Mike R. requested that I post my iPhone rig and I am complying with dispatch... Thank you for giving me a momentary feeling of purpose! 🤣

I see people taking photos and videos with their iPhones all the time and goodness knows I've tried to squeeze good stuff out of my telecommunications gear as well. The problem for me is that there's no good way to hold a naked phone. I always end up with my elbows in some weird position while my pinkies seem to stick out at awkward angles like a 1950's caricature of a proper Englishman having a cup of tea. As a result I spend way too much time thinking about how to hold the phone still and way too little time actually doing so. 

I bought a device from Manfrotto that attaches to my phone with spring loaded pressure and then allows me, via a tripod socket, to mount the assemblage on a tripod, or in this case, a handy gripping surface.  It's called, Manfrotto Universal Smartphone Clamp, Pro Version, and it set me back $20 USD. 

I was going to buy a handgrip of some sort but while lounging lackadaisically in front of my computer I happened to look around the office and spy not one, but two Leica ball heads. These were the original tripod heads for the fabulous Leica table top tripods and they are well built (did you expect anything less?) and it dawned on me that not only would one of these provide a dandy gripping surface but would also allow, via its bullhead, the ability to adjust the angle of the camera and it's mounting piece to  suit whatever need rears its creative head. You could use just about anything as a grip so long as it has a quarter 20 screw thread for attachment. 

The advantage of the Leica ball head is that you could put it on a monopod or a tripod if you were so inclined. But we've got a lot of tripod heads around that work just fine so I purposed the Leica head solely for handheld iPhone use. There is no red "Leica" logo dot on the head but there is a very lovely and discreet "Leitz" logo engraved on one part of the body of the tripod head so I guess if I need to impress someone I could ask then to put on their reading glasses and take a gander.

Here are a couple of shots of this heavy machinery in action. Don't try this without attending some sort of "best practices" workshop or spending hours on YouTube getting some expert advice on clever techniques.... I stabilize with my other hand but that's more habit than necessity. 

A darker and more "authentic" look at the rig in action. I was just about to hit the slow motion video recording option and call for the fog machine when I took this photo. Just out of the scene; six feet or more from my left, was the obligatory iPhone-tography super model practicing her pout and trying to decide just how much cleavage to show while pretending to embrace a rather large cactus plant.... while jutting out her derrière. 

I tried for a "viewer's perspective of this mission critical tool set but I was hampered by not having my usual entourage of photography attendants and hangers-on. My entourage. Because of social distancing I thought it easiest if I just shot this stuff myself. Tragically, a few of my compositions are a bit off. I will not be winning any PPofA Master Craftsman awards for this piece but I felt the time pressure to get the more vital information to Mike as quickly as possible (but after coffee/made at home/from a jar of instant). 

Seriously though, the handle is at its best when you are attempting to hold the camera steady for video clips. If you can lean your arm on something like a table or a railing it's even better. The Leica head works because it has a tall, thin body structure that seems made for medium sized hands like mine. 

The Manfrotto device depends on a spring to provide a grip and little friction pads to keep the phone from moving around. Since iPhones are very much a luxe product it's little wonder then that the discontinued Leitz ball head is the ONLY grip handle approved by Apple.....(as if). 

This shot is not an example of a way in which I would use the rig but is included to show you the products in their entirety. What a superb hand model. I should do that for a living instead. 

I'm just getting up to speed on the XR as a video tool. I need to plug in ear buds, complete with a microphone, and see how it is for narrator audio. I'd love to create small movies with the rig and a bit of audio stuff but if I have to attach the proverbial kitchen sink I've got other cameras that are just begging to be used. 

I normally don't take blog requests but MikeR has been a very cool reader for a good long while and I wanted to reward his patience with my patented manic depressive writing style. 

Hope this helps Mike. If you haven't tried the slo-mo on the phones it's pretty incredible. And you don't need to do it in 4K; 1080p is just fine.

Thanks! Fun stuff to play with as we shelter in place. Alternating between Xanax and red wine here. Alternate days. Depends on which day has a more depressing news cycle... (just kidding, self-medicating NOT recommended by VSL). 

Any Netflix movie or documentaries you guys can recommend? I'm running out of good programming and considering getting the Russian surplus TV shows to tide me over. Melodramas from the collective, etc.