5 Gadgets on Amazon That Can Make Your iPhone Camera Even More Powerful

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In the early days of the iPhone, it was an upgrade over the cameras on more traditional flip phones, but it was still incredibly limited compared to what it’s capable of today. Several iPhone models are currently among the best phone cameras you can buy, and the iPhone 17 Pro’s camera upgrades make it one of the best smartphone cameras of all time. In many ways, the iPhone inspired new ways to take photos and record video entirely.

And even though Apple has equipped the iPhone with great camera hardware and software for several generations, an iPhone can be an even more powerful photography and filmmaking tool when paired with the right accessories. There are certainly some camera settings that can help you take better photos, but building on the iPhone’s existing hardware opens the door to new ways of thinking about capturing images.

We have years of hands-on experience with iPhone cameras, using them for both photography and videography. During this time, we’ve discovered many gadgets that can make the iPhone an even better storytelling device than it is right out of the box. Many such accessories are available for purchase on Amazon, so we’ve scoured the shelves and selected the ones we think are worth adding to your iPhone camera bag.

One thing that smartphones have never taken into account when it comes to using the camera is ergonomics. They’re designed to be held vertically, and while vertical images and videos have been popularized by mobile photographers over the years, the iPhone’s form factor isn’t always ideal when it comes to capturing images. But the Belkin Stage PowerGrip gives users a little more grip, functioning as a grip, trigger, and power bank.

The Stage PowerGrip gives the iPhone a more camera-like feel. It magnetically attaches to an iPhone using its MagSafe connection and instantly makes positioning the device easier when taking photos. It also comes with a Bluetooth-controlled shutter release that allows users to take photos or record video without interacting with the iPhone’s touchscreen.

As far as iPhone accessories go, the Belkin Stage PowerGrip is a bit pricey for what it offers. It costs $80 on Amazon, and while it can also function as a power bank, some might not find the ergonomic gains worth it. That said, Belkin is one of the few iPhone accessory brands that can compete with Apple, and the versatile functionality of the Stage PowerGrip can make iPhone photography more professional.

Several iPhone models are among the most popular smartphone cameras, and that’s largely due to the camera system Apple designed. Depending on the model, it may feature high megapixel sensors and a number of lenses and focal lengths. However, one problem with mobile photography in general is that the best-performing cameras face the outside of the phone, while the front-facing camera for self-portraits and selfie videos is relatively poor.

SmallRig has found a way for users to film themselves with the main camera system facing outwards in the form of the SmallRig Selfie Monitor. It’s a secondary display that can be positioned where it’s most useful, or mounted directly to the phone via MagSafe, allowing users to see what the camera sees when they have the main camera system pointed at them. It also comes with a remote control to start and stop recording.

The SmallRig Selfie Monitor is essentially a screen mirroring tool, so it doesn’t provide a clean touch interface. You’ll need to choose the camera settings on the phone screen before recording, although this isn’t too complicated. At $65, the SmallRig Selfie Monitor serves many use cases, including as a secondary recording monitor or as a remote display for setups that require iPhone photographers to step away from the camera.

A gimbal is one of the coolest iPhone gadgets, and DJI offers a wide range of smartphone gimbals. The DJI Osmo Mobile 7P includes some very useful gimbal accessories, including a built-in tripod, a built-in extension rod, and a fill light that magnetically attaches to the gimbal. iPhone photographers and videographers with an Apple Watch can even use it as a remote control for the Osmo Mobile 7P.

While photographers can use the Osmo Mobile 7P as a tripod, a gadget like this is aimed more at videographers and filmmakers. The iPhone’s built-in optical image stabilization helps prevent shaky footage in many situations, but a gimbal like the Osmo Mobile 7P adds a completely different dimension to capturing video with an iPhone. Studio-level camera movements are in play, with the only limitation to capturing tracking shots being a matter of following your subject.

A gimbal is a somewhat specialized filmmaking tool, and at $99, it may cost more than the everyday iPhone user wants to spend on an accessory. But for those who really take their iPhone camera seriously, the DJI Osmo Mobile 7P can contribute to high-quality videos and images in a variety of ways.

Modern iPhones are capable of recording video directly to an external SSD, connecting to professional audio equipment, and plugging into a power outlet while shooting. But the device’s single USB-C port means that doing many of these things at once requires a little help. The SmallRig 4-in-1 USB-C Hub removes this bottleneck by providing three connection ports and a power port.

Specifically, the hub has two USB-C 2.0 ports that can be used to connect devices such as microphones or headphones. A USB-C 3.1 port delivers data transfer speeds of 10Gbps for recording high-resolution ProRes video directly to an external SSD. The charging port supports up to 100W of power delivery, and a built-in USB-C cable lets users connect everything to their iPhone.

While the SmallRig 4-in-1 USB-C Hub greatly expands the number of devices that can connect to an iPhone, it can also create a bit of a mess when it comes to cables. This isn’t necessarily a limitation of the hub itself, but simply what comes with the territory of installing an iPhone for more professional camera use. This 4-in-1 USB-C hub is quite affordable at $28, but you may want to pair it with some sort of iPhone cage that provides space for mounting USB-C accessories.

Part of what makes the iPhone so appealing is its excellent camera performance right out of the box. For those who don’t want to complicate setting up their iPhone’s camera, a gadget as simple as a portable power bank is an option. Such a device allows you to take many more photos throughout the day and offers additional autonomy to photographers who use a powerful but old iPhone.

The Anker Nano MagSafe Portable Charger is a 5,000 mAh power bank available in a number of different color options and designed for use with MagSafe compatible iPhones. It also includes a USB-C port for faster wired charging when needed. The USB-C fast charging option can charge an iPhone 17 from 0% to 25% battery life in 31 minutes, and the power bank itself takes less than two hours to charge to full capacity.

The Anker Nano MagSafe Charger is priced at $55, so there are more affordable power bank options. But this one is designed with iPhone ergonomics in mind, so it doesn’t make the phone too bulky and users can film for extended periods of time. It can stay attached to an iPhone indefinitely or be kept in a backpack or glove compartment for those times you’ve managed to photograph or video your iPhone’s battery down to zero.

There are many accessories designed specifically for iPhone photographers and videographers. We learned the hard way that much of these improvements don’t improve the iPhone’s camera or how it can be used at all. But our years of experience in taking photos and capturing videos with iPhone have left us with a lot of knowledge about products that can be put to good use.

Amazon has a wide selection of iPhone gadgets and add-ons on its shelves. We used our hands-on experience with iPhone cameras and our knowledge of the accessories market to choose gadgets that offer a way to capture better photos and videos. Each selection here expands on the iPhone’s out-of-the-box hardware in one way or another and is also a gadget we’d put in our own camera bag without hesitation.