In case you haven’t noticed, the smartphone is starting to live up to its name in the camera department.  The current iPhone and Samsung Android phones each boast an 8MP sensor with impressive optics.  And while Apple has devoted a ton of R&D to writing decent in-cameraphone HDR software, I personally think Samsung have gone the extra mile with their ISO, white balance, exposure, metering modes, scene selection, panoramic stitch, self timer, and dozens of other goodies.  And now that both of these top hardware vendors are packing 1080p video into these phones, the stakes are even higher.  So what could they possibly add that would truly round out what is becoming the most popular point & Shoot photography platform among amateurs and enthusiasts alike?  How about a mount?

Yeah, you heard me right.  If you’re serious about shooting pictures and video with your phone, why wouldn’t you put it on a tripod?

There are already a variety of mounting options available, from simple spring-loaded clips to monstrous, over-designed plastic chassis designed to hold the phone and enhance the buttons.  Shoot, that kinda defeats the whole point of elegant, minimal, all-in-one smartphonography, in my opinion.  Personally, I just want something that holds the phone snugly, screws onto a standard tripod post, and doesn’t look like I bought it at a dollar store.

I give you the SupaMount 7, from i.Trek

Machined from aluminum, it looks more like a piece of quality photographic equipment than the cheesy $10 sima tabletop tripod I’m attaching it to.  Pretty simple, really, you clamp the phone in its soft rubber-padded jaws and turn the knob to tighten.  Not too much, obviously -unless you want to test the limits of your screen’s compressibility (not recommended).  Just tighten it enough so that the phone won’t fall out under it’s own weight, and not a stitch more.