The current generation of smartphones enables you to capture high-quality HD and 4K footage that meets the requirements of professional filmmakers. For example, all the supporting review videos that I shoot for Digital Camera World are filmed on an iPhone - see this reviews Performance section for my test of the RØDE Cage.
However to take your video (and audio) production values to the next level you need help from accessories such as a shotgun mic to capture more directional sound and an LED to add fill-light to interviewees. These accessories can be a challenge to mount on a standard smartphone case so you need a grip or a cage with screw threads and cold shoe mounts. Check out our best iPhone camera grips to see a range of ways to turn your iPhone into a professional camera rig.
The RØDE Cage is designed to let you mount a range of accessories around your smartphone so that you can expand your shooting capabilities. RØDE produces a wide range of pro products such as the RØDE Wireless Pro, so I was very keen to get my hands on their version of a smartphone cage. It arrived just in time for my trip to Normandy, France to film the 80th Anniversary of D-Day and it proved very useful indeed…
RØDE Phone Cage: Specifications
RØDE Phone Cage: Design & Handling
The RØDE Cage is constructed from high-grade aluminum which makes it a rugged but lightweight unit (weighing in at 285 grams). Around the edge of the cage are 5 cold shoe mounts, into which you can slot devices such as radio mic receivers or a shotgun mic. There are 14 standard 1/4 inch threads (so you can screw in a range of accessories such as an LED). The cage has 17 ARRI 1/4 threads too.
These threads offer support for accessories that are compatible with the ultra-stable ARRI locking-pin standard. Each thread has two (holes) on either side of it. When you attach a compatible accessory such as a handle it has two pins that slot into the two holes on either side of the thread to keep the handles stable (so that they don’t slip in the thread). There are also two 3/8 inch threads in case you need to attach the cage to an accessory such as a microphone pole or stand.
What makes the RØDE Phone Cage really stand out when compared to other cages and grips is the way that you mount your phone onto it. Many cages (such as the Neewer Cage for iPhone 15 Pro Max) are phone-specific. The phone slides into a cage which then grips it tightly. If you upgrade your phone then the cage will become redundant as it will no longer fit the new model.
The RØDE Phone Cage has a circular magnetic mount that you screw into the center of the cage. Your MagSafe smartphone (or its MagSafe case) then magnetically attaches itself to the mount. You can then use the cage to maneuver your smartphone and all its attached accessories when filming, but if you need to take a call you can easily unclip the phone from the magnetic rig. This saves you the hassle (and embarrassment) of holding a bulky rig to your ear when someone rings you in the middle of a shoot!
RØDE Phone Cage: Performance
To test the RØDE Cage I took it to Normandy in France to document my brother’s trip there with a restored WW2 Willies Jeep. Unlike other cages that I’ve reviewed, such as the Neewer Cage, the RØDE Phone Cage doesn’t ship with handles. It’s designed to work with accessories that you already own. Fortunately, the two handles from my SmallRig All-In-One Kit for Smartphone slotted nicely into the RØDE’s 1/inch ARRI system threads.
You can mount handles on the top and bottom or opposite sides of the rig to shoot vertically or horizontally. As an old-school videographer, I still can’t bring myself to shoot vertically so I went for a horizontal orientation. You could grip the edge of the cage as there’s plenty of space between it and the iPhone that’s clamped to the magnetic mount at the center of the cage.
However, the two handles provided a much more comfortable and secure grip on the rig, which I appreciated when filming from a moving jeep that wasn’t equipped with seat belts. Or a roof. The handles helped me perform smoother pans and tilts than I could with a handheld iPhone. I also used a 1/4-inch thread to mount a small Hobolite Iris LED (review coming soon) onto the top of the cage. This enabled me to summon a light source when shooting in dark interiors which helped my iPhone use a less noisy ISO setting.
I popped a SmallRig shotgun mic onto a cold shoe mount on top of the rig and attached it via a cable to my magnetically mounted iPhone 15 Pro Max. The cage has four built-in cable management slots at each corner, so there’s no danger of dangling cables getting in the way. The gun mic was great for recording interviews on the fly. I was also easily able to unplug the gun mic’s cable and attach a plug-in Godox WEC receiver to my iPhone’s USB-C socket. This enabled me to clip the Godox transmitter onto my brother and wirelessly record him chatting to WW2 veterans from a distance.
I really like the large space that you get between the edge of the magnetically attached iPhone and the RØDE Phone Cage. With cages that grip tightly around your smartphone (such as the SmallRig Brandon Li), you can’t plug a wireless mic receiver into your iPhone. The larger RØDE Phone Cage had no such problems with attaching accessories.
I’ve mentioned how handy the magnetic mount is if you need to quickly detach your phone. The magnet is very strong and no amount of shaking the rig will cause the phone to detach (as you’ll see in this review’s supporting video). However, if you push the phone forward this leverage action can cause the phone to detach from the magnetic mount and it did fall four times during the earlier part of my shoot.
Fortunately, the iPhone was wearing a MagSafe case so it didn’t suffer any damage. The falling episodes tended to occur when I unplugged the gun mic to plug in the Godox receiver (or vice versa) and this levering pressure was enough to detach the phone. However, once I learned about this levering hazard I was able to avoid future phone drops.
RØDE Phone Cage: Verdict
The RØDE Phone Cage enables you to attach a host of devices to your smartphone, including LEDS, mics, handles, and tripods. The attached handles enable you to perform pro camera moves with ease (and keep a safe grip on your valuable smartphone when shooting from moving vehicles). The large space between your phone and the cage makes it easy to attach various cables and devices to your phone’s USB-C connector - though you need to be careful not to apply too much pressure to the phone or it might detach from the magnetic connector. If you own lots of accessories then the RØDE Phone Cage will fit nicely into your shooting ecosystem. However, if you don’t have a kit such as handles then consider the alternatives in this review.
✅ Buy it...
- Because it will be compatible with future smartphone models
- Because it boasts a wide collection of mounts and threads
🚫 Don't buy it...
- If you don’t own a host of compatible accessories
- If you prefer a more sturdy (non-magnetic) mounting option
