Photographer invents a chassis to turn your iPhone 6S/6S Plus into a camera rig
May 3, 2016
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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I get the charm of shooting video on an iPhone, especially since picking up an iPhone SE. It’s small, it’s always with you, and the video it can produce is pretty impressive. But where my SE has the advantage of a slew of cases available that let me hook it up to all kinds of other video shooting devices, many 6S/6S Plus users do not.
The new Helium Core for the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus form factors not only aims to fix this situation, but takes things a step further by adding a whole bunch of 1/4-20 thread sockets allowing mounting your phone to pretty much any system you desire, as well as letting you to add microphones, lights, and other gadgets on top.
Photographer and Filmmaker Brandon Hoe developed the unit in order to make shooting video with iPhones easier, and to overcome some of the ergonomic issues of attempting to do so with a “naked” iPhone.
Brandon, having now developed a solid basic system, has started a Kickstarter campaign where you can order your very own to help fund the tooling required to mass produce these cases.
As well as offering more than a dozen 1/4-20 sockets into which you can screw attachments, the case also has a built in lens mount to which you can attach 37mm threaded lenses, with other lens options via the use of adapters, and it offers this while still offering full access to all the iPhone’s native buttons, ports and jacks.
Paired up with FiLMiC Pro, the iPhone already becomes a very useful camera for video, but this new rig adds some functionality that has mostly eluded iPhone shooters in the past.
One very cool addition to this case, which would’ve sold me on the idea all on its own is the Micro-dolly, a set of wheels that takes advantage of the Helium Core’s unique design, to provide built in slideresque movement options.
While the iPhone would probably never be a main camera for me, I have started to use my SE quite a bit in multicam setups alongside DSLRs as the wide shot camera. As I always carry it around with me anyway, it can also be a quick and easy way to grab BTS footage while everything else is still packed away.
With the big push for things like Facebook Live, Periscope, and YouTube live streaming, more and more people are using their phones for video than ever before.
A case like this kind of makes me wish I’d gone for a 6S or 6S Plus instead of the SE, but I’m sure I’ll get over it.
[via Bokeh]
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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16 responses to “Photographer invents a chassis to turn your iPhone 6S/6S Plus into a camera rig”
Use of the word “invented” in title of this article, isn’t really appropriate. ;)
Hi Gvido, I’m the “inventor” of the Helium Core ;o) May I ask you why you say that it isn’t appropriate? To the best of my knowledge, nothing like this existed before it was developed. Now, it exists. That makes it an invention, no? :o)
This iphone rig case isn’t anything new. Manfrotto has similar iphone case and there are quite a few more phone rigs…
I want to learn to weld. Right after I get welder – I plan to make bicycle frame and basically make my own bicycle. Does that mean, that I will invent bicycle, because my specific bike didn’t exist before ? :D
Anything related to handmade is really important
or you can just get a better camera for less money.
“Invents” , you could buy this on Ali express five years ago.
Weird… the market is so flooded with those right now that I’m not really sure why he couldn’t find anything to fits his needs.
You know, like FiLMiC Pro own cases -> http://www.filmicpro.com/support/gear-cases/
Or…
http://www.optrix.com/c/iphone-6/
http://diffcase.com/collections/iphone-4s-cases/products/diff-case-for-iphone-4s
http://ztylus.com/
http://www.istabilizer.com/products/istabilizer-gimbal-smartphone-video-stabilizer
http://www.actionlifemedia.com/
Plus a whole bunch of others
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/attachment-cases-kits/ci/24357/N/3939743108
But hey, sure, go ahead with yet another Kickstarter project. Pretty sure there will be plenty of suckers *cough* interested people to go for it. Sorry, I’m being harsh here… but there really is no reason to back a project when similar products are already available in the market.
Hi Renato, I’m the creator of the Helium Core. Your opinion is entirely valid, and yes, there are lots of cases on the market, but none of them offer the same level of expandability, robustness and precision that the Helium Core offers. This product is targeted at professionals, prosumers and customers who either make a living from their iPhones (there are a surprising number, from mobile journalists to photographers to filmmakers to YouTube creators) or who have to deal with equipment failure if their cases/cages don’t hold up (film schools in high school or colleges, as an example). There is really nothing that offers this level of flexibility in the placement of accessories, nor is there one that offers the same level of reliability (most of the products you linked to are made of plastic). The Helium Core also offers a precision lens mount, which places the lens precisely over the center of the camera. This may not matter to most people, but for anyone who buys Zeiss, Moment, Moondog Labs or Schneider Pro lenses for their smartphones, they want their lenses to be concentric with the lens, otherwise, they’ve wasted their investment in high quality glass.
By the way, the cases on Filmic Pro’s website were developed by other companies, and we hope that the Helium Core will join those other products on their website :)
cool
Really digging the company Fotodiox, which created a $200 gimbal stabilizer that can hold iPhone, Go Pro and many other devices: http://www.amazon.com/Fotodiox-Freeflight-Handheld-Stabilizer-Smartphone/dp/B01BVYMNFI
I’ve had this for a few months and really like what it can do. Just adding a good lens attachment is all you need on top of this and the shots you can get are ultra smooth. I hope they make a DSLR product that can rival Movi and DJI. It’s good to see an American company create a quality product for such a low price. (not paid to say this, just love the product).
What a worthless POS. Of course the diehard iTards are the target users of these.
Like other Kickstarter iPhone cases, the minute it’s ready to ship, the next iPhone will be released in a completely different size — rendering this case useless.
Hi ext237, I’m the creator of the Helium Core. That’s definitely a concern for anyone who’s on the market for an iPhone case. Apple released a statement recently that said that the average iPhone owners hangs onto their iPhones for 3 years, so for most iPhone owners, the useful life span of the Helium Core is more than a single upgrade cycle. The Helium Core is also more of a tool than it is a case – there are many great cases for the iPhone, but none of them offer the same level of functionality, expandability and robustness as this. It’s a photography and filmmaking tool for professionals and prosumers.
My tripod is almost 20 years old, and has survived many camera upgrades. Photographers shouldn’t have to throw away equipment when they upgrade their cameras. Come back when your phone case is adjustable.
Come back when you can not be a troll.
DIY Commenters = Frustrated Trolls it seems. All I read below (for the most part) are trolls who add nothing constructive to the article other then bash the authors attempt to market his (what I consider) innovative product. I’ve used/seen/read about many of the cases and other then buying multiple cases none seem to offer the same flexibility.