Peru, Colombia and New York. Why I fell in love with the Pro Grip. from Judge.me on Vimeo.
I used the Pro Grip with my iPhone 12 Pro Max from 15-Sept to 3-Oct across Peru, Colombia and New York and fell in love with it.
Why I loved it!
1) I usually turned on the grips wireless charging when my phone reached ~30%. This resulted in a recharge of 50-60% of my phone's battery while using 50-75% of the grip battery. The wireless charging was fast and reliable.
2) Most days, I mounted the phone into the grip in the morning and never took it out until the evening. The mounted phone when into pockets, jackets, backpacks, and of course, my hands all day long. All worked perfectly well. The phone fit in my pockets with the grip sticking out (would not work for most women’s pockets) and it felt very comfortable and secure.
3) The Pro Grip improved multiple types of shots
A. The most notable was being able to use my phone for both photos and video while horseback riding. It resulted in some of our favorite shots and videos. (See attached video taken while horseback and photo of my wife using the Pro Grip while horseback)
B. The grip makes it easier to take photos where stability is critical. For example, Live Photos for a loop or long exposure shot. Handheld is more stable with Prog Grip and when needed can be used as stand which is perfectly stable. (See attached long exposure photo)
C. I took some video footage with my hand out of a car window as I travelled in the hills in dirt/bumpy roads. I would not have done this without the Pro Grip.
D. On top of Rockefeller and Empire State Buildings, which have glass/fence barries around the edge. In order to get some panoramic shots without these obstructions, I reached between the glass/fence with the phone/Pro Grip with the shutter button shot the panorama I wanted even at night where the panorama has to be slow and stable. This would have been impossible and dangerous without the Pro Grip. (See attached nighttime panoramic shot)
E. Selfies were easier to take and were from a better angle the Pro Grip. This one was a minor surprise since I am not a big selfie taker. That being said, it was MUCH easier with the shutter button and because the placement of your hand is slightly further away from the selfie lens, your arm shows up much less than normal selfies. (See attached Selfie)
F. Other shots made easier with the Pro Grip were vertical panorama, close to the ground, where you need distance between the camera and your body and blind shots where you can’t see your phone screen (you don’t need to press the shutter button on the screen).
What I didn’t love
There are a couple areas I could see the Pro Grip improving in future versions. Some of these complaints may sound bigger than they actually are, but it should be noted, none of these things dropped my score by a single star. That is not to say it is perfect but that a 5-start product can continue to be improved upon.
1) Rubber inserts/Rounded Phone Grip - This is be far, my biggest complaint. The clasp that holds the phone is rounded and my phone has flat edges which means my phone did not sit perfectly in the mount. To improve this fit issue, ShiftCam sends small rubber pads that can be inserted into small holes in the rounded grips to provide a more flat friction surface for flat edge phones. The ShiftCam team must have known this workaround was imperfect, as they send 8 rubber pads despite only 4 holes in the grip. The rubber pads do not sit in the holes well and easily fall out when a phone is not mounted. This means you either risk losing the rubber pads every time you remove your phone or you have to go through the hassle of removing, storing and re-inserting them every time you want to mount your phone. In our 2-week, trip I lost 3 of these rubber pads. I want to see an improved phone grip I the future without the hassle of additional inserts to keep track of.
2) Hand Strap - The hand pad feels quite nice but the strap that is used to adjust the size is poor quality and after just a couple hours would loosen itself. I had to loop the strap through the sizing plastic additional times to prevent it from loosening over time. This fixed the issue but I want to see a better quality strap.
3) Features/Buttons (This is likely limited by phone and OS but I can dream) - I would love additional buttons in the grip to allow for automatic switching to other photo modes and lenses. I know this is limited by the phone models and OS but it would be incredible to see the overall functionality...
==>shiftcam.com/products/progrip
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