A Phone In The Hand...

Is worth two in the pocket. A phone on a video rig is worth three just held out at arm's length! But before we begin: A regular reader of this column has asked why I seem to be showing a lot of the packages and boxes of the goods that are featured. Aren't these extraneous to the reviews? No, actually they're not - they are a recognition that photographers are image people and customers have a visual memory. Every person who has ever worked retail trade with multiple products - like a bookseller - knows the client who comes in and says " I can't remember who wrote it or what it was about but I want a copy. The cover was green ". The same applies to camera gear - if people see a box, they will remember it, even if the exact details of the product inside are hazy. As they move about the shop their eye may light upon the thing and if I've given them an image of the external packaging, they might be able to pick up on it without waiting for the staff. And a person who has made up their mind to purchase something and picked it up in their hand is 86.35 % of the way to paying for it. Back to the Sh0ulderpod video rigs in today's column. The funny thing about them is that neither of them are intended to be put on your shoulder...I can only imagine that at some point in the past the firm must have made rigs that did indeed balance video cameras or anti-tank rockets on the shoulders... The R2 Pocket Rig is the one-handed device. A handle made of good-quality wood is fitted with standardised 1/4" threads - male and female - and supplies with a suitable side bar and standardised cold shoe. The main phone attachment allows you to see the screen while the lens sees the scene - the sidebar lets you put a light or external microphone to good use. The whole can also be screwed to a conventional tripod or sit upright on its own as a camera stand. They've thoughtfully provided a wrist strap if you intend to use the thing as a baton in crowded bars. Speaking of bars, the outfit is made in Barcelona... The X1 Professional Rig is the same general idea as the R2 but with a longer accessory bar and two handles. You can mount light, microphone, and phone at the same time, and the two-handed grip is nearly perfect for steadiness. The build quality of these rigs is excellent and the contribution that they can make to the screen steadiness - and the audience's opinion of your video skills - is more important that you might think. And when you hand the rig to someone to film the selfie of you wrestling with the maddened boa constrictor, they are not likely to turn the camera-phone upright and spoil the YouTube movie.