I have been asked many times what do I use to mount my phone to a tripod.

First of all I have to connect a grip to my phone and for that I use a Shoulderpod S1. This item is excellent and has been used to hold my Note 4, iPhones, Motorola X Play, LG G4 and every other phone. I have used cheaper options, but they never felt secure enough.

I carry in my pocket a cheap tiny tripod, which folds flat. It is only safe to use this for a short time and away from wind or vibrations.

For more serious work I use a Joby GorillaPod SLR Zoom Tripod which is much larger than it looks. This thing is a tank and wraps securely around tree branches, gates and so much more. However, I do recommend and use a Joby Gorillapod Ball Head which allows for easy movement of the phone. In fact the Joby tripod is strong enough to hold SLR’s.

The above Joby Tripod, Ball Head and Shoulderpod S1 were used to film the time lapse featured a couple of days ago. This had lorries and cars whizzing past and nothing occurred. My iPhone was held securely.

Now when it comes to needing a full size tripod I actually use an Amazon Basics Pistol Grip Tripod. This tripod is versatile, lots of features and built like a rock. It is heavy but in the high winds of Dartmoor, I would be without it. It is also pound for pound excellent money and actually a rebranded tripod by a well known company.

But what if I needed to do a smartphone camera comparison. Previously I needed a lot of fiddly gear, but now Shoulderpod have just released the R1 and R1 Pro. Below is a picture of the Shoulderpod R1 Pro.

I have ordered this and can’t wait to give this a proper test. There is also the cheaper R1 which has one less mount option.

So there you have it. My smartphone tripod mounting setup.