Once upon a time I blogged about an Owle and Fostex Ar4i mashup, Now there is the Phocus and the iRigPRE Mashup…@SmartPhocus @ikmultimedia

Ive been using the Phocus as an alternative to the OWLE Bubo for a little while and though first impressions were that it felt a “bit plasticy” Im getting used to the lighter body. I was asked what is the best solution for on the spot news gathering..I gave a few examples based on the Fostex Ar4i and then it occurred to me that if Phocus and IK Multimedia were to used some joined up thinking they could form a strategic partnership that might bear fruit…this fruit to be more specific….I absolutely accept that, in the best tradition of my mashups, this is simply a rather crude photoshop job but I was quite surprised when I compared the two like this. The iRigPRE is almost exactly the same length as the Phocus handgrip which means that it could POTENTIALLY be accommodated in the same place. If Phocus were to make a version with a detachable handgrip and IK were to make say four mounting threads on the PRE we (or they) could produce a single device that would allow any XLR mic to be attached to the iPhone, set level, add Phantom power, monitor and also give a tripod mounting point, and a selection of lenses including a 2x extender. Now thats something that really could make MoJo a hell of a lot easier. If your reading this guys @SmartPhocus @ikmultimedia - I think its a NO BRAINER -Thoughts anyone?

What if Owle Bubo and Fostex AR4i mated……?

Mercuryexposure contacted me about the iPro Lens system for iPhone. The question was whether it would be possible to cut the iPro case so it can be used with the Fostex Ar4i. We were thinking the same way apparently, as recently Fred Wood (who is a tutor with iMobileJournalist.com) pointed out that the best and cheapest solution would be to get a male to female Apple 19pin dock connector and see if it will work. At almost the same time YoHibino suggested to me that the dock extension cable might be the solution for using the Fostex AR4i with the New iPad (iPad3). Both of them were 100% correct – The answer…? YES it sure as hell does. So using this mashup you get the lens of the OWLE, the audio features of the AR4i in one (not so pretty) configuration.

What do you think? Would you use this in the field? Im going to strip the Ar4i down to its bear bones to see if I can make it more practical to use but in principle this works.