I’ve been using my iPhone to film activities using AnimalTrakker. I’m looking for a better way to hold the phone. I have 2 major use cases:
hand held but need some stabilization and ideally a single hand to hold the camera. I’m moving when I do this.
Some way to effectively turn it into a POV camera. Where I can see my hands and the AnimalTrakker tablet in frame as I actually use the tablet and EID reader to work animals for real.
I saw the info on this thread In need of video gear but wondered if there are newer or better options.
There is no ideal choice, depends on budget and features.
I ended up buying an Osmo Pocket 4 because I wanted something that “just works” instead of forever playing with iPhone gimbal holder things and trying to find the right settings in built-in or 3rd party iPhone video shooting apps.
For me, spending money on a plug-and-play solution was the path of least resistance.
Also, a lot of what I want to film involves using an app on the iPhone, so not relying on the iPhone itself for filming, made everything much easier.
Two things to consider:
If you truly need POV, than a similar ActionCam with a headband or suction cup mount might be an interesting choice. The Osmo Pocket is more versatile, and you can get backpack style strap mounts which can work for POV.
Although this means buying another piece of hardware, unlike iPhones, much of this video gear has a real useful life cycle of 3 to 5 years, or much longer, so the cost can be amortized.
Also, a bonus feature, arguably, is that if you use something other than iPhone for video (or important still photography), you no longer have FOMO to keep upgrading iPhones every year for the “great new camera features”.
YMMV, but I managed to pay for my Nikon Z mirrorless and a lens or two, but jumping off the yearly new iPhone bandwagon and applying the yearly $2K savings (mine and my wife’s phone) towards much more longer lasting traditional camera/video gear.
Take a look at smallrig.com. It may not have what you need but it might give you some ideas. I’ve never purchased from them, I just remember someone (Alex Lindsay?) mentioning them on a podcast.
I’m not on that train, I typically keep my iPhones for longer. My entire iPhone History
iPhone 4s 18 October 2011
iPhone 5s 17 December 2013
iPhone 8 9 December 2017
iPhone 13 Pro 17 September 2021 Current Phone
