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Professional iOS Camera — Operating Manual
CrevoCAM

CrevoCAM

A native iPhone camera app, built from scratch for professional video production. Real-time LUT color grading, full manual controls, monitored audio and project organization.

iOS 17+
4K · 1080p · 720p
24 · 25 · 30 · 60 fps
7 LUTs included
Reversible filters
Stereo VU Meter
Tally Light
Zero dependencies
01

Interface

Every on-screen element, what it does and where to find it.

TopBar
LUT (left) — tap opens the color carousel; hold enables FILTER OFF mode (records clean). In the center, the 4K · FPS · HDR chips — tap cycles values. On the right: timer, tally and settings (…). In landscape, the TopBar becomes a vertical column on the right.
REC Button (Amber Circle)
Tap to start/stop recording. While recording, the screen corners turn amber and the timer appears. The iPhone's physical volume button also starts and stops recording — great with wireless triggers.
Photo Button (White Circle)
Captures a single high-quality photo. A white flash confirms the capture. The photo is saved with automatic sequential naming under the active project.
Lens Selector (Side Column)
Column to the left of REC: 1× on top, then 0.5×, 2× and 5× (only the lenses your iPhone has). Tap switches lenses with a smooth transition (freeze frame, no flash). During a pinch, the active button shows the live zoom (e.g. 1.7×).
Stereo VU Meter
An 18-bar histogram in the corner shows audio levels in real time, blending the left and right channels. Above 90%, the bars light up amber indicating clipping. Shows the active microphone name (e.g. "SHURE", "IOS MIC"). Works before and during recording.
LUT Carousel
Horizontal strip with thumbnails of every available LUT. Appears when you tap the LUT button in the TopBar. Swipe to browse looks and tap one to apply it live. The selected LUT stays highlighted.
Recording Timer
MM:SS counter shown while recording, with the elapsed time of the current clip.
Camera Flip Button
Switches between rear and front cameras with a smooth transition. Resolution and format settings are preserved.
QuickBar (Floating Shortcuts)
Floating quick-access icons. WB and EV: tap opens the adjustment panel; hold locks/unlocks the value (a lock badge confirms in the center of the screen). Grid and aspect: tap cycles the value; hold opens the panel.
Cinema Mode: Swipe up anywhere on the screen to hide the entire interface and get a full-screen preview. Swipe down to bring the UI back.
02

Gestures

Every touch gesture available on the capture screen.

Single tap
Focuses on the tapped point. An animated reticle confirms the new focus point.
Double tap
Enables focus lock at the point. Double-tap again to move the lock to a new point (smooth rack focus).
Long press
On the QuickBar EV and WB icons: locks/unlocks the value (a lock badge confirms in the center of the screen). On the preview: engages or releases the focus lock at the pressed point.
Pinch (two fingers)
Continuous zoom from 0.5× to 5×, just like the native camera: the physical lens switches automatically. Releasing near a nominal value (0.5×, 1×, 2×, 5×) snaps to it.
Hold the photo button
Enables long exposure mode (light trails). Hold again to turn off.
Hold the REC button
Enables cinematic motion blur in video. Hold again to turn off.
Swipe up
Hides the entire interface — enables Cinema Mode with a full-screen preview.
Swipe down
Restores the interface after Cinema Mode.
Volume button (physical)
Volume+ or Volume- starts and stops recording. Compatible with wireless microphone triggers.
Drag in the gallery (select mode)
In "Select", run your finger across items to mark several at once, just like the Photos app. Holding an item opens the share/delete menu.
03

Video Recording

How to start, stop and monitor recording.

1
Set up before recording
Set resolution, FPS, lens, LUT and tally before hitting REC. Settings can be changed while recording, but that may cause a momentary visual cut.
2
Start recording
Tap the amber REC button or press the iPhone's volume button. The rear LED blinks 3× (Start/End mode), the screen corners turn amber and the timer starts.
3
While recording
The timer shows elapsed time. The amber corners confirm recording. The VU meter stays active — monitor audio levels in real time. In Cinema Mode (UI hidden), the amber corners remain visible.
4
Stop recording
Tap REC again or press the volume button. The LED blinks 3× more (Start/End) confirming the end. The clip is automatically saved to your Photos library, organized in the CrevoCAM album. If a LUT was active, the filter lands within seconds ("Applying filter…" shows in the gallery).
5
Capture a photo
Tap the white button to the left of REC. A white flash confirms the capture. The photo is saved to the project with sequential naming.
Reversible filter: The capture is saved with the LUT applied, but the original is preserved by the system. You can change or remove the filter anytime from the app's gallery — or revert to the original right in the Photos app. To save with no filter at all, hold the LUT button and enable FILTER OFF mode — the preview keeps showing the LUT so you can direct the scene.
04

Lenses and Zoom

Physical lens selection and continuous gesture zoom.

Lens Physical Sensor Recommended Use
0.5×Ultra Wide Ultra wide sensor (builtInUltraWideCamera) Tight spaces, wide shots, landscapes. More edge distortion.
1×Recommended Main wide sensor (builtInWideAngleCamera) General use, interviews, product. Best image quality. Least distortion. Ideal for Rec.709 LUTs.
2×Tele Telephoto sensor (builtInTelephotoCamera) Portraits, close-ups, background compression. Only on iPhones with a physical tele lens.
5×Tele 5× Digital zoom over the 2× tele Tight shots, distant detail. Some quality loss since it's digital zoom.

Gesture Zoom

Besides switching lenses, you can zoom continuously with a two-finger pinch — the lens switches automatically as you go.

Pinch out
Zooms in smoothly up to 5×, switching physical lenses automatically.
Pinch in
Zooms out down to 0.5×.
Tap the active lens button
With an intermediate zoom (e.g. 1.7×), tap the lens button to snap back to the nominal value.
05

Resolution and Frame Rate

Available combinations and how to change them quickly.

Resolution
4K
3840 × 2160 px. Maximum quality. Larger files. Ideal for color-graded production.
Resolution
1080p
1920 × 1080 px. Balance between quality and file size. Direct delivery for social.
Resolution
720p
1280 × 720 px. Light files. For quick content, stories, drafts.
Frame Rate
24 fps
Classic cinematic look. Film standard.
Frame Rate
25 fps
European/PAL standard. Compatible with studio gear.
Frame Rate
30 fps
NTSC standard. Smoother than 24fps. Good for YouTube and social.
Frame Rate
60 fps
Ultra-smooth motion. For 2× slow motion at 30fps in the edit.
How to change: Tap RESOLUTION or FRAME RATE inside the Settings panel — each tap cycles to the next value. The change applies instantly without pausing the session.
06

Focus and Exposure

Full manual control of autofocus, locks and EV adjustment.

Action Gesture Result
Focus on a point Single tap on the preview Camera refocuses on the tapped point. An animated reticle confirms.
Lock focus (AF Lock) Double tap on the point Focus stays locked. Reticle remains. Camera won't refocus as you move.
Move the lock (rack focus) Double tap on a new point The lock moves smoothly to the new point — rack focus effect.
Release focus Long press on the preview Autofocus returns. Reticle disappears.
EV adjustment (exposure) Tap the EV icon in the QuickBar → slider Real-time adjustment from -3 EV to +3 EV in the panel that opens.
Exposure lock Hold the EV icon in the QuickBar Exposure locks/unlocks at the current value. A lock badge confirms in the center of the screen and the panel closes itself.
Rack focus tip: While recording, double-tap a distant subject → then double-tap a close one. CrevoCam transitions focus smoothly between the two points, simulating a professional rack focus.
07

White Balance

Automatic and manual white balance with temperature presets.

Preset Temperature Ideal for
Auto Detected automatically Mixed situations, drafts, quick capture.
Tungsten 3,200 K Incandescent light, warm bulbs, studio tungsten fresnels.
Fluorescent 4,000 K Fluorescent, cold office LED.
DaylightMost used 5,500 K Direct sunlight, daylight LEDs, exteriors.
Cloudy 6,500 K Overcast days, open shade.
Shade 7,500 K Deep shade, open sky without direct sun.
Quick access: Tap the WB icon in the QuickBar to open the presets and the Kelvin/tint slider. Choosing a preset (3200K, 5500K…) or moving the slider locks the value (lock badge on). Hold the WB icon to lock/unlock anytime.
08

LUT Color Grading

7 exclusive Crevo LUTs + custom .cube support. Applied live via GPU.

COOL BURN
CLEAR ZERO
CYAN MIST
SODIUM
HAZE FADE
FIRST LIGHT
SOFT ZERO

How to use LUTs

1
Open the carousel
Tap the LUT button in the TopBar (top-left corner). The horizontal thumbnail carousel appears at the bottom of the screen.
2
Pick a LUT
Swipe the carousel and tap the LUT you want. The camera preview applies it instantly via GPU. The selected thumbnail stays highlighted.
3
Adjust intensity
Use the intensity slider to control the LUT strength from 0 to 100%. 0 = no LUT, 100 = full LUT.
4
Import a custom LUT
On iOS, find the .cube file in Files, tap it and choose "Open with CrevoCam". The LUT is imported automatically and shows up in the carousel.
Record without LUT (FILTER OFF): Hold the LUT button in the TopBar to enable FILTER OFF mode (an amber badge appears on the button). The preview keeps showing the LUT look for monitoring, but the capture is saved neutral, with no edit — ideal if you'd rather grade in post with DaVinci Resolve or Premiere. And remember: even recording with a LUT, the original is preserved and the filter can be removed later.
09

SDR / HDR

Color space control for a clean image compatible with Rec.709 LUTs.

Recommended for LUTs
SDR (Off)
Forces the sRGB / Rec.709 color space. Disables iOS automatic HDR and Dolby Vision. Delivers a neutral image, ideal for LUT color grading.
iOS default
HDR (On)
iOS applies Dolby Vision automatically. More saturated colors and native high contrast. Makes LUTs harder to use since the image comes pre-processed. Use only when you won't grade in post.
Recommended production setup: HDR Off (SDR) + active LUT + 4K @ 24fps + 1× lens + Start/End tally. This combination delivers the best result for professional color grading.
Heads up: With HDR Off, the preview may look slightly more "flat" than the iOS default — that's expected. The LUT compensates visually and the recorded image is exactly what you see in the preview with the LUT on.
10

Audio — VU Meter

Real-time stereo audio monitoring with automatic microphone detection.

18-Bar Histogram
The 18 bars blend the left and right channels with position-based weights, giving a lively read of the overall level and the stereo spread.
Microphone Detection
The app automatically detects the active microphone and shows its name (e.g. "SHURE", "LAVALIER", "INTERNAL"). When you plug an external mic, the app switches to the best available device automatically.
Visual Clipping
When the level goes past 90%, the bars light up amber indicating clipping. Lower the external mic gain or move away from the sound source.
Always Active
The VU meter works before and during recording. Use it to check the microphone is picking up before you start.
✦ Ideal level
Keep the bars between 60–80% of full height. Don't let them light up amber — distorted audio can't be fixed in post.
✦ External mic
When you connect a lavalier or a mic via Lightning/USB-C, CrevoCam detects it automatically and prioritizes the external mic.
✦ Wireless trigger
Wireless mics whose receiver uses the audio connector are detected too. The receiver's volume button can trigger REC.
11

Tally Light

The iPhone's rear LED blinks to indicate recording state.

Tally Mode
Off
LED off during the entire recording. No external visual cue. Use when any light could disturb the scene.
Tally Mode — Default
Start/End
3 short blinks at start + 3 blinks at the end of recording. Very short pulses — they don't light the scene. Ideal for most shoots.
Tally Mode
Continuous
LED blinks during the entire recording. Constant visual confirmation, visible to the subject. May interfere in dark scenes. Use in well-lit environments.
→
How to change the Tally mode
Long-press the Tally icon in the side QuickBar. A popover appears with the 3 modes. Tap the one you want. The setting is saved and persists between sessions.
How it works technically: CrevoCam drives the rear flash LED with a very short duty cycle — the pulse is too fast to affect scene lighting, but visible as a blink. That's different from keeping the LED on continuously.
12

Visual Overlays

Composition guides and exposure monitoring layered over the preview.

Composition Grids

Grid What it shows Use
None Clean preview, no lines When you already know your framing or want zero distraction.
ThirdsMost used 2 vertical + 2 horizontal lines splitting into 9 equal parts Rule of thirds. Place subjects at the intersections for balanced framing.
Golden Fibonacci spiral Organic composition. The point of interest sits at the spiral's center.
Center Center point + crosshair Centered composition, interviews, frontal product shots.

Aspect Ratio

Ratio Shape Use
Full16:9 Standard widescreen YouTube, TV, presentations. Default for most platforms.
Instagram4:5 Vertical portrait Instagram feed, vertical Reels.
TikTok3:4 Vertical square-ish TikTok, short-form Reels.
Cinemascope2.39:1 Ultra wide horizontal Anamorphic cinema look. Black bars top and bottom.
Important: Grid and aspect overlays are visual guides only — they don't affect the recording. The video is always recorded at the configured full resolution (e.g. 4K 16:9). Cropping to the target ratio happens in the edit.

Zebra — Overexposure Warning

Animated red stripes appear on image regions that are overexposed (blown out). Computed in real time at ~15fps.

Zebra on
Red stripes over blown highlights. Lower the EV or use an ND filter until the stripes disappear before recording.
Zebra off
Clean preview. Enable it in the QuickBar (Zebra icon) or in Settings → Zebra.
13

Projects

Clip organization by project with automatic sequential naming.

Named Projects
Each project has a name (e.g. "April Campaign") and a short prefix (e.g. "A001"). Every clip recorded in the project gets the prefix automatically.
Automatic Naming
The counter advances with each recording: A001_001.mov, A001_002.mov, A001_003.mov... No two clips ever share the same name within a project.
Quick Switching
Tap the Projects button to see all projects and switch the active one. New clips immediately go to the selected project.
Create a Project
Projects → "New Project". Set the name and prefix. The prefix can be letters+numbers (e.g. B002, CAM1, BUDA).
Multi-camera workflow: Use different prefixes per camera — "A001" for the main camera, "B001" for the secondary. In the edit, clip names already tell you the source camera.
15

Settings Presets

Save and restore complete settings combinations with one tap.

A preset captures the current state of all settings: resolution, FPS, lens, LUT, intensity, white balance, EV, HDR, tally, zebra, grid, aspect ratio and stabilization.

Example: Day Setup
Resolution4K
Frame Rate24fps
Lens1×
LUTCLEAR ZERO 80%
White Balance5500K Daylight
HDROff (SDR)
TallyStart/End
Example: Night Setup
Resolution1080p
Frame Rate30fps
Lens1×
LUTSODIUM 100%
White Balance3200K Tungsten
HDROff (SDR)
TallyOff
→
How to save a preset
Set everything up → Settings → Presets → "Save as new" → name it. To update the active preset with the current settings, use "Update active".
→
How to apply a preset
Settings → Presets → tap the preset → "Apply". Every setting is restored in a single tap.
16

Recommended Workflows

Optimized setups for the most common scenarios.

— Color-graded Production (Recommended)

4K @ 24fps
Maximum resolution
HDR Off
SDR/Rec.709 image
1× lens
Least distortion
Active LUT
On-set monitor
Record clean
Grade in post

— Fast Delivery (Social Media)

1080p @ 30fps
Smaller files
LUT applied
Original preserved
4:5 aspect
Instagram guide
Share
Straight from the gallery

— Multi-camera with Wireless Trigger

Separate projects
A001 and B001
Wireless mic
VU meter confirms
Volume button
REC from the receiver
Start/End tally
Confirms without affecting the scene
17

Tech Specs

System stack and capabilities.

Platform
iOS 17+ (iPhone)
Language
Swift 5.9 + SwiftUI
Camera
AVFoundation — AVCaptureSession + AVAssetWriter
Recording
H.264 .MOV — direct, no transcoding
LUT processing
CoreImage + Metal (GPU) — real-time MTKView
Audio
AVCaptureAudioDataOutput — stereo PCM, dBFS analysis
Orientation
CoreMotion — independent of the iOS rotation lock
Media storage
Photo library (PhotoKit) — "CrevoCAM" album, original + reversible edit
Custom LUTs
App Group — group.com.budsilva.crevocam
External dependencies
None — pure Swift + system frameworks
SDR color space
sRGB / Rec.709 (forced via device.activeColorSpace)
QR Code
AVCaptureMetadataOutput — real-time tracking
LUT formats
.cube (industry-standard 3D LUT)
Resolutions
4K (3840×2160) · 1080p (1920×1080) · 720p (1280×720)
Frame rates
24 · 25 · 30 · 60 fps
Supported lenses
0.5× · 1× · 2× · 5× (hardware permitting)
Replay the tutorial: To rewatch the app's interactive tour, go to Settings → Replay Tutorial. It walks through each area of the interface with an animated spotlight and descriptions of every function.
CrevoCAM
Professional iOS Camera · Made by Crevo