Create your own vacation autoportrait

General

It’s getting close to that season, so, imagine, if you will: you’re on vacation and having the time of your life. You’ve got the digital camera handy, ready to snap some pictures. Then the little voice inside reminds you that you need to get someone to snap the photo for you, or take the photo yourself. Nice memory for everyone else, what about you? You were there too, having fun, on the same vacation, but there are no pictures of you anywhere. Now you too can appear in your own photos, without having to ask a stranger for help.

The Quik Pod, at only 7.5 inches small, is a hand-held tripod that extends to over 18 inches. This tripod has the modern look of typical electronic gadgets, with a fancy logo and easily identifiable branding. It is constructed of several plastic extendable interlocking wand-like parts. Just like a telescopic antenna. Each portion of the tripod’s three extending parts has plastic locking buttons to allow for different lengths. All of the extending parts tuck away neatly into the base of the Quik Pod. The base is metal and has several included options for hooking on a strap, a belt clip, or even a climbers rig. It comes with a set of instructions and a nice cloth carry case.

On the other end of the wand is the camera mount, which is a large metal knurled screw. It is large enough to be able to handle a wide range of cameras, and is made so that you can take the camera off with ease. The mount also has a butterfly screw to hold the camera mount at your preferred angle, and to keep the camera from slipping. The Quik Pod itself is very light and weighs in at only 3.5 ounces. This is a great design feature because the added weight of a digital camera sitting perched out in front of you can definitely cause some arm and wrist fatigue. Not to mention, how many pictures you’re going to have to take just to get used to using this concept.

You have probably already asked yourself – How can I use this and snap the picture too? This is where the self-timer comes into play. Once you’ve got used to the premise behind the Quik Pod, it’ll take you a few minutes to get used to it. The bottom of the camera mount has a small metal mirror which actually helps you judge an approximate location of you in the frame. It’s not perfect, but with some trial and error, you can make minor adjustments to the angle of your arm and the camera in the mount. It’s best to set your camera’s self-timer to about 10 or fifteen seconds and – if possible – take a few photos in burst mode. Most digital cameras support burst mode, which is a setting to tell the camera to shoot multiple subsequent photos in a small timeframe.

It would have been better if this item were made of metal, but that would add to its weight and price – significantly. It doesn’t have the durability of metal, but on the other hand, you could drop this in the lake and not be overly concerned about it rusting. The manufacturer even claims you can use this underwater – well, if like adventure …