iPhone & Android Hardware Accessories

While I wait for my Neewer case I'm using an interim Spigen case that's pretty minimal. My previous Android phones used substantial cases from Otterbox and I find the new situation somewhat anxiety-producing. It's too easy to drop, especially when using complex apps like the BM Camera. In fact, I did drop it already, screen down on gravel.

I love my pop socket. I have one that’s spring loaded so I can easily remove it - and it gives me a very secure grip on the phone.

I just use a transparent silicone iPhone 14 Pro protector with a special hard glass cover on the screen. The silicone is just ‘sticky’ enough to promote a good grip.

Unlike my prior iPhone 7 Plus. I dropped it several times that resulted in a very artistic pattern of cracks over time.

I'll be able to post some comments comparing Beastgrip's universal Beastgrip Pro and its phone-specific Beastcage this weekend. UPS has moved up delivery of the Beastgrip Pro that I ordered three days ago to tomorrow, three days earlier than it originally estimated. I opted for free shipping, which is from Beastgrip in the Chicago area to New York City.

At the end of May, 2022, Beastgrip started selling a new version of the Beastgrip Pro, its universal cage for any smartphone, regardless of maker. It published the video below on the design changes. This is the cage that I'll receive tomorrow and will compare to the Beastcage, which is made for specific iPhone models. In January, Beastgrip will be shipping two Beastcages, one for the iPhone 15 Pro and one for the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

UPS delivered the Beastgrip Pro earlier today. It turns out that the Pro, which can be used with any phone, and a phone-specific Beastcage, differ quite a lot in design. I want to spend a bit more time playing with the Pro, and I'll post some comparative comments tomorrow.

As far as I can tell, the following is the only video on the internet about how one assembles a Beastgrip Pro and how it works. The substance runs from 1:50 to 10:30.

For comparative purposes, this is the lens side of the forthcoming iPhone 15 Beastcage. There's quite a design difference:

beastcage.jpg (151.79 KiB) Viewed 28008 times

And this is the screen side of the Beastcage that I was using until I purchased an iPhone 15 earlier this week:

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[EDIT: Further to the second exception below, Beastgrip has responded to my question. See my post 6 down.]

With three exceptions, I think that the owner of an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max should choose the Beastcage specific to his or her phone rather than the universal Beastgrip Pro. The exceptions are:

You use your phone with a protective case and want to keep the case on the phone while filming. However, Beastgrip says the following about the Beastgrip Pro in boldface on its website: *When using external lenses, we recommend using your phone without a protective case for the best results. I've asked Beastgrip for its reasons and will post its response.

You want to use a Beastgrip cage both with your iPhone 15 and another phone or phones.

You want to use a Beastgrip cage now rather than wait until the iPhone 15 Beastcage for your phone is shipped in January. Note that the same issue will arise if you replace your iPhone 15 with, for example, an iPhone 16 or 17 shortly after release.

I prefer the phone-specific Beastcages precisely because they don't have the features that make a Beastgrip Pro adjustable. This makes setup and operation a bit faster and smoother. I don't want to overstate this. The difference isn't major, but if you've used both cages it's noticeable. I don't use a gimbal, but Fujifilm manager Richard Lackey, in a video linked earlier in this thread, says that Beastcages are also somewhat faster to balance.

I have a Beastgrip Pro and have ordered an iPhone 15 Pro Max Beastcage. I've decided to keep both cages. I fall into the second and third exceptions above. As my partner has an iPhone 14, I'm also interested in running two iPhone cameras.

Here are some specifications for the two iPhone 15s, the Beastgrip Pro universal cage and the forthcoming iPhone 15 Beastcages.

iPhone 15 Pro
Weight: 6.60 ounces (187 grams)

iPhone 15 Pro Max
Weight: 7.81 ounces (221 grams)

Beastgrip Pro Universal Cage
Weight: 309 g (10.9 oz)
Material: Glass filled nylon and machined 6061-T6 aluminum with black anodized finish

Beastcage for the iPhone 15 Pro
Weight: 272 g (9.6 oz)
Material: Machined 6061-T6 aluminum with black anodized finish

Beastcage for the iPhone 15 Pro Max
Weight: 295 g (10.4 oz)
Material: Machined 6061-T6 aluminum with black anodized finish

I mentioned earlier that Beastgrip cages are significantly heavier than the ones sold by SmallRig and Neewer. Rick Lang pointed out that a bit of weight can help with control. Yesterday, I received Beastgrip's basic phone clamp and basic handle in addition to its universal cage. I'm pretty happy with one practical consequence of Beastgrip gear being a bit heavier than others'.

This is the basic clamp and handle. Together they weigh 10.7 oz (303 g). Lay the phone down, say on level ground or a café table, and the clamp and handle isolate the phone and camera from whatever they're lying on. This is very stable. It's partly design and partly weight.

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The red tightener is larger than necessary and it's angled so that it sits flat on a level surface.

isolation.jpg (73.44 KiB) Viewed 27681 times

The clamp may also provide a way to carry the phone. There are three 14"-20s in the base of the clamp.

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The centre one is for the handle in the post above or a tripod. The two outer 1/4"-20s are to attach the clamp to a Nato rail and side handle. When laid down on a level surface, this also keeps a phone isolated from the surface, including when it's laid down on its side. Also, you can carry the phone by the side handle at your side.

beastclamp.jpeg (66.8 KiB) Viewed 27871 times

With a couple of D-rings screwed to the outer 1/4"-20s, instead of the Nato rail, one can also attach a neck strap. I didn't know that one can pay this much for D-rings

D-rings.jpg (82.08 KiB) Viewed 27869 times

It took me awhile to figure out how the Beastgrip system works and what's what. This is a full list of what I purchased. It might be of interest to some others.

Beastgrip Pro universal cage
Beastcage for the iPhone 15 Pro Max (delivery in January)
Beastclamp Plus - universal smartphone clamp with handle CH-50
Side Handle with L-shape Nato rail for a Beastcage and standard Nato rail for the Beastgrip Pro
58mm Filter adapter for 37mm Mount (this is included if you purchase their Macro lens)
Cold Shoe Mount
Pack of Replacement Parts

At some point, I'll probably purchase one of their lenses, just to see what add-on lenses are about.

Beastgrip gives prospective customers and customers discount codes and appears to have sales fairly regularly. Its current Black Friday pricing strikes me as fairly attractive. I was not charged sales tax. Shipping is free on orders over $75.

The SSD grip from Cliff & Kajun is on sale today for Cyber Monday if anyone here has been eying it. I have also exchanged emails with Cliff and he is considering designing an upgrade that would allow the use of threaded filters.

Best,
Paul

Further to my post six above, Beastgrip has responded to my question about using its universal case, the Beastgrip Pro, with a protective case on your phone...

My e-mail:

Your website says, in bold face: "When using external lenses, we recommend using your phone without a protective case for the best results."

I'd appreciate it if you could provide the reason or reasons for this. Also, what do you mean by "external lenses"? Does that include filters?

Beastgrip's reply:

Thank you for reaching out to us!

Any lens that is attached to the cage or rig is external lens. We recommend removing the case for the best alignment of lenses and phone cameras as otherwise the case will create a gap between them and it will translate to bad results. This also include filters.

Best regards,
Emma

EDIT December 18, 2023

I had a further exchange about this with Beastgrip. Here are their comments:

Imagine your smartphone inside Beastgrip Pro rig... the lens mount on the rig that comes with a rubber piece should be as close as possible to the camera you choose to film with to be able to cover that lens and bring your camera close enough to the lens and also make sure its not in some weird angled position.

This will not be possible when using a case as you will add few more mm if not quarter inch to that space. There will be a gap between the external lens and your camera which will translate into dark barrel around and overall bad performance. Phone cases come in different sizes and sometimes have very weird designs with edges sticking out like on those big bulky armor cases. As Emma mentioned in her reply there should be a perfect alignment and distance which once again when using the case will not be possible to achieve.

So this statement is written for our customers who complained that they can't get good results when filming with our lenses and still using a protective case on their smartphone.

That doesn’t sound like a very well informed response. I’m pretty sure the person writing it is parroting a script.

Such a shame that that’s all we can expect these days from a company.

That doesn’t sound like a very well informed response. I’m pretty sure the person writing it is parroting a script.

Such a shame that that’s all we can expect these days from a company.

My reaction is quite different. I think that Vadym Chalenko knows what he's doing and I note that he's not being wishy-washy on the subject. That's interesting, because the response isn't in his financial interest.

I asked the question yesterday (Sunday) and got a reply this morning. In other words, they reply to questions quickly. I have no problem at all with Chalenko formulating responses that support staff use to answer questions. Do you expect him to read every e-mail they get and respond personally?

Having watched Beastgrip's video on last year's update to the Beastgrip Pro, which is linked in this thread, I have a pretty good idea what the problem is. The response from Beastgrip support is maybe better informed than you think. I don't think that this is addressed on their website in boldface for the fun of it.

Yesterday, I also asked Beastgrip whether it might adjust a payment. I would have made an order differently had I been paying closer attention to its Black Friday offers. Beastgrip had no obligation whatever to accommodate me. I also received a response to that query this morning. They'd be delighted to make the adjustment.

I'm sure Vadym knows what he's doing. I have no idea if Emma does. To me it sounds like she's just quoting. I could be wrong - as a native english speaker regularly experiencing broken grammar coupled with poor understanding of the tech being supported, this may just be a learned bias showing.

Why would a little extra space harm filter performance? As long, of course, as there's no light leak I'd think it would be OK. But I'm not an optics guru so maybe I'm wrong on this.

I'm sure Vadym knows what he's doing. I have no idea if Emma does. To me it sounds like she's just quoting. I could be wrong - as a native english speaker regularly experiencing broken grammar coupled with poor understanding of the tech being supported, this may just be a learned bias showing.

One of the points in my response to you is that she is indeed responding to questions based at least in part on a Q and A document. There shouldn't be a need to repeat what I said about this, especially to a "learned" "native english (sic) speaker".

It's obvious that Vadym Chalenko makes a point of hiring fellow Ukrainian immigrants. Just watch his YouTube channel. Good for him, especially in the current situation. The fact that a member of his support staff is not a native English speaker says precisely nothing about her intellectual ability or knowledge. I had no difficulty whatever understanding her e-mail.

If you want to engage in a debate with Chalenko about what he says in boldface on his website, contact him directly. You might think twice about sharing the content of your latest posts with him.

Ouch. Ok. Done with the conv. I don’t need to win. My point isn’t making it through - and it doesn’t really need to. Sorry I pissed you off.

Could anybody recommend a good USB-C adapter to mount the T5 SSD as close as possible to the iPhone 15 Pro body?

Could anybody recommend a good USB-C adapter to mount the T5 SSD as close as possible to the iPhone 15 Pro body?

There are options, both purchased and do-it-yourself, discussed and linked in this thread. The option that you refer to eight posts up is also discussed earlier.

They're all variations on the same idea. Attach the SSD to the lens side of the phone, either physically or via MagSafe, and use a short USB-C cable and a u-shaped USB-C component to connect the SSD to the phone's USB-C port.

It looks like people who plan to use an iPhone 15 "cage" when they're shipped are likely to use one of the SSD holders that are currently used on cages for cameras such as the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K.

On Saturday, I received a Beastgrip phone clamp and a Beastgrip Pro cage, both of which work with any phone, including my iPhone 15. So far, my "strategy" is to offload the footage before I need external storage

So far, my "strategy" is to offload the footage before I need external storage

I got the 512GB version of the 15 Pro Max. The BMD app reports over 15h of available drive space when shooting h.265 log.

For someone who learned on 3 minute (silent!) loads of 16mm, this is beyond belief.

So far, my "strategy" is to offload the footage before I need external storage

I got the 512GB version of the 15 Pro Max. The BMD app reports over 15h of available drive space when shooting h.265 log.

For someone who learned on 3 minute (silent!) loads of 16mm, this is beyond belief.

Love it

When I shot Super 16 with a Bolex I thought that its 400' magazine (~11 minutes) was a luxury

My phone has "only 256GB of storage" and I'm serious about recording to my phone and transferring the footage to an SSD as required. The transfer is done via the phone's Files function. With an iPhone 15 Pro and a high speed SSD, the rate of transfer is about 55GB of footage per minute, or just under 1GB per second. No need to have an SSD connected to the phone, and this frees up the phone's USB-C port for other functions if needed, such as audio.

A fellow named David Harry has tested transfer rate in two YouTube videos. He used an iPhone 15 Pro Max for both tests. In one video, he tested a Samsung 980 SSD, and in the other a Samsung T7. As you'll see below, the Samsung 980 is much faster, although the T7 does well enough for my purposes. Amazon's current price for a 1TB 980 is US$70, although the SSD requires an enclosure (not expensive). A 1TB T7 is $90.

samsung 980 at amazon.jpg (82.73 KiB) Viewed 27344 times

This screen capture shows David Harry's results with the Samsung 980:

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This is the 980 video:

Best and Fastest External USB-C SSD Drive for Your iPhone 15

It's unfortunate what David Harry says about Gen 4 SSDs. I have two 2TB Samsung 980 Pro SSDs in Acacis enclosures. Note that word "Pro". These are not the same SSD as the Samsung 980. So far, people are not having success getting Gen 4 SSDs to work with an iPhone. It's possible that the iPhone doesn't supply enough power for Gen 4 SSDs, or that Apple has frozen out these SSDs out of concern about heat generation.

Due to forum requirements, I'll link David Harry's T7 video in the next post.

This screen capture shows David Harry's results for a Samsung T7:

T7 results.jpg (77.52 KiB) Viewed 27337 times

This is his video:

iPhone 15 Pro Max SSD Speed Test With a 1TB Samsung T7 External USB-C SSD Storage Drive

Could anybody recommend a good USB-C adapter to mount the T5 SSD as close as possible to the iPhone 15 Pro body?

There are options, both purchased and do-it-yourself, discussed and linked in this thread. The option that you refer to eight posts up is also discussed earlier.

Sorry if I wasn't being clear - I don't mean an SSD holder, but specifically a short USB-C connection between the phone and the drive. Cable wouldn't be the right word, as they are made of hard plastic and not flexibel. Just wondering if there is specific model here people have found to work well for them.

Could anybody recommend a good USB-C adapter to mount the T5 SSD as close as possible to the iPhone 15 Pro body?

There are options, both purchased and do-it-yourself, discussed and linked in this thread. The option that you refer to eight posts up is also discussed earlier.

Sorry if I wasn't being clear - I don't mean an SSD holder, but specifically a short USB-C connection between the phone and the drive. Cable wouldn't be the right word, as they are made of hard plastic and not flexibel. Just wondering if there is specific model here people have found to work well for them.

Yeah, the USB-C component that I described in the second paragraph of my response to you, immediately after the part of my response that you quote above:

They're all variations on the same idea. Attach the SSD to the lens side of the phone, either physically or via MagSafe, and use a short USB-C cable and a u-shaped USB-C component to connect the SSD to the phone's USB-C port.

It appears that just about everybody making holders of this kind is using an angled USB-C component. At least one of the videos linked in this thread has a recommendation and provides a link to Amazon.

This model is also being used by the people who are making the holder that you referred to earlier. If you want to know more about the construction of that holder, Michael Tobin designed it and has a video about it - actually, two if I recall - on YouTube. I linked one of his videos about his holder earlier in this thread.

As far as I can tell, these angled components are all about the same, but maybe someone here has made one of these holders and can also make a recommendation.

It's unfortunate what David Harry says about Gen 4 SSDs. I have two 2TB Samsung 980 Pro SSDs in Acacis enclosures. Note that word "Pro". These are not the same SSD as the Samsung 980. So far, people are not having success getting Gen 4 SSDs to work with an iPhone. It's possible that the iPhone doesn't supply enough power for Gen 4 SSDs, or that Apple has frozen out these SSDs out of concern about heat generation.

I got such Acasis enclosures with the 980 Pro and love them for my laptop. The nice thing is that they work at Thunderbolt speeds when connected to TB, but connect to USB-C too. Not all enclosures do that, and the iPhone doesn't have TB. Maybe next gen
They draw too much power for the phone, but they work fine with a small hub externally powered. My hub has 5 gbps, so they are not much speedier than T7. I don't care, since I can record even to a T7, which is not recommended for BM's cameras, in ProRes 422 HQ and they waste less energy on location. A fully charged Pro Max has 42% of energy left after one hour recording to a T7 (powered by the phone).

Uli, what hub are you using? My Anker unit does fine reading and writing to the T7 drives individually, but copying drive to drive over the hub is abysmally slow. 40MB/sec

Sorry, can't tell, I use a very compact one which supplies power and then has only one additional USB-C. Nice thing is having HDMI and even Ethernet in a very small form factor too.
Brand is also Anker, and it works well for my purposes. I don't do drive to drive copies, usually having my laptop around.

Uli, what hub are you using? My Anker unit does fine reading and writing to the T7 drives individually, but copying drive to drive over the hub is abysmally slow. 40MB/sec

When you make the copies, are you running the hub from your phone or from a computer?

What do you mean?
Going from internal storage to the SSD or from the SSD to the computer (or another SSD)?

Going from the phone to the SSD I get exactly the same speed, independent of plugging it into the phone or the hub instead. No power attached (if not needed).

Looks like this:

USB-C_Hub.jpg (127.25 KiB) Viewed 26954 times

Uli, what hub are you using? My Anker unit does fine reading and writing to the T7 drives individually, but copying drive to drive over the hub is abysmally slow. 40MB/sec

When you make the copies, are you running the hub from your phone or from a computer?

The powered hub is attached to a USB 3 port on the PC.

Copying from either t7 to a conventional HDD on the PC is ten times faster - 350 MB/sec, tapering to 100 MB/sec at the end of a 10GB directory copy.

What took an hour T7 to T7 took about two minutes T7 to internal HDD. Weird. I guess I just have to modify my workflow.

]

When you make the copies, are you running the hub from your phone or from a computer?

The powered hub is attached to a USB 3 port on the PC.

This Stack Exchange discussion may help explain:

https://unix.stackexchange.com/question ... itten-to-t

In case anyone's interested in Beastgrip gear, its Black Friday sale ends tonight at midnight Central Standard Time.

This Stack Exchange discussion may help explain:

https://unix.stackexchange.com/question ... itten-to-t

Thanks, Rob. I'll test this again and watch for drive activity in the swap file and CPU usage.
If it's some kind of USB contention, I'll just live with it.

Having all this SSD space is a luxury.

That article mentions that maybe the connections have to share one controller. Could that be the issue?
I copy from a recording SSD to an editing SSD all the time and I don't see any significant slowdown.
Yes, copying to my internal SSD from a fast Thunderbolt external is much speedier, but that's to be expected. My internal one (actually a RAID) is blazing fast.

That article mentions that maybe the connections have to share one controller. Could that be the issue?

That's one possibility. If two drives are sharing a controller, there would be an impact on speed. I would not be surprised to see that in a hub. This can be an issue even for a personal computer or laptop. On some computers, two USB-C ports sometimes share a bus. It's something to be aware of if you're buying one. I don't think that it's particularly uncommon.

Further to @Paul Jonathan's query 12 posts up...

SmallRig is making a U-shaped USB-C to USB-C component that could be used to connect an SSD such as a Samsung T5/T7 to an iPhone 15. The part number is SmallRig 4406. This is SmallRig's page for the component: https://www.smallrig.com/smallrig-Type- ... -4406.html

B&H has it for pre-order:

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A fellow named Michael P. Schmidt has made two videos in which he assembles the SmallRig and Neewer cages for his iPhone 15 and works on adding a Samsung T5/T7 for storage. Looks like he could use the SmallRig part in the post just above, although there are a number of parts on Amazon of the same basic design.

SmallRig cage:

Neewer cage:

The SmallRig cage is in stock at B&H and the Neewer cage is "coming soon".

Beastgrip is making separate Beastcages for the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, which it says will ship next month. Beastcages are more robust, but at 272g (9.6oz) for the iPhone 15 Pro, and 295g (10.4oz) for the Pro Max, they will be significantly heavier than the SmallRig and Neewer cages.

@Peter McLennan says above that he's ordered the Neewer cage, hoping that he may be able to keep it on his phone full-time. I don't think that that's practical with a Beastcage, but it might work with the lighter Neewer.

@Peter McLennan says above that he's ordered the Neewer cage, hoping that he may be able to keep it on his phone full-time. I don't think that that's practical with a Beastcage, but it might work with the lighter Neewer.

The Neewer cage arrives either tomorrow or Monday. I'll report back.

The USB C U-connector Rob listed above looks like it has a longer male connector. Other units like that won't plug in to some cages because that part is too short.

In other hardware news, I just traded in a Sachtler Ace M tripod and head for an iFootage setup.
The old tripod and head was noisy, heavy, clumsy and it pinched my fingers. Twice!

The new setup is half the weight, delightful to set up and the head performs better than the Sachtler. And that's saying something. I used to own a Sachtler Studio 7 that cost $10K in the late eighties.

This iFootage system works a treat with the 120mm lens. That lens is deceptively long and demands good operating.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... arbon.html

Thanks for the tripod review/tip!

The [iFootage] setup is half the weight, delightful to set up and the head performs better than the Sachtler.

...

This iFootage system works a treat with the 120mm lens. That lens is deceptively long and demands good operating.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... arbon.html

iFootage/B&H sell the K5S head alone for US$150. A half-bowl adapter is another $60.

iFootage also markets the head with its Cobra-3 monopod. This monopod has mini-tripod feet. iFootage/B&H sell several different versions of the monopod in aluminium and carbon fibre. The difference in weight is insignificant, and the aluminium versions are less expensive.

iFootage page on the K5S tripod/monopod head: https://www.ifootagegear.com/products/komodo-k5S

K5S head on a Cobra-3 monopod:

ifootage.jpg (40.97 KiB) Viewed 26292 times

iFootage/B&H sell the K5S head alone for US$150.

An absolute steal, IMHO.

iFootage/B&H sell the K5S head alone for US$150.

An absolute steal, IMHO.

Half the weight and less expensive than a Manfrotto 502 head.

This is my DIY version of a monopod with feet. It's a monopod mounted on a ground tripod. I dropped by B&H and looked at several monopods with feet, which have become popular with event and sports photographers. I decided that I wanted something more robust and stable. The ground tripod has a 3/8" stud and the monopod has a female 3/8" receiver for the monopod's foot. The collapsed length of the tripod is about 25cm (10"). The monopod collapses to about 55cm (22") and extends to about 165cm (65").

I can mount my Beastgrip cage to the combination or just the tripod or monopod. This is also a good platform for a sound recorder and mike(s). In the photo, the monopod is supporting a Sound Devices MixPre. A MixPre has 1/4" and 3/8" receivers on top. The 3/8" is being used here to support a stereo bar and two omnidirectional microphones.

monopod.jpeg (276.93 KiB) Viewed 26256 times

Curiosity got the best of me and I ordered one of the lenses that various companies make to mount on top of a native phone lens such as an iPhone 15 lens. Specifically, I ordered Beastgrip's macro lens. Here are the specifications:

Optical Design: 2 groups/4 elements
Focus range: ~1.5 - 2.25 in ( ~ 3.8 - 5.7 cm)*
Magnification Ratio: ~ 2X**
Distortion: ＜5%
Lateral Color: ＜1um
Lens Coating: Multi-layer, anti-reflection broadband 400nm-700nm

* Focus range may vary depending on the device.

** 2X magnification produces approximately 50mm focal length equivalent and field of view on the main wide camera with the ability to focus at close range to capture macro images with a beautiful shallow depth of field.

This is the Beastgrip webpage on the lens: https://beastgrip.com/products/pro-series-macro-lens

I have been unable to find any information at all on what these third party lenses are optically. Are they basically diopters? Something else? Apart from third party anamorphic lenses, what effect, if any, does using one of these lenses have on use of the Blackmagic app? Might be worth noting that Apple does not say what the minimum focus distance is for the iPhone 15 main lens.

This Beastgrip video shows its macro lens in use, initially with flowers, and from 3:05 with products. The presenter is the owner of Beastgrip, Vadym Chalenko:

Not having tested any of these, but the main advantage should be focusing closer on the 48 mpx sensor instead of switching automatically to the ‚flower‘ mode on the 13mm with only 12mpx (and even cropping to keep the framing).
Without it the 24mm is focusing to about 20cm.

Hi Uli,

Automatic switching can be controlled. See Settings > Camera > Record Video > Lock Camera.

Also see Settings > Camera > Macro Control ... and Settings > Camera > Preserve Settings > Macro Control.

This is my question: "I have been unable to find any information at all on what these third party lenses are optically. Are they basically diopters? Something else? Apart from third party anamorphic lenses, what effect, if any, does using one of these lenses have on use of the Blackmagic app?"

Thanks for what you've discovered about the main lens's minimum focus distance.

A few posts up, Peter McLennan raises the question of choosing a tripod head. As much as I want to rely on my phone's internal stabilisation, I'd like to be able to do locked off stationary shots and smooth pans and tilts. Note Peter's suggestion that internal stabilisation has its limits with a 120mm (equivalent) lens.

I'm not interested in using my Miller CX head with the phone. It would probably work, because the CX series does't have a minimum load, and my phone plus the forthcoming iPhone 15 Beastcage will weigh 515g (18oz), but the head weighs 2.2kg (4.9lb). I'm not interested in using a Manfrotto 500 series head either, despite the fact that I have one. A Manfrotto 502AH weighs 1.7kg (3.75lb). To my mind, using a head that's that heavy undercuts the whole point of using a phone.

For a phone, I wonder whether counter balance provides an actual benefit, even if the head doesn't have a minimum load. For me, the objective is smooth movement, and the priority is pans. Earlier in this thread, Leon Benzakein posted a photo that shows a Manfrotto Befree Live Video Head (0.4kg/14oz). Peter says that he's happy with the iFootage KS5 (820g/1.8lb) that he's purchased, and recommends it. At US$150, the price is certainly attractive.

The next step up is probably Gitzo's GHF2W 2-way fluid head (590g/1,3lb). This head has a counter balance system and adjustable drag. The problem is that it costs US$350 to $400.

I plan to go to B&H and have a look at what's available. What are the views of others? Are some people going with a gimbal, or just internal stabilisation, and avoiding a video head altogether?

[Edited to correct a model number]

Anyone tried connecting the Deity TC-1 to an iPhone? The connection method for a typical mic (such as RODE Go) combines the TC-1's scratch audio with the left channel containing the audio timecode and feeds that into the iPhone. This combination does not appear to work. I would like to get an adapter to isolate just the TC-1's left channel to feed that into the iPhone too see if that works.

Has anyone tried this and does anyone have any thoughts about whether or not it would work?

Add - The moderator of this forum saw fit to move my post into this thread where it will surely be lost as this question is not really related to iPhone-specific hardware. Too bad.