SmallRig Wireless Video Monitor for Phone review: a clever solution to a real-world problem

If you're a vlogger (or any kind of content creator), using your phone to film yourself is often the most logical solution. It's much more convenient and less conspicuous than lugging around a full-frame mirrorless setup, and you can enjoy a more natural FOV and better low-light performance than most action cameras, too.

The problem is, a phone's rear cameras are vastly superior to the selfie camera, so for the best image, you should be shooting with those. Unless you have a foldable phone, there's no way to properly frame your shot when filming yourself with the rear cameras. Sure, you could just guess, but I know from experience that this can result in some very awkward-looking shots.

Thankfully, there's a better way. SmallRig now offers a portable wireless monitor that works with both Android devices and iPhones. It's MagSafe-compatible and just slaps onto the back of your phone, giving you a 3.97-inch display so you can frame yourself perfectly every time.

SmallRig isn't the first to attempt a product like this, but it's the most well-known brand so far, and it looks to be one of the best. I wanted to find out if it's an essential piece of vlogging equipment or more hassle than it's worth. After shooting with it for around a month, here's what I found out.

SmallRig Wireless Video Monitor: Specifications

SmallRig Wireless Video Monitor: Price

The SmallRig Wireless Video Monitor for Phone (or 4850B / 4851B, to use SmallRig's model codes) is available in two flavours. There's the standard package (4850B), and the Vlog Kit (4851B), and unusually, they're selling for the exact same price.

The standard package gets you the monitor itself, an articulating cold-shoe to 1/4-20 monitor mount and a Bluetooth remote. Meanwhile, the Vlog Kit includes the monitor, a universal MagSafe-compatible phone clamp, a mini tripod/selfie stick and the Bluetooth remote.I received the Vlog Kit for the purposes of this review.

Both options sell for around £64 / $65 / €74, which is very competitive compared to similar products on the market. There aren't too many options right now, but for instance, Newmowa's Smartphone Monitor costs £57 and Shimbol's CP5 Lite retails for £79.

SmallRig Wireless Video Monitor: Design & Handling

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The SmallRig Wireless Video Monitor looks a bit like a small smartphone. The screen is covered with glass, while the rear casing is made from aluminium. It has a bit of weight to it, which gives the impression that it's durable and well-built.

Prior to testing this product, the only smartphone monitor I had tried was the Newmowa PH01, and the difference in build quality is staggering. The Newmowa monitor is made from cheap-feeling plastic, weighs next to nothing, and was covered in scratches after a few days of use. Comparatively, the SmallRig monitor looks pristine after around a month of service.

The SmallRig monitor has a 1/4-20 threaded mounting point on the base and an extremely strong MagSafe-compatible magnet on the rear. On the left side, you'll find a power button, brightness controls and a USB-C port for charging.

If you have an iPhone, you can directly attach the monitor to the rear of your phone. You can do the same thing with an Android device, but you'll need to have a MagSafe-compatible case fitted to do so. If you opted for the Vlog Kit, you can use the included phone clamp, which works with almost any phone, and has a magnetic panel that the monitor can be affixed to.

The clamp is made entirely from plastic, but it feels durable enough. There's a 1/2-30 thread on the base to attach it to a tripod, a cold shoe mount on either side of the clamp, and it works in either horizontal or vertical orientation.

You needn't worry about the monitor falling off, as the magnets are insanely strong. The first time I removed the monitor from the phone clamp I was a little concerned that I was going to break something. It's definitely stronger than it needs to be, but I'll happily take that over a monitor that could accidentally fall off.

The Vlog Kit also comes with a small tripod with a ballhead and an extendable centre column. It's decent enough, and it extends by about 6 inches, so you can use it as a compact selfie stick, but I think most content creators will already have something superior in their arsenal. Personally, I would have preferred to see an option that comes with the phone clamp and no tripod at a slightly lower cost.

SmallRig Wireless Video Monitor: Performance

So, for starters, it's worth explaining how this monitor works. Essentially, you can think of it like a Chromecast or AirPlay receiver for your TV. The monitor broadcasts its own Wi-Fi network, and you use the screen mirroring function of your phone to send whatever is on your screen to the monitor. Handily, the instructions for connecting are displayed on the monitor as soon as you turn it on.

I was impressed that, when using an Android phone, I could stay connected to my home Wi-Fi network, and the SmallRig monitor still appeared as an option for casting. It makes getting set up super convenient. Unfortunately, on iPhone, you'll need to manually join the monitor's network, but that's as simple as scanning the QR code on the monitor's display.

In either case, when you're away from the Wi-Fi network, you'll need to join the SmallRig monitor's Wi-Fi before it will do anything.

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This product is primarily designed to aid in filming yourself, and with that, there's a hurdle to overcome. Using the selfie camera flips the display to act like a mirror, and using the rear cameras does not. You'll quickly realise how difficult it is to frame your shot without it being mirrored when you first try to use this monitor.

Thankfully, SmallRig knows this, and double-pressing the power button will flip the display. This means the text will be mirrored and difficult to read, but you'll have no trouble framing your shots.

It's worth noting, though, that this mirror-flip action sometimes means that the monitor needs to be mounted upside down. On an iPhone using MagSafe magnets, the monitor only fits in one orientation, so you might need to flip the phone upside down when filming in landscape. However, the phone clamp accessory adds some more flexibility, as you can slide it up and down the phone to accommodate.

The display has a relatively low 480x800 resolution, so it won't look as clear as your native phone screen, but it's just bright enough to use outdoors. Personally, I don't think the resolution matters too much. I'm not using this screen to manually focus; I just need to know what's in the shot, and what's not.

The wireless design is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it means you can mount your phone on a tripod and walk up to 10 meters away while still being able to monitor your shot, and that's super handy. On the other hand, it introduces latency, and depending on your shooting method, it could be significant.

I got the best results when shooting with the Blackmagic Camera App, on both Android and iOS. It kept the latency to a minimum, even while recording at 4K60. Using the native camera app to record 4K video on either platform causes noticeable lagging; it's only properly stable at 1080p.

How much this matters will depend on your workflow. Personally, I like to use the Blackmagic app for video shooting on any phone that supports it, and most mainstream flagships do. Unfortunately, some of my favourites, like the Vivo X200 Ultra, don't support it.

I still found the monitor useful for 4K recording with that phone, as even though the video feed would lag, it gave me enough information to help keep my shots framed correctly - which is all I wanted from this product. Plus, if you shoot at 1080p, you won't have such issues.

Of course, a monitor like this isn't exclusively for video shooters; you can also use it to take high-quality self-portraits with the rear cameras. This is where the included Bluetooth remote comes in handy.

I would have preferred to see an integrated solution, with a shutter button built into the monitor itself, but this workaround does the job too. The remote is about as basic as they come. It's just a little fob that pairs over Bluetooth, and it has one shutter button for iOS and one for Android (although I found that both buttons worked on most of my Android phones).

It's a little clunky, but hey, if you want to shoot self-portraits with the telephoto, this is the best method I have come across so far. Doing so will allow you to create a unique perspective that's much less smartphone-like, and may even create the illusion that you have a mate to hold the camera for you.

SmallRig Wireless Video Monitor: Verdict

The SmallRig Wireless Video Monitor for Phone is by no means a perfect product. The unit itself looks polished, but the experience of actually using it is on the clunky side. That said, I frequently need to film myself for YouTube videos, and this has become an invaluable tool for doing so.

It makes shooting with a smartphone much more viable as a solo content creator, as you can frame shots perfectly, even over long distances. It's nice and compact, too, which means you still get the portability benefits of shooting with a phone.

I do wish I could trigger photos and recordings from the monitor itself; that seems like an obvious addition, and the separate trigger is an unusual workaround. Of course, I'd love to see the latency issue at 4K addressed as well, but it seems all of the wireless monitor options have this same issue. At least it works well with the Blackmagic App.

For my needs, this product is absolutely worth the price, and it's something that will continue to live in my kit bag for the foreseeable future. I'm sure we'll see a more streamlined implementation at some point, but as of right now, this is as good as it gets.

Alternatives

Newmowa PH01
The Newmowa PH01 was the first product of this kind that I came across, and I've owned it for over six months. It works in essentially the same way, but the build quality is much worse, and the mounting solution is flimsy. It's not much cheaper, either, so I wouldn't really recommend it.

Shimbol CP5 Lite
Shimbol's CP5 Lite has a larger and higher-resolution display, along with a similar metal construction and MagSafe mounting. However, it also costs more money, and it has the same latency issues at 4K.