You have a big decision to make. That’s because iPhone pre-orders open up at 12:01 AM PDT. While things like color and storage size certainly matter, choosing the type of iPhone is an even bigger decision.
In a few hours, you’ll have to decide whether to go for the iPhone 6s or the larger iPhone 6s Plus. There are pluses and minuses associated with each device. For example, the iPhone 6s Plus is much less pocketable than the iPhone 6s.
But there’s one particular area of interest that makes the iPhone 6s Plus hands-down the right choice. If you plan on using your iPhone extensively for video, then the iPhone 6s Plus is a no brainer. Here’s why…
Optical image stabilization
The original iPhone 6 Plus featured optical image stabilization, but only for still photos. With the new iPhone 6s Plus, OIS works for both stills and video. That’s a very big deal.
OIS for video means much smoother movies when going handheld. Sure, there are solutions for mounting the iPhone on a tripod, but 99% of the time we’re holding our iPhones while shooting video. This generally results in camera shake, because our bodies are alway moving. Even if we try to be super still, we still have to breath, which induces camera shake.
With OIS in the new iPhone 6s Plus, video now benefits from the same stabilization present in still photos. OIS can make a huge difference when shooting video on a whim. It can be the difference between nauseating shakes and silky smooth footage.
Sadly, just like last year’s model, the iPhone 6s lacks OIS. That, in my opinion, makes the 6s Plus hands-down the right choice for videographers.
Better battery life
The last-gen iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus featured noticeable difference in battery life. While the iPhone 6 struggled to make it through a day, the 6 Plus could generally make it with a little life to spare. We can expect similar battery life differences this generation.
Considering that video is one of the most battery-intensive tasks one can engage in, you’ll want the device with the most battery life. Again, that’s the iPhone 6s Plus.
More pixels
The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus can both shoot 4K video. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to view that video at native resolution on your iPhone’s screen. Both screens have way less pixels than a 4K screen has, but the iPhone 6s is more egregious in its shortcomings, as it sports a 1334-by-750-pixel screen. The iPhone 6s Plus comes packed with a 1920-by-1080-pixel screen, which is still way less than 4K, but it’s closer than the iPhone 6s.
Bigger display
I’m kind of stating the obvious here, but the iPhone 6s Plus has a much larger display, which makes it easier to frame your subject when taking video. Any videographer will tell you that a bigger screen for previewing a shot is always better. The iPhone 6s Plus is by far the bigger screen.
So there you have it, folks. The iPhone 6s Plus is the better device for those of you serious about shooting video. It has a bigger display for framing you shot, it has more pixels, it has better battery life, and it features Optical image stabilization for video. I don’t think there’s any question as to which iPhone you should be looking at if you’re serious about video.
Now if you’re going to shoot lots of videos, you’ll most certainly want to thoughtfully consider storage size. I discuss storage size and what it means for 4K video in another post.