A padel video is only as useful as what the camera can see. Whether you want to review your own game, cut clips for social media or have an app find your shots, the same few choices decide the result: where the phone stands, how steady it is and what it records. This guide describes a setup that works on a normal club court with one phone and a tripod.
The short version
- Position: behind the back glass, centred on the court, with the phone raised high enough to see the far baseline.
- Framing: the whole court in the picture, both halves, all four players.
- Lens: as close to the glass as you can get it, to avoid reflections.
- Settings: 4K, 60 frames per second, landscape.
- Steady: phone on a tripod or clamp. Never handheld, and do not move it mid-match.
- Recording: press record once and film the whole session.
Where to put the phone
The most practical spot is behind the back glass, in the middle of the court. It is easy to reach, it stays out of the way of play, and from there one phone can see the whole court.
Centred. Put the phone on the middle line of the court. Then the net runs straight across the picture and both sides of the court are equally visible.
Raised. Lift the phone so that you look slightly down on the court: high enough to see the far baseline, and so the players nearest to you do not block the ones behind them. A tripod with an extendable arm, or a clamp on a post where the club allows it, does the job. Do not put it so high that everyone looks squashed.
Lens close to the glass. Glass reflects whatever is behind you: lights, your clothes, the screen itself. Put the lens as close to the glass as you can, or shade it with your hand or a dark jacket, and wipe your side of the glass if it is dirty. If you film over the top of the glass or through a mesh section, keep the lens close to the opening so the wire does not cross the picture.
What to expect. From behind, the players nearest to you have their backs to the lens and look big, and the players at the far end look small. That is the nature of this angle, and it is one reason to film in 4K: there are enough pixels to crop in on the far side later.
Ask the club first. Check where a tripod is allowed and keep it out of walkways and out of the line of the balls.
Check the framing. Before the first point, make sure the far baseline, both side walls and the net are in view and all four players are in the picture. If the normal lens cuts part of the court off, switch to the wider 0.5x lens. Avoid digital zoom; it only throws pixels away.
Settings: 4K at 60 fps
- 60 fps. A racket head moves fast. At 30 frames per second the quickest part of a smash falls between frames and blurs. At 60 you get twice as many, which also gives you smoother slow motion and a better chance of seeing the exact moment of contact.
- 4K. At the far end of the court a player is small. The extra pixels let you crop in on them and still have a sharp clip. 1080p is fine if you only want to watch the match.
- Format. Most phones call the space-saving option HEVC or High Efficiency. Use it.
- Storage. 4K at 60 fps takes roughly 400 MB per minute on a recent iPhone (it varies by phone), so a 90-minute match can pass 30 GB. Free up space before you start.
- Landscape. A wide picture fits the court. Portrait can work, but you will see less of the width.
- Lock focus and exposure. Touch and hold on the court until the phone shows it is locked. Otherwise the brightness can pump every time a player walks in front of a light.
Before you press record
- Charge to full, or bring a power bank. 4K60 for an hour and a half drains the battery and warms the phone. Keep it out of direct sun.
- Turn on Do Not Disturb so a call does not interrupt the recording.
- Wipe the lens. Court air and sweaty fingers leave a film that softens everything.
- Wear a shirt that is a different colour from the other three players. It makes you easy to pick out, for you and for any tool you use later.
While you play
- Press record once and leave it. If you pause between points you will forget to restart. You can cut it down afterwards.
- Record the first minute, stop, and watch it back. It is the cheapest way to catch a bad angle, a smudged lens or a reflection in the glass.
- Do not touch the tripod. If it does get moved, stop that file and start a new one after re-framing.
What to do with the footage
You can scrub through the whole match yourself and pick out your best rallies. If you would rather not watch ninety minutes to find your own smashes, Coda is built for exactly this kind of video: you upload it, tap yourself in a few pictures, and it finds your shots as candidates for you to check, names them and cuts the clips.
Once your setup is sorted, a good first thing to look at is your overheads. See Víbora vs bandeja: the difference.