Do you film videos with your smartphone and need something to hold it firmly and safely? How about being able to mount accessories such as lights and a microphone? I film videos for my YouTube channel on a weekly basis and I had the same problems. After searching online I found the Joby GorillaPod Mobile Rig. It seemed like the perfect fit for me. I’ve used it for a while now and love it, so I decided to write this Joby GorillaPod Mobile Rig Review.
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The Problem
I recently upgraded from a Samsung Galaxy S9 to a Galaxy S20 Ultra. This is not simply a huge jump in the quality of footage I can take but also a huge jump in size! This was not an issue with my S9. It would fit nicely into my Smoove Mobile Gimbal and I could also connect my Boya BY-M1 Lavalier Mic to it while in the gimbal.
The S20 Ultra is such a large phone and I also have it in an Otterbox Defender Series case which adds extra bulk. Hence, it won’t fit into my gimbal without adding counterweights to balance it. The gimbal has also become somewhat obsolete as the in-camera stabilization of the S20 Ultra is in-sanely good!
All of this left me with no choice but to look for some other way to hold my phone and accessories while filming.
The Joby GorillaPod Mobile Rig – In The Box
The Joby GorillaPod Mobile Rig comes with all the accessories and features you need to get great footage and audio with your smartphone and/or GoPro.
In the box you get:
- Removable Cold Shoe PRO Mount
- GripTight PRO 2 Phone Mount
- GorillaPod 6 Socket arms (2)
- GorillaPod 1K Stand
- Cold Shoe Mount
- GoPro pin joint mount
- Flexible wrapping legs
- Rubberized ring and foot grips
The Joby GorillaPod Mobile Rig Features
GripTight PRO 2 Phone Mount
The GripTight PRO 2 Phone Mount will hold phones from 56 – 91mm (2.2 – 3.6″), in width. As I said, it will easily hold my S20 Ultra in the Otterbox Defender case, which is 85mm (3.35″) wide and 14mm (9/16″) thick.
Word of caution – though the Phone Mount does hold tight, I suggest taking care with thicker devices. My S20 Ultra has dropped out of the mount once or twice when I turned the tripod on weird angles. It’s fine while held vertically or horizontally but just be careful if holding it on other angles. This would not be an issue with thinner devices.
The mount is made from professional-grade stainless steel, so you know it’s tough. The mount will also rotate through 90°, allowing you to use your phone in landscape or portrait mode.
An extra bonus is the 180° tilt to help you get just the right angle.
One thing I have found with it is that it can be difficult to get your phone level when in the mount. As this is not a ball-head, you don’t have much flexibility. This is an easy fix with the purchase of a Ballhead 1K. Simply attach the GripTight PRO 2 to the Ballhead 1K and you’re good to go.
GorillaPod 1K Stand
The Joby GorillaPod is the original flexible tripod. I’ve used tripods in the past that mimic the flexibility of the GorillaPod but they just didn’t match up. They didn’t bend nearly as easily as the GorillaPod and most broke within weeks.
There are over two dozen legs joints in this tripod, allowing you to form the legs into pretty much any shape you like. As their advertising says, you can Grip It, Wrap It, or Stand It.
GorillaPod 6 Socket Arms
The GorillaPod has arms?! Yes……they make it resemble a tiny alien robot of some kind, but they are hugely versatile and useful.
The arms are designed for holding smartphone video accessories such as lights, microphones, or GoPro cameras. With these flexible arms, you can set yourself up a fantastic video rig for vlogging or whatever you like.
Using A Large Microphone With The Joby GorillaPod Mobile Rig
Can you use large microphones with the Joby GorillaPod Mobile Rig? Yes, of course, you can. I use my Rode VideoMic Pro+ with it and it handles it no problem at all.
The Rode VideoMic can be placed on the cold shoe above the phone (as above), or on one of the arms to get it further away from the phone. I found I had to mount it on one of the arms when I use my dead cat wind cover, as the fluffy edges of the dead cat could be seen in the footage.
In Summery
That is about all I need to say in this Joby GorillaPod Mobile Rig review. As you have seen, this is a great rig for mobile phones of all sizes and it has some awesome accessories.
The build of this tripod is total quality. It feels strong in your hands and stands firm under the weight of my S20 Ultra and Rode VideoMic Pro+.
Having the extra arms is a bonus to be able to use lights or my GoPro to film two angles at once.
Though I’ve only been using this tripod for a short time, I’m very happy with it. I even paired it with the tripod from my Smoove Mobile Gimbal and used it as a stand for my phone on a recent plane flight! As it has standard 1/4″ threads, you can mix and match it with any camera accessory.
Grab your own Joby GorillaPod Rig for your mobile phone using these links:
As these are affiliate links, if you make a purchase, I will receive a small commission. You can relax as you will not pay any more than you would purchasing direct. The company pays the commission – not you.
For more camera gear reviews, please visit my Gear Page here at photographersfreedom.com.
