This stick has lived in my camera bag for a year now, and not once has it seen a selfie. Instead, it became my mini tripod for behind-the-scenes videos. No buttons, no Bluetooth, no gimmicks. Just a solid telescoping pole with two 1/4-inch threads, male and female. DJI Osmo Pocket 3 on top, a proper tripod base on the bottom. Done. Naturally, ATUMTEK discontinued this exact minimalist model, because apparently you need LED ring lights and app controls these days just to take a picture of yourself.
The days when my making-of videos looked like they were shot by a particularly ambitious dachshund are over. No more frog's-eye view. Recently on Fuerteventura, the wind was howling so fiercely I started wondering whether the island might be slowly drifting away. I piled a few chunks of lava rock onto the tripod feet. The model was battling her hair, but the stick stood rock solid.
At the airport, though, I turn into a coward. Collapsed, the thing could pass for a telescoping baton, and that's not a conversation I want to have with security. So it goes dutifully into checked luggage. Then I sit at the gate and watch a squad of young content creators stroll on board with heavy film equipment stuffed into tote bags (DJI Ronin, light stands, the whole nine yards), and I briefly wonder whether I'm too cautious. Or they're too naive. Probably both.
Something else I have in mind: using the stick as a drone simulator. Just hold it up high, slowly follow the model, and the shot looks like drone footage. No permits, no annoying buzzing, no risk of the thing flying into the ocean at wind force six.
In case anyone is wondering whether ATUMTEK rewarded me for writing this with a lifetime supply of telescoping poles: no. I paid the 25 euros myself, and the only reason I'm writing about it is that this simple little thing is more practical than any travel tripod I've ever owned. And definitely lighter.