I bought this SmallRig Universal Mobile Phone Cage – why did I wait so long?

Any ‘amateur’ videographer has a lot of choices for video gear and video accessories. I say ‘amateur’ videographer, but with the explosion of the influencer economy and content creator industry, what even IS an amateur any more?

I call myself an amateur videographer because no-one ever hired me to shoot a motion picture – but then I shoot a lot of video of products and techniques as a photography journalist so I guess that makes me a pro after all?

Anyhow, one of the big issues I face – and I’m sure it’s not just me – is that the bigger the camera you go for in pursuit of quality (whatever that is), the more problems you face. In particular, getting stable video clips. So anyone who has used both smartphones and mirrorless cameras would surely admit that, whatever their technical limitations, smartphones are brilliant at stabilization.

What they’re not so brilliant at is accessories and the kind of rigging up that videographers need to do, with lights, mics, handles and so on. Smartphones are great for video, but they are slippery to hold and not designed for accessories.

But they are small and pocketable. So for a very, very, very long time I resisted the idea of taking the regular camera route and getting a cage for my iPhone. What an idiot. I just bought a I bought a SmallRig Universal Mobile Phone Cage and immediately realized I should have done it long ago. Now I can put my iPhone on a tripod, add a proper microphone, add a light and shoot with a proper two-handed grip that really makes the most of the iPhone’s stabilisation and potential for smooth pans and tracking shots.

This SmallRig Universal Mobile Phone Cage does bulk up my iPhone quite a lot, but it transforms it as a videography tool. I have two cold shoes for mics or lights and multiple attachment points for side handles (my favourite things) and tripods (also a favourite). It’s not very expensive (£43 in the UK) but it feels absolutely rock solid and has one of the quickest and most secure smartphone clamp mechanisms I’ve used.

Just in case you’re wondering, I don’t have any affiliate links for this. I don’t get a commission if you buy it. I paid for my cage myself. But it is so good, and I am so impressed, that I’ll recommend it anyway.

I admit to being something of a tripod nerd – and a monopod nerd, gimbal nerd and stabiliser nerd. And what’s floored me with this SmallRig Universal Mobile Phone Cage is how something so inexpensive and so simple can be so darned useful.