What do you get when you combine two of the best accessory companies for iPhone video and photography? You basically get the opportunity to shoot videos where your audience will say “you couldn’t have done that with an iPhone!” But, you did.
Starting with an Optrix XD4 or XD5 case for your particular iPhone, you get durable protection from falls, water, dust and dirt. I’ve been a big fan of Optrix since the original model, but they’ve improved on that with a wider angle lens and now more waterproofing.
Their lenses have great optical quality, so you won’t be disappointed with the video. Check out some of these shots on the attached video.
So, ready to take that up a notch? Add on some accessories from iStabilizer and you can shoot from places you never could before. With the $14.99 tripod adapter, you can keep your phone protected in the case and still attach it anywhere a normal camera could be attached. The 1/4x20 threaded mounting hole will work with all the iStabilizer products.
The iStabilizer monopod is great for getting yourself in the shot without having to stretch your one arm out to unreasonable lengths. With your camera mounted to the monopod, you merely extend the monopod to whatever length you need up to 36” long. With the camera removed, it’ll slide back into just 11” long and fits easily in your camera bag.
The Flex is the small tripod made by iStabilizer. It is super lightweight but capable of carrying a video phone quite nicely. In addition to being a stable, standard tripod for your phone, it also bents and contorts its legs to any position to get a grip where most tripods wouldn’t think of going.
Finally, and maybe the most fun of all is the Dolly – a flexible, smooth rolling carrier for your phone. While most people don’t even realize it, those smooth gliding shots you see on commercials are done on a large people-sized dolly. Rarely do videographers swing their cameras left to right (panning). They usually prefer to attach their camera to a dolly and then follow the action while someone pushes the extremely smooth rolling dolly in the direction of the action. Take a look at this video and you’ll see what I mean.
When you’re ready to release that inner Spielberg, take a look at the Optrix cases with the iStabilizer line of accessories.
Doug Bardwell, based in Cleveland, OH, writes about interesting new travel technology topics, across the country and around the world. Feel free to drop him a line at travel.dougbardwell@gmail.com with suggestions for future products to be reviewed. If you've ever used one of the products he's reviewed, please leave your thoughts in the comment box below. To get his stories delivered to your inbox, click the RSS feed or the "Subscribe" button above or follow him on Twitter @photodb.. To read Doug’s disclosure notice, click here.
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