By Travis Boisvenue
Curious about the the the batarang-like iPhone camera mount that the manufacturer claims will maximize the potential of you and your iPhone, Ian ordered the Owle BUBO. With the legion of creators and communicators out there abusing, hacking, and customizing their iPhones into a do-all device, I don’t doubt that the BUBO will be able to maximize someone’s potential to create. I just can’t figure out who that person is.
The case
Weighing just over a pound, the BUBO is made of aluminum, has 37mm lens threading, a 0.45x wide angle/macro lens, and four 1/4″-20 threaded tripod mounts on each corner (basically: it will fit into any tripod you’ll want it to).
The aluminum casing is heavy enough to feel sturdy, but not so heavy that it becomes clumsy. Once inserted, you won’t be able to answer calls or use apps, and even checking the footage you’re shooting becomes a little clunky.
The rubber that covers your phone for insertion into the case takes a bit of getting used to–you never really get over the cringe of forcing your phone into the tight-fitting aluminum. It takes a bit of care to ensure that the rubber doesn’t slip over the lens once the phone has been inserted.
The aluminum case grips nicely in the hands, and all of the iPhone parts are left spaciously unobstructed so you can keep your iPhone charging or wear your headphones while you film.
Owle recommends a small boom mic to plug into the iPhone’s audio jack. Strangely, the location of the jack means the mic juts out on the left side making the BUBO un-grippable.
The lens
The macro lens certainly increases the range of filming, though it’s difficult to tell if it adds crispness or colour like Owle’s website claims. It also leads to some very noticeable warping on the edges of video giving things an unintended fish-eye-lens effect.
BUBO footage from Travis Boisvenue on Vimeo.
Music: Cornbeast – Long Live Gameboy Krautrock, via the Free Music Archives.
Most impressive is the micro lens, which can get clean, close-up footage without signs of warping. The four-legged shape of the aluminum casing lends itself well to propping the camera against surfaces to steady close-ups.
The purpose?
The BUBO does what it intends to the best that it can. You won’t be getting wide-angle iPhone lenses without some warping, you can’t change the awkward location of audio jacks, and you won’t find a camera mount that won’t obstruct app usage. The question is: who is using their iPhone for long video shoots?
Until the iPhone has higher-quality video (and users are still awaiting an iPhone 4-compatible BUBO), I can’t imagine anyone filming intensive shoots on their phone besides the novelty of it. Limiting the iPhone to a video-exclusive device means that the casual user won’t be using it for, say, vacation videos–especially considering the $129.99 price tag.
