# HONOR Magic9 Pro Max and ARRI LogC3: what's ARRI, what isn't, and how to grade it

> The HONOR Magic9 Pro Max records ARRI LogC3 on a phone. What ARRI added, how to grade the APV files in Resolve, and the limits to check before January.

- URL: https://www.4filmmakers.co/news/honor-magic9-pro-max-arri-logc3/
- Publisher: 4FILMMAKERS (https://www.4filmmakers.co/)
- Topic: Cameras & drones (https://www.4filmmakers.co/topics/cameras/), Software (https://www.4filmmakers.co/topics/software/)
- Published: 2026-11-07
- Updated: 2026-11-07
- Keywords: HONOR Magic9 Pro Max ARRI, Honor Magic 9 Pro Max LogC3, ARRI CINEMA mode, LogC3 DaVinci Resolve, APV codec Premiere Pro, HONOR ARRI phone price Europe, smartphone Log video

The HONOR Magic9 Pro Max records 10-bit ARRI LogC3 in ARRI Wide Gamut 3 at up to 4K 60p, so standard LogC3 LUTs and Resolve's color management work on its files. ARRI supplied the encoding and the Looks. The sensors, lenses, noise reduction and the 14-stop claim are HONOR's. Europe and the UK should get it in January 2027, with no euro or sterling price yet, and CineD says it won't go on sale in the US.

The first looks from the Los Angeles press event judge the color. We went through the part you meet after the shoot: which settings to use in Resolve, where grey should sit, what the APV files do in Premiere, and how much ND a phone at ISO 160 needs. We haven't shot with this phone, so the hands-on notes below come from CineD and Digital Camera World, and the maths is ours.

## In short

- ARRI CINEMA mode shoots LogC3 on the main and telephoto cameras. The 12mm ultra-wide stays out.
- In Resolve, set a CST to ARRI Wide Gamut 3 and ARRI LogC3. Expose 18% grey to code 400, about 39% on a waveform.
- Files are APV 10-bit 4:2:2. CineD says Premiere has no native support, so plan on transcoding.
- At ISO 160 and a 180° shutter, full sun calls for about 8 stops of ND on the main camera. That's our maths.
- The 14 stops are HONOR's lab figure. ARRI publishes no number, and CineD hasn't measured it yet.
- Our pick: worth testing as a crash cam on LogC3 jobs graded in Resolve. Premiere and Final Cut users should wait.

## Which parts are ARRI and which are HONOR?

ARRI's press release talks about "selected elements of ARRI Image Science". Split out, the list looks like this.

Table: Who supplies what on the Magic9 Pro Max

| Part | From | What it means on set |
|---|---|---|
| LogC3 curve, ARRI Wide Gamut 3 | ARRI | The encoding of the ALEXA Mini and AMIRA generation, so existing LUTs fit |
| Sensor calibration | HONOR, "enhanced by ARRI Image Science" | CineD says both rear cameras follow the LogC3 curve closely |
| ARRI Looks | ARRI | 14 on the phone, 87 in the Look Library |
| Sensors and lenses | HONOR's camera system | 1/1.28-inch and 1/1.4-inch, with phone depth of field |
| Noise reduction | HONOR H1 chip | Runs in the RAW domain before the file is written |
| 14 stops of dynamic range | HONOR lab figure | ARRI attaches no number to the phone |
| APV 10-bit 4:2:2 | Open codec started by Samsung | Named in ARRI's release, absent from HONOR's |
| Stabilization | HONOR | CIPA 8.0 claim, mixed reviews below |

Digital Camera World compared the phone with an ALEXA at ARRI's Los Angeles studio. Its writer found the palette close through the same ALEXA LUT, while the phone still showed the compression and processing you'd expect from a phone. Expect the color to match and the texture to give the phone away.

## HONOR Magic9 Pro Max video specs at a glance

Table: ARRI CINEMA mode, from HONOR, ARRI and CineD

| Spec | Figure |
|---|---|
| Log and gamut | ARRI LogC3, ARRI Wide Gamut 3, 10-bit |
| Resolution and speed | 4K, 24p to 60p. We found no list that confirms 25p or 50p |
| Codec | APV 10-bit 4:2:2. Bitrate not published |
| Main camera | 200MP, 1/1.28-inch, 24mm equivalent, f/1.57, OIS |
| Telephoto | 200MP, 1/1.4-inch, 85mm equivalent, f/2.6, OIS |
| Ultra-wide | 50MP, 12mm equivalent, f/2.0, no ARRI CINEMA mode |
| Native ISO | 160, as CineD reports it |
| Aspect ratios | 16:9 and 2.39:1 |
| Tools | False color, peaking, Look preview over LogC3, LUT import |
| Screen | 6.8-inch LTPO OLED, 2,000 nits full screen, 1.5% reflectance |
| RAW | Not listed |

## How do you grade HONOR LogC3 in DaVinci Resolve?

Treat the clip like footage from an ALEXA Mini. These settings apply to clips shot in the LogC3 profile only, because SDR and HDR clips already have the Look baked in.

1. Set the timeline to Rec.709 Gamma 2.4, or your delivery space.
2. Add a Color Space Transform on a node near the end of the tree.
3. Set Input Color Space to ARRI Wide Gamut 3 and Input Gamma to ARRI LogC3.
4. Set Output Color Space to Rec.709 and Output Gamma to Gamma 2.4.
5. Do exposure and white balance on nodes before the CST.

The other route is a LUT. On the phone, the ARRI ALEXA Look is the classic LogC3 to Rec.709 LUT, and ARRI Video is a brighter, more saturated version. The Look Library is free from ARRI to anyone, and HONOR's China site also links a Rec.709 LUT and a Look pack.

Table: Three ways to get from LogC3 to a finished image

| Route | Where it comes from | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| CST to Rec.709 | Built into Resolve | Your own grade, mixed cameras |
| LogC3 to Rec.709 LUT | ARRI Look Library, .cube files with 33 mesh points | Fast delivery with a set Look |
| Log-to-log Look, then a conversion LUT or CST | ARRI Look Library, three intensities for LogC3 | Keeping the Look under a Rec.709 or HDR output |

If you're cutting it with an ALEXA 35, remember that camera records LogC4, so the clips need a conversion before they share a timeline. With a Mini LF or an AMIRA, the phone already sits in the same encoding.

## Where should you put grey on LogC3?

ARRI's curve document says every LogC3 curve maps 18% grey to 0.391, which is code 400 of 1023. HONOR's phone has false color, so check what it shows against a grey card once, then trust that reading.

![Graph of the ARRI LogC3 curve at EI 800 in 10-bit code values. 18 percent grey sits at code 400, 90 percent white at 572, and a side table lists scope percentages from black at 9 percent to the top of the curve at 100 percent](https://www.4filmmakers.co/news/honor-magic9-pro-max-arri-logc3/images/logc3-curve.svg)
*Calculated from ARRI's published EI 800 formula. Graphic: 4FILMMAKERS.*

Two unknowns sit behind that chart. ARRI's LogC3 is a family of curves, one per exposure index, and the top of the curve moves with EI. An ALEXA records the EI in its metadata. HONOR hasn't said which curve the phone writes at ISO 160, and Resolve's CST offers one LogC3 entry. ARRI says the EI 800 formula stays within 10% across EI 200 to 1600 up to scene white, so the error should stay small in the midtones.

The second one is clipping. At EI 800 the curve has room for about 8.3 stops above grey. HONOR claims 14 stops in total from a 1/1.28-inch sensor, so we'd expect the phone to clip well below the top of the waveform. Panasonic says this outright in the GH7 manual: its licensed LogC3 follows EI 800 and clips the equivalent of 2 stops early at 60 fps or below. We found no such note from HONOR. Before a real job, blow out a lamp, read the flat line on the waveform, and note that value. That's your white point for the shoot.

## Will APV files open in Premiere or Final Cut?

CineD states that Premiere doesn't support APV natively. A feature request on Adobe's community forum, with more users adding their voice, asks for it. We found no Adobe or Apple statement promising support.

Table: APV support, as of 7 November 2026

| Software | APV status | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| DaVinci Resolve 20.2+ | Supported, according to Samsung and CineD. Blackmagic's guide says "encoding Samsung APV clips" | Cut directly. Test a clip in the free version if you don't own Studio |
| Premiere Pro | No native support | Transcode first |
| Final Cut Pro | We found no support listed | Transcode first |
| FFmpeg 8.0+ | Decoder included | Your transcode tool |

A ProRes 422 HQ transcode from FFmpeg looks like this: ffmpeg -i clip.mp4 -c:v prores_ks -profile:v 3 -pix_fmt yuv422p10le -c:a pcm_s16le clip.mov. Our FFmpeg 8 build lists the APV decoder, but we haven't run this on a HONOR file. Swap the file name for whatever the phone writes.

HONOR hasn't published bitrates. It says APV files run about 20% smaller than ProRes at a similar quality target. For a rough idea of storage, Samsung's table for the Galaxy S26 Ultra gives the APV figures below. Treat them as a planning guess for HONOR's phone.

Table: Samsung's APV 422 HQ bitrates, with our storage maths. Assumes 200 GB free on a 256 GB phone and 450 GB free on 512 GB

| 4K mode | Bitrate | Per minute | 256 GB phone | 512 GB phone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24p | 637 Mbps | 4.8 GB | about 42 min | about 94 min |
| 30p | 796 Mbps | 6.0 GB | about 33 min | about 75 min |
| 60p | 1,592 Mbps | 11.9 GB | about 17 min | about 38 min |

Only one site we read, Daily Camera News, talks about writing straight to an external SSD, and HONOR doesn't confirm it. Buy the 512 GB model if you plan to shoot APV.

## How much ND does the phone need at ISO 160?

HONOR lists one aperture per camera, and CineD says it shot mostly at native ISO 160 with a variable ND on the SmallRig cage. Start from the sunny 16 rule (f/16 at 1/160 s for ISO 160), open up to the lens, then slow down to 1/50 s.

Table: ND for 1/50 s in direct sun at ISO 160, our maths

| Camera | Aperture | Stops to remove | Nearest filter | Shutter with ND32 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main, 24mm | f/1.57 | 8.4 | ND256 | about 1/500 s |
| Telephoto, 85mm | f/2.6 | 6.9 | ND128 | about 1/190 s |

A 2 to 5 stop variable ND won't hold 180° in full sun on either camera. Our [Osmo Pocket 4P ND guide](https://www.4filmmakers.co/news/osmo-pocket-4p-nd-filters-iso-1600/) walks through the same sum at ISO 1600, and the [82mm variable ND guide](https://www.4filmmakers.co/news/best-variable-nd-filters-82mm/) covers the X-cross problem at high stops. We found no thread size for the SmallRig kit's filter mount, so check it before ordering.

## What limits should you check first?

CineD's first look lists these from real use, and the workarounds are our suggestions. CineD discloses that HONOR paid its flights and accommodation.

Table: Reported limits in ARRI CINEMA mode and how to work around them

| Limit | Why it hurts | Workaround |
|---|---|---|
| Clips at 24.01 or 24.02 fps | One extra frame every 50 s at 24.02. Forced to 24p, the picture drifts about 0.5 s per 10 minutes | Sync long takes by waveform and check clip attributes |
| Stabilization won't switch off | Mild mode remains, the stronger mode crops further | Use mild mode on a tripod or gimbal |
| No manual audio levels | Loud scenes can't be trimmed | Record a separate mic and sync it |
| Some audio presets sound thin | CineD stuck to "standard" | Test before the job |
| No ultra-wide in ARRI CINEMA | Widest LogC3 view is 24mm | Plan around 24mm and 85mm |
| External monitor shows no horizontal playback | Awkward on a wired monitor | Review clips on the phone |
| Noise reduction has limited control | Fine texture depends on HONOR's processing | Test low light before you commit |

Reviewers split on stabilization. Digital Camera World found panning and walking on the main camera solid, with a visible crop. CineD's writer wasn't impressed and thinks rival phones do better. We'd plan on the crop, whichever side you believe.

## HONOR vs iPhone 18 Pro vs Galaxy S26 Ultra for Log video

Table: What changes for an editor. Figures from the makers and our earlier guides

|  | HONOR Magic9 Pro Max | iPhone 18 Pro | Galaxy S26 Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|
| Log | ARRI LogC3 | Apple Log, Apple Log 2 | Samsung Log |
| Pro codec | APV 10-bit 4:2:2 | ProRes, ProRes RAW | APV 422 HQ and LQ |
| Resolve route | CST preset for LogC3 | CST for Apple Log, no labelled Log 2 preset in Blackmagic's notes | Samsung's LUTs or your own setup |
| Premiere, Final Cut | Transcode | ProRes opens in both | Transcode for APV |
| Third-party LUTs | Anything built for LogC3 | Apple Log LUTs, not meant for Log 2 | Samsung Log LUTs |
| US sale | No | Yes | Yes |

LogC3's value is the shared recipe. Our [iPhone 18 Pro ProRes RAW guide](https://www.4filmmakers.co/news/iphone-18-pro-prores-raw-resolve/) shows how much guessing Apple Log 2 still needs in Resolve, and the [Blackmagic Camera for Android guide](https://www.4filmmakers.co/news/blackmagic-camera-android-log-phones/) covers which phones get Log in that app. iPhone still wins on file handling: ProRes goes everywhere without a transcode. On the HONOR, the Resolve setup is the easy part and the codec is the hurdle. If you're updating first, our [Resolve 21.2 guide](https://www.4filmmakers.co/news/davinci-resolve-21-2/) covers what changed.

## How much is it in Europe, and when does it arrive?

Table: Prices and dates we could confirm on 7 November 2026

| Market | Date | Price |
|---|---|---|
| China | On sale since 28 September | From RMB 6,499 (12GB/256GB) |
| Hong Kong | On sale 19 November | HK$10,999 (12GB/512GB), HK$14,999 (16GB/1TB) |
| Europe, UK | January 2027 on HONOR's UK and French sites, no day given | No euro or sterling price |
| USA | Not planned, according to CineD | None |

Android Headlines reports 12GB of RAM with 256GB or 512GB for Europe, and guesses the price could pass €1,500. HONOR hasn't confirmed that figure. In Hong Kong the G200 teleconverter costs HK$1,599, the G500 HK$3,299 and the SmallRig cage HK$2,199, and we found no European accessory prices.

One more thing to check in January: Notebookcheck reports a 7,030 mAh battery in a hands-on video of a global unit, against 8,800 mAh in China. That comes from a phone shop's TikTok clip, so it isn't confirmed for Europe. A China import should keep the bigger battery, but check warranty cover, software language and network bands first.

## Who should buy it, and who should wait?

Table: Our verdict by type of shooter

| You are | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Crew on ALEXA Mini, LF or AMIRA jobs | Test one in January | Crash cam or tight spots in the same encoding |
| Solo creator grading in Resolve | Good fit | Free ARRI LUTs, no codec hurdle |
| Premiere or Final Cut editor | Wait | Every shoot gets a transcode step |
| iPhone ProRes shooter | Stay put | You'd swap easy files for a color recipe |
| Handheld run and gun | Wait for reviews | Reviewers disagree on stabilization |
| US buyer | Skip | No official sale |

Table: Pros and cons for video

| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| LogC3 and AWG3 on a phone, with a known grading path | APV needs a transcode outside Resolve |
| Free LUT library, plus import of your own LUTs | Frame rate wanders around 24p |
| False color and Look preview while recording | No ultra-wide, no audio level control |
| Low-reflection screen for outdoor work | 14 stops unmeasured, clip point unpublished |

## HONOR Magic9 Pro Max questions people ask

**Q: Is the HONOR Magic9 Pro Max an ARRI camera?**
No. It's an HONOR phone with ARRI's LogC3 curve, Wide Gamut 3 and Looks. HONOR makes the camera system, and ARRI supplies selected image science plus the branding.

**Q: Can you use ALEXA LUTs on HONOR LogC3 footage?**
Yes, LUTs built for LogC3 apply directly, on the phone or in post. LUTs built for LogC4 and the ALEXA 35 don't fit.

**Q: Does the HONOR Magic9 Pro Max shoot RAW video?**
We found no RAW recording in ARRI's or HONOR's material. HONOR's noise reduction works in the RAW domain inside the phone, and the file you get is 10-bit APV 4:2:2.

**Q: Does it record 25p or 50p for Europe?**
CineD says frame rates run from 24p to 60p, and we found no list of the exact options. Check this in January if you shoot under 50 Hz lighting.

**Q: What is the HONOR Magic9 Pro Max price in euros?**
HONOR hasn't announced one. Hong Kong starts at HK$10,999 for 12GB/512GB, and Europe follows in January 2027.

## Sources

- [ARRI press release](https://www.arri.com/en/company/press/press-releases-2026/arri-honor-professional-cinematic-imaging-honor-magic9-pro-max) (28 September): what ARRI contributes, APV, press image used for our cover
- [HONOR launch release](https://www.honor.com/global/news/honor-magic9-launch/) and [China product page](https://www.honor.com/cn/phones/honor-magic9-pro-max/): specs, China price, LUT downloads
- [CineD first look](https://www.cined.com/honor-magic9-pro-max-first-look-arri-color-science-at-a-fraction-of-the-price/) (6 November, trip paid by HONOR) and [launch article](https://www.cined.com/honor-magic9-pro-max-launches-arri-co-branding-native-logc3-recording-dual-200mp-cameras/): ISO 160, limits, availability, APV in Premiere
- [Digital Camera World](https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/tech/android-phones/i-tried-the-new-arri-powered-camera-phone-at-its-los-angeles-studio-and-the-results-genuinely-surprised-me) (4 November): ALEXA color comparison, stabilization
- [ARRI, Log C curve in VFX](https://www.Arri.com/resource/blob/31918/66f56e6abb6e5b6553929edf9aa7483e/2017-03-alexa-logc-curve-in-vfx-data.pdf): code 400, EI curves and formula
- [ARRI Look Files](https://www.arri.com/en/learn-help/learn-help-camera-system/image-science/look-files) and [LUT Generator](https://www.arri.com/en/learn-help/learn-help-camera-system/tools/lut-generator): free Look Library, LUT formats
- [Panasonic GH7 manual](https://eww.pavc.panasonic.co.jp/dscoi/DC-GH7/html/DC-GH7_DVQP3109_eng/0097.html): LogC3 clipping note
- [Samsung Developer, APV](https://developer.samsung.com/mobile/apv.html): bitrates, Resolve 20.2 and FFmpeg 8; [Blackmagic Resolve 20.2 guide](https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/SupportNotes/DaVinci_Resolve_20.2_New_Features_Guide.pdf); [Adobe feature request](https://community.adobe.com/feature-requests-730/native-support-for-advanced-professional-video-apv-codec-ietf-rfc-9924-1551547)
- [Unwire HK](https://unwire.hk/2026/11/04/honor-magic9-pro-max-hk-price-launch/mobile-phone/) (4 November): Hong Kong prices; [Android Headlines](https://androidheadlines.com/2026/10/honor-just-teased-a-january-launch-for-the-magic-9-series-in-europe-and-the-uk.html): European memory options; [Notebookcheck](https://www.notebookcheck.com/Honor-Magic-9-Pro-Max-Europa-Launchmonat-offiziell-Deutlich-kleinerer-Akku-im-globalen-Modell-bestaetigt.1415835.0.html): global battery report
- [Daily Camera News](https://www.dailycameranews.com/2026/10/honor-magic9-pro-max-arri-logc3-dual-200mp-cameras/): external SSD mention
- Cover image: HONOR / ARRI press kit, cropped to remove text. ND, storage and frame rate figures, and the curve graphic, are our own calculations