Pocket Tripod Pro Version 2
Is this the lightest tripod ever?
Is this the lightest tripod ever?
Hi, my name is Rich Dyson from Edinburgh Photography Workshop, and this is Coffee Break Photography.
I like to keep an eye on funding platforms like Kickstarter to see if there are any interesting developments in photography-related things. Before I go any further, I need to give a health warning about Kickstarter projects. You aren’t buying a product, and there is absolutely no guarantee that you’ll receive the item being featured. You are helping the development of a product, and in return, you might be offered a lower price or extra add-ons that will be available when, or if, it comes to market.
There are some Kickstarter sellers you can almost rely on. For example, Peak Design regularly offers new products through Kickstarter. Peak Design has become a major player and has regularly delivered on its funding offerings. The takeaway I want you to understand is to approach Kickstarter with care and decide for yourself if you are happy with the risk of paying for something and not getting it.
So, with that background, I chose to fund what looked like a cheap but helpful tool. The Kickstarter was launched at the end of October 2024, and I received this Pocket Tripod Pro Version 2 in early January. It cost me $34, which is about £28, and one of the draws for me was that Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak had added his recommendation to the product. So, what exactly is the Pocket Tripod Pro Version 2?
Let me tell you what it isn’t first. It isn’t a tripod for our mirrorless and DSLR cameras. This is a tool that helps mobile phone photographers and videographers to get content on the go. It definitely is the lightest device I’ve come across for keeping a mobile device steady. It’s advertised at 11 grammes or 0.4 ounces, and as you can see when it’s taken out of the packaging, it’s the size of a credit card. Let’s see how this slimline card shape quickly transforms into a clever tool for stabilising your mobile device.
Before using the Pocket Tripod, we need to fit the adapter to your device. It comes with a handy pocket calliper that measures the thickness of your phone. Then, it’s easy to slide out the pre-fitted adapter and insert the one measured for your device. Nine different-sized fittings are provided, meaning the tripod will fit around most phones, even in a protective case, as mine is.
To convert it from a flat credit card-sized piece of plastic, we need to twist the two edges and rotate 180 degrees until they create this delta shape. The two coloured sides flick up, and we have our desktop tripod. The phone then slides into the two adapters and stands upright. What impressed Wozniak was how these adapters now allow you to position the device at different angles without losing any stability. In reality, when shooting with a portrait orientation, it works well to about 40 degrees when sliding the device toward the longer legs. It’s probably only stable to about 10 degrees when sliding the opposite way.
It works even better when you insert the device in a landscape orientation. For those who want to shoot star trails or nighttime aurora videos with their mobile, this very light device will help them achieve stability.
In fairness to the designers of this product, they put the words ‘tripod’ in inverted commas and later referred to it more correctly as a phone stand. However, if you want to mount the device onto a stand, it comes with two quarter-inch threads.
This is a clever and innovative device, and I can see myself using it to record Reels and Stories while running my workshops. It’s also useful for hill walkers and mountain climbers who want a stable device for shooting sunrises and sunsets without the weight of a proper camera and tripod. Unfortunately, if you use a DSLR or mirrorless camera, we need to wait longer for an 11-gram tripod that can hold that weight!
The Kickstarter campaign has ended, but if you want to buy one of these little phone stands, head to pocket-tripod.com. It costs $39.95 plus shipping outside the US. However, their shipping conditions warn that you may also be liable for VAT if you ship the product to the UK. I seem to have escaped this but bear in mind that you may be adding 20% to the cost.
If you’ve enjoyed this video, it would be great if you could like it and share it by clicking on the thumbs-up button below the video. That way, a few more people will get to see it. You can also subscribe to the channel by clicking on this button here. I send out a monthly newsletter to my subscribers with news about photography, as well as exclusive offers. Scan this QR code to sign up. My name is Rich Dyson, from Edinburgh Photography Workshop, and this has been Coffee Break Photography. See you next time.
