Yeah yeah I know. Another damn iPhone tripod mount. And on Kickstarter no less. I hear you: “Come on Sorrel, you handsome beast you1. Can’t you pick something new to write about?”
Well, cynical but smart reader — this one’s different. I promise. And it’ll work with pretty much any camera-phone ever.
The Jackpod, which is coincidentally what Aussie superstar Hugh Jackman (height 6′ 2″, age 44) calls his pussy palace, is pretty much just a plastic block with a tripod screw-hole in one end and a 3.5mm jack-shaped stick sticking out the other. This lets it plug into any phone, iPod or other camera-and-headphone-equipped gadget and mount it on a steady stand.
The maker says that the iPhone’s socket is joined to its case, and it sturdy enough to never have caused him a problem during testing. I’d argue that if you’re going to be using your iPhone for so much tripod photography, it might be worth grabbing something a little bigger and sturdier (after all, the iPhone can still spin on this mount however fancy the tripod it’s connected to).
For most occasional use, though, I can’t see how you’d need anything fancier than this. Especially as the Kickstarter buy-in begins at just $9. So don’t just stand there (ho ho!): go grab one.
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Charlie Sorrel writes reviews and how-tos. Follow Charlie on Twitter at @mistercharlie, and at micro.blog on @mistercharlie
4 responses to “Jackpod Mounts iPhone On Tripod Using Headphone Socket”
I would not recommend this. I have gone through several ipod touch’s where the headphone jack gets cocked while in my pocket and one of the audio channels cuts out. This kind of stress on the headphone jack would surely decrease the life of the audio connection to the motherboard.
This strikes me as useless, since most people taking photos with a phone won’t need a tripod. I understand the need for video, but shouldn’t video be shot with the phone turned 90 degrees?
If they sold this adapter with software that allowed the end user to hold the phone vertical but record video with a final output that was horizontal/landscape, then I think they’d have something.
There’s no way this is good for your device.. The extra force on your headphone output.. It just can’t be good.. I’ll pass.. And I reckons you do too..
Thanks for the interest and coverage. The JackPod! was designed to be a quick, easy, and low-cost solution to the smartphone-to-tripod problem. As mentioned above, it is surely not the first, but is designed to be simple and truly universal.
Regarding the concerns of damage to the headphone jack, I can say that we have used the JackPod! extensively over the last several months and have not experienced any damage or loss of functionality. Because the JackPod! is slightly larger than a headphone jack, there is no movement within the jack and we believe a majority of the stress is placed at the edge of the phone itself, transferring to the case and the body.