6. The XShot

This last device, designed for compact digital cameras or camcorders, lets you easily take self portraits. It’s a hand-held extension arm that mounts a camera in a tripod socket. Simply activate the self-timer, hold the arm and point the camera towards you.

The XShot collapsed and placed on its packaging.

When my editor gave me this device to use, I was sure I had seen it before. Well, not exactly; I received a competing product at CES 2006, which was supposedly the first of its kind, dubbed the QuikPod. It was sold at about the same price. I have included a quick (pun intended) comparison chart below. Though the XShot has what seems to be a slightly more robust tripod socket, with an easier to grasp wheel, the QuikPod includes a mirror on the end of the socket, so you can aim and frame with the camera properly. I used an Olympus C-7070, which has a flip screen. So, I was able to reverse the view screen to show the subject (me) what the photo would look like.

The QuikPod supports slightly more weight, but doesn’t extend as far. Both come with a wrist strap, but the quikpod also includes a pocket clip and carrying case. My QuikPod also came with a small pocket tripod (extra cost), which is what I use most of the time. The pocket tripod is excellent for lectures, and other times when you are seated.

Conclusions

Both devices work as advertised. Compared to the QuikPod, the XShot’s tripod socket has a slightly easier-to-use segmented knob and tilt lock, but there is no mirror. My sample XShot’s sections do not always "lock" into place under heavy load. At full extension, this isn’t a problem if the camera is not angled up much past horizontal. But my Olympus C-7070, though very compact, weighs 13.5 ounces, so when used horizontally on the xshot, it puts a strain on my wrist. At that weight, this Olympus is slightly beyond the XShot specification - but really, are most users going to weigh their camera before using any of these products?

Honestly, I don’t shoot self portraits often, except sometimes underwater, and there, I use the QuikPod. (Remember the underwater photographer’s mantra: "Get down, get close, shoot up.") To my mind the XShot is mostly for casual photographers who shoot self portraits.

So what do I use XShot for? It’s great to shoot above a crowd, or a la "Spy vs. Spy," or "24" around corners. I prefer the QuikPod, as it supports more weight, and is slightly smaller. The QuikPod has a strangely machined aluminum tri-star on the bottom, and the XShot has a lanyard attached to its otherwise flat smooth metal base. Neither extension arm has a flat, non-slip surface, so you can’t easily use either as a monopod, which would have earned either product a permanent place in my gadget bag.

List Price: $24.95

Join our discussion on this article!