Photo and Video

Making more of the camera in your pocket

A phone takes a fine picture held at arm's length in good light. It struggles in three places: when the light is dim and a shaking hand blurs the shot, when the person holding it also wants to be in the picture, and when the view it needs is wider, closer or further away than its own lenses reach. The kit in this department answers those, along with light to film by and sound worth hearing. Every page below is its own range.

Holding the phone steady

• Phone tripods come small for the desk and the bag, with bendable legs that wrap round a post, or tall enough to stand at head height.
• Selfie sticks put the phone further away than an arm can. The ones here open out into a short tripod and come with a Bluetooth remote.
• Phone gimbals are handles with motors that keep video smooth while you walk.
• Phone rigs and cages put a frame and handles round the phone, with threads for a light and a microphone.
• Remote shutters take the picture from across the room, so the phone is never touched.

Changing the shot

Clip-on phone lenses sit in front of one of the phone's own cameras: a wide-angle for a whole room, a macro for an insect, a fisheye for a round, bent view, or a telephoto for the stage at a school concert. Phone lens filters change the light instead: a polariser cuts glare off water and glass, an ND filter calms bright sunshine for smoother video, and a star filter turns street lamps into points of light.

Light and sound

Ring lights light a face evenly for calls and videos, LED video lights are small panels that sit on a tripod or a rig, and clip-on selfie lights and phone flashes fix to the phone itself. Wireless microphones clip to a collar and send speech straight to the phone, which sounds far clearer than the phone's own microphone across a room.

Questions people ask about phone photo and video kit

What should I buy first?

For most people, a small tripod or a selfie stick with tripod legs. It packs small and solves the two commonest problems: blurred night photos and getting everyone in the picture. The guide to tripods, gimbals and selfie sticks goes through the kinds.

Will it fit my phone?

Most of this kit is universal. Check the width a clamp or clip opens to against your phone in its case.

How long does delivery take?

Delivery is included in every price and tracked to your door. Each product page says when it usually arrives.

More to look at

• Phone tripods
• Selfie sticks
• Clip-on phone lenses
• Phone lens filters
• Ring lights
• For creators
• Guide: Phone tripods, gimbals and selfie sticks
• Guide: Clip-on phone lenses and filters explained