$700 Smartphone Video Kit
If you have a smartphone, you can make videos. With a few extra accessories and a little practice, you can make videos that sound and look great! Here’s a $700 kit if you’re starting from scratch.
Sound
You may notice that a sizeable portion of our budget is devoted to audio. Why? Because people will put up with poor video more than poor audio. Good audio makes all the difference.
This audio kit is made up of two wireless mics and a receiver that is plugged into the phone via a cable.
Light
Second to sound, lighting makes all the difference. I would always recommend upgrading your lighting before updgrading your camera! A great camera in poor lighting conditions produces a poor image.
This kit includes a compact and powerful LED light panel. It can run on batteries and from an outlet (with the correct adapters). It is also bi-color, meaning the light can be made warmer or cooler to more closely match the surrounding lighting conditions.
Support
Boring, but essential. Be careful not to go cheap on these! (You can even damage your phone if your tripod won’t hold up.) By investing a little extra in these items, they will last a long time with proper care.
This kit includes a travel tripod, phone mount with cold shoe (important for mounting the audio receiver), and a clamp & arm combo. The clamp is incredibly flexible! It can be used to mount either the light or the phone mount. Clamp it to a windowsill, shelf, rail, or table and you’re good to go.