The camera on your smartphone can shoot pro-like images with these tech gadgets


You may have heard that saying, the best camera is the one you have with you. Today, that’s the camera on our smartphone. Whether you’re taking pictures or shooting video, a few gadgets might make for even better results.

For taking photos or shooting video,  I recommend a wide-angle lens that attaches to the phone. The Olloclip is the most popular lens kit and it has specific sizes for different phones. I especially like the lens kits from SANDMARC.  It comes with lens adapter built into a phone case, making it super easy to get a great shot fast. I’ve used the SANDMARC lens kit for an iPhone X the past year to shoot videos and photographs at events and for portraits. The difference is noticeable.

To up your game for video, you need something to steady the phone and camera. The Smove stabilizer does this and more. Mount the camera in the pocket-sized Smove and you get smooth video even when walking. The Smove was a Kickstarter project and there have been several updates over the past couple of years. The latest version will hold most any smartphone and GoPro. You can control the movement of the gimbal and the phone from the handle, shooting in portrait or landscape mode. It can also be connected to a tripod and using the Smove app, it tracks a person’s face so they’re always in frame.  Everyone seems to want to be a YouTuber or video blogger. A stabilizer is a must.

Speaking of YouTubing, I don’t have to tell you the importance of clear audio. Whether that’s for a YouTube video, Facetime or Facebook Live. There are a couple of options I can recommend. The Samson Go Mic Mobile is a wireless mic system for phones and cameras and the Rode-iXLR connects a hard-wired mic to the phone for clear sound.

You may be just a shutterbug, but with these gadgets, you just might develop into an excellent photographer.

A combination of some of these gadgets while shooting video can be ready for TV, or pretty close to it.
reminder: items purchased from links on this website will cost the same, but will reward What the Tech? with a small commission.