Who needs a tripod!

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A most interesting idea…
but I see no pro or entousiast future for this
as it is… a gadget!
 
Maybe okay for a studio or flat surfaces, can't see it working so well half way up a mountain or on a sandy beach.:D ..So the tripod will be staying.
 
It could be useful for people doing interiors, especially when the available floor space is limited, like some offices or factories. The important question is just how stable it will be when used in anger.
 
Unless I've missed something, there's no way to rotate the camera into a portrait orientation? I guess a ball head could be added to the frame then the camera to that but from the video it looks like landscape only?
 
juggler said:
Looks great for product photography. The legs of my tripod are always in the way.

Bet it's expensive though.
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Agree with this! Very practical idea and it'll be perfect for studio work, but it will likely be priced for a very high end market as well..
 
It has 3 wheeled feet, therefore it's basically a tripod fixed on a dolly.
 
juggler said:
The legs don't stick out though, and the camera can be cantilevered out so it's not confined to being central over the base. A bit like a boom arm but faster to adjust. If it works without falling over ;)
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Looks good but I noticed the chap doing the demo almost always had his foot on the bottom of the device, would perhaps indicate its not too stable.
 
i would love to see how that survives with a 600mm lens and a gimbal head fitted on a muddy site in the estuary :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:
 
Doubt if this offers anything like the stability of a decent tripod.
 
stevelmx5 said:
Unless I've missed something, there's no way to rotate the camera into a portrait orientation? I guess a ball head could be added to the frame then the camera to that but from the video it looks like landscape only?
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I'm guessing an L bracket could be used in some way. It doesn't look like its arcs Swiss compatible either which seems strange to me. It does look like they forgot to think about that.

the black fox said:
i would love to see how that survives with a 600mm lens and a gimbal head fitted on a muddy site in the estuary :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:
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They covered that point in the second paragraph. Definitely designed for a studio rather than out and about.

"We have to say right off the bat that the StandPlus probably won’t replace your tripod. For one, we can’t imagine using this thing in the middle of the wilderness or other places where a great tripod can do some amazing things".

dizidav said:
Looks good but I noticed the chap doing the demo almost always had his foot on the bottom of the device, would perhaps indicate its not too stable.
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It looks like he puts a foot onto a designed foot pedal only when moving the arm up and down which is understandable as at this point you are moving the weight from the centre of gravity. If the 3 dolly legs were longer it probably won't need the foot to stablelise it.


If you used in the right environment (studio) then I an see it being faster to use, move and adjust than a tripod. A tripod is more versatile in different environments but it can be time consuming to alter a tripods height or level it after moving to a new position. For a product or studio pro I could see something like this being useful when 'times money'. I've always thought an arm like this would be great if using the back of a van as as mobile wildlife hide.
 
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juggler said:
The legs don't stick out though, and the camera can be cantilevered out so it's not confined to being central over the base. A bit like a boom arm but faster to adjust. If it works without falling over ;)
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Not likely...
You're not just cantilevering an arm/camera, you're cantilevering the entire thing out over the small front leg... might hold a P&S...
 
sk66 said:
Nope...
Too many pivot points that must have play in order to move. Narrow foot spread at the base of a tall column... might as well just hand hold the camera.
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Check out how unsteady it is at 18 seconds you can actually see it still moving when he lets go of it !
It's so ridiculous it should have been posted on April 1st.
 
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Sejanus Aelianus said:
It could be useful for people doing interiors, especially when the available floor space is limited, like some offices or factories. The important question is just how stable it will be when used in anger.
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I've sneaked some photographs in museums and churches which forbid tripods by using my monopod which has three little feet. Wobbly as hell, but when left alone for several seconds and fired with a remote shutter release stable enough to take sharp shots of multi second exposures. When I eventually get approached by an official we have a little discussion about the semantics of tripods and monopods. About half the time I get allowed to continue provided I promise to be discreet. This device would deploy much faster and be a lot more stable than my tripedal monopod. As soon as I see one in a jumble sale or junk shop I'll buy it!
 
If your monopod has 3 little feet, it then becomes a tripod. Most of the time, if you ask nicely, you'll be allowed to use a tripod anyway.
 
Reminds me a bit of the Sinclair C5. Was it needed?, did people need one? - No in both cases and that's why the product failed.

The first point of failure is that it has wheels. That is no use at all if you are doing a 45 second exposure on a step incline. That's why tripod legs are adjustable. Secondly, the small wheels are absolutely no use on the cobbled and uneven streets of medieval York. Studio work - it's already been invented. Studio camera supports / stands have been around for 40 odd years !
 
Blank_Canvas said:
Reminds me a bit of the Sinclair C5. Was it needed?, did people need one? - No in both cases and that's why the product failed.

The first point of failure is that it has wheels. That is no use at all if you are doing a 45 second exposure on a step incline. That's why tripod legs are adjustable. Secondly, the small wheels are absolutely no use on the cobbled and uneven streets of medieval York. Studio work - it's already been invented. Studio camera supports / stands have been around for 40 odd years !
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It's been made abundantly clear by the designers and others that it's not intended for use on cobbles, in estuaries or on slopes.

Studio camera supports are ridiculously expensive and while precise are not always quick to adjust, nor do they pack down nicely for storage - which is important for those of us who do product stuff in a shared use space at home.

If - and it's a big if - they can make this work so that it's quick to adjust and position accurately, stable and affordable then I imagine they'll have a minor success. Would I buy one? Probably not.
 
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