SANDMARC kindly reached out after checking out our iPhone filmmaking article and sent us a handful of goodies from their line of iPhone filmmaking products in exchange for our honest review!
As someone who vlogs week in and week out I’m always interesting in expanding my skills as a creator and improving on my footage quality and my sound quality, the two key components in creating good, engaging content (outside of an enthusiastic host of course.
When SANDMARC reached out I was intrigued as their website does offer a lovely range of products that would suit any content creator of any skillset.
Let’s dive into the range of products that I was sent!
SANDMARC Creator Grip
The SANDMARC Creator Grip really is a hefty piece of kid, made from a weighted solid aluminium the product has a premium feel and comes complete with a portrait / landscape rotating rubber cushioned mount and a hand-grip.
Say goodbye to awkwardly holding your phone and getting carpel tunnel flashbacks from that Keeping Up With the Kardashians episode where Kim gets ‘selfie wrist‘.
This rig is perfectly designed for handheld shooting with the clamp securing your phone wonderfully and there’s even a bluetooth button that can connect to your phone to instantly start shooting without needing to swipe on your phone screen or press any buttons whatsoever on your phone. It’s quick and convenient.
Set-up is quick and easy for both horizontal and vertical shooting but my only issue is the small watch battery that powers the bluetooth button is inside a completely hollow piece of aluminium within the grip.
This empty unused space could easily have had another feature built within it to help creators such as a rechargeable battery to keep your phone going or any other range of features. There’s also an issue with the hand grip that needs to constantly be detached if you want to fit your creator grip back inside its lovely rigid case provided.
Another negative feature of the grip is that when your phone is in landscape mode it’ll be very difficult to plug anything into the bottom of your phone such as a wireless mic receiver or even just a cable to attach to an SSD or similar (the creator grip features two shoe mounts).
Price point is also another issue with the creator grip as whilst it’s a premium product its functionality is quite basic for its $139.99 price-point. There are products much cheaper (and lighter to hold) on the market that provide the exact same uses but if you want a more long lasting product then this is for you.
It’s a great addition if you want something more stable for your footage but as a vlogger I can imagine having an extra weight in your hand would get a little annoying but it’s perfect for B-Roll and other shots that aren’t front-facing.
Pros
- Great stabilization for mobile video
- Comfortable hold
- Easy to mount accessories
- Strong, reliable clamp
- Shoe-mount perfect for additional add-ons
- Bluetooth shooting button is genius
- Handy carry case
Potential Cons
- Heavy for long-use
- Expensive
- Best suited for video shooters as opposed to vloggers (front facing)
- Hollow grip space not utilised
- Hard to plug in accessories to phone when grip is in landscape mode
SANDMARC iPhone Case
A wonderfully tight-fit case that once you pop your phone in you’ll have some real issues getting it back out again, it’s snug and wonderfully made and is designed to integrate seamlessly with SANDMARC’s lenses and filters.
It’s clean and minimalistic and allows attachments to be added without much fuss but whilst the case is well designed I feel as though there isn’t a great deal of protection for your phone compared to other more rugged cases out there.
Coming in at a $45 it’s also not the cheapest phone case out there that’s for sure but if you’re fully embedded into all things SANDMARC then you’re just going to have to take it on the chin and ‘Add To Basket’.
Pros
- Slim design with a premium feel
- Integrated mount for lenses and filters
Potential Cons
- Not as protective as rugged cases
- A little slippy to hold (not much grip)
- Primarily beneficial for creators using SANDMARC’s lens system
SANDMARC Variable ND Motion Filter
When it comes to filters I think my inner filmmaking novice comes out as when I clipped this motion filter over my phone the only thing I noticed was how darker it made everything.
Now the filter does have a smooth rotation ND adjustment which certainly gives it that premium feel as you can adjust ND exposure levels (how much light is let into the lens) but even then I didn’t really see the benefit of the footage when I was shooting with it on.
This all changed when I was recording cars passing and roller coaster trains moving as there was a lovely little motion blur that the filter added but to pay $99.99 for a slight motion blur on your footage, well, I’ll leave that up to you if you feel it’s worth it or not to your filmmaking arsenal.
For me, sadly, it is not.
Pros
- Smooth variable ND range
- Combats overexposure effectively
- High-clarity glass
- Great for outside movement shots
Potential Cons
- Can darken the image too much if over-rotated
- Adds bulk when attached to the phone
- Clip doesn’t always stay on every lens / obscures wide angle on iPhone (adjustment needed)
- Expensive for what it achieves on film which is a very minimal / barely noticeable difference
- You’ll need a third party app to get the most out of your lens
SANDMARC Hybrid Mount
The hybrid mount is a great tool that can be used as a phone mount, SSD holder and more.
It’s a very versatile and well-made product and can easily be incorporated into a filmmaking line-up that doesn’t involve SANDMARC products.
It’s stable and well constructed, a nice universal solution for creators with mixed gear.
Pros
- Works with many setups beyond SANDMARC’s own case
- Secure and reliable mounting
- Expands compatibility for filters/lenses
Potential Cons
- Requires more setup time than using a dedicated case
- Not as streamlined as a built-in mount
- Will need other accessories purchased to get the benefit out of it
- Pricey ($99.99)
Overall
As you can no doubt tell from this review I’ve said the words ‘expensive’ and ‘pricey’ a lot and after doing research filmmaking is indeed a very pricey affair to the point where many of the products within this particular list are competitive and reasonable with their competitors.
It’s an expensive hobby that’s for sure but if you’re doing it professionally then these items are going to be a steal for you and all of the items listed above will compliment or enhance your current iPhone filmmaker set-up.
I’ve used the creator grip in a real-world scenario and thought it was superb, the filter is a handy little addition for recording roller coasters (in my case) if I want that extra bit of motion blur / realism in my footage but I’m not sure if I would use this every single time.
With all of the products listed here it really does depend on creator choice and direction and SANDMARC are designing these tools to fully customise your creativity and I can’t fault them for that.
For more SANDMARC products please visit https://www.sandmarc.com/ for more information
