Over the past decade or so, smartphone cameras have gone from devices that can take a quick snapshot to document an event or item, to tools that can be used for serious photography. Images taken with phones can now rival dedicated digital cameras in many cases, but if you want to mount your phone to a standard tripod, things can become complicated.
Tripods, and other such camera accessories, generally feature a 1/4 – 20 UNC threaded bolt for attachment, but if you’ve looked at your iPhone, Android, or even BlackBerry device lately, you won’t find any corresponding female threads. To add this type of attachment capability without resorting to epoxy and permanent defacement of your beautiful pocket supercomputer, GS Industries is offering a magnetic 1/4″ threaded puck that attaches to your iPhone.
The puck is printed in black PLA, with magnets and a 1/4″ nut embedded mid-print. This makes the accessory a solid mass that, according to the listing, ‘should last a very long time.’ In addition to the magnetic attachment, the device comes with an adhesive sticker to add extra grip to your iPhone if needed. The device looks like a great way to really take advantage of this amazing device’s camera capabilities.
On the other hand, if you’d of a certain age and/or technical experience, you may be hesitant to place powerful magnets near expensive electronics. Superstition at this point or not, it still makes me a bit nervous. In the defense of magnets for such an application, Apple itself does use them in various attachment schemes, and it seems this setup has been well tested. So you really shouldn’t be concerned… Just don’t use it to mount an early hard drive-based iPod!
