Sun Shade for iPad mini Camera Rig Monitor for $12

Mar 25, 2025

Yes, you read that title correctly. I set out to find an inexpensive sun shade/hood for my iPad mini camera monitor and was shocked at how bad the solutions that I found were… until I found a poorly rated $12 option and decided to give it a shot. I’m glad I did!

Lately I’ve been building out my Sony FX30 camera rig. I tested various camera monitors from Portkeys, Osee, Atomos, and SmallHD. All of them had issues or just wasn’t the right solution (for me). Then it occurred to me–the Sony FX3/FX30 and many other modern Sony cameras can all use the Sony M&C (Monitor & Control) App. While it doesn’t have the one feature I’d like (EL Zone), it has everything else. They’ve been improving it a lot (even supports multiple cameras). It’s amazing, has camera control, works wirelessly and via a USB-C cable (my preferred method because it has no latency and connects quickly).

I used a small magic arm and a tripod-mountable tablet holder (see gear list below for these items and others mentioned in this article) and it is just perfect. Long battery life (no bulky Sony NPF batteries sticking out), thin and lightweight, and a bigger 8.3″ screen than everything else I tested (which maxed out at 7″). Even though my 7th-gen iPad mini has a 1.8% anti-reflective coating, I still found it too reflective so I added a cheap $8 matte screen protector to it.

Nits Nit

I thought I was all set with the ultimate camera monitor and control setup for my Sony FX30. But then I took it outside. While it can be viewed outside, at 500 nits brightness it is at least half the brightness of the other traditional camera monitors I tested (1,000 nits). I quickly realized that I wasn’t quite done yet with my rig. I needed a sun shade for those situations that warranted it.

After searching Amazon, the web, Reddit, and asking various AI for a solution, all I found was an over-cooked cage (which I tried and was dreadful), and a $50 product at Amazon. For something requiring very few materials and parts, I really felt that there had to be a better solution. I even thought to get a cheap knockoff of the Apple Smart Folio case (which attaches magnetically to the back of the iPad) and modifying it somehow to function as a shade.

But after more digging I found a ridiculously cheap $12 product on Amazon that had a dismal 2.5 star rating (albeit with only 11 reviews at this time). It’s the SummitLink 7-inch sun shade for iPad mini, and its intended use is with a remote controller for the DJI Phantom and other DJI drones. I didn’t really care about the mount (we’ll get to this later). All I really cared about was the shade–I’ll MacGyver the mounting part if I have to.

iPad mini Fitment

It arrived and it comes flat (and collapses flat) but with 2 Velco strips on each side, it is quick to assemble. There are two holes on the left and right sides for cabling (if you need to) and a whole on the top of the back piece for the mount to grip your iPad mini (or other similar tablet I assume). The space is generous for my iPad mini, at least width-wise. It’s perfect on the vertical, though. There’s about 3/4″ of a gap on either side which is fine. That just means instead of sticking my USB-C cable in through the side, it will just drape down the inside. Either way is fine with me, honestly. I’m not going for aesthetics with this thing–I’m going for functionality. I guess the Amazon listing does say it supports up to an 8-inch tablet, so the fact that my 7-inch mini has some wiggle room isn’t surprising.

Build Quality

Is it made well for $12? Well, not really… but c’mon, it’s $12. It’s not paper thin… it does maintain its shape and it does what it’s supposed to do. In reality I probably won’t use it that much (I mostly film inside) but for those times when I need it, it’s going to be at the ready. And if one day it gets destroyed, the worst case scenario here is that I’m out another 12 bucks.

Mounting Options

When I opened up the package and a bunch of cheap white plastic pieces came falling out, I immediately dismissed them. My plan was to MacGyver a solution either using a modified Smart Folio case or using my own tripod mount adapter I got from Ulanzi. So, I tried the Ulanzi mount and much to my surprise–it worked great! The only problem is that it didn’t have enough vertical height inside the sun shade so the shade flopped a little bit back and forth (left and right). I could put something in the cold shoe up top to prevent this from happening, but then I thought… what if I tried using the provided mount?

The provided mount, as mentioned previously, is designed mainly for DJI drone remote controllers. But upon closer inspection, the tripod mounting ball head has a 1/4-20 thread on the back of it! Yes! This means I can rig up something using my 1/4-20 threaded magic arms. I don’t need the plate they provided, or the other parts. The only parts I ended up needing is the sun shade (obviously), their mounting clamp, and one ball head along with the pressure screw for the ball/clamp. The rest I tossed. This solution holds the iPad mini firmly in place (no wobbling) and works great! The only thing I don’t like about it is the white color (which matches the intended use of DJI remote controllers, not my all-black camera rig).

The photos I took all are using their mounting solution, but I will most likely switch over to my black Ulanzi iPad mount. The reason is that I will be using the Ulanzi mount most of the time I am filming, and then that’s one less thing I need to grab when I head outside. I just need to grab the sun shade.

Should you go this route? That’s entirely up to you. If you only occasionally need a sun shade for your camera rig and want to save some cash, this is the right solution. Hell, even if you do end up using it a lot you can still buy 3 of these for the price the other one I found. It’s lightweight, easy to rig up (or modify for your needs) and works great for a tablet 8″ or smaller.

Gear List

I mentioned a bunch of products above and here’s the complete list. If you have any questions or found another solution, please comment down below. These are all Amazon affiliate links so thank you in advance for supporting my blogging efforts. l use the kickback money to fund new gear to hopefully write about!