JustTap™ Magnetic Phone Tripod Review

The post JustTap™ Magnetic Phone Tripod Review appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Sime.

We have a lot of less expensive tripods, bipods and monopods come across our desk here at dPS, and I’ve got to admit that the thought of them can make me shudder! Many of them are really very badly made, not a lot of thought goes into them other than low cost, larger profit margin units that don’t inspire a whole lot of confidence in use.

And while It’s easy to say “oh, but they’re only for phones!” THOSE PHONES can cost a couple of grand, not cheap and even if they are less expensive, it’s still annoying to have to replace one when it smashes to the ground and explodes into a glassy mess.

Well I’m pretty pleased to say, the JustTap Magnetic Phone Tripod wasn’t one of them!

KraftGeek reached out to me in my capacity as a writer (of sorts) over at DRN, a tech review website that my mate Kev owns, and asked if I’d like to check out their JustTap tripod – I initially shuddered as per my notes above, but then thought to myself, it’s been a while – I’ll take a look, this could be handy for our friends over on dPS – and here we are!

The JustTap Magnetic Phone Tripod is a compact MagSafe compatible tripod that extends all the way up to 167cm (It says 168 on the website, but my tape said 167cm, though there’s a couple of mm between the top of the tripod and where your top camera lenses are, depending on how you’re using them) regardless, it’s quite tall! (I’m 192cm)

And it will get your iPhone lens down to about 37cm off the ground. I was very surprised that it was quite compact and yet very usably tall (for a person of my height, usually with these type of tripods I’m double over trying to frame my shot). Folded it’s a little bit bigger than my Tamron 150-500mm, but a lot lighter!

There is one caveat to the tripod being that tall though, in a stiff breeze your iPhone is going to act like a sail and, well… we know how that can end! It’s very easy to combat though – A water bottle with a strap like this strap it to the bottom of the KraftGeek to weigh it down, or use a shopping bag filled with sand from a nearby playground – you’ll work something out, channel your inner MacGuyver!

Taking the JustTap Magnetic Phone Tripod out of the box, the first thing that struck me (not literally!) was how solid it felt. It has a reassuring weight to it and doesn’t come across as something that’s going to fall apart after a couple of uses. In fact, I’ve already taken it on several outings, and it’s held up perfectly – time will tell.

One thing to be aware of is that the magnetic mount is exceptionally strong. That’s great for keeping your phone securely attached, but if you try to pull your phone off at the wrong angle, you could potentially put unnecessary stress on the tripod itself. It comes with a one-year warranty, although I’m not sure accidental damage of that nature would be covered.

Speaking of magnets, it also comes with a stick-on metal ring that you can attach to the back of your device if you don’t have something that is magsafe compatible, I will also add that, despite it not being made for it, the JustTap Magnetic Phone Tripod works great as a lightstand for Mag-compatible lights like my little Amaran Ace 25x!

It weighs in at less than half a kilogram (15.8oz in old money) and is easy to stow in most camera bags, duffel bags, picnic bags etc – as a tripod that you can whip out and grab a self-portrait on your hike, or an event with friend, it’s very convenient. Setup time from closed to open and ready to go is honestly about 8 seconds! Here’s a video from the KraftGeek website (You can also find this tripod there)

I attach my iPhone to the top, pull the tripod out to the length I want it and then tap the base on the floor and the legs literally spring into action! You can see the button that you tap on the ground, below.

The tripod also includes a small Bluetooth remote that attaches magnetically to one of the legs. Thanks again, magnets! It’s USB-C rechargeable and refreshingly simple to use. Pair it with your phone, open your camera app, and whatever mode you’re in, whether that’s taking photos or recording video, a press of the remote’s single button will trigger the shutter or start and stop recording.

I also tested it with the Moment Camera app, and it worked flawlessly there too.

Bluetooth typically works up to around 15 meters away, so this remote is great for those group shots or family portraits, it pops off and pops right back in when you’re done.

After some solid use, I’m pretty impressed with this diminutive magnetically prepped tripod, it’s not “wildlife photographer” stable at full height, but you’re not using it for that! This is a fun, walk-about, capture yourself. with friends device that, for the money, does a great job.

The post JustTap™ Magnetic Phone Tripod Review appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Sime.