tripod

Joby GripTight: A Universal Clamp-Style Tripod Mount for Smartphones

GorillaPod maker Joby announced a new product today designed for people who regularly use their smartphones for photography or videography. Called the GripTight, it's a universal tripod mount that'll work with most popular smartphones. It's basically a compact spring-loaded clamp with a tripod mount built into the bottom. Stretch the rubbery clamp over your phone, and it'll grip it tightly in place.

Nikon Patent Shows Camera Attachment That Blows Air Into the Tripod Mount

Forget DIY camera mods for keeping your sensor cool: Nikon has a much fancier solution. A recently published patent by the company (No. 2012-198447) shows a camera attachment that's specifically designed to prevent sensors from overheating. It attaches to the bottom of the camera and blows cool air into the body through the tripod mount underneath. If computers have dedicated cooling fans, why can't compact cameras?

Joby Laid the Smackdown on GorillaPod Counterfeiters During Photokina

Joby sent out a press release today warning consumers that there are counterfeit versions of its popular GorillaPod flexible tripod floating around in the wild. While that isn't too newsworthy in itself -- what gear isn't being counterfeited these days? -- it's the juicy details surrounding the release that are quite interesting. Apparently the company directly confronted companies involved in making imitations during Photokina 2012 in Cologne, Germany last month.

Custom SLR Uses Shrink Ray on the M-Plate, Out Pops the M-Plate Mini

Rumors of a soon-to-arrive iPad Mini are heating up, but one photo gear company has beaten Apple to the "mini" game: Custom SLR announced its new M-Plate Mini today. It's the smaller sibling of the company's M-Plate Pro, which takes up more space because it includes a couple of extra connection points for attaching accessories (e.g. the company's strap and hand-grap strap mount).

Win a Professional Heavy-Duty Vanguard Tripod Worth $600!

Vanguard announced a fancy new professional tripod at Photokina last week, and today we're giving you the opportunity to win one of the first ones as photographers are just getting their hands on them. The Vanguard ABEO Plus 323CB is an uber-durable carbon fiber tripod that comes with a BBH-200 pro ball head. It features a fast-adjustment central column, tension adjustable leg locks, 3-in-1 feet (rubber, spikes, and snow/sand shoes) for stability on any surface, an anti-shock ring, and accessory hook, and a max weight of 26.4 pounds. It's retail value? $600.

The Care and Feeding of Your Tripod

Being a good photographer, you have a tripod. Maybe two tripods. Maybe even a big, heavy duty one for your big lenses, a standard one for everyday use, and one of those small, cool ones that folds up like a roadmap and you can carry it in your back pocket.

Statc: A Tiny Tripod Fit for Magneto

Tripods are great, even necessary for a lot of photographic situations, but one thing they are not is pocket-sized. Amateur photographers especially will often find themselves within reach of their camera, but too far from their tripods; and if you're just a photography enthusiast who likes to snap photos just about everywhere you go, forget carting around a tripod. That's the dilema Matthew Baty found himself in, and so he developed the Statc, an ultra-portable magnetic tripod head that you can stick to just about any metal surface.

CineSquid: A Suction Cup Tripod System Fit for Spiderman

Last year MIT grad Justin Jensen raised nearly half a million bucks through Kickstarter to launch CineSkates, a camera slider system that adds wheels to GorillaPod Focus tripods. Now Jensen and his startup Cinetics are back again with a new product called CineSquid, which provides a strong suction cup mount system rather than wheels. This allows cameras to be mounted onto things like cars, boats, and even airplanes.

Concept Bicycle Doubles as a Tripod

The T-Bike is a concept bicycle by designer Reza Rachmat Sumirat that's inspired by the camera tripod. In addition to having three sliding bars that can help riders easily adjust the bike to their desired size, the bike also doubles as a tripod for active outdoor photographers. The handlebars provide a tripod mount, and the kickstand on the front wheel helps stabilize the shot.

The M-Plate: One Camera Tripod Plate to Rule Them All

There are a number of products out there that connect your strap to your DSLR via the tripod mount, allowing it to swivel, but taking up the mount is an inconvenience for photographers who actually use it regularly with their tripod. San Francisco-based Custom SLR (makers of the C-Loop) has come up with a solution that offers the best of both worlds: the M-Plate.

Joby GorillaPod Micro Tripod Designed to Become Part of Your Camera

There's plenty of mini-tripods out on the market, but Joby's new GorillaPod Micro tripods are special in that they're designed to stay attached to your camera at all times. The legs fold up neatly when not in use, allowing you to stick your camera into your pocket or a case without having to remove the tripod. It features zinc alloy legs, rubber feet, and a head that offers 36-degrees of tilt-motion.

Gomite Tiltpod is a Quick and Easy Way to Prop Your Camera Up on the Go

Gomite's new Tiltpod is a simple "tripod" designed for people who do a lot of traveling with a compact camera. Stored on the end of your hand strap, it attaches quickly to your camera's tripod mount to help you frame and stabilize your shots when there's no one around to help you take it. The underside is made of a "grippy" magnetic material that helps it stay still on most surfaces, and the angle of the base can be adjusted after the camera is attached.

Wooden Tripod for Photographers Who Want Both Style and Stability

Most modern tripods are made of materials that are designed to be light-weight yet stable. If having the lightest of tripods isn't a requirement for you, then check out these hand-made wooden tripods from the German company Berlebach. Though they can weigh in at 6+ pounds, the solid ash wood legs are supposedly better at dampening vibration than steel, carbon, or aluminum. Plus, they look pretty snazzy.

Egg Timer Tripod for Panning Time-Lapses

This contraption is essentially a glorified egg timer with a tripod screw designed to allow for easy 360 degree time lapse images. The Camalapse, designed by video gear rental and retailer Camarush, slowly rotates in a full circle. If paired with a camera's time-lapse feature, it can allow for pretty seamless, panning 360 degree time-lapse over an hour. You can also stitch resulting time-lapse photos together to make a 360 degree panoramic.

Collapsible Tent Pole Tripod by Tamrac

Here's a "carry around" tripod for your carry around lens and camera: The ZipShot is a "compact, ultra-light tripod" by Tamrac that has aluminum-alloy legs that resemble the collapsible poles used in tents. While it's not very useful in windy situations, or with heavy professional gear, it might suffice for most ordinary uses and lighter cameras (supposedly it can hold up to 3lb). The biggest benefits are obviously weight (11oz) and setup time.