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I wish I could ramble on about a bunch of other technical details but the reality is that this case is just that simple and perhaps that is what I like most about it. No need for a bunch of extra devices etc… Just the Igloo case, the mount of your choice, and your phone. Speaking of mounts let's go there for just a minute. Igloo offers several mounts for their case and because they use the industry standard 1/4″ 20 thread their mounts can also be used in conjunction with many other camera systems. For our purposes we chose the Roll Bar, Mini Suction Pod, and Heavy Duty suction cup mounts.
This is the Igloo Mini Suction Pod Mount attached to Project STi. This mount allows for a low profile on the case; it is perfect for mounting to the hood or front/rear glass. While the Roll Bar and Mini Suction Pod mounts are quality pieces, they are rather self explanatory. We have used them without issue in many applications from biking to snowboarding and of course on cars. What really gets me going is the heavy duty suction cup mount. When this thing arrived I marvelled at its construction. It features a 360 degree swivel base as well as a pivoting arm with a ball style mount. This setup allows you to position the Igloo Case in just about any position you could want and while it is really cool that is NOT the best part! The BEST part is the vacuum assisted mounting system! That's right, the mount has a vacuum pump to remove the air between the mount and the mounting surface! Just put the thing on any relatively flat surface and pump the vacuum button until it stays depressed and you are done. It is NOT going to come off. The man test was when I placed it in the center of my dining room table and proceeded to lift the darn thing off the floor by grabbing the mount with both hands and pulling upwards. I proceeded to stick it to everything in my house just because the darn vacuum pump was so cool! In addition to the quality of construction ANYONE who has EVER seen it has SERIOUS mount envy. As we walk through the paddock with the mount other media peeps hide their mini suction cups in shame. In all seriousness, this thing has never failed or let us down!
Now that the unboxing observations are out of the way how does it all work together?
DAMN GOOD! There that's it, the end of the review… OK fine nothing is perfect and so let's get in to particulars. The case itself is sturdy and easy to use. One needs to be careful with the foam insert pieces as with a strong wind they can be blown out when you open the case. I used a small piece of double stick tape to keep the thin foam insert in place. Because the case is sealed completely I completely dim the phone's screen once I have it in place to reduce heat. By doing this I have not had the image thermal on me even in the blazing heat that was Chuckwalla Valley Raceway. We already know that the iPhone takes good video and as such the quality is very good.
What the Igloo case allows you to do it maximize the way you use your phone by taking video and allowing you to use one of the many applications available for video editing. You can take in car video, edit, and share it with the social media world all from your phone within minutes of getting out of the car. Of course you have other camera options but many of them require the video to be transferred to a computer for formatting and/or editing. I do not think that this is a complete replacement for other systems but I'll be damned if it's not close.
In using the Igloo case and associated mounts I have found that the key is to get the setup as tight as possible to avoid vibration. Because of the large surface area of the phone (and as a result, the case) it will be subjected to a lot of force if placed on the outside of a fast moving car. You should take care where you place the setup under those circumstances as I found that while the mount and case do not move, the body panels of the car will flex. We used this setup on an Evo at the drag strip mounted on the roof of the car; once it hit about 80 MPH the camera angle changed, what was strange was that as the car slowed the camera returned to position. The damn mount is so strong the body panels flexed under the load. On other occasions we have placed it on the hood of the car or on the front or rear glass without issue.
Because the case is sealed the microphone within the phone does have a hard time picking up audio. You can hear what is going on but the sound is muffled. This tradeoff DOES offer the most protection for the phone inside though, and a large majority would probably prefer that it be kept safe. Luckily for us the iPhone will allow you to use an external microphone with the right cord interface and when we procure those accessories we will be modding our case to accept an external mic to give us the best of both worlds. We use an external microphone from Audio Technica with great success on our GoPro setups and cannot wait to adapt this to the Igloo case/iPhone combo. Igloo has also released a Bluetooth remote that allows you to start and stop recording without opening the case.
We have just scratched the surface of using the Igloo case with the iPhone. As we adapt the microphone and begin to use the setup at track days we will explore the use of GPS based lap timers and data to video overlay. I think it's just a matter of time before our phones completely replace our computers and possibly even our gauges and data loggers and it is simple yet ingenious devices like the Igloo case that are going to make that possible. Simply put, it is a must have tool of the nerd… err… trade!
