Review: Hitch 51 inch Phone Tripod
Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2018 6:15 pm
I just bought one of these on Amazon and thought I would put up a quick review.
PRICE
There are two models, a 42" and a 51", selling for $!5.99 and $17.99 respectively. Mine is the taller of the two, though I expect that most of this review would apply to both. They're available with Prime shipping, so they arrived quickly - free 2-day shipping (if you have Prime).
In the Box
The tripod
A "universal" phone holder
A GoPro adapter
A vinyl carrying bag
A Bluetooth remote shutter release
Quality
The price was low enough that I was willing to take a chance on them. I didn't expect great quality and my expectations were about right. It's primarily made of plastic, and it doesn't feel very robust. Though, being plastic, it is probably pretty easy to repair if needed.
It indicates that it can support a DSLR (and it has a universal mounting screw that should fit most cameras) but I would not trust it to support the weight of anything heavier than a small point-and-shoot. It seems sturdy enough to support my Galaxy S8 fine. The legs, when fully extended, are very thin. One mis-step and I'm sure they would snap right off. But it holds my phone steadily.
The phone holder doesn't open very wide, and the internal spring is really strong. Unless you break the thing trying to pull it open I doubt that it would drop your phone.
The mount on the tripod can be swiveled around quite a bit, and the phone can be mounted in one of two ways, so you have some leeway with aiming the thing. Straight down doesn't seem to be possible, but you can get it nearly there.
There is also a bubble level on the mount, but if you're trying to hold the phone in portrait orientation the bubble is useless.
The remote worked great, without any issues. It too seems rather cheap, and it's small (easily misplaced). I don't know how useful it really is, as modern phones let you activate the shutter with your voice anyway. But - the remote does work.
Over-all
If you are using a phone to shoot, plan to use it primarily indoors, and you don't want to spend much, this seems like an acceptable option. For careful use around the house, I think it should last a while. If you're taking it out into the forest or something, it wouldn't take much to break it. Or for the wind to topple it.
I'm going to give it an optimistic 2.5 out of 5.
- Fully extended
- 20181107_173745.jpg (2.47 MiB) Viewed 2308 times
There are two models, a 42" and a 51", selling for $!5.99 and $17.99 respectively. Mine is the taller of the two, though I expect that most of this review would apply to both. They're available with Prime shipping, so they arrived quickly - free 2-day shipping (if you have Prime).
In the Box
The tripod
A "universal" phone holder
A GoPro adapter
A vinyl carrying bag
A Bluetooth remote shutter release
- Cigarettes included for scale
- 20181107_173328.jpg (2.36 MiB) Viewed 2308 times
The price was low enough that I was willing to take a chance on them. I didn't expect great quality and my expectations were about right. It's primarily made of plastic, and it doesn't feel very robust. Though, being plastic, it is probably pretty easy to repair if needed.
It indicates that it can support a DSLR (and it has a universal mounting screw that should fit most cameras) but I would not trust it to support the weight of anything heavier than a small point-and-shoot. It seems sturdy enough to support my Galaxy S8 fine. The legs, when fully extended, are very thin. One mis-step and I'm sure they would snap right off. But it holds my phone steadily.
The phone holder doesn't open very wide, and the internal spring is really strong. Unless you break the thing trying to pull it open I doubt that it would drop your phone.
The mount on the tripod can be swiveled around quite a bit, and the phone can be mounted in one of two ways, so you have some leeway with aiming the thing. Straight down doesn't seem to be possible, but you can get it nearly there.
There is also a bubble level on the mount, but if you're trying to hold the phone in portrait orientation the bubble is useless.
The remote worked great, without any issues. It too seems rather cheap, and it's small (easily misplaced). I don't know how useful it really is, as modern phones let you activate the shutter with your voice anyway. But - the remote does work.
Over-all
If you are using a phone to shoot, plan to use it primarily indoors, and you don't want to spend much, this seems like an acceptable option. For careful use around the house, I think it should last a while. If you're taking it out into the forest or something, it wouldn't take much to break it. Or for the wind to topple it.
I'm going to give it an optimistic 2.5 out of 5.
