I purchased the Slypod as it looked like it would provide another tool for shooting video and had quite a bit of versatility doing multiple jobs normally done by multiple pieces of equipment all in one piece of equipment. Overall, I had a great experience and it was quite a bit of fun to shoot with and I still have not tapped many of the functions built into this unit. This is as much a useful piece of technology as it is a piece of stabilization equipment, so the app allows for much more as far as possibilities. PAYLOAD: They tout that it holds up to 22lbs horizontally however in the manual they state that it’s rated for 9lbs with 22lbs being the max, I don’t think this will change things for most but may if this would affect your purchase it’s worth noting. I still was able to use this with the Moza Air 2 and a DSLR and have also attached a Sony FS5 and it worked great with both, though I have not tried the FS5/Gimbal combo yet. When using vertically the rated payload is 20lbs with a max of 44 so if you use it as a monopod I think it will work for most setups.
IN THE BOX: It comes with pretty much everything you would need for a monopod or the slider and it seems like a good quality, the pan tilt head doesn’t sit as tightly as I would like but with the weight of the camera on it during use I have not run into any issues. The case you get with this is also fantastic and is much like the case I got with my Moza Air 2.
BATTERY: The battery is ok on this, given what it is I don’t know that it would need an extremely long battery life though. Per the site it lasts 2 hours and I got quite a bit of use out of it before I had to recharge. NOTE: I did run into an issue that I’ve enquired with the company about and they are working with me. The battery display in the app was at around 54% and despite this while using the SLYPod it would simply retract while blinking red and shut off, the issue does not happen when plugged in and went away after a full charge but I don’t think it should be doing this at anything above 50% battery power, may have been a one time thing in that situation but we will see.
USE WITH TRIPOD: I think the ability to use this with a tripod easily is a major benefit and I enjoyed using it. It was very easy to do different setups and switch around. With the Pan/Tilt head you can easily point the camera most directions. Something to note and is very important, if you plan to use this with a tripod you will need a very sturdy and strong tripod that locks in place and will withstand the weight as well as have the stability for extending. Many low end tripods I don’t think would fit this bill very well. I have a pretty good tripod and while it withstood the weight I had to tighten things down pretty well.
THE APP: I think my favorite part of this piece is the functionality the app adds to it. With the regular “remote control” section within the app you can use regular modes that simply allows the device to go to precision locations at whatever speed you choose, then there is a gearshift and acceleration mode that allows more flexibility with how the movement speeds up and slows down almost like keyframes on a timeline. There are also some creative video options you can utilize for continuous movement and time lapses among other things that I haven’t really even been able to get into yet.
NOISE: When you are using this at full capacity it is pretty noisy, though for a lot of b-roll shots it isn’t an issue. If you do want to use this in a situation where noise is an issue there is an app setting called “Silent Mode” that cuts back on the noise quite a bit but not completely. If you use Silent mode you can’t go quite as fast of course, it essentially just ensures that the SLYPod does not go fast enough to make a ton of noise.
Overall I really like the SLYPod, I’m still looking at some of the built in functionality with this. I had considered still buying a motorized slider however for my current use I think I may be able to put that off for some time and the same way with the monopod. I used this in a variety of situations to see what all I could do with it and I liked what I was able to get including just holding the tripod down on the ground for shots and they worked out well, though if you're simply holding it down on the ground you need to be careful as there isn't anything to stop it from falling forward except you so there may be a better solution for this to mount the Slypod. Overall considering this is something a bit different from either a monopod or a slider I think for what it is they’ve done a great job and I look forward to using this even more and all of the things I can do with it.
*Disclosure* the vender did ask for a review of the item. I am being honest about the experience I’ve had and issues I’ve run into.
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