The folks over at Mobile Mechatronics recently sent over a sample of their Blur Tripod for the iPhone. Marketed as “the world’s first iPhone tripod adapter, mini tripod and enhancement App,” the Blur Tripod strives to eliminate the thinning gap between iPhone and standalone digital cameras. We spent the last week evaluating the Blur Tripod and are now coming to you with our conclusions.
Standing at a collapsed height of 6.5 inches (with adaptor) the Blur is designed to fit in a pocket, briefcase, or fanny pack – complimenting the iPhone’s portability. When in use, the tripod can extend to roughly a height of 8 inches. With its small size and weighing in at a mere 2 ounces, we had no problem toting the Blur around with us on our excursions.
Mobile Mechatronics have built a reasonable level of quality into the Blur. We say reasonable because the light weight targets that they have reached may create the impression that the unit is not as mechanically substantial as one might like. However, the Blur strikes the right balance between weight and strength in our opinion. Mobile Mechatronics designed the Blur with some clever forethought as well. Instead of crafting it in as a one-piece solution, it has been engineered to accommodate multiple cameras. The tripod itself sports a common 1/4 inch by 20 thread camera mount. Therefore, you can actually use the tripod with any camera fitted with the same standard mount. Conversely, the iPhone adapter, which screws into the Blur tripod, can be fitted to any tripod with the standard mating end. So, you’ll be able to use your iPhone on virtually any tripod.
The Blur’s legs can be angled and extended at different rates. This allows for balance on an uneven surface and also provides proper support for landscape shots. To do this, one leg needs to be completely extended and angled as close to horizontal as possible. The other two legs should be retracted. The adapter is then rotated to 90 degrees and lined up with the extended leg. This allows for the iPhone to be mounted horizontally while maintaining balance. The adapter snuggly fits the iPhone using internally placed cushions. This felt a tad tight for our liking. We also didn’t care for the fact that our iPhone needed to be removed from its case in order to use the Blur. Perhaps an adjustable adapter would solve that problem.
Mobile Mechatronics plans to release an app to accompany the Blur Tripod. The Blur app is expected to provide options like photo delay, multi picture mode, and a mode to transform multiple pictures into a time lapse video. As of this review, Apple has yet to approve the software into the App Store. Once it’s there it will be available for an additional $0.99 on top of the Tripod’s $14.99 price tag. Considering the overly expensive cost of many iPhone accessories, the Blur Tripod seems very reasonably priced. With it, Mobile Mechatronics makes a classy introduction into the market and this style will hopefully continue with their upcoming iTwinge keyboard.
The Blur Tripod is Available from Mobile Mechatronics
Blur Tripod gets our AppSmile 4-Dimple rating:
