If you’re a social media manager or on-the-go content creator, you’ve probably already dabbled with shooting high-quality videos on your phone. While this is a great place to start, adding a few key pieces of gear to your setup can take your work to a whole new level — and help grow your follower count along the way.
Today, we’re highlighting some gear favorites from our social media team here at Vimeo. (Full disclosure: Some of the gear reviewed in this article was provided by Moment free of cost. Also note that we shoot on iPhone, so these recommendations reflect that.)
The best part? Each item is under $300, so you can up your content game without blowing your production budget (or your personal savings, whatever). Let’s get started.
Have you ever conducted an amazing interview on your phone only to play it back and discover you can barely hear the dialogue over the hubbub of background noises? We have, and it’s the worst. Luckily, there’s this microphone, which is teeny-tiny and comes with a protective zip-around case so you can toss it in your bag and take it anywhere. When you’re ready to use it, just plug it in to your iPhone’s charging port and start recording. It’s way easier than having to mic up your interviewee, and allows you to create quality-sounding content on the fly.
When your job (literally) depends on your phone, you have to protect it from getting scratched, cracked, or — worst of all — smashed. For that task, we love this wallet case from Moment. First, the wallet pocket on the back can hold up to three cards, which should keep you from losing your press credentials/ID badge (yep, we’ve been there). Second, the bottom of the case includes a strap attachment, which works with any standard wrist strap, so you never have to worry about dropping your camera. And third, the Moment lens interface is built right into the case, so you can attach any of Moment’s professional-grade lenses with ease (no more annoying clip-on lenses). Need we say more?
The Shoulderpod handle grip is perfect for creating content on the go — it fits in a small bag and can be whipped out and attached at a moment’s notice. Just open the clamp, stick your phone in the mount (it’s adjustable!), and start shooting. You’d be surprised at how helpful this thing is at stabilizing; it’s ideal for capturing action shots as well as panning around. Something else we love about this grip is that you can use the smartphone clamp for two other functions: as a tripod mount, so you can attach your smartphone to any standard tripod, and as a standalone tripod, for when you don’t have one handy.
Though it’s technically for a DSLR or mirrorless camera, we love attaching the Joby Gorillapod to our smartphone clamp and using it with our phones. (Pro tip: If you have the Shoulderpod handle grip, you can use that smartphone clamp with this tripod. If you don’t, you can buy a clamp from Amazon for less than $10.) It’s super lightweight, and its flexible legs bend so you can grip it for handheld shots or wrap it around branches or poles for interesting perspectives. You can also stand it up to keep your phone stable on any surface.
The Moment film lens duo are our go-to lenses for shooting pretty much everything. This sweet two-pack comes with an anamorphic lens and a tele 58mm lens. The anamorphic lens gives you a dramatic widescreen look (2:40:1 aspect ratio) and those cinematic horizontal flares you see in the movies, while the tele 58mm gives you ultra-crisp, zoomed-in shots without having to use the zoom on your iPhone (which notoriously results in grainy, low-quality footage). We love that they attach seamlessly to the Moment iPhone case we called out above. Plus, they come with cute little lens caps and dust bags.
1. Shure iPhone microphone, $149
Have you ever conducted an amazing interview on your phone only to play it back and discover you can barely hear the dialogue over the hubbub of background noises? We have, and it’s the worst. Luckily, there’s this microphone, which is teeny-tiny and comes with a protective zip-around case so you can toss it in your bag and take it anywhere. When you’re ready to use it, just plug it in to your iPhone’s charging port and start recording. It’s way easier than having to mic up your interviewee, and allows you to create quality-sounding content on the fly.
2. Moment iPhone wallet photo case, $49
When your job (literally) depends on your phone, you have to protect it from getting scratched, cracked, or — worst of all — smashed. For that task, we love this wallet case from Moment. First, the wallet pocket on the back can hold up to three cards, which should keep you from losing your press credentials/ID badge (yep, we’ve been there). Second, the bottom of the case includes a strap attachment, which works with any standard wrist strap, so you never have to worry about dropping your camera. And third, the Moment lens interface is built right into the case, so you can attach any of Moment’s professional-grade lenses with ease (no more annoying clip-on lenses). Need we say more?
3. Shoulderpod handle grip, $39
The Shoulderpod handle grip is perfect for creating content on the go — it fits in a small bag and can be whipped out and attached at a moment’s notice. Just open the clamp, stick your phone in the mount (it’s adjustable!), and start shooting. You’d be surprised at how helpful this thing is at stabilizing; it’s ideal for capturing action shots as well as panning around. Something else we love about this grip is that you can use the smartphone clamp for two other functions: as a tripod mount, so you can attach your smartphone to any standard tripod, and as a standalone tripod, for when you don’t have one handy.
4. Joby Gorillapod 3K kit, $79
Though it’s technically for a DSLR or mirrorless camera, we love attaching the Joby Gorillapod to our smartphone clamp and using it with our phones. (Pro tip: If you have the Shoulderpod handle grip, you can use that smartphone clamp with this tripod. If you don’t, you can buy a clamp from Amazon for less than $10.) It’s super lightweight, and its flexible legs bend so you can grip it for handheld shots or wrap it around branches or poles for interesting perspectives. You can also stand it up to keep your phone stable on any surface.
5. Moment film lens duo, $269
The Moment film lens duo are our go-to lenses for shooting pretty much everything. This sweet two-pack comes with an anamorphic lens and a tele 58mm lens. The anamorphic lens gives you a dramatic widescreen look (2:40:1 aspect ratio) and those cinematic horizontal flares you see in the movies, while the tele 58mm gives you ultra-crisp, zoomed-in shots without having to use the zoom on your iPhone (which notoriously results in grainy, low-quality footage). We love that they attach seamlessly to the Moment iPhone case we called out above. Plus, they come with cute little lens caps and dust bags.
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