It’s not often that you see a change to a generational object like the tripod, but a new prototype could make photographers’ lives much easier.

Tripods are undeniably annoying to manipulate. With all of the unhinging, fastening and aligning, setting up and shutting down a shoot can take far longer than desired. And, the whole ordeal usual requires two hands, forcing you to put down your camera bag and anything else you’re carrying.

London-based product designer Product Tank has come up with a nifty solution to this series of annoyances: a tripod designed for use with one hand. The award-winning innovator’s prototype is about the same size and weight as a standard tripod, except the handgrip features centralized controls for releasing and closing the legs. Instead of turning dials and manually setting the legs, all you have to do is press a button and they extend evenly, automatically.



“My design has several advantages over traditional tripods,” the designer says. “It’s easier to use and adapts to different terrains more quickly; you simply hold the tripod out and shoot out the legs. Moving locations is easier and faster, too, as you don’t have to make multiple adjustments."

Here’s a video illustrating the traditional tripod hassles and how the prototype eliminates them:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYNyNI1Y_lk

Perhaps the best part is that the legs level themselves on uneven terrains, so you can be sure your camera is always straight. And for the outdoor photographer who’s constantly on the move, this model makes it much easier to transport the tripod and reset the legs from location to location.

“In production my super tripod would look completely different to the prototype,” Product Tank writes, “but there’s a hundred improvements to make and lots of other ideas to incorporate, too.”

It’s always cool to see someone tackle product flaws that many of us simply accept. We’re big fans of this idea and hope to see it hit the market sometime in the near future.