Great Gear That I Use and Recommend!
The right accessories can make your smartphone video and live streams look and sound amazing! Here is a selection of the gear I use and recommend for professional results that both you and your audience will love!
(Note: These are all affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission. However, you will not pay a cent more, and in some cases, such as with Arkon products, you will save money with exclusive discounts offered to me that I can pass along to you!).
Arkon Mounts "TW Broadcaster" Livestreaming Products
In my opinion, Arkon Mounts makes the widest selection of high-quality phone and tablet mounts available. They are huge supporters of the live streaming community. Their TW Broadcaster series has many mounting and desk stand options. Get a discount by using my coupon code KERRY2016 View and order on Arkon's site
Mevo Live Event Camera
The incredible new Mevo live event camera is in a class by itself and is one of the BEST ways to broadcast to Facebook Live and make it look like a professional production. The magic of Mevo is its 4K Ultra HD sensor. You simply place the Mevo on a tripod and point it at your event - say, a conference stage with podium and panelists. It connects to your smartphone via Wi-Fi, streams to Facebook Live, records to its built-in micro SD card, and lets you choose multiple camera shots using your iPhone or iPad! You can select tight shots, zoom and pan, so your production looks like a professional multi-camera production! View and order on Amazon
Lume Cube
This is the tiniest, most powerful video light I've ever seen! At 1.5 inches square, this powerful light is a must-have for livestreams and video shoots. It generates up to 1500 lumens in 10 different brightness levels and can light up a room! At 50% brightness, it will run for 2 hours on its internal battery. it has a standard 1/4"-20 thread on the bottom for mounting on tripods, and the company makes a variety of additional mounts for it. Two of these tiny powerhouses gives you an entire lighting kit you can carry in your pocket! Single light: View and order on Amazon Dual light: View and order on Amazon
IKAN iLED-MA LED Light
I love this light. At less than $50, it offers great features, like a diffusion filter to soften the LEDs and a dimmer knob so you can dial in just the right amount of brightness. Its built-in battery recharges via USB. Its base will slide into any hot- or cold-shoe camera mount, and it has a threaded 1/4" 20 threaded hole to screw onto any standard video or photo tripod. View and order on Amazon
Stellar 18" Ring Light
This is a lightweight, dimmable portable beauty light that renders soft shadowless light. You can mount your smartphone or tablet in the middle of the light so your face is beautifully lit for livestreaming as you look at the camera. This light is widely used and loved throughout the livestreaming community. View and order on Amazon
Square Jellyfish Tripod Mount for Smartphones
This is a terrific tripod mount for your smartphone. It allows you to orient your smartphone horizontally or vertically depending on what the video shoot or live stream broadcast requires. This is the one I use for all my Periscope broadcasts, and for smartphone video production. View and order on Amazon
JellyLegs Micro Desktop Tripod with Ball Mount
This is a perfect companion to the Square Jellyfish tripod mount! The legs fold up, allowing you to always keep a tripod with you in your purse or messenger bag. When you want to live stream or record a video, just take it out, attach your Square Jellyfish tripod mount to the ball head, adjust it and you are ready to shoot! View and order on Amazon
MXL MM-130 Handheld Smartphone Microphone
I absolutely love this microphone for doing news-style interviews with guests on Periscope broadcasts or for videos for my web site. This is a high-quality microphone that has a headphone jack and also has an XLR cable on it that adapts it for use with smartphones and tablets. It's heavy duty, and looks and sounds professional! View and order on Amazon
Movo PM10 Smartphone Lavalier Microphone
The Movo PM10 is the lowest price smartphone lav mic, but still has excellent quality. It also comes with not one, but TWO mic clips and TWO foam windscreens, since those are small parts that sometimes get lost! I recommend getting a TRRS extension cord with this mic so you have plenty of cable. View and order on Amazon
The A.Lav EZ Lavalier Microphone
The A.Lav EZ, one of my newest favorites, is a wired smartphone lavalier microphone that comes with a 10-foot, Kevlar-reinforced cord. The cord is much longer than most other smartphone microphones, and the sound quality is great. It also comes with a foam windscreen (not pictured). View and order on Amazon
Rode SmartLav+ Lavalier Microphone
The Rode SmartLav was one of the first high quality smartphone lavalier mics available. It sounds great and is widely used, though the price has risen over the past couple of years. I recommend getting a TRRS extension cord to use with this mic so you are sure to have enough cable. View and order on Amazon
Azden ProXD Digital Wireless Microphone System
The new Azden Pro-XD digital wireless microphone system is one of the lowest cost digital wireless systems available that comes ready to use with both smartphones and for regular video and audio production. It is very small in size, and both the transmitter and receiver have built-in batteries that are recharged via USB and reportedly can deliver 10-hours of use. This makes it easy to do Periscope broadcasts or record video "standups" for web video production. View and order on Amazon
Blue Raspberry USB/Lightning Digital Microphone
This is ahigh quality microphone for mobile recording. You can connect it to your computer via USB, or record on your iPhone via Lightning cable. It's versatile and includes its own integrated stand. Excellent for podcasting, voiceovers, and live interviews! View and order on Amazon
Amazon Basics 72" Video/Photography Floor Tripod
This is a sturdy but lightweight folding tripod that you need for your smartphone video production needs. It extends to 72" tall, which means you can easily do standup interviews with it. (60" tripods are just too short!). Don't expect fluid-head professional tripod performance at this price. But this tripod is perfect for holding your smartphone or tablet steady while you shoot standups, interviews or events. View and order on Amazon
Startech TRRS Microphone Extension Cord
This is the TRRS cord you need to extend the length of the cable on your Movo PM10, Rode SmartLav, or any other smartphone microphone or headphones. This cable is about 6' long. I usually only need one, but I keep two with me just in case I need an extended cable length for a video shoot or Periscope broadcast. View and order on Amazon
MXL MM-4000 MiniMixer+ Smartphone Audio Mixer
The MiniMixer+ is the first smartphone audio mixer! It's made to work specifically with smartphone and tablet microphones (that all use what's called a "TRRS" plug). This mixer is designed to mix up to four smartphone mics. I have also used it to mix three mics and music from an iPad. It comes with all the cables you need, and outputs the final mix directly to your iPhone's audio input. View and order on Amazon
Magic Arm (articulating arm)
This arm is amazing. It has a male 1/4" threaded stud at one end, and the other end has attachments that can be kept on or removed that let you have a male cold shoe, a female 1/4" threaded hole, or another 1/4" male stud. This means you can use the Magic Arm to attach devices like monitors, video lights, mics and more to tripods, cameras, and smartphone camera cages like the Beastgrip Pro. View and order on Amazon
Audio Technica ATR-2100 USB Microphone
This is not specifically for smartphone or tablet multimedia production. But, in my opinion, this is the best mic to start podcasting with, or to record audio interviews or voiceovers for video projects. It's really two mics in one! It is a standard microphone with a professional XLR (3 pin) connector, so it works with standard audio mixers and broadcast gear. And, it is a USB microphone, so you can plug it into the USB port on your computer to record digitally to audio programs like Audacity, Garage Band or Adobe Audition. View and order on Amazon
Rode SC6 Dual Microphone Input Device
The inexpensive alternative to a microphone mixer. This allows you to use two smartphone mics with your phone or tablet at the same time. It has two smartphone microphone inputs, and a headphone output. Please note that, due to its design, you will likely need to remove your case from your device to ensure that the plug on the SC6 properly seats with the connector on your device. View and order on Amazon
MCO Plus Bi-color LED Video Light
This is a great video light for use with your live streaming or video recording. You can slide it into a show bracket on any video camera or DSLR, or mount it to a tripod. It has dials which allow you to not only adjust the brightness of the light, but also to dial in more "warmth" using the bi-color LED dimmer knobs. View and order on Amazon
Bescor MP-101 Remote Pan/Tilt Head
I'm using this now for all my studio Periscope and Facebook Live broadcasts, and for recording videos with! This pan/tilt head connects to any standard tripod. Put a Square Jellyfish smartphone mount on it, then use the wired remote to adjust your shot. You can use the remote to tilt the smartphone up or down, or left or right. It's so much easier to make camera adjustments while you are live-streaming! View and order on Amazon
Disclosure: I do receive a small commission on many of the products on my site. All the products you see above are ones that I personally use, am very familiar with, and recommend. You will not pay more by buying through my Amazon links, and in the case of Arkon products, you get a great sitewide discount whenever you use my coupon code KERRY2016 at checkout on Arkon.com.
Above: Beastgrip Pro with MXL MiniMixer+ mounted using an articulating arm.