Apps that record portrait and landscape video simultaneously generally offer two underlying approaches: pulling both formats from two physical cameras at once, or from one camera using a live crop. They produce a similar result, but the trade-offs are worth understanding before you pick a default.
Dual-lens mode: two real cameras, two real perspectives
In dual-lens mode, one camera (typically the main wide lens) feeds the portrait file, while a second camera (typically the ultra-wide) feeds the landscape file — recording at the same time, from slightly different positions on the back of the phone. Each file gets its own genuine field of view rather than a crop of the other.
Best for: static or slow-moving shots where you want the landscape frame to show more of the scene than the vertical crop would allow — group shots, wider environments, or when the two formats benefit from genuinely different framing.
Trade-off: because the two lenses sit in different physical positions, there's a small parallax difference between them — fine for most content, but worth knowing if you're trying to align both frames pixel-for-pixel.
Single-lens mode: one camera, two aspect ratios
In single-lens mode, only one camera captures the scene. The full frame becomes your portrait file, while a 16:9 band is cropped from the vertical center of that same frame in real time to produce the landscape file. Both outputs come from the exact same optical perspective.
Best for: handheld, moving shots where you want both formats to show the identical moment from the identical angle — walking vlogs, single-subject talking-head content, or any time parallax between two lenses would be distracting.
Trade-off: the landscape file's field of view is limited to whatever fits inside that cropped band — you can't get a genuinely wider landscape shot than what the portrait frame already contains.
| Dual-lens | Single-lens | |
|---|---|---|
| Cameras used | Two, simultaneously | One |
| Landscape field of view | Independent, often wider | Cropped from portrait frame |
| Alignment between formats | Slight parallax offset | Identical perspective |
| Best for | Static/group shots, wider landscape | Handheld, single-subject, moving shots |
How to choose in practice
- If you're walking, panning, or otherwise moving the camera, default to single-lens — one perspective is easier to keep both crops looking intentional.
- If the shot is mostly static and you want the landscape file to breathe with more of the environment, use dual-lens.
- If in doubt, single-lens is the safer default for most everyday content — it's the mode closest to "what you see is what both files get."
DualFrame lets you switch between dual-lens and single-lens recording per shoot, so you're not locked into one approach.
See DualFrameFor device compatibility, see which iPhones support multi-cam recording.