Boost iPhone Cinematic Experience: Essential Film Gear

iPhone camera accessories for better filming and photo experience

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

There are so many Smartphones with cameras that can produce breathtaking images, but only under certain circumstances. If you find yourself in low-light conditions or you’d like to raise the quality of the sound of your video recording you might need the aid of the camera accessories. Even though the iPhones have made the image making process almost effortless they too have their limits and in some situations, it is impossible to capture a video or a photo without using some of the equipment that is considered standard in most professional camera setups.

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On the other hand, having all the gadgets for iPhone photography doesn’t guarantee that you’ll immediately become a great photographer. Photography and videography require creativity, exploration, and experience thus relying too much on the equipment can be counterproductive. The accessories we are going to cover simply widen a number of things that you’ll be able to do with your iPhone, but they are in no way a prerequisite for a great shot. Let’s take a look at some of the accessories that will make your life as an iPhone photographer or videographer much easier.

Tripod with Phone Mount

Being perfectly still while taking the picture or while you are recording something can be extremely difficult. To make things even worse iPhones are very light for a camera and even breathing can cause the unwanted movement. The tripod’s main purpose is to ensure that the camera is perfectly still while you are using it. GorilaPod Magnetic is a tripod that is intended for ultra light cameras, which makes it an excellent choice as a tripod for your iPhone. It sticks to any magnetic surface and it can be wrapped around anything else. GorilaPod Magnetic is tiny and it can be easily carried around, but the tripod’s mount can have problems holding the iPhone for a long period of time in an unnatural position.

Remote Shutter Release

How to press the record button without ever touching your phone? The answer is simple. Use Remote Shutter Release and make sure that your iPhone is perfectly still while you are taking photos or recording videos. Even though most iPhone cameras are equipped with a self-timer that allows you to move away from a camera using them means that you have a limited amount of time to take a shot. Remote Sutter Release devices like HISY Bluetooth Camera Remote enable you to take your time and carefully plan your pictures. You can connect HISY to an iOS device via Bluetooth in a few seconds and step away from your iPhone to distances up to 90 feet and still capture footage as if the phone was in your hands.

External Lenses

Nothing influences the quality of your pictures more than the optics you use to capture them. A lens is probably the most important part of any camera and since most built-in lenses on iPhones have limitations an external lens is a perfect solution to those limitations. Using external lenses such as Moment Lenses will ensure that the images you create with your iPhone live up to the standards of professional photographers. You can choose between Fisheye, Wide-angle, or Telelenses since each of them provides you with a new set of possibilities. Moment lenses are light and easy to mount on your iPhone, which is why carrying them on your road trips and adventures requires minimum effort. Using an external lens is a great way to improve the quality of images you take with your iPhone.

External Light Source

To photograph or to film something simply means to capture the light at the certain place in a certain moment. Due to the lack of light that is not always possible and an additional source of light is often necessary to ensure that camera receives enough light. Using a camera flash can be a quick solution for this problem, but the light the flash produces can be too hard and it always comes from the same direction. Photojojo’s pocket spotlight is an external light source that allows you to get creative with light in your videos or photos. You can adjust the brightness settings and choose between full strength, half strength, and strobe modes. Photojojo’s pocket spotlight is one of many external light sources that can be used with iPhones and other Apple’s devices and it will enable you to unleash your creativity.

External Battery/Charger

Recording or taking photos for long periods of time can be demanding on your iPhone’s battery. There is nothing worse than your battery dying in the middle of the scene you wanted to capture. RAVPower 20100mAh Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 USB-C/Type-C Port External Battery is one of the most powerful chargers on the market today that can be used as an external power source for latest computers or any of the Apple’s devices. At 20100 mAh it is capable of charging the iPhone 6S up to seven times in a row. The device is small enough to fit your pocket, which is why it should be your loyal companion on occasions when you are far away from a standard power source.

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Microphone

The era of silent movies is long gone and today the quality of the video’s sound is as important as the image quality. iPhone’s built-in microphones are far from perfect and if for any reason the sound quality in your video is important to you, you should use an external shotgun microphone like VideoMic Me . This microphone for iPhones is produced by Røde Microphones one the industry’s leading companies which speak volumes about the quality of this small and practical microphone. VideoMic Me connects to an iPhone through the TRRS headphone/microphone socket and it can be used with both front and back cameras. This directional mic is designed to shoot outdoors and it’s equipped with a deluxe furry windshield, that enables you to capture perfect audio even when it is windy outside.

Stabilization Gadgets

Besides tripods, you can use gimbals like DJI Osmo Mobile to keep your iPhone or any other Smartphone still while recording or taking a photo. Options like ActiveTrack that is built-into the DJI GO app enable Osmo Mobile to track your movements. The handle of the device is equipped with camera controls on the handle which means that you don’t even need to touch the display of your iPhone while you are using the Osmo Mobile. To make things even better, you can share videos live, create panorama photos composed out of 9 different pictures or create time-lapse videos by adjusting a few simple settings. DJI Osmo Mobile can be placed almost everywhere, which gives you the confidence to experiment without ever having to worry about the stability of the shot you are about to take.

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The Camera Dollies

Did you ever dream of taking a perfect tracking shot with your iPhone? Anyone who has ever tried to take that kind of a shot knows how difficult it is to make it perfectly paced and still. With iStabilizer Dolly you will be able to create shots that will seem that walked straight out of Martin Scorsese’s movie with your iPhone. iStabilizer Dolly can be used with almost all Smartphones and it can even hold smaller DSLR cameras. It needs a perfectly flat surface in order to create the uninterrupted camera movement and it might be tricky to maintain the consistent speed during the shot. Despite the fact that you’ll need some time to master camera dollies they are useful accessories for any aspiring filmmaker who is learning the ropes of the film industry.

Camera apps

There is no doubt that iPhone’s cameras are capable of stunning performances, but if you’d like to give the videos you create with your iPhone a more cinematic look, camera apps might be the thing that you are looking for. Apps like FiLMiC Pro turn iOS camera into a high definition camera that can stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the best professional cameras today. This two-time video camera app of the year enables you to fully control settings like ISO, Shutter Speed or Exposure bias which results in the footage that is worthy of industry’s best cameras. The app allows you to shoot 4K video in resolutions at up to 100Mbps and the latest update added the digital cinema 17:9 aspect ratio.

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Selfie Stick

Taking a selfie isn’t always easy, especially if you want to capture some of the ambiance and the atmosphere that surrounds you. Holding an iPhone in your hand while taking a selfie isn’t always the best choice. Selfie-sticks like MPow Selfie Stick offer a handy solution in these situations. MPow is incredibly light and easy to use. It is 7.1-inches long when collapsed and it can be expanded to 31.5 inches. The head of the stick can be rotated and angled up to 270 degrees so your iPhone 7 can be set in any way you want. The stick has a long-life battery which is great news for users who want to use the MPow Selfie Stick during the long sightseeing walks.

Underwater Housing

In the summertime, many people like to document their underwater adventures. But most underwater cameras are disposable and the image quality they produce is questionable at best. Underwater housings for iPhones might be a little pricey, but they enable you to capture the magnificence of the sea life in high definition. The LenzO for iPhone 7 Plus is designed and built using the same technologies that created the success of Lenzo’s housings for iPhone 6/6s and iPhone 7. The housing is composed out of aluminum and can be used at depths up to a hundred meters below the surface. You can access all of the phone’s camera functions including the 4K or time-lapse modes. Underwater housings protect your iPhone and enable you to have a lot of fun while exploring the underwater world.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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