Andrew Heinzman
Mobile content creators have to rely on a mess of audio, lighting, and stabilization accessories to reach “professional” video quality. Shopping for these accessories can be a pain in the neck, but JOBY (the GorillaPod company) just simplified everything with its brand new suite of mobile video accessories.
These new accessories, which were announced at the Playlist Live event for content creators, are made to work with the GorillaPod Mobile Rig—a flexible phone or camera tripod that has three built-in mounts for lights, microphones, or anything with a camera shoe.
So what are Joby’s new accessories? Well, there’s a lot to cover. First, there’s the Beamo and Beamo Mini LEDs, which are designed for professional (yet easy) lighting. They’re impressively compact, “waterproof,” Bluetooth-controllable, and magnetic. And since each Beamo has two cold-shoe mounts, you can easily connect them into an array for extra lighting power. At $70 to $90, these aren’t the cheapest lights on the market, but they’re more compact and convenient than some 3rd party solutions.
Then, there’s the Wavo and Wavo Mobile microphones. These are lightweight, shock-isolated mics that plug right into your phone or camera via an AUX cable (you may need a 3.5 mm to USB-C or 3.5 mm to Lightning converter). These mics sport an impressive frequency response range that dips into sub-bass frequencies (35Hz-20KHz and 35Hz-18KHz respectively), and they follow cardioid patterns that should work well for vloggers or amateur filmmakers.
As you might expect, the Wavo and Wavo Mobile mics are powered through their 3.5 mm cables, so you don’t have to worry about batteries. They’re packaged with windscreens, and at $40 to $80, they’re a better option than the similarly-priced Rode VideoMicro, which has a more restrained frequency response (at 100Hz-20KHz, the Rode VideoMicro doesn’t pick up sub-bass frequencies).
But there’s still more ground to cover. JOBY is also releasing a set of StandPoint tripod cases for the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, Google Pixel 4, and Google Pixel 4 XL. These cases don’t include any shoe mounts, but they’re an interesting option for vloggers who don’t need a mobile rig.
All of these mobile video accessories are available on JOBY’s website. If you plan on buying a whole set of JOBY’s new accessories, then we suggest that you check out the GorillaPod Mobile Vlogging Kit, which includes a GorillaPod Mobile Rig, a Beamo light, and the Wavo Mobile microphone. Altogether, this kit is just $200, so it’s a competitive option for both amateurs and professionals.
Source: JOBY
