Learn how to shoot professional-looking unboxing videos using just two iPhones—no expensive camera gear required.
So here's the thing—I was all set to show you how to make unboxing videos with my pro camera setup. Had everything ready: camera, iPad, the whole nine yards. Then I realized I forgot to charge literally everything. Classic move, right? But instead of postponing, I thought, why not show you something even more practical? How to do this entire thing with just two iPhones.
Before you start thinking this isn't economical, hear me out. I like gear, but I also like staying current with my iPhones. So I end up with older models sitting around anyway. For this setup, I'm using an iPhone 16 Pro (which isn't even the latest model anymore) and my old iPhone 14 with the lightning port. If you've got a decommissioned iPhone collecting dust, you've already got everything you need for a professional-looking multi-angle setup.
Let me walk you through what I'm actually using here. The main camera is my iPhone 16 Pro with a Hollyland recorder connected via USB-C, and I've got the Hollyland mic attached for better audio. Both phones are in Quadlock cases because I'm mounting them to tripods, and these cases are seriously sturdy—you don't want your phone crashing down mid-shoot.
For the actual mounting, I've got two tripods working together. The main one is a bigger, sturdier tripod with a Mount Frodo arm that extends to the side. This gives me that perfect top-down shot. Here's a critical tip: when you extend the arm to the side, make sure the last leg on that side is a little less extended. You need to check the balance constantly because the last thing you want is your whole setup tipping over. This could honestly be its own tutorial, but trust me—test the stability before you start recording.
The second phone sits on a smaller baby tripod positioned at a front-facing angle. Already, just with this basic setup, you've got a pretty nice angle to start your video.
Once your physical setup is done, it's time to connect everything. I press the connect button and it goes into search mode. Then I do the same on the iPhone 16—hit connect, and they find each other.
When your shot is set up, you can start pressing record or you can change your layout—focus only on yourself, or maybe you want to see whatever your top-down shot looks like.
This is where it gets really cool. You can choose split-screen, picture-in-picture, or just a single angle. I tend to like the split-screen or picture-in-picture because it gives viewers both perspectives at once. Play around with it and see what works for your content.
Once I've got my angles dialed in, I just press record and start the unboxing. And honestly? Unboxing itself is kind of frustrating because these boxes never want to open cleanly. You're fumbling with warranty cards, protective film, all that stuff. But that's the charm of it, right?
Here's what makes this setup genuinely powerful: when I stop recording, I can go back in time. I can select clips and make cuts. You can delete sections you don't want. But more importantly—and this is huge—you can switch sources after the fact.
Let's say you recorded a section and now you want a different layout. You select the clip and change it. Want to go from picture-in-picture to split-screen? Done. Want to switch to just the top-down shot for a particular moment? Easy. The transitions between these layout changes look really polished too, which I think is awesome.
In a nutshell, this is how I'd record any top-down or unboxing video. What I love about this approach is that you can use your older, decommissioned iPhone as a second camera. You don't need pro gear to get professional-looking results. The footage looks great, the setup is simple, and you can change everything after your recording is done.
If you've been putting off making content because you think you need expensive equipment, this proves you don't. You probably already have everything you need sitting in a drawer somewhere. So grab that old iPhone, get yourself a couple of tripods and phone mounts, and start creating. Happy creating, and I'll catch you on the next one.
