My wife (see her stuff here!) and I both use our smartphones to record our YouTube videos.
No fancy DSLR action here (maybe someday?). With smartphone camera quality as good as it is today, really the only major compelling reason to spring for a DSLR is to get a flip screen. A flip screen (like on the Canon 70D) allows the camera operator to see what they are recording even if they are recording themselves. With smartphones, the only way to get this feature is to use the front facing camera, which is always inferior to the rear facing camera. So to solve this issue and keep the smartphone my main camera I made this camera rig. The main feature is an articulating mirror that reflects the image on the smartphone display so you can see what's happening even while in front of the camera.
The mirror works surprisingly well. It can also be folded out of the way if not needed during recording (seeing yourself can sometimes be distracting) or when storing the device.
The main goal of this project is to show you that you don't need a fancy DSLR to get good quality video results. This cheap camera rig is a nice stop-gap between a smartphone and an expensive DSLR.
Below is a list (Amazon Affiliate links) to the recording products I use:
Tripod: http://amzn.to/2ykHWco
Cell Phone: Nexus 5 (no longer available)
USB Cable: http://amzn.to/2wRm9pm
External Microphone: http://amzn.to/2xBGa86
Voice Over Microphone: http://amzn.to/2z2GyIY
Be sure to watch the detailed video below where I show you how I made the camera rig!