Camera tripod is hardly a product anyone would described as gorgeous, but here it is, a tripod which we are very much inclined to called gorgeous or even sexy. Created by Peak Design whom you may remember for the super cool Capture V2 Camera Clip System from 2013, it is hard describe how brilliant the Travel Tripod is, but we will go ahead and give it a shot.
It does not have fancy name because, it doesn’t need one. Its looks and features kind of speaks for themselves. Also, it is unlike the tripod you have accustom with. Right of the bat, Travel Tripod is no space waster when it is packed down. An ingenious architecture remove much, if not all, dead spaces and thus minimizing the packed-down size.
When packed down, it is possibly half the size of its equivalent size tripod. And that’s just the beginning. It has so many more features, including a quick-attaching and intuitive compact ball head that lets you slap on a camera with screwing or whatsoever. Moreover, unlike traditional tripods, it only has a single ring for all the adjustment needs. There are no panning base knob, ball head adjustment knob, or whatever to deal with. It is just one large ring and that’s that.
And then there are the super sleek, cam levers that hug the structure closely and aligned together in such a manner that allows you swiftly open multiple cam levers simultaneously for quick deployment and also knowing the status, open or close, at a glance. Finally, what really piqued our interest is the thoughtful inclusion of a universal mobile mount, stashed away inside the center column.
I am totally sold by the features and the aesthetic of Travel Tripod, but however so, the asking price of $289 and $479 for the aluminum and carbon fiber models may be a little hard to swallow for some. As much as I would love to scream “shut up and take my money,” I am not too sure if I am that professional enough to deserve this wonderfully conceived photography accessory.
However, if you rely heavily on tripod and are undaunted by the price, you may want to consider pre-ordering it on Kickstarter. The campaign has 40+ days to go, but already, it drawn over 13,000 backers who have help rolled in, wait for it… nearly $6 million in funding. 6-freaking-million! Imagine that! I am pretty sure this is the most funded camera tripod ever.
Go head and have a look at the pitch video to learn more.
All images courtesy of Peak Design.
