If it wasn’t for my iPhone, none of this would’ve happened

I’ve already written loads about the iPhone 17 Pro Max, so you’d probably think that there is not much more for me to write about, however, there’s a plot twist coming.

I don’t know about you, but I think that phone reviews have got lazy & tedious. Whether they’re reviews on Medium or videos on YouTube, they have all become very stale and formulaic. Many have become nothing more than listicles – you know the sort where they simply list specs of the phone and then probably have a little rant about the battery, cos why not, eh?

And you know what, I was falling into that trap, but I knew I wanted more for both me and you. So rather than just being another bloke sitting in a studio waving a phone about and showing you some lovely angles of said new phone, I decided to change things up a bit.

I got radical, and actually started to use the thing! Because I wanted to use the iPhone 17 Pro Max as a working camera, it, in turn, has changed me! Before, I looked upon travelling as a pain in the arse. But now, trying to keep myself in the studio is the biggest problem I have!

Over the past few months, I’ve realised and grasped the opportunities of what I now do for a living. My eyes have opened up to the possibilities of chatting to you about how I have used the phone for either video or photography, and it’s exciting me.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max, let’s face it, costs a tidy sum, so why not use the bloody thing and have some fun with it? And that is just what I’m doing…

My newfound passion for trying to improve as a photographer, or the way I shoot video, has found me poring over details about the iPhone 17 Pro Max in a way I would never have done before. The spec sheet, which was once my go-to to is now of little interest. Now I want to learn and pass on to you how to use the 17 Pro Max in meaningful and creative ways.

iPhone 17 Pro Max – what’s the point

I wrote a story with that title a week or so back.

The gist behind it was that the 17 Pro Max had now become a full-blown camera, and as such, who was it now aimed at? I now realise it was aimed squarely at me and others like me.

Some folks may want the 17 Pro Max just because it offers the largest screen & battery, and sure, that’s as good a reason as you need to buy one. I have no problem with that.

But the iPhone 17 Pro Max has opened me up to the world of cameras. I know I will inevitably end up buying myself another dedicated Canon, and I’m sure I’ll love the learning curve and challenges that will bring. The bigger sensors of a camera will always win out at the end of the day, but the phone we carry in our pockets every day is no slouch.

And all the while, I need to remind myself that my end needs from any camera will only ever be posting videos to YouTube and selling the odd print here and there. I doubt my prints will ever be hung in galleries or that I’ll be making a short movie anytime soon. So, in my mind, while I wait patiently for the day I buy a camera, let’s bring out the best of the £1000+ camera I already have in my pocket right now.

The 17 Pro Max with just a few careful additions & apps can generate some amazing results. And the thing is, if you are willing to come along with me on this journey, you won’t be reading some self-proclaimed expert but rather someone passionate about learning about his iPhone 17 Pro Max and what it is, honestly, capable of — mistakes and all.

I realised that for a few hundred quid, I can take what is already a tasty bit of kit and elevate it to the next level. The epic geek that I am means I’ve been scouring all sorts of articles, websites and videos trying to separate the wheat from the chaff, to find out what kit I should lay my hands on.

Now I think I have a fairly good idea of what bolt-ons I need to get some pretty serious content out of the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and that’s what we’re going to look at in this story.

I’m going to go through the apps and kit I’ve decided to use, and in a follow-up story in a few weeks, I’ll run through the settings I’ve found that work best and what issues, if any, I’ve had with them.

The camera bits

If there was one bit of kit I wish someone had mentioned to me months ago, that has been a total game changer, then it would be the humble ND filter.

The ND filter matters more for video, from what I have seen, but it’s a useful bit of kit for photography too. The reason that the iPhone’s native camera app gives such an ‘iPhone’ look to its video is that it has to crank up the ISO to compensate for bright days. It doesn’t do a bad job, and for family videos, it still looks tremendous. But if you’re reading this, then I know you’ll be wanting more from your iPhone 17 Pro Max.

I now have three VND filters – a 1.5-5, a 6-9 for seriously sunny days and a Black Mist filter too to help create more arty, cinematic low light shots.

I’ve got some lenses for the 17 Pro Max too, as I know they can unlock all sorts of potential. To that end, I now have three: a 110° wide-angle lens, a 2x telephoto and a 2x, 200mm super-tele lens. I’ve tried to plan to cover as many day-to-day shooting sessions as possible.

Although I’m not sure how much I’ll use them, I also have two Macro add-ons for that super-telephoto lens. I’ve seen some great Macro shots and want to try my hand at that type of work, too.

I’ve gone with kit from Reeflex, and so far I’m mighty impressed with it.

Hardware

I know I’m going to be shooting ProRes RAW video, so external storage was the first thing I looked into.

Hands-down the winner and only serious choice here was the Lexar Professional Go Portable SSD, which you can buy with either 1TB or 2TB of storage – I bought the 1TB version. The best part of it is the way it attaches to the 17 Pro Max. It’s been so well thought out. It even ships with a cable, which means you can hook it up to a cage and it has an extra USB-C port that you can attach a wireless mic receiver to. It even has a PD port too, enabling you to charge your Pro Max as you shoot. It’s been so well thought out and is a brilliant bit of kit.

The cage I went for was from SmallRig. It has plenty of mounting points, making it very expandable. It’ll fit any tripod and its USP are the handles that snap on and off. I also bought a SmallRig LED light to mount to the cage for when I need to record talking head-type shots at night in hotels or Airbnbs.

The wireless mic I’m using was sent to me earlier this year and must be in contention for being one of the best products I’ve used this year. It’s the Hollyland Lark Mk2 wireless mic, and I’ve been super-happy with it. The audio is great, it’s painless to set up and never runs out of charge.

The idea of this kit was to be very mobile, so I needed a tripod geared to being portable & lightweight. I ended up with a tripod from SmallRig and, importantly, it only weighs a little over a kilo and folds down to about 40 centimetres, which makes it easy to walk about with and also take on planes, etc. It goes up to about 1500mm in height and is sturdy enough to get the job done. It also doubles up as a monopod – something I didn’t know when I bought it! I bought a sturdy, metal SmallRig phone mount for it, as it only ships with a fairly ordinary plastic one.

The last bit of hardware I’ve upgraded is the gimbal. I’ve had a basic DJI OM 4 gimbal for years, but that one is quite literally not up to the task. The motors are not strong enough to handle the weight of the 17 Pro Max when it’s kitted out. The phone with the SSD, case, mic receiver and lens weighs around 450 grams.

I’ve gone a little overkill on the gimbal, but equally, I know it’ll work with any cameras I buy in the future as well, so I’m future-proofed. I’ve stayed with DJI as they seem to be the best thought of when it comes to gimbals, and I’ve bought a DJI RS 3 mini, which has a 2kg payload, so more than butch enough for my needs.

Although it’s a great gimbal, my word is it a pain to set up! I had to walk away from trying to set it after 4 hours the first night. I got it sorted in the end, but getting the tilt balance correct was, shall we say, quite the task!

With the phone kitted out, it was then time to look at the apps I needed.

The software

This was the easy part. I wanted a pro video app and some apps to unlock the cameras for my photography.

Video-wise, there was only one option – of course, it had to be the BlackMagic app. How this is still free is a mystery to me. I’ve tried using it in the past, but without much success.

For instance, if you’ve ever tried shooting in LOG outdoors on a bright day, then you’ll know it’s impossible. Now, though, with my ND filters, suddenly it’s a different story – shooting LOG outdoors is back in play! I’m now having so much fun with the Blackmagic app and can create such great-looking videos with it, there is no going back. Those bad results were my fault all along, not that of the apps! I’ll let you into a few settings I’ve found handy over the next few weeks.

When it comes to the photo app, there are a few strong contenders out there, but as I went with Reeflex filters and lenses, I’ve been using their apps too. My daily go-to is the Pro Camera app. It unlocks all those features you want from your 17 Pro Max camera, such as ISO, shutter speed, white balance and loads more besides. You can shoot manual or auto, and combined with their lenses, it’s been an awesome find. They have a suite of other apps too, such as a ‘genuine’ long-exposure apps that I’m looking forward to playing around with.

The future

I still want to buy a camera, and if luck is on my side, that day will come sooner rather than later.

If this mobile rig works out well, I’ll consider buying the new dock from Blackmagic and a monitor so that I can frame myself more easily if I’m out recording vlog-style footage. But for the time being, I’m done with spending and can’t wait to put all this kit to the test.

And circling back to the top of the story, none of this and none of the locations I’ve been shooting at this summer would have been possible without my iPhone 17 Pro Max unlocking my imagination and helping to inspire me.

It offers so much, and it excites me to find out how far I can take it and how much I can learn along the way. In a few weeks, me and this kit will be flying to Edinburgh, and then shortly after that, we’ll be in Wales. The kitbag has been put together with these trips in mind. Once I’ve fully tested it out, I’ll let you know if I’ve bought well.

But in the meantime, thank you, iPhone 17 Pro Max, for making me venture outside my studio door. It’s gonna be an exciting future…