Smartphone Coverage of #FordNAIAS, Thanks to ShoulderPod and IKMultimedia

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Judie and I went straight from CES in Las Vegas to NAIAS in Detroit (Judie with GM and me with Ford) last week. By that point I was dog tired. I wanted to cover all of Ford’s news — and all the rest of course — but do so in the lightest way possible.

I was able to do just that thanks to the Shoulderpod S1 smartphone tripod mount and the IKMultimedia iRig Mic Field.

Smartphone videography

We recently reviewed the ShoulderPod S1 tipod mount and were impressed. (Read the review.) We were so impressed that Judie has one on the way for her upcoming coverage of Mobile World Congress. The $34.90 smartphone mount is designed to work with smartphones of all sizes both in and out of cases.

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The small size, great design and flexibility make it a perfect companion for anyone looking to get great pictures and video from their smartphone. That, however is just the beginning. Here’s our video look.

Despite its small size the ShoulderPod S1 helps stabilize your smartphone when you take pictures and soot video. Combine that withe the image and video prowess of the iPhone 6 Plus and you have a powerful combination. You can learn more here.

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The second part of my lightweight coverage gear was the IKMultimedia iRig Mic Field Judie and I picked up at CES 2015. The iRig Mic Field is the “first ultra-compact audio/video stereo field mic for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.” The small $99.99 microphone is designed for people who need to grab great audio on the go. As the company explains:

Now anyone can make high-quality stereo recordings while on the move: Introducing iRig Mic Field, the pocket-sized digital stereo microphone for Apple’s range of Lightning-compatible iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices.

Designed to be used for both video and audio recordings, it features a patent-pending rotatable enclosure that you can easily position for the best stereo image in both landscape and portrait orientations. Now you can capture pristine sound no matter whether you’re recording a rehearsal or a concert, capturing audio for videography, acquiring audio for a music project, recording instruments while on the move, saving a lecture or speech or creating your next viral video hit. iRig Mic Field lets you create accurate and faithful field recordings in any imaginable context.

smartphone microphone

We plan to take a closer look at the iRig Mic Field, but to give you a sense of what it can do… here’s a video shot using it.

The Upcoming Ford GT Takes a Bow

2017 FORD F-150 RAPTOR REVEAL

You can learn more here.

It really is amazing how far things have come in a remarkably short amount of time . A few years ago, you would have needed a ton of gear just to capture pictures and video. Then you wold have needed to wait until you got back to your hotel or office to edit and upload the images and video you shot. Now you can not only carry a smartphone, the ShoulderPod S1, and the IKMultimedia iRig Mic Pro in your pocket, but you can use these three small items to capture, edit, AND upload footage on the fly. It’s a mobile world and I, for one, am happy to be part of it.

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About the Author

Dan Cohen
Having a father who was heavily involved in early laser and fiber-optical research, Dan grew up surrounded by technology and gadgets. Dan’s father brought home one of the very first video games when he was young and Dan remembers seeing a “pre-release” touchtone phone. (When he asked his father what the “#” and “*” buttons were his dad said, “Some day, far in the future, we’ll have some use for them.”) Technology seemed to be in Dan’s blood but at some point he took a different path and ended up in the clergy. His passion for technology and gadgets never left him. Dan is married to Raina Goldberg who is also an avid user of Apple products. They live in New Jersey with their golden doodle Nava.