On the night of October 9, 2025, I found myself preparing for an experience that had been weeks in the making: attending the opening show of Seventeen’s world tour in South Korea. As an ardent admirer of Joshua Hong, one of the group’s most charismatic vocalists, I knew that this concert would be more than just another live performance—it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to capture memorable fancams, those fan-recorded clips that immortalize a performer’s every dazzling movement. The endeavor, however, was not without challenges. My seat, perched five floors above the stage at Incheon’s massive Asiad Stadium, presented an obvious obstacle to achieving the kind of crisp, close-up footage that fans dream of.
Every concertgoer nowadays is familiar with the vast constellation of smartphone screens glowing in the dark, each person determined to preserve a personal slice of the show—whether at a Taylor Swift spectacle or a BTS stadium event. Within K-pop fandom culture, this practice is elevated to an art form: fans zoom, focus, and film their favorite idols in hopes of producing fancams sharp enough to trend online. For me, this Seventeen concert represented both devotion and digital experimentation. My current phone, an iPhone 16 that I had recently upgraded from an iPhone 13, was perfectly adequate for the occasional Instagram selfie or fit check, but lacked the telephoto greatness required to capture Joshua Hong’s every expression from the nosebleed seats.
Friends offered humorous and impractical suggestions: one proposed I invest in an entirely new device, while another recommended attaching a cheap binocular lens from Temu. The most reasonable advice, however, came from a colleague at Business Insider’s Singapore bureau who had covered the emerging phenomenon of smartphone rentals tailored specifically for K-pop concerts. Intrigued, I decided to test this service myself. I booked a one-day rental of a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra from a company called Snapshoot, paying just under forty dollars. The system was remarkably convenient—foreign visitor–friendly and efficiently managed. Some customers used a self-service locker under CCTV surveillance, but I opted to meet a staff member in person to collect my device.
The night before the big event, I received clear instructions via text message detailing how to pick up my phone at a bright, bustling café in Seoul’s youth-packed Hongdae district. When I arrived midmorning, four other eager fans—each decked out in Seventeen-themed merchandise—waited ahead of me in line. We eagerly exchanged our order confirmations and were handed fully charged Samsung phones, each one drawn from a meticulously organized collection of devices resting in labeled boxes. Holding the sleek phone, I felt both anticipation and curiosity. As a lifelong iPhone user, the Android interface felt somewhat unfamiliar, yet its multitude of camera controls promised extraordinary zoom power.
En route to the stadium aboard an Uber, I ran a few test shots, quickly consulting TikTok guides on optimal video configurations for concert environments. Confidence growing, I prepared myself for a night of both technological discovery and K-pop euphoria. Once seated in my distant perch high above the arena, I conducted another trial: the phone’s zoom clearly revealed a stagehand arranging props far below—a figure nearly invisible to the naked eye but perfectly clear through the screen. The Samsung’s optical performance far surpassed what my iPhone could manage, persuading me to rely on the rented device for the evening.
Just before the concert began, I wondered how the iPhone’s Pro or Pro Max models might have performed in comparison. Still, the Samsung’s 20x zoom was compelling. Unfortunately, reality set in when the show started. My hands shook with excitement as the lights cut through the darkness, and the crowd erupted into coordinated chants. Holding a light stick in one hand and the phone in the other proved chaotic. While still images of Joshua during calmer moments looked fairly crisp, the video footage often suffered from blur due to my unsteady grip. Even from five floors up, my determination was tested: the combination of distance, bright lighting, and human enthusiasm made precision nearly impossible.
As the concert progressed, I realized that the height of my seat significantly limited the results. My better clips were captured during static moments between songs, when the performers paused to speak or wave. Despite the limitations, the thrill of witnessing Seventeen live outweighed my frustration. After about twenty minutes, I recognized that I was spending more time focusing on the phone than immersing myself in the performance. I set the device down, deciding to savor the spectacle with my own eyes. When I began singing along to Hong’s solo number and the group’s lively track ‘Rock With You,’ the experience deepened—the synergy of sound, light, and shared emotion far outshone any recorded footage I could have captured.
Later, reviewing my recordings, I found that while they lacked the polish of professional fansite photos taken from prime positions, they still preserved the electric joy of the evening. Joshua Hong looked radiant in every frame, even when pixelation softened his features. From my fifth-floor vantage point, I might not have produced the fancam masterpiece I imagined, but I gained something better: a renewed understanding of presence. Recording through a lens can immortalize moments, yet it can also distance you from them.
Would I repeat the experiment? Perhaps only if I managed to secure seats much closer to the stage. Nevertheless, I walked away satisfied. The rental phone had delivered considerably sharper images than any my own device could achieve, and the convenience and affordability of the service made it worth trying. When the night ended, I returned the phone, my memory card brimming with twenty gigabytes of clips—imperfect but heartfelt souvenirs of Joshua Hong in his element. And as I left the stadium with my voice raspy and my heart full, I realized that sometimes, the most meaningful memories aren’t the ones that look perfect on screen but those that feel alive in recollection.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/rent-samsung-galaxy-phone-fancam-concert-seventeen-korea-kpop-zoom-2025-10
