.

For the most part, the tips will cover quick, actionable advice, like the tip about shooting video on iPhones that I’m about to share. And let me be the first to recognize that many people will think some of the tips I share are obvious (and that “everyone knows that!”), but after teaching thousands of people online and in person over more than 20 years, I’ve learned to NEVER assume that everyone knows specific information (especially if it is technical in nature). And if I can help one person in some way save time or money (or maybe inspire them in some other way to make their life (or day) a bit better), then I feel as though my time will have been well spent here.

So without further ado…

Here’s how to quickly zoom in or out while shooting video with an iPhone (specific tips may not apply to all iPhones, and the best results will be with phones that have at least two cameras):

1. When you are in the iPhone’s VIDEO mode, press on the 0.5x,1, 2 or 3 buttons to quickly zoom in or out to a fixed focal length. (this should be pretty obvious because one of the numbers will be highlighted in yellow and larger than the others).
2. Here’s the bigger tip in my opinion: I find it much easier to just pinch in and out on the screen either before or during recording with my thumb and pointer finger (also called the index finger or forefinger). The transitions are then more fluid, and I can keep the phone more stable.

3. I should also note that if you press and hold any of the numbers near the bottom of the screen (0.5x,1, 2 or 3), and slide your finger left or right, you can also adjust the zoom level there. That can be useful if you are trying to hold the phone and adjust the zoom level with one hand.

HOWEVER, If you choose 4K as your video resolution and start at 3X you CANNOT zoom out…