I recently renewed my mobile phone contract and ended up with an iPhone 5S, which is touted to have the ability to shoot incredible high definition (HD) video and take awesome pictures due to its upgraded camera. Since my HD camcorder, a Canon Vixia HF21, is about 5 years old now (ancient in the technology world!), I wondered how the new iPhone 5S would stack up against the Vixia in a short indoor test with some fairly decent lighting – one 500 watt photo flood light through an umbrella diffuser in front of me to my left, and another one pointing backward at a reflector umbrella from in front of me to my right.

The ambient lighting is the same for both videos, as is the audio set-up. For the latter, I used a Shure SM81 small-diaphragm condenser microphone. I didn’t bother cropping the mic out of the shot, so you would have an idea of how it is placed. I also already had the green screen hanging behind me, so I left that up. The key thing is to compare the quality of the videos against each other.

Which Video Came From Which Camera?

Below are the two videos. Can you guess which is which? What about which one you think is better? It is interesting to use a subjective word like “better,” I know. But I’m interested in first reactions and overall impression of video quality, rather than an objective analysis of technical factors. Either way, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below:).

SPOILER WARNING

The answer appears in the Comments section below:).