Smartphone versus video recorder

Given your financial limitations you can get by with the cell phone. I recently edited nearly five hours of material shot by a client on safari in Africa. It was stunning, really first rate video. Much of what the client and his wife shot was of animals: everything was well exposed and sharply in focus. Unfortunately much of the footage was shot in the portrait mode — i.e., with the phone held up and down rather than on its side. It proved extremely difficult to cut the two configurations together. So if you do decide to use your phone do your best to keep all your shooting in the landscape (i.e., east-west) mode. This will look good so long as you don’t try to frame your subject too tightly and you’re careful about the backgrounds.

I strongly recommend a light-weight tripod for stability, especially if you’re shooting extended interviews.