Paparazzo Olivia Review

Hi lovelies,

We have something a little different for you today with another tech post. All is relevant I promise as I’ve finally invested in some filming equipment.

The Paparazzo Olivia is available exclusively through the company website (see here). This retails for £98 ($119) and you get free UK shipping. I’m not entirely sure where Paparazzo is based but they have a warehouse in Asia and offices in the UK for returns. I didn’t have to pay import either which was an unexpected bonus. I think it took around a week to arrive but it was dispatched within 24 hours of ordering.

The packaging is quite simple though good enough to get here safely. The entire thing came in a shipping bag that was well sealed for transit. There’s an outer box bearing all product information and there’s additional foam packing around the stand for more protection. As well as the stand, there’s also a USB charging cable and also a remote tucked into the stand.

According to the product description, the Olivia is a compact, all in one content creator tool. What’s great is that this comes with 6 months warranty as well as a 90 day money back guarantee if you’re unsatisfied with the stand. It supports any phone for easy, overhead shots and multi-angle filming with it’s 360 degree rotation and tilt. The height is adjustable ranging from 20cm to 130cm. It features two LED lights-one on either face-that have 3 colour temperatures and 7 light modes. It is also wireless holding 3 hours of charge and comes with a bluetooth remote.

Ok so in all honesty I’m a little bit torn over this product. Some parts of it I truly adore and other parts not so much but I think those parts could be improved. Let’s start with the few negatives I have. The biggest is the positioning of the light. For filming flat with the back camera it is fine particularly when your flash is on. The problem comes with selfies using the front camera-that is not a flattering angle for lighting…particularly at my ripe old age of 32. So yeah, still having to use a ringlight for lighting but, even then, this has become my main phone stand for filming.

My only other issue is that the hinge for the top light section cannot hold itself up like in the image below after a while. However, since I am unlikely to be filming this way, it’s not a huge problem for me just one of those things that could be improved. When swiveled the other way, the head is fine and can hold itself up no problems even with a phone attached. Other than that, everything else feels well made and secure using high quality materials.

Now onto the good and there’s a lot of positives. The whole design is actually pretty genius, the way it’s constructed to go from a compact box to a tall stand is incredible. It’s not too difficult to unfold and set up but be sure to read the booklet included so you don’t break it. It does have to be done a certain way and sliding it open the first time does take some effort. Naturally there is some instability as it gets taller but it’s actually more stable than you would think especially when completely upright. With the top at an angle, it is less stable but with the right positioning, the weighted bottom is enough to keep it secure.

The clasp for the phone also rotate 360 degrees which is one of the best and most useful features. Both sides of the clasp move to give you even more room for a device though I haven’t tried it with a pad or kindle. Other than the position of the lights, there’s nothing wrong with them. Both sides have the same settings but have independent controls and get quite bright. I love that it has wireless power so you can travel and film outdoors which lasts about 3 hours.

Overall, I am mostly happy with the Paparazzo Olivia. One or two things I would change but I appreciate that this is a small business and production is not cheap. For content creators filming themselves this might not be the best light stand for you unless you film with the back camera. The lighting angle is not good for the front camera but it can be used in conjunction with other lighting. Other than that though, it is a pretty good all in one tool particularly for desktop filming.

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