If you are looking for additional accessories for smartphone film equipment, you will end up with a gimbal. In short, this is an external camera stabilizer, which, compared to the steadycam, balances movement electronically rather than mechanically. So you can also shoot super-fluent videos and professional camera-drives out of your hand. Unfortunately, however, there are two major problems: With most gimbals, the phone-holder covers the power connection of the smartphone. Therefore, it cannot be loaded during recording. In addition, current iPhones no longer have a jack connection. Microphones must therefore also be connected via the Lightning port. If it is hidden, it is impossible.
Until recently, I managed to keep my smartphone from sliding completely into its holder. So I had some space to connect my microphone via the Lightning to a 3.5 mm headphone jack adapter. I was still unable to charge the device. Moreover, this solution was anything but stable.
Now I have finally found an adapter that even solves both problems. The “2 in 1 Lightning Headphone Adapter for iPhone X/10, iPhone 8/8 Plus/iPhone 7/7 Plus” is available from several manufacturers in China. Who googles it, finds them at prices between ten and 20 euros. I can charge the phone at the same time and connect either headphones, headset or an external microphone via the second connector. The T-shape of the adapter makes it easy to slide into the gimbal holder. The smartphone is finally properly connected to the gimbal. And since my Smooth Q also has a built-in powerbank function, I’m finally really independent.