Effective Backcountry Photo/Video System

RigCast is getting into videography more and more, and through that evolution, a need has arisen to solve the “shaky cam” problem that so many amateur videographers suffer from. Professionals will suggest getting fancy cameras, tripods, and expensive equipment that isolates the camera from the vehicle’s (your) movement. This won’t work for me. I need a solution that I can pack up in my backpack, set up in seconds, not notice the extra weight, and still achieve 1080p quality video. This is my solution.

After little debate, I decided to use my iPhone 4S as my main camera. The 4S takes fairly good quality 1080p video, and since I take my phone with me everywhere anyway, its dual-purpose means I won’t have to pack a separate camera. That saves me weight and space which is worth the sacrifice for DSLR quality. To get rid of the hand shake, and to free up my hands for reviews, I wanted a small tripod to mount my iPhone to. While there are many tripod adapters for iPhones, most are too big, too fancy, too expensive, too unstable, or require a case-less iPhone for compatibility. For me, I didn’t want to have to alter my iPhone just to shoot a video. The solution is simple. A clamp, with standard tripod threading holes, so that you can mount it to any tripod you desire.

The clamp I found is called the i.Trek Super Mount, and it is exactly what I wanted. A strong, worry-free, simple clamp that will securely hold anything under 0.59″ thick, which is perfect for an iPhone with a case. It weighs 8 ounces, is super small, super-strong anodized aluminum. For the tripod, I picked up a basic Joby Gorillapod that weighs 9.7 ounces and is super versatile for outdoor needs. Together, I have a backcountry tripod system that weighs just over 1 pound, fits anywhere, and securely attaches my iPhone to anything.

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