The Moment SuperCage is the pro filming rig the iPhone needs, with endless customization and premium build quality.
USB-C on the iPhone hasn’t exactly changed everything, but regardless of which model you have, wired connectivity is faster. Between that and support for external SSDs, there’s a whole new category of photography and filmography equipment that we’ve been testing.
There are a lot of great items out there, but there hasn’t been much like the Moment SuperCage. After playing with it for a few weeks, we’re certain there will be soon.
Moment SuperCage review: Design
Essentially, the SuperCage is a holder for your iPhone that includes a built-in hub to assist in content creation. While there are many cages available on the market, none feature integrated ports.
By putting your iPhone into a cage, it’s easier to hold, as well as to mount extra accessories. Connect storage, lights, grips, and more to the edges of the cage.
Unlike Moment’s original filmmaker’s cage, which was made up of four pieces of aluminum, the SuperCage is a singular construction. It’s much more solid and won’t require the tightening of screws to stay together.
A phone grip is centered in the middle of the cage. It’s a spring-loaded holder with multiple mounting threads on the back.
Personally, we’d have preferred a magnetic MagSafe mount for the phone instead of the spring-loaded type. When we asked Moment about it, it said it was more secure when running around filming — which is fair.
Technically, the device is modular enough that it can be removed. Perhaps in the future, a MagSafe one would be introduced as an optional add-on.
The top and sides are NATO rails so you can affix any standardized gear to those, such as additional clamps, mounts, or grips. They slide on and can be moved to any position.
Then the bottom is ARCA, making it compatible with basically any ARCA tripod. That includes the popular Peak Design travel tripod that we love or many of the bigger studio setups.
It’s also worth pointing out, the top two corners have their own little cable routes to make it a bit easier to manage. This can keep cables away from the back or front of the phone.
Finally, the entire thing is covered in various mounts and threads. There are 39 quarter mounts, 4 three-eighths mounts, plus four cold shoe slots dispersed around the top, sides, and bottom.
Based on a lot of our gear, we could have used additional cold shoe mounts. That said, it just requires an additional NATO mount to still connect everything.
Moment SuperCage review: Ports & the USB hub
You don’t have to plug in anything to start using the SuperCage. You can simply insert your iPhone and use it as a frame to capture photos and video.
It works in any orientation, including vertically for social content. When vertical, Moment’s optional grips won’t be able to fit on the bottom ARCA rail, though.
What separates it from others is the USB-C hub integrated into the thick ARCA rail on the bottom. Plug your USB-C-equipped iPhone in using the provided cable and you’re good to go.
Along the back of the SuperCage you’ll find:
- USB Type-C 10gb/s data port
- 3.5mm audio inputs and outputs
- SD 4.0 card slot
- USB charging port with up to 100W of input power
- USB Type-C 10gb/s data port
Also hiding on the underside edges is a full-size HDMI port on the left side and an additional high-speed USB-C data port on the right.
In total, that’s seven downstream ports, plus the charging port for all your accessories.
Technically, the whole hub works on its own without power, but it will depend on how much power your accessories draw to say for certain whether or not you need an external power supply.
With what we have, we were able to connect SD cards, mics, and an SSD without power. Once we connected an external display, we did need to plug it in.
Moment SuperCage review: How you can configure the cage for shooting
Obviously, your needs will dictate what gear you should connect to the SuperCage. We’ll go through some of the items that make sense for us.
On the phone itself, there are various lenses and filters you can go with to improve your output.
From Moment, we love its new Quick Lock filters. They quickly connect right on top of the Moment phone case.
Moment has anti-glare, ever-useful VND, or the CineBloom — one of our faves — filters to choose from. It gives your subject a soft, glowing effect.
If you aren’t using a Moment case, Moment does make full-size filters, too. You can choose these and connect them with an adapter.
Moment is also known for its mobile lenses. It has tons to choose from for filmmaking, including the anamorphic for that lens flare that’s hard to beat.
You aren’t tied to Moment gear though. If you prefer, you can go with ShiftCam or Sandmarc instead.
All of this gear is completely independent of the cage and you can choose what makes the most sense for you, or use what you already have.
Moving to the hub and those accessories, one of the most useful would be adding storage. You can use an SSD, plugged into the hub, to record 4K ProRes footage directly.
We’ve been using a LaCie SSD here that we like for its durability. We’d also be just as quick to recommend others like the latest Lexar drives or Samsung T-series.
As an alternative to the SSD, you could use an SD card. You should have a fast one, such as a V90 UHS-II card that can keep up.
Lighting is also key. We currently have a Lume Cube attached, which is nice, but we also like the Aperture MC Pro, too. It is more customizable and brighter.
There are audio ports, so a microphone is useful for improved audio. They can connect to the data port if USB-C or plug them into the audio jack, depending on the model you use.
Many small boom mics go over auxiliary cables, but more modern ones are trending USB-C. If you want an audio monitor, you can plug in headphones, too.
For more complex setups, you may want to look at a monitor. There are several out there though we tested with the Atmos Shinobi II and connected it via HDMI.
This gives us the ability to adjust the angle of the monitor to watch that and not the phone screen. Monitors, like the Shinobi II, also give you extra visibility into your scene with various monitoring tools on-screen.
Finally, there is power to consider. When using our Peak Design tripod, we hang the Anker portable battery with retractable cable on the counterweight hook then pull out the integrated cable.
There are plenty of other options from a simple small battery or photo-specific ones that can more quickly be mounted. Ones like the SmallRig VB99 are reliable and have extra outputs for photo and video equipment.
Moment SuperCage review: Should you buy the SuperCage?
There’s a lot to love about the SuperCage. From the super strong design, the customization, or the ease of use.
We’ve been using it a lot recently, testing it out in different scenarios and it’s quickly become one of our favorite accessories. It’s not that often that an entirely new type of product makes its way to market.
You could do everything the SuperCage could do before. But it’s now easier, more compact, more reliable, and more professional.
This is something we fully expect to see Apple pulling out in one of its “Shot on iPhone” behind-the-scenes videos it likes to promote. It’s that good.
There’s very little to dislike about it at all. If we had to pick something, it would be how expensive a full kit can get.
However, this kind of system is one that can grow with you. You could start with the cheaper FilmMaker cage or the middle-ground BaseCage before going to the SuperCage.
By doing so, you could start with a Lume Cube light, a Rode boom mic, an SD card, and an Amazon Basics tripod. Then invest in better gear as you grow or can afford it.
The same even goes for the video app. Start with Apple’s basic Camera app, move to Cinematic Mode, and then move to pro apps like Moment Pro Camera or Kino.
This comes at the perfect point in time too, as Apple is rumored to be putting a big emphasis on video and content creation with the launch of iPhone 17 Pro. Including upgrading to 8K video capture.
If you’re serious about creating video content with your iPhone, we highly recommend the Moment SuperCage. Just be cautious — you might find it hard to stop upgrading.
Moment SuperCage Pros
- Strong, durable, aluminum unibody build
- Completely customizable and modular setup
- Works with any USB-C iPhone or Android device
- Tons of mount options around the whole cage
- No other filming cage with a USB hub built in
- Moment makes plenty of add-ons like grips, lenses, and filters
Moment SuperCage Cons
- Full setup gets expensive
- Would like MagSafe mount option
Moment SuperCage rating: 4.5 out of 5
Where to by the Moment SuperCage
You can visit the Moment online store to pick up the brand’s lenses, Quick Lock filters, as well as the SuperCage, which is priced at $199.
