Thursday, August 8, 2013

Product Review: Peak Design Capture Camera Clip V2

Social media guru Simon Pollock, a fellow Peak Design Pro, reviews the Capture Camera Clip V2.  Capture is a durable metal clip that lets you carry your camera on any backpack strap, belt or bag. Over 5,500 backers have pledged $553,000 to back this project on Kickstarter.  
Well mates, Simon knows his stuff especially when it comes to photography and... coffee. The Australian takes more photographs of the black gold than he actually drinks, which of course is about 36 shots a day, of coffee I mean. 
The Aussie is so wired from all those roasted beans he really does need the world's best designed camera attachment system.
By Simon Pollock 
simon@gtvone.com

You may have read the article we wrote on Peak Design’s Leash & Cuff a little while back? The crazy bunch at Peak Design are at it again, this time with a version 2 release of their primary product, Capture
As of right now,  5,514 people have backed their current Kickstarter for over half a MILLION dollars!… Amazing crowd supported project! Well, being a Peak Design Pro, I’m very lucky to already be using Capture v2.0 and wanted to pen an article about it and how it has changed from version to version and how it could help you.
Peak_Design_V2_Simon_Pollock

A brief catch up – what is “Capture” …well, in very basic terms, Capture is a device that you can attach to pretty much any belt / bag strap / backpack shoulder strap etc, that allows you to quickly and securely mount your camera on that device via the included baseplate. So if you want to go hands free while you’re out shooting, you simply slot your camera into Capture and you’re good to go, then when you see a photograph you want to make, on press of a button and you’re firing. You can see the image above, I have my little Sony NEX 5r mounted on the shoulder strap of my thinkTankPhoto Retro 7 camera bag, it makes it so easy when I’m down the park with my 3.5 year old – I can run, kick, jump, swing and hide with my hands free, then, when he’s doing something awesome like climbing a massive tree, I can whip the camera out of its little metal home and SNAP, I’ve capture my moment.

In the photograph below, you can see some of the changes from version one (bottom) to version two (top) including the following (based on my two weeks solid use and not the specs on the website)
  • Easier ‘mouth’ where you slide your camera in – makes slotting your camera away easier (in my opinion) 
  • No more sharp edges / less round edges – while I love and still use v1.0, the v2.0 feels…grown up..
  • The red button you use to release your camera now has a little simple twist lock to stop accidental ejection..
  • The screw (top right of units) now secures the camera plate solid, so you can actually use Capture on top of a monopod / tripod..
  • Capture now has the ability to mount little cameras such as GoPro so you can use capture to shoot yourself falling off your bike – etc!
Capture_Peak_Design_V1_vs_v2_Simon_Pollock

Here’s a couple of photographs that show you how you can use Capture for the top of a tripod or monopod and in the second photo you can see the Sony is tethered with Peak Design’s “Leash


Peak_Design_Simon_Pollock
Capture being used to mount the Sony directly onto the 3LeggedThing tripod furniture
Peak_Design_Simon_Pollock
Capture being used to mount the Sony directly onto the ‘Bob’ 3LeggedThing Monopod furniture
I’m using Capture v2.0 and v1.0 with Peak Design’s Leash and Cuff system (for those among you that are saying…ohhh, I might drop my camera… you can’t!)
Take a look at the version two Capture camera clip system video on KickStarter and see for yourself… If you have any questions about how the clip works, what I shoot with it / my workflow / how I use Capture, please don’t hesitate to ask in the comments below.
–Sime


Read more from our Cameras and Equipment Category