Comparing YouTube Policies with Creative Commons

Standard YouTube License vs. Creative Commons

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

When it comes to YouTube copyright, you may have noticed a cc video on YouTube. While in this article, we will show you the differences between the YouTube standard license and the Creative Commons license.

---

Searching for an easy-to-use while powerful video editing software to make videos for your YouTube Channel? Here we recommend Wondershare Filmora

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

You may also like: 8 Powerful YouTube Video Downloader for Android >>

---

What is Standard YouTube License?

A standard license is the permit from a competent authority to own or use of something. In terms of internet it is basically based on the permission of using, copying or distributing content that is available online. YouTube is a video sharing website with its own set of rules and regulations in accordance with its license policy.

When a user is uploading a video he has option license options that he can choose from. The first option is “standard YouTube License” which means that you grant the broadcasting rights to YouTube. This essentially means that your video can only be accessed from YouTube for watching purpose and cannot be reproduced or distributed in any other form without your consent. The second type of license is the “Creative Commons” .

In the below video you’ll learn how to set standard YouTube license and cc license:

What is the difference between “Standard YouTube License” and “Creative Commons”

The basic different is that, with a standard license no one can use your video to reproduce as his own work (without clearly marking the video of the original video). However in a standard licence the original video uploader has some right to say “no” to the re-use of his video because the meaning of the video changes altogether.

However, if you select the creative commons license while uploading then the author may use any portions of work of the original author. It is generally permitted to edit, recompile, change or alter the original work except few listed things. These include copyrights of original work and a clear mentioning that the work has been derived from an original source. Moreover, that the original author will not be held responsible for any damages caused by the derivative work. This is how the two licenses differ from each other.

3 Common questions for “YouTube standard license”?

• Is it illegal for me to share Standard YouTube license video with my friends on Facebook?

It is perfectly alright to share YouTube licensed videos on Facebook or any social media because firstly if sharing was prohibited then probably there wouldn’t have been a share button plug in. Moreover, by clicking share or copy-pasting the URL you are just pointing to the video bearing its original author’s name and URL. Hence, it’s not illegal in any way.

• Can media companies (such as TV show) feature my video without my permission?

Media companies are generally richly profitable organizations. Hence before using content they need to seek legal permission from the original author of the video. This is especially the case when the owner of the video has used the standard license. It is then mandatory for the media house to take permission from the original video owner who had uploaded the video in the first place.

• Can I use the videos marked as “YouTube standard license” for a non-profit video?

For a YouTube standard licensed video there is hard and fast legal rule. The original author may claim his work as he has been given certain rights to do so. For a non-profit video yet again you might need to convince him on the fact that you haven’t been gaining anything from usage of his content. So it’s still recommendable to seek permission initially.

You’ll learn “how to legally use copyrighted music, games, and movies on YouTube” from below video:

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

When it comes to YouTube copyright, you may have noticed a cc video on YouTube. While in this article, we will show you the differences between the YouTube standard license and the Creative Commons license.

---

Searching for an easy-to-use while powerful video editing software to make videos for your YouTube Channel? Here we recommend Wondershare Filmora

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

You may also like: 8 Powerful YouTube Video Downloader for Android >>

---

What is Standard YouTube License?

A standard license is the permit from a competent authority to own or use of something. In terms of internet it is basically based on the permission of using, copying or distributing content that is available online. YouTube is a video sharing website with its own set of rules and regulations in accordance with its license policy.

When a user is uploading a video he has option license options that he can choose from. The first option is “standard YouTube License” which means that you grant the broadcasting rights to YouTube. This essentially means that your video can only be accessed from YouTube for watching purpose and cannot be reproduced or distributed in any other form without your consent. The second type of license is the “Creative Commons” .

In the below video you’ll learn how to set standard YouTube license and cc license:

What is the difference between “Standard YouTube License” and “Creative Commons”

The basic different is that, with a standard license no one can use your video to reproduce as his own work (without clearly marking the video of the original video). However in a standard licence the original video uploader has some right to say “no” to the re-use of his video because the meaning of the video changes altogether.

However, if you select the creative commons license while uploading then the author may use any portions of work of the original author. It is generally permitted to edit, recompile, change or alter the original work except few listed things. These include copyrights of original work and a clear mentioning that the work has been derived from an original source. Moreover, that the original author will not be held responsible for any damages caused by the derivative work. This is how the two licenses differ from each other.

3 Common questions for “YouTube standard license”?

• Is it illegal for me to share Standard YouTube license video with my friends on Facebook?

It is perfectly alright to share YouTube licensed videos on Facebook or any social media because firstly if sharing was prohibited then probably there wouldn’t have been a share button plug in. Moreover, by clicking share or copy-pasting the URL you are just pointing to the video bearing its original author’s name and URL. Hence, it’s not illegal in any way.

• Can media companies (such as TV show) feature my video without my permission?

Media companies are generally richly profitable organizations. Hence before using content they need to seek legal permission from the original author of the video. This is especially the case when the owner of the video has used the standard license. It is then mandatory for the media house to take permission from the original video owner who had uploaded the video in the first place.

• Can I use the videos marked as “YouTube standard license” for a non-profit video?

For a YouTube standard licensed video there is hard and fast legal rule. The original author may claim his work as he has been given certain rights to do so. For a non-profit video yet again you might need to convince him on the fact that you haven’t been gaining anything from usage of his content. So it’s still recommendable to seek permission initially.

You’ll learn “how to legally use copyrighted music, games, and movies on YouTube” from below video:

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

When it comes to YouTube copyright, you may have noticed a cc video on YouTube. While in this article, we will show you the differences between the YouTube standard license and the Creative Commons license.

---

Searching for an easy-to-use while powerful video editing software to make videos for your YouTube Channel? Here we recommend Wondershare Filmora

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

You may also like: 8 Powerful YouTube Video Downloader for Android >>

---

What is Standard YouTube License?

A standard license is the permit from a competent authority to own or use of something. In terms of internet it is basically based on the permission of using, copying or distributing content that is available online. YouTube is a video sharing website with its own set of rules and regulations in accordance with its license policy.

When a user is uploading a video he has option license options that he can choose from. The first option is “standard YouTube License” which means that you grant the broadcasting rights to YouTube. This essentially means that your video can only be accessed from YouTube for watching purpose and cannot be reproduced or distributed in any other form without your consent. The second type of license is the “Creative Commons” .

In the below video you’ll learn how to set standard YouTube license and cc license:

What is the difference between “Standard YouTube License” and “Creative Commons”

The basic different is that, with a standard license no one can use your video to reproduce as his own work (without clearly marking the video of the original video). However in a standard licence the original video uploader has some right to say “no” to the re-use of his video because the meaning of the video changes altogether.

However, if you select the creative commons license while uploading then the author may use any portions of work of the original author. It is generally permitted to edit, recompile, change or alter the original work except few listed things. These include copyrights of original work and a clear mentioning that the work has been derived from an original source. Moreover, that the original author will not be held responsible for any damages caused by the derivative work. This is how the two licenses differ from each other.

3 Common questions for “YouTube standard license”?

• Is it illegal for me to share Standard YouTube license video with my friends on Facebook?

It is perfectly alright to share YouTube licensed videos on Facebook or any social media because firstly if sharing was prohibited then probably there wouldn’t have been a share button plug in. Moreover, by clicking share or copy-pasting the URL you are just pointing to the video bearing its original author’s name and URL. Hence, it’s not illegal in any way.

• Can media companies (such as TV show) feature my video without my permission?

Media companies are generally richly profitable organizations. Hence before using content they need to seek legal permission from the original author of the video. This is especially the case when the owner of the video has used the standard license. It is then mandatory for the media house to take permission from the original video owner who had uploaded the video in the first place.

• Can I use the videos marked as “YouTube standard license” for a non-profit video?

For a YouTube standard licensed video there is hard and fast legal rule. The original author may claim his work as he has been given certain rights to do so. For a non-profit video yet again you might need to convince him on the fact that you haven’t been gaining anything from usage of his content. So it’s still recommendable to seek permission initially.

You’ll learn “how to legally use copyrighted music, games, and movies on YouTube” from below video:

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

When it comes to YouTube copyright, you may have noticed a cc video on YouTube. While in this article, we will show you the differences between the YouTube standard license and the Creative Commons license.

---

Searching for an easy-to-use while powerful video editing software to make videos for your YouTube Channel? Here we recommend Wondershare Filmora

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

You may also like: 8 Powerful YouTube Video Downloader for Android >>

---

What is Standard YouTube License?

A standard license is the permit from a competent authority to own or use of something. In terms of internet it is basically based on the permission of using, copying or distributing content that is available online. YouTube is a video sharing website with its own set of rules and regulations in accordance with its license policy.

When a user is uploading a video he has option license options that he can choose from. The first option is “standard YouTube License” which means that you grant the broadcasting rights to YouTube. This essentially means that your video can only be accessed from YouTube for watching purpose and cannot be reproduced or distributed in any other form without your consent. The second type of license is the “Creative Commons” .

In the below video you’ll learn how to set standard YouTube license and cc license:

What is the difference between “Standard YouTube License” and “Creative Commons”

The basic different is that, with a standard license no one can use your video to reproduce as his own work (without clearly marking the video of the original video). However in a standard licence the original video uploader has some right to say “no” to the re-use of his video because the meaning of the video changes altogether.

However, if you select the creative commons license while uploading then the author may use any portions of work of the original author. It is generally permitted to edit, recompile, change or alter the original work except few listed things. These include copyrights of original work and a clear mentioning that the work has been derived from an original source. Moreover, that the original author will not be held responsible for any damages caused by the derivative work. This is how the two licenses differ from each other.

3 Common questions for “YouTube standard license”?

• Is it illegal for me to share Standard YouTube license video with my friends on Facebook?

It is perfectly alright to share YouTube licensed videos on Facebook or any social media because firstly if sharing was prohibited then probably there wouldn’t have been a share button plug in. Moreover, by clicking share or copy-pasting the URL you are just pointing to the video bearing its original author’s name and URL. Hence, it’s not illegal in any way.

• Can media companies (such as TV show) feature my video without my permission?

Media companies are generally richly profitable organizations. Hence before using content they need to seek legal permission from the original author of the video. This is especially the case when the owner of the video has used the standard license. It is then mandatory for the media house to take permission from the original video owner who had uploaded the video in the first place.

• Can I use the videos marked as “YouTube standard license” for a non-profit video?

For a YouTube standard licensed video there is hard and fast legal rule. The original author may claim his work as he has been given certain rights to do so. For a non-profit video yet again you might need to convince him on the fact that you haven’t been gaining anything from usage of his content. So it’s still recommendable to seek permission initially.

You’ll learn “how to legally use copyrighted music, games, and movies on YouTube” from below video:

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Vloggers’ Guide to Choosing Camera Essentials - The Top 9 Accessories

Smartphone Camera Accessories Vloggers Should Try to Improve Recording

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

As smartphone camera technology is rapidly advancing, more and more people are using smartphones as their primary vlogging device. They’re convenient and they draw the least amount of attention. But since most smartphones weren’t made specifically for vlogging, there’s a lot of room to make them more suitable for that purpose. Here is a list of the nine best smartphone camera accessories for vloggers.

Table of Contents 1. PORTABLE CHARGER2. TRIPOD MOUNT3. ANTI-GRAVITY CASE4. SELFIE RING LIGHT5. DIRECTIONAL MICROPHONE6. LENS SET7. FILMMAKING RIG8. FILMMAKING RIG9. GIMBAL

1. RAVPower Portable Charger

Vlogging uses a lot more power. If you’re planning to vlog all throughout your day with your phone, you need a portable way to charge it back up. RAVPower has a great line up of portable chargers with multiple USB inputs that hold a total charge of more than 20,000 mAh. With that amount, you can fully charge your smartphone more than 6 times! I own one myself and it’s been great for me during my travels. A 22,000 mAh charger goes for about $42 USD.

2. Arkon Tripod Mount

The Arkon tripod mount is a great portable tripod option that you can get at the fair price of around $20 USD. Not only does it have bendable legs, like the more expensive Joby GorillaPod tripod, that you can wrap around all kinds of structures, but it also comes with the smartphone mount, which Joby sells separately. Another great thing about the Arkon tripod is that its smartphone mount can be rotated so that you can position your phone to film in either widescreen or portrait mode.

3. Mega Tiny Anti-Gravity Case

For all the flat surfaces that the bendable legs of the Arkon tripod mount can’t wrap around, Mega Tiny’s anti-gravity cases will do the job of holding your iPhone or Android phone in one fixed position. These cases can stick to glass, mirrors, metal, and more. They range from $20 to $30 USD.

4. FLII Selfie Ring Light

As much as smartphone camera technology has advanced, phone cameras still underperform when it comes to filming video in low-light. In low-light, your footage is very grainy because your phone is equipped with a small camera sensor, an engineering choice by the manufacturers to keep the size of the phone small. A handy accessory that you can use to get more light is the FLII selfie ring light. This ring light clamps onto your phone and emits a neutral white light. You can clamp this light to either side of your phone, depending on whether you want to use your rear-facing camera or your front-facing camera. This selfie ring light sells for around $16 USD.

5. RODE VideoMic Me

The mic that is already built into your phone is equally sensitive to the sounds that come from behind the phone as it is to the sounds that are in front of the phone. This can be problematic when you’re trying to vlog in selfie mode while there’s a loud concert on the other side. One smartphone accessory that can improve the sound that you record from your phone in these situations is the RODE VideoMic Me. This mini directional shotgun mic plugs right into your phone’s headphone jack and sells for around $60 USD. In windy conditions, the dead cat windshield that it comes with does a great job of minimizing noise from the wind. In quiet, indoor conditions where you are the only person speaking, this device performs no better than your phone’s internal microphone. Your phone will also have to be in airplane mode to prevent the Rode VideoMic Me from recording unwanted clicking noise caused by background processes performed by your phone. So you wouldn’t want to use this for livestreaming.

6. Aukey Optic 3-in-1 Smartphone Lens Set

Aukey makes a 3-in-1 lens set that you can clamp onto your smartphone so that you can vlog at different focal lengths. The 3-in-1 set comes with a wide-angle lens, a fisheye lens, and a macro lens. The clamp it comes with is long enough for these lenses to reach any camera on a smartphone, not just those of iPhones which are positioned close to the phone’s outer edge. To get the most out of these lenses, you’ll have to use them without your phone’s protective case on. Although you are free to use this lens set on either your phone’s rear-facing camera or front-facing camera, the metal housing of these lenses is likely to show up in your footage when you use them with your front-facing camera. So, instead of having your recorded image stretch to the ends of a 16:9 ratio rectangular frame, your recorded image will look as if it is contained inside a circle. This lens set sells for around $30 USD.

7. iOgrapher Go for Android and iPhone

There’s many more accessories that you can take advantage of if you don’t limit yourself to just smartphone camera accessories. Sound and lighting equipment made for stand-alone cameras perform much better too. Many of these accessories are meant to connect to the camera “shoe” (a bracket on top of the camera that accessories can be attached to). Smartphones don’t come with these kinds of shoes. So, to take advantage of these higher quality accessories, you’ll need some kind of camera rig for your smartphone that also comes with shoes. The iOgrapher Go offers this at around $60 USD. This accessory comes with three shoes.

8. Manfrotto TwistGrip System

Manfrotto’s TwistGrip System does a similar job to the above iOgrapher Go. This system also comes with three shoes. An advantage the TwistGrip System has over the iOgrapher Go is that it is much more portable. Its three connected parts can be detached to take up less space in your bag. This system sells for around $50 USD.

9. Zhiyun Smooth-Q 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer for Smartphones

My favorite smartphone camera accessory that I own is the Zhiyun Smooth-Q gimbal stabilizer. This gimbal is very effective in helping you record smooth video. Using the app that it comes with, you can even preset this gimbal to smoothly pan and rotate from a starting position to an ending position, giving you the opportunity to film beautiful time lapses. You can get this device at around $100 USD.

Polish Your YouTube Videos with Filmora

As one of the most widely used video editing software in YouTube video editing, Filmora provides lots of templates and effects with an intuitive interface, which saves much time. Download the free trial version and get started now.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

As smartphone camera technology is rapidly advancing, more and more people are using smartphones as their primary vlogging device. They’re convenient and they draw the least amount of attention. But since most smartphones weren’t made specifically for vlogging, there’s a lot of room to make them more suitable for that purpose. Here is a list of the nine best smartphone camera accessories for vloggers.

Table of Contents 1. PORTABLE CHARGER2. TRIPOD MOUNT3. ANTI-GRAVITY CASE4. SELFIE RING LIGHT5. DIRECTIONAL MICROPHONE6. LENS SET7. FILMMAKING RIG8. FILMMAKING RIG9. GIMBAL

1. RAVPower Portable Charger

Vlogging uses a lot more power. If you’re planning to vlog all throughout your day with your phone, you need a portable way to charge it back up. RAVPower has a great line up of portable chargers with multiple USB inputs that hold a total charge of more than 20,000 mAh. With that amount, you can fully charge your smartphone more than 6 times! I own one myself and it’s been great for me during my travels. A 22,000 mAh charger goes for about $42 USD.

2. Arkon Tripod Mount

The Arkon tripod mount is a great portable tripod option that you can get at the fair price of around $20 USD. Not only does it have bendable legs, like the more expensive Joby GorillaPod tripod, that you can wrap around all kinds of structures, but it also comes with the smartphone mount, which Joby sells separately. Another great thing about the Arkon tripod is that its smartphone mount can be rotated so that you can position your phone to film in either widescreen or portrait mode.

3. Mega Tiny Anti-Gravity Case

For all the flat surfaces that the bendable legs of the Arkon tripod mount can’t wrap around, Mega Tiny’s anti-gravity cases will do the job of holding your iPhone or Android phone in one fixed position. These cases can stick to glass, mirrors, metal, and more. They range from $20 to $30 USD.

4. FLII Selfie Ring Light

As much as smartphone camera technology has advanced, phone cameras still underperform when it comes to filming video in low-light. In low-light, your footage is very grainy because your phone is equipped with a small camera sensor, an engineering choice by the manufacturers to keep the size of the phone small. A handy accessory that you can use to get more light is the FLII selfie ring light. This ring light clamps onto your phone and emits a neutral white light. You can clamp this light to either side of your phone, depending on whether you want to use your rear-facing camera or your front-facing camera. This selfie ring light sells for around $16 USD.

5. RODE VideoMic Me

The mic that is already built into your phone is equally sensitive to the sounds that come from behind the phone as it is to the sounds that are in front of the phone. This can be problematic when you’re trying to vlog in selfie mode while there’s a loud concert on the other side. One smartphone accessory that can improve the sound that you record from your phone in these situations is the RODE VideoMic Me. This mini directional shotgun mic plugs right into your phone’s headphone jack and sells for around $60 USD. In windy conditions, the dead cat windshield that it comes with does a great job of minimizing noise from the wind. In quiet, indoor conditions where you are the only person speaking, this device performs no better than your phone’s internal microphone. Your phone will also have to be in airplane mode to prevent the Rode VideoMic Me from recording unwanted clicking noise caused by background processes performed by your phone. So you wouldn’t want to use this for livestreaming.

6. Aukey Optic 3-in-1 Smartphone Lens Set

Aukey makes a 3-in-1 lens set that you can clamp onto your smartphone so that you can vlog at different focal lengths. The 3-in-1 set comes with a wide-angle lens, a fisheye lens, and a macro lens. The clamp it comes with is long enough for these lenses to reach any camera on a smartphone, not just those of iPhones which are positioned close to the phone’s outer edge. To get the most out of these lenses, you’ll have to use them without your phone’s protective case on. Although you are free to use this lens set on either your phone’s rear-facing camera or front-facing camera, the metal housing of these lenses is likely to show up in your footage when you use them with your front-facing camera. So, instead of having your recorded image stretch to the ends of a 16:9 ratio rectangular frame, your recorded image will look as if it is contained inside a circle. This lens set sells for around $30 USD.

7. iOgrapher Go for Android and iPhone

There’s many more accessories that you can take advantage of if you don’t limit yourself to just smartphone camera accessories. Sound and lighting equipment made for stand-alone cameras perform much better too. Many of these accessories are meant to connect to the camera “shoe” (a bracket on top of the camera that accessories can be attached to). Smartphones don’t come with these kinds of shoes. So, to take advantage of these higher quality accessories, you’ll need some kind of camera rig for your smartphone that also comes with shoes. The iOgrapher Go offers this at around $60 USD. This accessory comes with three shoes.

8. Manfrotto TwistGrip System

Manfrotto’s TwistGrip System does a similar job to the above iOgrapher Go. This system also comes with three shoes. An advantage the TwistGrip System has over the iOgrapher Go is that it is much more portable. Its three connected parts can be detached to take up less space in your bag. This system sells for around $50 USD.

9. Zhiyun Smooth-Q 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer for Smartphones

My favorite smartphone camera accessory that I own is the Zhiyun Smooth-Q gimbal stabilizer. This gimbal is very effective in helping you record smooth video. Using the app that it comes with, you can even preset this gimbal to smoothly pan and rotate from a starting position to an ending position, giving you the opportunity to film beautiful time lapses. You can get this device at around $100 USD.

Polish Your YouTube Videos with Filmora

As one of the most widely used video editing software in YouTube video editing, Filmora provides lots of templates and effects with an intuitive interface, which saves much time. Download the free trial version and get started now.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

As smartphone camera technology is rapidly advancing, more and more people are using smartphones as their primary vlogging device. They’re convenient and they draw the least amount of attention. But since most smartphones weren’t made specifically for vlogging, there’s a lot of room to make them more suitable for that purpose. Here is a list of the nine best smartphone camera accessories for vloggers.

Table of Contents 1. PORTABLE CHARGER2. TRIPOD MOUNT3. ANTI-GRAVITY CASE4. SELFIE RING LIGHT5. DIRECTIONAL MICROPHONE6. LENS SET7. FILMMAKING RIG8. FILMMAKING RIG9. GIMBAL

1. RAVPower Portable Charger

Vlogging uses a lot more power. If you’re planning to vlog all throughout your day with your phone, you need a portable way to charge it back up. RAVPower has a great line up of portable chargers with multiple USB inputs that hold a total charge of more than 20,000 mAh. With that amount, you can fully charge your smartphone more than 6 times! I own one myself and it’s been great for me during my travels. A 22,000 mAh charger goes for about $42 USD.

2. Arkon Tripod Mount

The Arkon tripod mount is a great portable tripod option that you can get at the fair price of around $20 USD. Not only does it have bendable legs, like the more expensive Joby GorillaPod tripod, that you can wrap around all kinds of structures, but it also comes with the smartphone mount, which Joby sells separately. Another great thing about the Arkon tripod is that its smartphone mount can be rotated so that you can position your phone to film in either widescreen or portrait mode.

3. Mega Tiny Anti-Gravity Case

For all the flat surfaces that the bendable legs of the Arkon tripod mount can’t wrap around, Mega Tiny’s anti-gravity cases will do the job of holding your iPhone or Android phone in one fixed position. These cases can stick to glass, mirrors, metal, and more. They range from $20 to $30 USD.

4. FLII Selfie Ring Light

As much as smartphone camera technology has advanced, phone cameras still underperform when it comes to filming video in low-light. In low-light, your footage is very grainy because your phone is equipped with a small camera sensor, an engineering choice by the manufacturers to keep the size of the phone small. A handy accessory that you can use to get more light is the FLII selfie ring light. This ring light clamps onto your phone and emits a neutral white light. You can clamp this light to either side of your phone, depending on whether you want to use your rear-facing camera or your front-facing camera. This selfie ring light sells for around $16 USD.

5. RODE VideoMic Me

The mic that is already built into your phone is equally sensitive to the sounds that come from behind the phone as it is to the sounds that are in front of the phone. This can be problematic when you’re trying to vlog in selfie mode while there’s a loud concert on the other side. One smartphone accessory that can improve the sound that you record from your phone in these situations is the RODE VideoMic Me. This mini directional shotgun mic plugs right into your phone’s headphone jack and sells for around $60 USD. In windy conditions, the dead cat windshield that it comes with does a great job of minimizing noise from the wind. In quiet, indoor conditions where you are the only person speaking, this device performs no better than your phone’s internal microphone. Your phone will also have to be in airplane mode to prevent the Rode VideoMic Me from recording unwanted clicking noise caused by background processes performed by your phone. So you wouldn’t want to use this for livestreaming.

6. Aukey Optic 3-in-1 Smartphone Lens Set

Aukey makes a 3-in-1 lens set that you can clamp onto your smartphone so that you can vlog at different focal lengths. The 3-in-1 set comes with a wide-angle lens, a fisheye lens, and a macro lens. The clamp it comes with is long enough for these lenses to reach any camera on a smartphone, not just those of iPhones which are positioned close to the phone’s outer edge. To get the most out of these lenses, you’ll have to use them without your phone’s protective case on. Although you are free to use this lens set on either your phone’s rear-facing camera or front-facing camera, the metal housing of these lenses is likely to show up in your footage when you use them with your front-facing camera. So, instead of having your recorded image stretch to the ends of a 16:9 ratio rectangular frame, your recorded image will look as if it is contained inside a circle. This lens set sells for around $30 USD.

7. iOgrapher Go for Android and iPhone

There’s many more accessories that you can take advantage of if you don’t limit yourself to just smartphone camera accessories. Sound and lighting equipment made for stand-alone cameras perform much better too. Many of these accessories are meant to connect to the camera “shoe” (a bracket on top of the camera that accessories can be attached to). Smartphones don’t come with these kinds of shoes. So, to take advantage of these higher quality accessories, you’ll need some kind of camera rig for your smartphone that also comes with shoes. The iOgrapher Go offers this at around $60 USD. This accessory comes with three shoes.

8. Manfrotto TwistGrip System

Manfrotto’s TwistGrip System does a similar job to the above iOgrapher Go. This system also comes with three shoes. An advantage the TwistGrip System has over the iOgrapher Go is that it is much more portable. Its three connected parts can be detached to take up less space in your bag. This system sells for around $50 USD.

9. Zhiyun Smooth-Q 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer for Smartphones

My favorite smartphone camera accessory that I own is the Zhiyun Smooth-Q gimbal stabilizer. This gimbal is very effective in helping you record smooth video. Using the app that it comes with, you can even preset this gimbal to smoothly pan and rotate from a starting position to an ending position, giving you the opportunity to film beautiful time lapses. You can get this device at around $100 USD.

Polish Your YouTube Videos with Filmora

As one of the most widely used video editing software in YouTube video editing, Filmora provides lots of templates and effects with an intuitive interface, which saves much time. Download the free trial version and get started now.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

As smartphone camera technology is rapidly advancing, more and more people are using smartphones as their primary vlogging device. They’re convenient and they draw the least amount of attention. But since most smartphones weren’t made specifically for vlogging, there’s a lot of room to make them more suitable for that purpose. Here is a list of the nine best smartphone camera accessories for vloggers.

Table of Contents 1. PORTABLE CHARGER2. TRIPOD MOUNT3. ANTI-GRAVITY CASE4. SELFIE RING LIGHT5. DIRECTIONAL MICROPHONE6. LENS SET7. FILMMAKING RIG8. FILMMAKING RIG9. GIMBAL

1. RAVPower Portable Charger

Vlogging uses a lot more power. If you’re planning to vlog all throughout your day with your phone, you need a portable way to charge it back up. RAVPower has a great line up of portable chargers with multiple USB inputs that hold a total charge of more than 20,000 mAh. With that amount, you can fully charge your smartphone more than 6 times! I own one myself and it’s been great for me during my travels. A 22,000 mAh charger goes for about $42 USD.

2. Arkon Tripod Mount

The Arkon tripod mount is a great portable tripod option that you can get at the fair price of around $20 USD. Not only does it have bendable legs, like the more expensive Joby GorillaPod tripod, that you can wrap around all kinds of structures, but it also comes with the smartphone mount, which Joby sells separately. Another great thing about the Arkon tripod is that its smartphone mount can be rotated so that you can position your phone to film in either widescreen or portrait mode.

3. Mega Tiny Anti-Gravity Case

For all the flat surfaces that the bendable legs of the Arkon tripod mount can’t wrap around, Mega Tiny’s anti-gravity cases will do the job of holding your iPhone or Android phone in one fixed position. These cases can stick to glass, mirrors, metal, and more. They range from $20 to $30 USD.

4. FLII Selfie Ring Light

As much as smartphone camera technology has advanced, phone cameras still underperform when it comes to filming video in low-light. In low-light, your footage is very grainy because your phone is equipped with a small camera sensor, an engineering choice by the manufacturers to keep the size of the phone small. A handy accessory that you can use to get more light is the FLII selfie ring light. This ring light clamps onto your phone and emits a neutral white light. You can clamp this light to either side of your phone, depending on whether you want to use your rear-facing camera or your front-facing camera. This selfie ring light sells for around $16 USD.

5. RODE VideoMic Me

The mic that is already built into your phone is equally sensitive to the sounds that come from behind the phone as it is to the sounds that are in front of the phone. This can be problematic when you’re trying to vlog in selfie mode while there’s a loud concert on the other side. One smartphone accessory that can improve the sound that you record from your phone in these situations is the RODE VideoMic Me. This mini directional shotgun mic plugs right into your phone’s headphone jack and sells for around $60 USD. In windy conditions, the dead cat windshield that it comes with does a great job of minimizing noise from the wind. In quiet, indoor conditions where you are the only person speaking, this device performs no better than your phone’s internal microphone. Your phone will also have to be in airplane mode to prevent the Rode VideoMic Me from recording unwanted clicking noise caused by background processes performed by your phone. So you wouldn’t want to use this for livestreaming.

6. Aukey Optic 3-in-1 Smartphone Lens Set

Aukey makes a 3-in-1 lens set that you can clamp onto your smartphone so that you can vlog at different focal lengths. The 3-in-1 set comes with a wide-angle lens, a fisheye lens, and a macro lens. The clamp it comes with is long enough for these lenses to reach any camera on a smartphone, not just those of iPhones which are positioned close to the phone’s outer edge. To get the most out of these lenses, you’ll have to use them without your phone’s protective case on. Although you are free to use this lens set on either your phone’s rear-facing camera or front-facing camera, the metal housing of these lenses is likely to show up in your footage when you use them with your front-facing camera. So, instead of having your recorded image stretch to the ends of a 16:9 ratio rectangular frame, your recorded image will look as if it is contained inside a circle. This lens set sells for around $30 USD.

7. iOgrapher Go for Android and iPhone

There’s many more accessories that you can take advantage of if you don’t limit yourself to just smartphone camera accessories. Sound and lighting equipment made for stand-alone cameras perform much better too. Many of these accessories are meant to connect to the camera “shoe” (a bracket on top of the camera that accessories can be attached to). Smartphones don’t come with these kinds of shoes. So, to take advantage of these higher quality accessories, you’ll need some kind of camera rig for your smartphone that also comes with shoes. The iOgrapher Go offers this at around $60 USD. This accessory comes with three shoes.

8. Manfrotto TwistGrip System

Manfrotto’s TwistGrip System does a similar job to the above iOgrapher Go. This system also comes with three shoes. An advantage the TwistGrip System has over the iOgrapher Go is that it is much more portable. Its three connected parts can be detached to take up less space in your bag. This system sells for around $50 USD.

9. Zhiyun Smooth-Q 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer for Smartphones

My favorite smartphone camera accessory that I own is the Zhiyun Smooth-Q gimbal stabilizer. This gimbal is very effective in helping you record smooth video. Using the app that it comes with, you can even preset this gimbal to smoothly pan and rotate from a starting position to an ending position, giving you the opportunity to film beautiful time lapses. You can get this device at around $100 USD.

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Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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