Review: Blur Tripod for iPhone

Do you have the steadiest hand in the West when taking photos with your iPhone? Or are some of your pictures blurry? Whatever the case, the Blur Tripod for iPhone is here!

Blur Tripod by Mobile Mechatronics

The Blur Tripod for iPhone is exactly what is sounds like; a Tripod! The accessory will help you take the most crisp pictures by taking the iPhone out of your hands and into a stable, adjustable tripod. The Blur fits perfectly with the iPhone 3G/3GS and while the iPhone 2G did fit, it was very tight. So on a device basis, I would recommend the Blur for iPhone 3G/3GS only.

Starting from the top and going down, the cradle is made from a thick, hard plastic material that is lined on the inside with padding. The padding serves well to keep the front and the back of your iPhone scratch-free when inserting the iPhone into and out of the cradle. However, as I found out very quickly, if you have an Invisible Shield on your iPhone (or any other screen protector), it is very difficult to get the iPhone into the cradle because of the padding. You will likely ruin the screen protector during the process, so keep that in mind. If you have not already guessed, the bottom of my Invisible Shield (both areas next to the Home button) have actually been permanently damaged after I finished using the Blur.

Moving down from the cradle, the Blur has an ribbed adjustable knob for moving the iPhone/cradle to different heights. Below this is a ball-bearing that allows the entire cradle/iPhone to move in in various angles. The ball-bearing is secured in place with a little screw that I like to call the “Holding Screw”.

Attached to the bottom of the ball-bearing assembly are three legs, hence tripod, that are adjustable to about a 45 degree angle. Each leg of the tripod is also extendable, so you can adjust the height as well as compensate for any environmental factors that may get in the way when placing the tripod.

The Blur tripod is extremely portable, even with the leg extensions out and can easily fit into a pocket or bag for easy travel. The only thing to note is when you are using the Blur, the legs are quite pointed with rubber ends. What this means is the tripod will sit perfectly on hard surfaces but if you were to use the tripod on sand or soft dirt for example, the Blur may not fare so well.

Essentially the Blur can be used in two ways; manual use when taking photos with the iPhone or automatic use. What I mean by this is if you put the iPhone into the Blur cradle, you will have to manually take photos using the iPhone and your fingers. The automatic part comes from a companion application that Mobile Mechatronics sells. The app is a camera application that among other functions, allows the iPhone camera to take automatic photos or photos on a timer. The app, along with the tripod, is a great setup for group shots that you want to include yourself in.

Overall the Blur tripod provides a solution to get crisp and blur-free photos from your iPhone camera. The accessory is small enough to be easily portable and provides enough flexibility with the leg extensions for adaptability to various heights and angles. My first (of only two) gripes with the accessory is that the legs are somewhat pointy and that can lead to problems with certain environments that you use the Blur in. My second gripe is that you have to pay for the companion app, when you are already purchasing the somewhat overpriced accessory.

The Blur tripod is scored a 3.5 out of 5.

The Blur Tripod is available on the Mobile Mechatronics Online Store for $17.99 (+$6.00 shipping).

The Blur Tripod companion application will be available soon on the iTunes App Store for $0.99.

P.S. - Like our news? Support the site with a coffee/beer. Or shop with our Amazon link. We use affiliate links when possible--thank you for supporting independent media.