REVIEW – I am usually interested in almost every type of gadget that is designed for videography and/or photography. These days, almost everyone has a smartphone and many people use the built-in features to shoot either videos or to take pictures or both. In response to this popularity, many companies have manufactured various kinds of gadgets to help phone users to get more enjoyment and versatility when shooting. The Pivo Tiny Pod is just that type of gadget.

What is it?

Pivo is a smart interactive pod for smartphone photography and videography. It is built around 12 main features that include 9 quick create modes, 2 auto-follow modes, and 1 multi live streaming mode.

What’s in the box

1 x Pivo Pod
1 x Panoramic Mount
1 x Adjustable Mount
1 x Remote Control
! x Micro USB Cable
1 x Travel Case
1 x User Leaflet

Design and features

Specifications
Pivo Pod –
Max Load: 1kg
Bluetooth: BLE 4.0
Rotation Degree: 360 degrees
Speed Rotation: 10s/r-2h/r
Bluetooth: 2402MHz~2480MHz
SRD: 2440MHz
Battery: 500mAh
Charging Method: Micro-USB Part, 5VDC, 0.5A
Charging Time: 1 hour
Working time: 10 hours
Height (without mount): 5 cm / 2 inches
Height (with mount): 7.3 cm / 2.9 inches
Width: 6.3 cm / 2.5 inches
Weight: 176g / 6.2 ounces

Remote Control –
Controller: 2.4GHz RF
Distance: 50ft (15m)
Height: 8.8cm / 2.7 inches
Width: 3.65cm / 1.4 inches
Weight: 30g / 1.0 ounces
Battery: 3V Coin Button Cell

Looking at the Pivo Pod, on one side, there is the grip fastener at the top, the 360-degree rotation gear below that, and a USB charging port at the bottom. Around the body of the Pod, there is a sort of rubberized finish/coating.

On the opposite side of the Pivo Pod, there is the power button.

Looking down at the Pivo from the top, there is the smartphone holder/grip and a bubble level.


At the bottom/underneath of the Pivo, there is a 1/4-20″ tripod mount and 3 extendable feet.


The Pivo Pod also comes with a remote that controls shooting modes, speed, capture and rotation functions.

Performance

The Pivo Pod is very easy to set up and use. Just take it out of the box and charge it, download the app and it is ready to go. The app requires that you create an account and then login. It connects via Bluetooth but the app controls the connection. Once you mount the phone into the Pivo you can start recording. You can mount it either vertically or horizontally.


It has several modes that can track in different ways to handle tasks like panoramic or 2 persons back and forth switching or individual movement tracking, timelapse, motion timelapse, etc. Since it is a bit hard to explain and showcase all of its functionality, here is a video to help do so:

The Pivo Pod app is also easy to setup and use. Here are some screenshots from the app:

The following is a short tracking video test that I did from my point of view:

What I like

• The compact size
• The features and functionality
• The versatility
• The ease of use
• It works with the remote, snapping your fingers and even saying cheese
• It uses front and back cameras

What I’d change

• It works great so I can’t think of anything at the moment.

Final thoughts

I really like the Pivo Pod, especially in my case for shooting product videos and product photography. It shoots 360-degree photos/video. The tracking feature is great and responsive enough that it allows for versatility when shooting video. The remote works well for any distance that I have need. You also have the ability to stream live to popular platforms like Facebook and YouTube, and they have partnered with Ustream to allow streaming to over 30 platforms. I give this device a well done and two thumbs up!!

Price: $109
Where to buy: The Pivo Website
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Pivo

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Camera gear, Photography

Pivo Tiny Pod camera mount review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 11, 2019 at 9:47 am.

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REVIEW – Let me state up front: I am not a photographer—pro or serious amateur. My camera is my iPhone XS Max. I once desired a DSLR camera, but as smartphones have gotten ridiculously good at photos and videos, I gave up on that expensive quest. Which brings us to the ShiftCam Aspherical Ultra Wide Angle mobile phone lens (say that fast five times). Can a high-quality lens improve on a photo taken with a smartphone? Well …

What is it?

The ShiftCam aspherical ultra wide-angle lens is an aspherical lens with zero distortion at a 122º wide viewing angle. A nano-coated lens reduces flares. The lens is good for close-ups or long shots, indoors or outdoors. It attaches via an optional and proprietary iPhone case. Note: There is a universal lens mount available for other non-Apple smartphones.

In the box

• 12mm ultra wide-angle lens
• Magnetic lid
• Prolens adapters for iPhone 7/8, 7/8 Plus/ X, XR, XS/Max
• Microfiber lens bag

Design and features

ShiftCam makes many camera-enhancing lenses for Apple iPhones. The aspherical ultra wide-angle lens is the latest addition. It’s currently on Kickstarter and Indiegogo with way over the amount of funds needed to produce the lens.  Delivery is set for August 2019. The fact that I have a fully functioning lens and that ShiftCam already makes many other lenses helps me feel certain that they will meet the August deadline.

When talking about lenses, what does ultra wide-angle mean? It simply means that there is more peripheral image captured in the photo—or more stuff in the photo than you would see in a regular photo. 

When you take a photo with your iPhone (not zoomed), it has what is called a focal length of 4.25mm which is close to a 26mm lens on a “normal” camera. Your eyesight field of view is the equivalent of a 50mm camera lens. So basically, the iPhone in regular mode is already taking a wide-angle photo showing you more than you see looking straight ahead. So the 12mm ShiftCam lens when mounted on an iPhone becomes an “ultra” wide-angle lens. Get it? It captures more in the photo than the iPhone’s already wide lens. 

However, that’s not the tricky part. It’s not hard to make a lens that is wide-angle. The hard part is doing so without distorting the edges—especially noticeable when straight lines are in the photo—such as shots of buildings. The lines become curved, sometimes severely in cheaper lenses. Keep in mind that some distortion will always be there. The trick is minimizing it as much as possible—which ShiftCam is good at with this ultra wide-angle lens. With the right photo app, some of this distortion can be adjusted on-the-fly.

An ultra wide-angle lens is great for those shots involving a group of people where you’re always yelling, “Move closer together!”

The Aspherical ultra wide-angle lens is made as well as any lens I’ve owned from my days of SLR photography (remember film?). It’s a coated glass lens in a metal enclosure. And it’s heavy. An iPhone XS Max (what I use) weighs 177 grams sans case. The lens weighs 96.7 grams, yet when I hold them, the lens feels like it weighs as much as the iPhone itself. However, when attached, the weight of the lens makes the iPhone quite top-heavy. So, be careful when carrying around. The weight distribution can make things a bit unwieldy.

The lens comes in piano black with a nice, tasteful brass-colored band around the housing. A magnetic lens cap helps protect the bulbous lens from dirt and scratches. Needless to say, keep the cap on when not in use.

The lens case is a light-weight plastic with what ShiftCam calls the S-mount system—an adapter for screwing the lens into place. Once the lens is secured, it stays in place, but the screw threads are so fine that many times, I had to try and try again to get the threads to match so I could tighten the lens. It quickly became apparent that you have to be absolutely sure that the lens is secure. If you don’t, the lens may not be properly screwed into place and fall from the case mount. That could be disastrous. Also, the S-mount on the case is plastic. After a few uses, the plastic threads were already showing signs of wear. The case also separated at one of the seams which blurred and distorted one of the corners in the photo window. Time will tell if the case will hold up under more repeated tightening and loosening. It’s too bad the case doesn’t have the same build quality as the lens.

The case only provides basic protection to the iPhone itself. It will help keep the iPhone free from dirt and if dropped, but don’t mistake it for a specialized case that offers great drop protection.

The S-mount system included with the lens comes with many different slide-in adapters—depending on which iPhone you have as early as the iPhone 7. These adapters slide in easily and snap into proper alignment with the iPhone lens. Once in place, the aspherical ultra wide-angle lens can be attached. Or the lens can be attached to the adapter first and then slid into place.

Taking photos with the aspherical ultra wide-angle lens is no similar to just taking a photo with the iPhone—with one important difference: The dedicated zoom lens on the XS and XS Max does not work with this lens. Not surprising, because why would you want to combine a zoom with wide-angle anyway?

When comparing photos with and without the lens, I couldn’t tell any difference in focus or digital grain quality between the two. Note that the wide-angle lens will not improve the quality of a photo taken with just the iPhone’s lens. It can’t. The photo will only be as good as the weakest link in the lens chain—so to speak. What the lens will do is add a wide-angle feature you can’t get with just the iPhone. ShiftCam’s other lenses will add other features, depending on the lens’ function.

The aspherical ultra wide-angle lens comes in Piano black. There is a Limited Edition Vintage Brass version depending on the Kickstarter backer level.

What I like

• Build quality
• Solid feel
• Quality of photo taken with lens 

What I’d change

• Case could be more durable
• Lens weight makes iPhone quite top-heavy
• S-mount system requires attention for a secure connection

Final thoughts

If you’re looking to add a bit of variety to standard iPhone photography, the ShiftCam aspherical ultra wide-angle lens offers a great way to give those vacation or group shots an added flair. There is so much more information you can capture with this lens attached—without sacrificing image quality in any way. Just attach the lens and start shooting. It’s that easy.

Price: $99 for lens and mount
Where to buy: Indiegogo
Source: The sample of this product was provided by ShiftCam.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Camera gear, Photography

ShiftCam Aspherical Ultra Wide Angle Lens review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 14, 2019 at 8:49 am.

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REVIEW – As a Videographer, I am always looking for ways to add versatility and enhancements to my video shoots, including ways to be totally mobile and lightweight when on the go. Sometimes, I find myself in situations where I use my smartphone to get unplanned video, but when holding it in my hands, the footage shows signs of instability and there is the lack of the benefit of creative angles. Enter the Zhiyun 4 3-Axis Handheld iPhone Gimbal Stabilizer as a possible perfect solution. So, here we go!

What is it?

The Zhiyun 4 3-Axis Handheld Smartphone Gimbal Stabilizer is a versatile device that features overall diverse functions. It can also sync with camera settings to control the zoom and focus. It has 4 built-in operating modes that can capture more advanced footage.

What’s in the box

1 x Zhiyun 4 3-Axis Handheld iPhone Gimbal Stabilizer
1 x Carrying Case
1 x Tripod
1 x USB-C Charging Cable
1 x User Guide

Design and features

The Zhiyun 4 3-Axis Handheld Smartphone Gimbal Stabilizer is designed to allow the user to shoot smooth video and to take pictures with a smartphone inserted in the holder and connected to the gimbal via Bluetooth.

On one surface of the handle of the gimbal, there are the main controls that include the power on/off, menus, camera/video switching, and several other functions. (See the illustration and function list below the picture)




The picture below shows the “head” of the gimbal that includes the cell phone holder and the rotation mechanism. Below the picture is the related illustration of the parts and functions.




On the handle of the gimbal on the side opposite the main controls, there is an up/down toggle switch that controls the “phone go” and “Following” modes. See the illustration and related function list and description below.


At the bottom of the gimbal, there is a female 1/4-20″ tripod mount.

Performance

The gimbal comes well packaged in a molded case that is described as a carry case but it does not have any handles or real way of keeping it securely closed while transporting. So, one of the first things that I did was to buy an aftermarket hard case that comes with a zipper and carrying strap.

Once the gimbal was charged, I read the instructions and placed my iPhone into the holder. The sides of the holder are spring loaded so that it can accommodate size differences of phones and case types, etc. The spring is quite strong and holds the phone quite well. I immediately noticed that despite using the adjustment knob to center my phone, it would not center partially because of the phone case, and I was reluctant to use my phone without the case. The instructions indicated that once powered on depending on the weight/size of the phone, that the gimbal should be able to accommodate for the off-center issue and it absolutely did. The phone became perfectly balanced when I turned it on. Important note: The instructions say not to turn on the gimbal until the phone is in the holder. When I first took the gimbal out of the box to charge it, I did what many would do and turned it on without reading any instructions. Luckily, there does not seem to be any damage done.

The second part of this operation is to download the app and connect to the gimbal via Bluetooth from within the app. Here are some screenshots from the app:

Connecting via Bluetooth is very simple and straightforward and soon I was on my way to recording. The easy access to the record button along with the camera button to take pictures and switch back to video mode as well as to the menu button to set up preferences is great and right at your fingertips.

While shooting the following video, I moved the gimbal abruptly several times both vertically and horizontally to see how it would affect the video. I also walked normally allowing my body to make deliberate movements while shooting. You can also seem some focus adjustments:

I was also able to just press the camera button to take photos while shooting the video.

The gimbal is capable of many modes of shooting video including follow mode, panoramic, subject switching, etc. You can click here to read the manual and to learn a lot more about it.

What I like

• Build quality
• Features
• Battery life
• Overall performance
• The secure way that it holds the phone

What can be improved

• It does exactly what it is supposed to do. I do wonder if it is possible to have videos stored on an SD card that is housed on the gimbal. This way it would not take up any memory on the phone for long video. The videos and photos are currently stored in the app.

Final thoughts

This gimbal exceeded my expectations, especially since I have tried earlier models from different manufacturers and in many cases was unsatisfied with the basic movement that was at times jerky and hesitant. This gimbal moves smoothly and even when I thought I was challenging it with excessive jerky movements, the resulting video was smooth and really good. I have not yet tried all of the features it offers, but I can definitely say that I really like this gimbal, and the accompanying app works well for me on IOS. I will be trying it with the Android version soon and I will provide an update if things go sideways. For now, I give it a well done and two thumbs up!!

Price: $119
Where to buy: Amazon
Sample: The sample for this review was provided by Zhiyun

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Camera gear, Photography

Zhiyun 4 3-Axis Handheld Smartphone Gimbal Stabilizer review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 4, 2019 at 9:00 am.

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