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"  The best camera is the one that you have with you. It&amp;#039;s a nice sentiment, and very often true: When it comes to capturing life&amp;#039;s most important moments, a camera&amp;#039;s first duty is to simply be there at the right time\u2014everything else is a bonus. Flip-style cameras are small and easy to carry; smartphones, many of which are also serviceable video cameras, live in pockets and purses, perpetually within reach.  But there&amp;#039;s a difference between documenting a moment and filming it. Too often, cheap video cameras and smartphones produce video that&amp;#039;s shaky, washed out, improperly exposed and grainy. With the right tools and techniques, however, you can take your smartphone videos from good enough to, well, pretty good.  Camera Compromises Before you canovercome your smartphone camera&amp;#039;s limitations you need to understand them. How, exactly, are these cameras different from a high-quality, dedicated camcorder? After all, both share the same basics\u2014lens, aperture, sensor and software\u2014and record at either 720p or 1080p. Yet they produce very different video. The single most important difference between an HD smartphone camera and a more able HD camcorder or digital SLR camera is the image sensor. While midrange camcorders house sensors that measure up to two-thirds of an inch diagonally and typical video-enabled DSLR sensors measure at about 1.1 inches, smartphone sensors tend to be much smaller. (The iPhone 4 utilizes a 0.31-inch sensor for photos and video, and that&amp;#039;s on the large side for a phone.) The reason this matters is simple: A sensor&amp;#039;s job is to collect light, and it&amp;#039;s easier to collect light over a greater surface area. As a result, smaller sensors must be extremely sensitive to light, which reduces color quality, increases image distortion and results in jarring, multicolored speckling, known as image noise.  The second major limiting feature of a cheap camera is its lens. Rather than the generously large zoom lenses found in camcorders and DSLRs, phones and pocket cams have small, fixed optics. Typically these are neither very sharp nor particularly good at letting light reach the sensor; worst of all, they can&amp;#039;t zoom (digital zoom doesn&amp;#039;t count). Sensory Tricks Marty Martin, a director and cinematographer from L.A., is accustomed to shooting in professional scenarios with professional-level gear. Yet almost immediately after the launch of Apple&amp;#039;s smartphone, he used it to record a music video for his friend Steve Fallows (aka flakjakt). &amp;quot;Since I first dove into filmmaking I always kept one piece of advice in mind,&amp;quot; Martin says. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s not about the instrument, it&amp;#039;s about the person behind it.&amp;quot; The resulting video was impressive, but to Martin the camera&amp;#039;s limitations were immediately clear. Above all, he remembers struggling with rolling shutter, a phenomenon that causes a rippling effect in videos. This is because the sensors used in smartphone cameras record by scanning each frame from one side to the other in a sweeping motion, rather than snapping the whole frame at once. If something in the frame is moving quickly\u2014or, more likely, if the whole frame is moving as the result of a shaky camera\u2014the image expands and compresses in conspicuous ways. (Use your smartphone to take a closeup video of a guitar string or a spinning fan for an extreme example of this effect.)  To avoid the rolling-shutter effect, stabilize your camera. If possible keep the camera absolutely still by resting it on a fixed mount. Many flip-style cameras feature tripod mounts, so investment in a cheap miniature tripod or monopod is well worth it. Devices like the Joby GorillaPod double as grips, preventing the vibrations and twitches that are so apparent in freehand-shot videos. Smartphones lack tripod mounts, but cases can be purchased to add \u00BC-inch screw mounts to many common models. (The following page offers some DIY alternatives.) For his friend&amp;#039;s music video, Martin took stabilization to the extreme. &amp;quot;I really limited the range of movement,&amp;quot; he says, which was key to the success of his video: The majority of the footage was shot from a static mount, which rendered the rolling-shutter effect unnoticeable\u2014and gave the impression that the video was shot with a much better camera.  If you absolutely must shoot freehand, and without any kind of stabilizing accessory, there are a few rules to follow. Hold the camera with both hands and grip it firmly\u2014a tentative touch inevitably results in shakiness. Move slowly, turning the camera with your whole body rather than your wrists; fast movements don&amp;#039;t translate well with almost any camera, but cheap ones amplify the problems. Lastly, if you&amp;#039;re using a smartphone, turn the handset sideways. It will be easier to hold steady and ensure that your video is shot in the correct aspect. A video can look only so good with giant black bars on either side. Smarter Smartphone Video  1. OVEREXPOSURE The sky is white when it should be blue. SOLUTION If possible, shoot on an overcast day. If inside, don&amp;#039;t aim at a light source. 2. ROLLING SHUTTER Tent pole appears bent; areas of photo look compressed.  SOLUTION Stabilize the camera, or move it more slowly. 3. IMAGE NOISE Areas in the shadow are grainy. SOLUTION Ensure even lighting, or apply noise reduction in an editing program. 4. COLOR TEMPERATURE Little boy&amp;#039;s skin is strangely tinted. SOLUTION Ensure multiple light sources are the same color. 5. POOR FRAMING He&amp;#039;s also awkwardly centered. SOLUTION Learn and abide by the rule of thirds; move subject to left.  &amp;amp;gt; The Basic Rules &amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt;   Indecent Exposure Cheap lenses and straining sensors make getting an even exposure on a low-end camera difficult. Smartphones&amp;#039; highly automatic shooting modes mean that it&amp;#039;s often easier to control your environment than it is to control your camera settings. Shooting outside is best done on a cloudy day or in the shade. Cheap camera sensors have a low dynamic range, which means that they are unable to record drastic variations in light in a single frame. Too much light will overwhelm the camera, with bright skies or reflections causing the rest of the frame to be underexposed. If the glaring sun is unavoidable, shoot from an elevated vantage. This will ensure that the sky is mostly out of the frame and allow the camera to meter your subject, not the sky, for its exposure.  Shooting indoors affords you more control, but introduces new problems. Don&amp;#039;t light your subject from behind or from directly in front; use diffuse lighting (a lampshade) where possible, or light from the sides. In any case, make sure there&amp;#039;s enough illumination\u2014cheap cameras perform poorly in low light. A humble shop light bounced off a ceiling or wall, for example, can turn a shadowy scene into a tastefully lit one.  You&amp;#039;ll also need to account for light color. Cameras automatically adjust to compensate for the color, or temperature, of a light source\u2014natural light is very cool, while many household lights are very warm. An open window near a shining lamp may leave your subject with a yellow or blue tint, depending on which light source the camera focuses on.  The Basic Rules Some rules apply to all camera types. Pay attention to how you frame your subject, and don&amp;#039;t always go for the obvious shot. Respecting the rule of thirds, which divides a frame into a 3 x 3 grid, will help you compose more interesting shots. Try placing your subject somewhere other than the center of the frame. Anticipate your subjects&amp;#039; actions and give them space to move; likewise, if someone is facing to the left or right, move him to the opposite side of the frame. If you can&amp;#039;t fit a subject&amp;#039;s entire body in a shot, crop at a natural cutoff line, such as the elbows, knees or hips. For further stylistic guidance, Martin recommends an impromptu apprenticeship with the many talented videographers who post work online: &amp;quot;Do some research on Vimeo [a community for original video]. Look up beautiful home videos of subjects you like, and spend a few minutes figuring out what makes them good.&amp;quot; Video editing has become extremely simple with the advent of user-friendly editors like iMovie and Windows Live Movie Maker and can help polish a decent video, or salvage a bad one. Your first impulse when shooting with a smartphone may be to record snippets and avoid editing altogether. You&amp;#039;re always better off overshooting and cutting later. You have gigabytes of space to record with, and besides, the only way to make sure you don&amp;#039;t miss the pivotal moment of your kid&amp;#039;s soccer game is to keep the camera rolling. Editing out a fumble or a face-plant takes just a few seconds, but you can&amp;#039;t edit in something you didn&amp;#039;t film.  BUILD YOUR OWN ACCESSORIES Using a smartphone as your primary video camera isn&amp;#039;t solely about convenience\u2014it&amp;#039;s about saving money by getting the most out of a gadget you already own. Here are three ways to save money on accessories, too.    The 20-Cent Mount  Smartphones don&amp;#039;t have tripod mounts, but making one is easy. Cut a paper or Styrofoam cup in half, then cut two phone-size slots in the bottom half. Punch the tripod&amp;#039;s mounting bolt through the bottom of the cup, then tighten a nut over the washer.    The String Loop  Keeping a smartphone stable and vibration-free is close to impossible without some help. A loop made from 10 feet of string or twine wrapped once around your phone&amp;#039;s body lets you stabilize your shots against tension provided by your foot.    The Handi-Clamp Grip  For a more mobile stabilization option, a cheap, rubber-padded hand clamp can serve as a secure grip for a smartphone. Clamp with care\u2014too much pressure can damage the screen. Best used in conjunction with a sturdy case. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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