GRIP&SHOOT Is a Pistol-Style Smartphone Grip for Travel Photographers

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Modern smartphones are not designed to be used as cameras. They’re thin, difficult to easily hold/balance in landscape mode, and are typically larger than most compact point-and-shoot cameras. Can we really blame them though? They are smartphones, after all.

Anyway, if you find yourself using your smartphone more as a camera than a talking device, you’ve no doubt posited the question: “There has to be a better way to do this!”

There is. The GRIP&SHOOT is a simple, purpose-built device designed specifically for the task. The company was kind enough to send us a sample to check out, so have a look …

The Skinny

First off, what is GRIP&SHOOT? In the company’s own words:

We’ve all taken pictures and video with our phones; it’s a shaky and awkward process. GRIP&SHOOT™ solves this problem by attaching a handle to your phone for comfort and support and then provides full one-handed control of the camera’s operation.

Squeeze the trigger to capture a photo or Start/Stop a video. Use the +/- buttons to Zoom, Control Exposure, Switch Cameras, or anything you’d like! They’re completely customizable.

The Traveler’s Take

Straight out of the box, I was surprised at how compact and flat the device is — it collapses slightly in a way that allows it to fit in a medium-sized pocket. The expandable, springloaded “JawZ” mount atop the device is large enough to accommodate any phone up to an iPhone 7+ with a case. Once secured in the mount, the phone sits in landscape mode, while your thumb hovers above the zoom in/zoom out buttons and your index finger rests around the trigger (shutter release). It’s an entirely organic form factor that feels quite comfortable — far more so than precariously balancing your smartphone in landscape mode between your thumb and forefinger.

Expandable JawZ Mount on the GRIP&SHOOT

Like most of our favorite travel gadgets, GRIP&SHOOT is dead simple to use. Setup requires the installation of a free mobile app, then pairing the device to your smartphone via Bluetooth. In our experience, the entire process took less than two minutes. While using the GRIP&SHOOT, the app replaces your smartphone’s native camera app. While this may turn off some users, we found the design simple, streamlined, and functional — in our case, it’s not all that different from the built-in iPhone camera app.

There’s an additional piece of functionality built into the GRIP&SHOOT’s design. A small “nub” on the bottom of the grip can be disengaged and attached to the expandable mount directly. The newly combined piece creates a near-universal mount that can be secured to almost any tripod. Like so: