If you ever wanted to take long exposures with your iPhone—or any other mobile phone for that matter—it’s always best to keep your iPhone as stable as possible. One way to go about this is to use a tripod. Most tripods, however, do not come with an adapter that can hold your iPhone, relegating you to dig deep down inside to your MacGyver instincts and come up with something creative. Duct tape anyone?
If you don’t know who MacGyver is, don’t worry as the fine folks at JOBY have made a great mount to attach your iPhone to any tripod. The GripTight Mount from JOBY is a compact mount that is capable of holding your iPhone and attaching it to your tripod of choice. The mount comes in two sizes to accommodate all models of your phone: the Regular mount holds anything from 54mm to 72mm wide, while the XL mount holds phones 69mm to 99mm wide. Otherwise, the two models are identical.
The grips have rubber padding on them, cushioning your iPhone as you release the spring to hold it in place. The two springs on the GripTight are strong enough to create a solid grasp of your phone. However with the iPhone 6 Plus being so tall and the grip of the GripTight so narrow, before purchasing this, I wondered if the grip would be wide enough to hold the iPhone securely. Admittedly, the iPhone can shift in place if you’re not careful, but if I’m composing a photo with my iPhone, I always just adjust the tripod until I see what I like anyway.
What I love about this mount is that it is one of—if not the—most compact mounts I’ve come across so far. The grips fold in, making the tripod a mere 7mm thin and fits neatly into my pocket so that it doesn’t get in the way. The tripod I use for my iPhone is equally compact, so together, my entire iPhone and tripod system is as compact as I would ever need it to be.
The mount connects to a standard 1/4″-20 screw and even has a small hole for you to attach a lanyard to. It is unobtrusive, small, and even looks great. Combined with my tripod, it’s a great system and one that I’ve been using ever since my iPhone 4. I’ve created countless long exposures with it, and I don’t know what I would have done without it.
As an example of what long exposure iPhoneography can do, here’s a photo that I took with my iPhone 6 Plus, with my mini-tripod and JOBY GripTight mount. I perched my system up on a fence, and let the shutter go for about 2 seconds.
The JOBY GripTight mount is an ideal product for your long exposure iPhoneography. It is an indispensable tool in my workflow and I take it with me wherever I go.
For more information on JOBY and their products, visit their website at: www.joy.com.
Great info, thanks!
If I have my iPhone 6+ in a case, will it fit into the Grip?
Hey Kevin, thanks for reading my review!
If you have the iPhone6+ and a case, you will need the XL version of the grip. I use my iPhone 6+ in a case too, and there’s more than enough room to spare on the XL. The iPhone 6+ without the case will just fit tightly on the regular sized grip.