Today, I’m sharing a review of a tool I have found extremely useful as a piano teacher and blogger over the past couple of months: a MagSafe tripod for my iPhone. I have found it SO useful, in fact, that I wish I had ordered one much sooner!
Read on to learn more and/or watch my short video review below.
My new tripod comes from a company called UBeesize on Amazon (link here), although there may very well be other makers that are very similar.
“MagSafe” means that my iPhone 13 Mini attaches easily and securely to the stand thanks to a strong magnet. I love how easy it is to use! However, if your phone or phone case does not have a magnet embedded, this tripod does offer clips to secure your phone as well.
You can arrange the tripod for either using the forward-facing camera or the rear-facing camera. It’s great for taking both photos and videos (in selfie mode or not), or for holding your phone during videoconferencing calls.
This tripod extends to practically any height to 72 inches tall.
It folds up compactly for storage or travel. And it even has a bluetooth remote, useful for taking photos or videos from across the room. The remote clips into a spot on one of the tripod’s feet, so you won’t misplace it.
I can’t believe how frequently I am finding myself grabbing this tripod stand. Previously, I’ve been using an old tabletop mic stand when I want to make videos, but I have to say it is really nice having one that is tall enough for the floor so I don’t have to arrange a stool or table top surface at the desired height or distance. It’s perfect for taking quick videos or tutorials for students.
This tripod stand is great for group photos, too! I used it to take a group photo during my Retreat at Piano Manor back in August. (The remote came in handy so I could be in the picture, too!) I’ll be using it from now on when I want to take family photos with my husband and kids, too.
I can’t say enough good things about this tripod stand. I have only one small complaint about it regarding making sure the clips don’t show in the shot of the camera, but it’s something easy to avoid. I describe this and demo ALL the features and functionality of this tripod stand, in my short video review here.
If you’d like to check it out, you can shop for this tripod stand on Amazon here.
Hope you enjoyed hearing about my new favorite gadget!
Hi Joy. This was really helpful! I’m curious…do you always take videos of your own playing (perhaps for student tutorials) from behind or beside you? Do you ever set the stand up on the piano so the view is directly over your hands? If so, since this stand can be shortened, does it work for that?
Thanks for your help,
Carrie
Great question, Carrie! The stand I reviewed in this blog post is not great for overhead videos — it’s really best for videos you want to take from across the room or facing you. (I have a different set-up I use for getting overhead shots down at my hands at the keyboard, and it involves putting a small tripod inside my grand piano! ha.) However, I did just give it a try just to see — and I found that when I use this stand to try to get an angle down over the keys, it sort of works but a downside is that you can see the stand itself in the video shot. To avoid that, you need some kind of boom arm or gooseneck. I hope that helps!