I’ve used a lot of smartphone rigs, many of which included the bare minimum in features and offered limited comfort. But, Zeniko has changed the game with the MR11 Smartphone Video Rig Kit.
I received their MR11 Smartphone Video Rig Kit for review, and it was immediately clear that their product development team deserves a standing ovation for envisioning the product. It is a much better looking and sturdier design than my prior smartphone rigs, but it also packs in clever and useful features. It also weighs in at under 1 pound (before you add phone/accessories).
Zeniko MR11 — Clip grip
The initial draw is to the smartphone clip. It’s compatible with phones 57-95mm wide. Even my large Galaxy in a case fits snuggly. The clip is well-constructed to have a firm grip on the phone. It also rotates to accommodate landscape or portrait recording.
But that’s not all. This unassuming clip is also a wireless charger for your phone. You can toggle this option on or off, and the rig also has a USB-A port on the bottom corner for wired phone charging.
Zeniko MR11 — Built-in light
Another feature you can’t miss is the LED fill light built right into the center of the rig. It offers 5 color temperature levels (2800, 3200, 4300, 5600, 6500K) and 5 brightness settings. Simple +/- buttons on the back by the power button make changing settings very quick. And even with the light on, you’ll get about 4 hours of battery life from the rig.
For close video work, the light is adequate. However, for more lighting power, the rig can hold additional accessories via two cold shoe slots that are well-placed for balance. In my case, I use them for the VS5 Mini RGB LED light and the OC-D1 Stereo On-camera Microphone. More on those items later.
Zeniko MR11 — Go hands free
The rig has six ¼” screw ports (2 on top, 3 on bottom, and 1 on the side). It also has a 3/8” screw port or Arri positioning hole.
So, if you want to stabilize the rig and go hands-free, you certainly can. And when you do that, you can take advantage of the detachable mini remote control that comes with the rig. It’s so small, it’ll make you feel like you’re in a Bond movie using spy gear. It connects via Bluetooth to activate recording.
Zeniko MR11 — Accessories
The Zeniko Mini RGB LED VS5 Light provides soft lighting for your rig via coldshoe mount. Good things come in small package, as the light weighs under 1/5 of a pound. The sleek look fits the rig.
It has a wide CCT range from 2500 to 8500K, and also has HSI mode with 36k colors. An FX mode provides 13 options. The light comes with a collapsible diffusion dome, 1.5hr battery life at max brightness, and Bluetooth app control.
The Zeniko OC-D1 Stereo On-Camera Microphone is a great rig mic. The coldshoe mount has a shock-absorbing bracket, so the mic has a small wobble that helps absorb any noises from inadvertent rig impact.
The two mics are rotatable by 180-degrees horizontally. The cardioid patterns help capture the sound you want and less of the surrounding noise you don’t. Mono and stereo modes are available, as well as three levels of adjustable gain. There is also a low cut function. Settings and buttons are easy to see on the mic itself despite its low profile.
The built-in Li battery is chargeable through USB-C, and will work for about 10 hours of recording on a charge. The mic comes with 2 windscreens, nifty storage case, a TRS-TRS cable, and a TRS-TRRS cable. The unit is featherweight and has the technical specs you’d expect from an item of this size and price point.
Oh, and there’s a lanyard hole on the rig as well.
Zeniko MR11 — Cons
In my use, I found two cons with the rig. First, if you have your phone positioned vertically, it’ll cover the lighting control buttons. Even a large phone positioned horizontally will mostly cover the buttons. But, I am cognizant that there are smaller phone footprints than mine out there and this may not be an issue.
Also, when gripping the rig, you must be careful to not hit any cables that are plugged into your phone (such as your mic to USB-C audio). My hands almost hit my phone before having the cables plugged in, so there isn’t a lot of clearance. Of course, you can slide your phone over to one side in the rig to help. This is a minor issue because it exists on other rigs as well. It’s also possible to keep this rig steady on shorter shots with a good one-handed grip, so you can avoid the problem altogether.
Zeniko MR11 — Final thoughts
The Zeniko MR11 is useful for so many scenarios, like outdoor recording, live streaming, vlogging, travel, documentaries, on-the-go “shorts”, and so much more. The included features are well planned. It functions well, it’s durable, and the light, wireless charging, and remote are icing on the cake.