Update, March 28, 9:30 a.m. PT: Moment met its Kickstarter goal of $50,000 in just 41 minutes on Tuesday. Offering a new line of products related to capturing video on smartphones, the lens and case maker has attracted more than 4,600 backers in 24 hours, and almost $668,000 so far. CEO Marc Barros tweeted: “Funded in 41 minutes. Proud of the moment team. Everyone does this for different reasons. For me it’s seeing a team get better, faster, and stronger every day. A team that doesn’t quit, just keeps building.”
Original story: More and more of the media we consume is captured on the smartphones we carry in our pockets. Moment, the Seattle-based makers of lenses and cases for iPhones and more, realized this when they went after photo fanatics. Now, they want to help you capture more compelling video, too.
Moment announced Tuesday that it is releasing four new products as part of its Filmmaker Collection. Pre-orders are available on Kickstarter — the 4-year-old startup’s fourth crowd-funding campaign — and shipping will start in June. The company has set a goal of $50,000.
Here are the products, with descriptions from Moment’s website:
- Anamorphic Lens, $149: “The holy grail of video,” Moment calls it. The 1.33x anamorphic brings back the organic look and character of 2:40:1 Cinemascope. Works on iPhone, Pixel, and Galaxy / Note phones with Moment photo case or battery photo case.
- iPhone X battery photo case, $99: With wireless charging and an electronic shutter button. Built-in lens attachment to make case ready to shoot. 3,100 mAH battery.
- Gimbal counterweight, $39: To make “butter smooth video on your phone.” Universal counterweight makes DJI Osmo, Zhiyun SmoothQ, and Evo Shift even better by balancing the payload. Adjustable design enables you to perfectly calibrate the gimbal to your case and lens setup.
- Lens filter adapter, $39: To help filmmakers create effects and control light in ways digital editing can’t. Attach a standard 62mm filter to any Moment lenses, including the new anamorphic.
Those prices are all reduced for shoppers who get in on the Kickstarter early bird rates.
Moment touts the new product lineup as just what creatives need to make small gear as good as big gear. The company is seizing on video of late, and even created a film festival to attract work from mobile filmmakers.
“We believe that making films with a phone is not a limitation; it’s an opportunity,” the company said. “The mobility, size, and immediacy of a phone allows us to see the world differently.”
It’s especially timely, given the release of director Stephen Soderbergh’s “Unsane,” which was shot entirely on iPhones and is in theaters now.
Moment was founded in 2013 by Marc Barros, who previously headed up the action-sports camera company Contour. Moment won the Gadget of the Year honors at the 2017 GeekWire Awards last May at the Museum of Pop Culture.