iPhone Tripod Comparison: Some of the Best iPhone Tripods For You
Confused about the best iPhone tripod for your photography or smartphone filmmaking or vlogging? There’s so many different tripods available, choosing the right one can be frustrating and time-consuming.
In this article, we compare the best tripods for iPhones or smartphones, to make things easier for you.
Now, of course there’s the traditional photography tripod. You want something sturdy that isn’t going to wobble around in a slight wind. But also not so heavy it defeats one of the benefits of smartphone filmmaking or photography.
You will also need a mount for your iPhone, so it can be attached to the head of the tripod. You’ll end up with something looking like this:
A newer invention is the smaller, lighter tripods with flexible legs. These can bend around object or be adjusted easily for uneven surfaces. They can be pretty useful in lots of situations and they’re small and light. They have limitations though – if you don’t want your camera on the floor and there’s nothing nearby to wrap it around, you’re stuck.
A gadget which might be a good compromise to solve the problem is a tripod-selfie stick combo. They can extend like a traditional selfie-stick but come with small tripod legs which can be opened out if needed.
Obviously, they are not going to be as stable as a traditional tripod. But they can do a job, if it’s not too windy.
Accessories for your smartphone or iPhone are a hot market, so Amazon and other online stores appear to list an almost infinite variety of devices – including tripods. There’s also other alternatives to the 3 basic styles described above. So let’s get into it and talk about what’s on offer out there, as we head into into Christmas and 2019.
Manfrotto
Manfrotto not only make great camera tripods, they’ve also produced a range of iPhone – or general smartphone – accessories.
They have a number of clamps for attaching your phone to a tripod. For the price of 2 or 3 cups of coffee you have this basic clamp with 1/4 inch thread connections for your tripod.
Check Price of Manfrotto Clamp on Amazon
Next up is the mini tripod + clamp. This device also doubles as a grip. Just fold the legs together and they are designed to be held comfortably in the hand.
Check Price of Manfrotto Mini Tripod on Amazon
Manfrotto Travel Compact Light Smart (without the clamp) is a full-size tripod with extendable legs. It is compact, lightweight, and portable and has an adjustable ball head allows for horizontal and vertical iPhone position. You can buy it with the clamp if you have the extra to spend.
They say the tripod is suitable for a broad range of digital devices weighing up to 1.5kg. This tripod comes with a padded carrying bag for easy transportation. Product Dimensions: 39.4 x 38.6 x 129.8 cm – 1.03 kg
Check Price of Manfrotto Tripod on Amazon
Budget option iPhone Tripod
DIGIANT 50 Inch Aluminum Camera Phone Tripod+ Universal Tripod Smartphone Mount. It’s cheap but it’s everything you need in one package. But beware – you do get what you pay for. So, you might find this tripod breaks down on you at some point. But, for the price, it could be a good option if you just don’t want to pay the extra.
Check Price of DIGIANT Tripod on Amazon
For a few dollars more there’s the Eocean Universal Tripod. It weighs just over a pound, extends to 24.6″, 33.5″, 42.7″ and 49.8″. Has a minimum height of 15.7″. Carrying case is included and wireless remote. Made of strong lightweight aluminium, this is somewhat sturdier than the Digiant, so you can expect it not to suddenly fall apart in your hands.
Check Price of Eocean Tripod on Amazon
Joby
Joby do a number of iPhone tripod and grip accessories. They are well-known for their Gorillapods. These are stands or tripod with bendy legs, as described above.
The GripTight ONE GorillaPod Stand is a flexible tripod and Mount for Smartphones from iPhone XS, Google Pixel 3, Samsung Galaxy S9 and more.
There’s a lot of these octopus-style tripods out there. I bought a Rhodesy for not much money at all and it works fine. It doesn’t look as sturdy as the Joby, and it’s not a big saving.
From Joby also comes the GripTight ONE Micro Stand. This thing folds up to about the size of a penknife, so it can slip easily into your pocket. It’s certainly the most lightweight and easy to carry tripod (although they are sensibly calling it a stand).
You can use for filming, photography or even watching movies. However, there’s no portrait set up, which is a bit of a problem for vloggers and shooting Instagram stories.
Check Price of GripTight Micro Stand on Amazon
Other accessories from Joby include the magnetic version of the GorillaPod, with magnetic feet which can stick to metal surfaces.
The Joby GorillaPod Mobile Rig can add up to 3 additional devices like mics, lights and action cameras via 1/4-20 connections. It also includes two 6-socket GorillaPod arms with 1/4-20 connections, plus 2 Cold Shoe mounts and 1 mount for GoPro.
You can use it as a stand, or pull the legs together and hold it as a grip.
Check Price of Mobile Rig on Amazon
Ubeesize
Another bendy legs iPhone tripod (stand) is the Ubeesize with wireless remote. It’s been upgraded in 2018 with stronger material.
It is possible to set your phone in a vertical position (see below). However, it can be a bit fiddly in my experience, as the rotating head only goes so far. This means you have to play with the legs of the beast for a while to get a vertical position. And as you cans see from the picture, it’s pretty hard to avoid having the camera tilt upwards.
Check Price of Ubeesize tripod on Amazon
Selfie-Stick Tripods
The Eocean Selfie Stick Tripod. It’s extendable to 54 inches and comes with a wireless remote compatible with a range of smartphones. For the price, it’s solid and could be useful as a lightweight tripod. Check Price on Amazon.
How about the Matone version? Again, it looks impressive for the price. Again with a little remote device to snap the picture from a distance. This one does look kinda complex. Like someone said, “Hey, can you design me the most complicated looking selfie-stick imaginable?”
Useful for vlogging, travel videos, taking selfies (obvs), could it even be used as a makeshift boom pole for your shotgun mic?
Plus there’s the Fugetek one with Bluetooth remote for Apple & Android devices. This is not just selfie-stick, this is a gawd damn professional self-stick. For taking professional selfies, presumably. Look at this thing.
To me, it looks more like a professional light stand than a selfie stick. With the weight and those rubber feet, this stick could probably do a decent tripod job for your smartphone. And it comes with a wireless remote which is compatible with iPhone iOS and Android 4.3 or newer.
iPhone Mounts for a Tripod
If you already have a tripod and just need a mount to attach your smartphone, there are some great affordable devices available.
Vastar Universal Smartphone Tripod Adapter. This one is a 360 degree rotating phone holder for portrait mode (vertical) or landscape mode (horizontal). It hold any smartphone steadily, with or without a case. There’s also a version without the rotating part, if you simple want it fixed in landscape.
Read Next: Best Smartphone Filmmaking Kit 2019.
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