It’s sold as a vlogging kit but even if you’re not into vlogging and filmmaking is what interests you most, this may be a solution for stabilizing your footage. No, it’s not a stabilizer, but the fact that you can hold our smartphone in a more ergonomic and stable way helps to get better results. The MR11, which is the base of the kit – and you can buy the parts separately – looks like many other rectangular structures designed to hold smartphones, but it is different, and that explains the price of $79.00 asked for the accessory.
The MR11 smartphone video rig allows 180°clockwise rotation of the phone clip, offering selected horizontal and vertical screens to meet different framing needs, comes with a built-in LED panel and is built with wireless charging technology, making it highly convenient to hold the phone while charging wirelessly. The included USB port also gives wired charging if needed.
Despite being made of plastic, the rig feels robust and comfortable to use. The structure features 6 1/4″ screw ports (three on the bottom, two on top and one on the left side handle), one ARRI positioning hole and two coldshoe slots (on top). The number of ports makes it extremely convenient for external equipment such as lights, microphones or tripods.
Suitable for smartphones ranging from 57 to 95mm in width, the rig’s clip rotates for both portrait and landscape shooting. The controls for both the wireless charging and the LED panel on the front are at the bottom of the clip, meaning that if you’re shooting vertically the smartphone body will cover this area, something to remember if you’re using the built-in light and charging.
The MR11 features a detachable mini controller in the right grip, ergonomically positioned to press with your thumb. Once paired with the smartphone, through Bluetooth, it works as a trigger so you can keep holding the rig while shooting. Easy to remove from the handle, it turns into a remote shutter and recording control with a range up to 30 meters, offering great flexibility in content creation at your fingertips. Once done, you just return it to its magnetic casing.
The Zeniko MR11 Smartphone Video Rig is the base of the complete VK2 Zeniko Vlogkit, which includes the VS5 R Magnetic RGB LED Video Light, a stereo microphone, OC-D1, and a tripod, MT01, everything needed for a one-person filmmaking crew. That’s the kit we received from Zeniko to test.
The smartphone video rig feels good in the hand and the smart remote connection is a welcome addition, not only for what it does but for the way it is hold in place when not in use. The rig is stable enough to be used over a table on its own, but the kit includes a small tripod with extendable legs that help to elevate the rig and allows for some adjustment. The head allows some tilt but as it does not rotate it’s not the most flexible solution. Still, it works for many situations and the extendable legs are a welcome addition. And it’s stable enough for a tripod this size!
The kit includes an external light, which comes with a coldshoe mount for mounting it on the rig, so a vlogger can shoot seamlessly with both front and rear smartphone cameras, ensuring uninterrupted filming. It’s an option vloggers need to have but is not essential for creating other type of content, as the rig has its own LED panel.
The external light, VS5 R Magnetic RGB LED Video Light, is useful to place elsewhere to add light to a scene. With multiple options in terms of lighting, as is common among these compact light panels, the VS5 R is so interesting that we decided to write a review about the light itself, coming soon. The fact that you can use a smartphone app to control it… in fact to control multiple Zeniko lights, may appeal to those using multiple lights.
If you need extra lighting for your set, the VS5 R does the job. But the built-in panel in the MR11 may be all you need, most of the time. The built-in LED light features, according to Zeniko, “Ra>=96 and TLCI>=99 of high color rendering” and provides 5-level color temperatures from 2800K to 6500K, and 5-level brightness adjustment, making it an all-encompassing tool for photographers and videographers.
The built-in light is powered by the power bank inside the rig, something that you need to consider if you also want to charge your smartphone. The rig works to recharge any smartphone that has wireless charging, but if yours does not, you can always use the USB connection at the base of the left handle to connect your phone. The USB is also used to charge the power bank inside the rig.
The problem is that the power bank or battery included has a capacity of 3200mAh – that’s half of what the ShiftCam ProGrip has – enough for one extra charge of a modern smartphone but not enough for keep both the built-in LED panel and the smartphone working if you need extra energy. So, maybe it makes sense that the kit includes the VS5 R Magnetic RGB LED Video Light!
The microphone included in the kit is an interesting proposition for both vloggers and other content creators. Equipped with two 180° horizontally rotatable mics, the OC-D1 allows you to adjust sound pickup angles and channel mode in various scenarios. Zeniko says that “whether for outdoor scenes one-on-one interviews, multi-person streams or stereo effect recording, it offers unparalleled flexibility to meet your specific needs.”
Built with a high-capacity lithium battery, the OC-D1 offers an extended work time of 15h, perfect for content creators to enjoy indoor or outdoor recording sessions. Even in low-battery situations, a universal USB-C port ensures you get recharged quickly. The microphone comes with a pair of furry windscreens and two 3.5mm cables -TRS-TRS and TRS-TRRS – to connect with a camera or phone. You’ll need to get an adapter if your phone uses a USB-C connection.
While we could not connect the microphone to a Galaxy S22 Ultra, as a USB-C adapter is needed, we tried it with a Redmi Note 10 Pro that – still – has a 3.5mm jack, and the results confirm the versatility of the rotatable mics, which allows capture of sound from two distinct directions, ideal for interviews, for example. But the 180° horizontal rotation of the mics opens a series of other scenarios in terms of sound capture that is not possible with a single microphone.
The VK2 Zeniko Vlogkit is a viable accessory if you’re after a solution that can expand with your needs but want to start with a base that gives you the essentials for a one-person team. While testing it we took some notes that might interest others. Here they are:
Attaching the phone to the clip
While we did manage to hold the phone used – a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra – in place with its (rather large) protective case, we found it can be tricky to get the phone in the right place for wireless charging, as to do so the on/off button goes almost completely under the grip. The controls for wireless charging and for the LED panel are at the bottom and may be covered with some models of smartphones, but the grip does slide up and down, giving you enough space to reach the controls. If possible, it’s advisable to remove the case, as it appears to offer a more stable grip.
Smartphone models like the Redmi Note 10 Pro also used for this test, and which is slightly smaller than the S22 Ultra, are easier to use, and leave more space, also due to the design of the camera island. But they also pose some problems – mainly with cable connections -, as we explain under the “Connections” section. It’s nothing that cannot be solved, but users should be aware of the fact and be prepared to find the right solution for each case.
Filming
Despite the size of the MR11 structure, you may find that smartphones as big as the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra don’t leave much space left for your hand on the left handle, once in place. You may want to check that your fingers are not appearing in the captured video, especially when using the ultra and wide-angle focal lengths.
When rotating the phone to capture video in portrait mode you may also need to adjust the phone’s position, especially when using the wider focal lengths in the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. This does depend on the design of the camera island in different models, but it is something you need to check, especially when starting using the rig. Again, the fact that the whole grip slides helps with the adjustment. But remember to check that your framing is clean… of fingers! Another thing to remember is that when you need to adjust the position of the smartphone, the wireless charging stops working.
The Redmi Note 10 Pro also needs the adjustments mentioned for the S22 Ultra, especially when moving from landscape to portrait and using the ultra-wide-angle lens. After you’ve used it that way… you’ll need to reposition the phone to be able to move to landscape mode again.
Connections
When using an external microphone, like the OC-D1 that is part of the kit, you need to think of cables and how to place them. With the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, as the connection is made over the USB-C, which sits on the right side, it’s an easy task, although you might want to look for an angled adapter that occupies less space.
When using the 3.5mm jack, if your connection is on the left side – as in the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro – you may find it difficult to connect the cable that comes with the kit. Again, it all depends on the model of your phone, but you may need to find an angled adapter that fits there. Rotating the phone to the portrait position allows to connect the cable, but to move it horizontally the on/off button of the phone goes under the grip, creating a problem to activate the phone…
Conclusion
As of now, despite some of the problems found – which may well happen with other accessories of this type -, the VK2 Zeniko Vlogkit is as exciting solution in terms of stabilizing video capture and photography with a smartphone. For a recommended retail price of $169 the Zeniko Vlogkit 2 is a good investment to start making movies. Or vlogging.