Gary Sheynkman
03-26-2004, 08:00 PM
Undoubtedly most of us have had “Kodak” moments where a tripod would have been handy. But who lugs around their tripod with them everywhere they go? SIMA (<a href="www.simacorp.com">www.simacorp.com</a>) has solved this age old problem by making a Mini Tripod. <br /><br />Despite its small stature I found this tripod to be very stable under my Sony DSC-P31 (Figure 2) as well as several other cameras I was able to test at the local electronics store (Sony F828; Kodak DX6490). <br /> <br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/Figure%201.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 1: Although the Mini Tripod looks very svelte, it is actually quite stable.</i> <br /><!><br />The design itself was thought out very well. With a few twists of the handle, the “Quick Release” (Figure 1) pops off and you are free to attach it to your camera to it.<br /> <br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/Figure%202.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 2: The Mini Tripod is rather petite. The base can be easily removed from the top. Don’t lose it though, it’s dwarfed by a regular AA battery!</i> <br /><br />Afterward the same painless process will reattach the bases with the camera to the body of the tripod. The base sits on a swivel head that can be loosened and tightened with a small black handle that is ergonomically shaped for easy operation. They even added a carrying strap to it for easy transportation. The legs of the tripod can be extended to a full 6½ inches as you can see in Figures 3 and 4. <br /> <br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/Figure%203.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 3: Do not let the small size deceive you…</i> <br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/Figure%204.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 4: The legs extend to be 6½ inches long!</i> <br /><br />This piece of invaluable photographic equipment can be found at your local electronics store (i.e. Best Buy) for about $12 and can be found in a package shown in Figure 5. Unfortunately I was unable to find online listings for this item, but <a href="http://pocketpcthoughts.pricegrabber.com/search_gen.php?topcat_id=15&topcat_search=1&form_keyword=mini+tripod&ut=180c8e6def722db6">Pricegrabber</a> has plenty of listings for similar products in the same price range. <br /> <br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/Figure%205.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 5: This is the retail packaging of the Mini Tripod.</i> <br /><br />Overall the Mini Tripod from SIMA receives a recommendation for every moment you wish you had a tripod but could not bear the burden of carrying one around.