From Selfie to Sensation: Vloggers’ Choice of Top 9 Camera Accessories

Smartphone Camera Accessories Vloggers Should Try to Improve Recording

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

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As smartphone camera technology is rapidly advancing, more and more people are using smartphones as their primary vlogging device. They’re convenient and they draw the least amount of attention. But since most smartphones weren’t made specifically for vlogging, there’s a lot of room to make them more suitable for that purpose. Here is a list of the nine best smartphone camera accessories for vloggers.

1. RAVPower Portable Charger

Vlogging uses a lot more power. If you’re planning to vlog all throughout your day with your phone, you need a portable way to charge it back up. RAVPower has a great line up of portable chargers with multiple USB inputs that hold a total charge of more than 20,000 mAh. With that amount, you can fully charge your smartphone more than 6 times! I own one myself and it’s been great for me during my travels. A 22,000 mAh charger goes for about $42 USD.

2. Arkon Tripod Mount

The Arkon tripod mount is a great portable tripod option that you can get at the fair price of around $20 USD. Not only does it have bendable legs, like the more expensive Joby GorillaPod tripod, that you can wrap around all kinds of structures, but it also comes with the smartphone mount, which Joby sells separately. Another great thing about the Arkon tripod is that its smartphone mount can be rotated so that you can position your phone to film in either widescreen or portrait mode.

3. Mega Tiny Anti-Gravity Case

For all the flat surfaces that the bendable legs of the Arkon tripod mount can’t wrap around, Mega Tiny’s anti-gravity cases will do the job of holding your iPhone or Android phone in one fixed position. These cases can stick to glass, mirrors, metal, and more. They range from $20 to $30 USD.

4. FLII Selfie Ring Light

As much as smartphone camera technology has advanced, phone cameras still underperform when it comes to filming video in low-light. In low-light, your footage is very grainy because your phone is equipped with a small camera sensor, an engineering choice by the manufacturers to keep the size of the phone small. A handy accessory that you can use to get more light is the FLII selfie ring light. This ring light clamps onto your phone and emits a neutral white light. You can clamp this light to either side of your phone, depending on whether you want to use your rear-facing camera or your front-facing camera. This selfie ring light sells for around $16 USD.

5. RODE VideoMic Me

The mic that is already built into your phone is equally sensitive to the sounds that come from behind the phone as it is to the sounds that are in front of the phone. This can be problematic when you’re trying to vlog in selfie mode while there’s a loud concert on the other side. One smartphone accessory that can improve the sound that you record from your phone in these situations is the RODE VideoMic Me. This mini directional shotgun mic plugs right into your phone’s headphone jack and sells for around $60 USD. In windy conditions, the dead cat windshield that it comes with does a great job of minimizing noise from the wind. In quiet, indoor conditions where you are the only person speaking, this device performs no better than your phone’s internal microphone. Your phone will also have to be in airplane mode to prevent the Rode VideoMic Me from recording unwanted clicking noise caused by background processes performed by your phone. So you wouldn’t want to use this for livestreaming.

6. Aukey Optic 3-in-1 Smartphone Lens Set

Aukey makes a 3-in-1 lens set that you can clamp onto your smartphone so that you can vlog at different focal lengths. The 3-in-1 set comes with a wide-angle lens, a fisheye lens, and a macro lens. The clamp it comes with is long enough for these lenses to reach any camera on a smartphone, not just those of iPhones which are positioned close to the phone’s outer edge. To get the most out of these lenses, you’ll have to use them without your phone’s protective case on. Although you are free to use this lens set on either your phone’s rear-facing camera or front-facing camera, the metal housing of these lenses is likely to show up in your footage when you use them with your front-facing camera. So, instead of having your recorded image stretch to the ends of a 16:9 ratio rectangular frame, your recorded image will look as if it is contained inside a circle. This lens set sells for around $30 USD.

7. iOgrapher Go for Android and iPhone

There’s many more accessories that you can take advantage of if you don’t limit yourself to just smartphone camera accessories. Sound and lighting equipment made for stand-alone cameras perform much better too. Many of these accessories are meant to connect to the camera “shoe” (a bracket on top of the camera that accessories can be attached to). Smartphones don’t come with these kinds of shoes. So, to take advantage of these higher quality accessories, you’ll need some kind of camera rig for your smartphone that also comes with shoes. The iOgrapher Go offers this at around $60 USD. This accessory comes with three shoes.

8. Manfrotto TwistGrip System

Manfrotto’s TwistGrip System does a similar job to the above iOgrapher Go. This system also comes with three shoes. An advantage the TwistGrip System has over the iOgrapher Go is that it is much more portable. Its three connected parts can be detached to take up less space in your bag. This system sells for around $50 USD.

9. Zhiyun Smooth-Q 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer for Smartphones

My favorite smartphone camera accessory that I own is the Zhiyun Smooth-Q gimbal stabilizer. This gimbal is very effective in helping you record smooth video. Using the app that it comes with, you can even preset this gimbal to smoothly pan and rotate from a starting position to an ending position, giving you the opportunity to film beautiful time lapses. You can get this device at around $100 USD.

Polish Your YouTube Videos with Filmora

As one of the most widely used video editing software in YouTube video editing, Filmora provides lots of templates and effects with an intuitive interface, which saves much time. Download the free trial version and get started now.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Quick Resize: YouTube to Fit Mac Display Ratio

Quick Resize YouTube Videos to Right Aspect Ratio on Mac

Liza Brown

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

YouTube is one of the demanding platforms with more than 2.3 billion users worldwide as of 2021. And, in this digitally oriented world, you’re left with no reason not to create a YouTube channel specifically when you have the right talent to use one. Well, this guide is for those who are already into YouTube video creation and now need help on how to resize YouTube videos as per different aspect ratios. According to YouTube’s aspect ratio, it’s the right place to move forward even if you want to resize your videos present on other social media apps. We know brands and other influencers generally practice this kind of social media marketing.

So, let’s get started with our session on resizing YouTube as per the ideal aspect ratio without further ado.

Part 1: What’s the Right Aspect Ratio of YouTube Videos?

For attracting more audience and increasing engagement on YouTube videos, you have to look at each factor, along with the YouTube video quality. And, you cannot overlook the size of YouTube video among these factors to make it your perfect shot among competitors. Considering the importance of such factors, we’ve come up with this specific section on introducing you to the correct aspect ratio for YouTube videos.

It’s crucial to know the size before you start the YouTube game!

YouTube allows you to upload videos of different sizes ranging from 240p to 8K. And, the dimensions for these different sizes are as follows.

• 240p: 426x240 pixels
• 360p: 640x360 pixels
• 480p: 854x480 pixels
• 720p: 1280x720 pixels
• 1080p: 1920x1080 pixels
• 1440p: 2560x1440 pixels
• 2160p: 3840x2160 pixels
• 43200p: 7680×4320 pixels

Along with these, the aspect ratio, video size, and length of YouTube video should also be taken into consideration while uploading YouTube videos.

Thus, the ideal aspect ratio to resize YouTube video is perfect as 16:9, which we’ll diversify in the following three sections.

1. Computer

On a computer, the standard aspect ratio for YouTube video is 16:9. And, the YouTube player will automatically adjust other aspect ratios than the standard size. For instance, it may add padding of white or gray color depending upon the theme. However, it’s advisable to avoid these things like padding as they interfere with YouTube’s dynamic adjustments.

2. Android Phone

In the Android application, the scenario is quite different from YouTube videos. The app automatically adjusts the player as per the video size. The video will always fit the screen, whether it’s square, vertical, or horizontal. Ultimately, the videos will be shorter for widescreen and square for vertical.

3. iPad & iPhone

Similarly, the YouTube app for iPad and iPhone automatically adjust the video size to fit the screen. Thus, every video will fit the screen, even if it’s square, horizontal, or vertical.

Before we let you know how to resize YouTube videos, here are some tips for creating awesome YouTube videos.

• Create a strategy for YouTube video beforehand.
• Search for ideas and topics.
• Understand the use of the best equipment and gear.
• Ensure the best YouTube video editing.
• Optimize YouTube videos.

Part 2: Automatically Resize YouTube Videos to Right Aspect Ratio with Wondershare Filmora for Mac

Hopefully, you have noted the correct aspect ratio required for YouTube videos. Now, it’s time to understand the quick process on how to resize YouTube videos as per this aspect ratio via Wondershare Filmora for Mac. Yes, the Filmora Mac’s latest version, 10.2, has recently launched a competitive feature - Auto Reframe. The feature automatically adjusts your video as per the selected aspect ratio and fits the video’s motion element quite instantly.

About Wondershare Filmora for Mac

Wondershare Filmora is one of the robust video editing programs containing both primary and advanced tools such as Motion Tracking, Keyframing, Green Screen, Audio Ducking, Color Matching, Auto Reframe, and so on.

Steps to Use Auto Reframe in Wondershare Filmora for Mac to Resize YouTube Videos

Step 1. Click the “Try It Free” button to download its latest version and launch it.

Step 2. Choose the More Tools > Auto Reframe after launching the Wondershare Filmora for Mac.

Step 3. Hit the Import button to upload a YouTube video for its resizing.

Step 4. Choose among five different aspect ratios, namely the Vertical, Square, Widescreen, Standard, and Cinema.

Tap the eye icon and preview the whole video.

Step 5. Toggle the Adjust frame tab and adjust the YouTube video screen as shown below.

It is present before the Advanced tab.

Then, adjust the Advanced settings, namely the Tracking Subject and Tracking Speed.

Step 6. Hit the Export tab to save the cropped video.

You can also upload the reframed video to Filmora for further editing.

Conclusion

So, this’s all about how to resize YouTube videos in its ideal aspect ratio. Right from the beginning, we’ve discussed the importance of creating YouTube videos in this digital transformation age and further considering the right fit of factors, including the size, length, quality, and aspect ratio of specific YouTube videos. Even though YouTube has the facility to adjust the video automatically, you have to edit in the cropped video, which is possible through integrated editing programs such as the one we’ve discussed above via Wondershare Filmora for Mac. This video editing software is quite remarkable and offers all the competitive features that both basic and advanced video editors need.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

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