#tripad

Tripad

First I'd like to thank Kevin at Tripad for sending this unit out to me for testing. Tripad is a Dallas based company whose products are made with 30% recycled glass and plastics.  Their packaging is made with 100% recycled materials. Which means that they are 100% US made and very proud of it!

What is the Tripad?  It's a portable workspace that attaches easily in seconds to your tripod.  I first became interested after running across it on the web and instantly knew that it could possibly help with my tethered shooting.  When shooting tethered I always had to deal with figuring out how and where I was going to position my laptop without it getting in the way or damaged.  Shooting at home or the studio isn't always going to present challenges but shooting on location does.  I usually propped my MacBook Pro on a random object, chair, or on top of my ThinkTank roller case.  None of which were the most sturdy or secure.  Even when you think you have it set solidly there's always the chance of someone bumping into it or catching your tether cable and pulling it down.  

Well with the Tripad you don't have to worry about that. It keeps the laptop so close to your camera that you have less cables exposed because you can use a much shorter cable.

Before getting my hands on one I had a few concerns.  

1. Was is solid enough to hold my 15" MacBook Pro without giving, is it sturdy enough? 

2. How well will it hold my laptop, will the surface materials of the Tripad have enough grip to prevent sliding? 

3. Will the Tripad move once installed? 

4. Will making adjustments to the tripod after installing be hard? 

5. Accidents happen, what's to keep my laptop from flying off the Tripad? 

When you first get your hands on the Tripad you'll notice right away that it's a very solid piece of equipment.  The plastic doesn't flex at all and the two pieces which combine to make the Tripad do so very securely. So that answers question number one. Yes, it is sturdy enough.  

The answer to number two is also yes. Yes it holds my laptop very well, the ridge at the front of the Tripad fits very snugly against my 15" MacBook Pro's dimensions. The plastic used has some texturing on the top to help grip the feet of the bottom of the MacBook Pro. There is no sliding around. Do note however that I have a Speck case on my MacBook which has larger rubber feet than the MacBook. 

Now onto number three.  No the Tripad doesn't move once installed. There is no side to side movement or any kind of play in that direction. There is however a little bit of bounce up and down when you are doing any kind of typing and pressing of the trackpad. Did it create any problems when I was shooting no not really, but it does feel a little weird. 

Number four.  This is probably the only fault that I could give the Tripad.  Once you setup your shot and put your laptop on the Tripad, making adjustments to the tripod after that is a bit of work unless you remove the laptop from the Tripad.  The Tripad holds onto your tripod with a triangle shaped harness.  The Tripad sits as low on the tripod legs as the harness opening will allow it.  The narrower your tripod footprint the lower it sits. If you narrow the footprint for one shot and then want to widen them out for another it's impossible to do so because of the weight on the laptop forcing the Tripad down. You'll have to take the laptop off to make adjustments. This is also true when adjusting the height of the tripod legs. This won't be much of an issue if you have someone there to help hold the laptop for a brief moment but if you're by yourself that means putting the laptop on the ground or on top of something else until your adjustments are made.   

One other thing that I found took some work was travelling with the Tripad.  The Tripad in essence seems like a very slim piece of equipment until you try to travel with it.  The two pieces that create the Tripad are thick pieces of plastic.  It's great that they come apart for easier storage but even then you'll have to find a space that will accomodate a piece of plastic roughly the surface area slightly larger than a 15" latptop and 1.5x as thick.  My camera bags are packed to the gills already so I ended up having to take an extra messenger bag for the Tripad and used that bag for some other odds and ends. 

To answer number five, nothing. There is nothing keeping your laptop from flying off the Tripad in the event something strange were to happen and create this situation.  That was one of my concerns being as OCD as I am. But Tripad has recently provided solutions to this possibility in the form of a velcro stability strap and extension grips. Thanks Tripad, the extra little piece of mind is great.

Other than two small issues there's a lot to like about the Tripad.  It's a sturdy piece that can free up some space and help streamline the capture process on location. There's also the added bonus that the Tripad can connect to the handle arms of your rolling case creating a nice little workspace and keeping that hot laptop off your legs.

There's also the addition of some slide out panels on the bottom.  The left panel is for your drink and the right is a flat surface for a mouse or pen and pad. 

I would suggest the Tripad for anybody that shoots tethered and on location a lot.  The Tripad provides some much welcomed workspace and a bit of versatility.  It's a great addition to your gear list. 

Prosta ale bardzo ciekawa rzecz, często takie małe dodatki znacznie poprawiają komfort pracy, sam niejednokrotnie gdzieś w plenerze miałem problem gdzie postawić laptopa, żeby zgrać czy sprawdzić materiał.

Szkoda tylko, że cena dosyć wygórowana, 99.95$ (plus koszty przesyłki) to trochę dużo mimo wszystko:(