Platyball – My First Impressions

Disclosure: Platypod / Platyball sent me the items mentioned in this video for pre-release testing and review. This is not sponsored content, and I am not being paid for this video. They have not told me what to say, do not get to review this video prior to posting, and all thoughts expressed herein are my own.

When I first saw the Platyball, way back at Photoshop World 2019, I knew it was something unique. Even back then it worked perfectly, and it was just a prototype. Then at WPPI 2020, or what I refer to as the before times, I had a chance to talk to the creator of both the Platypod and the Platyball, Larry Tiefenbrunn – or “Dr. T”.

Over the last few years, I have become friends with Larry, and he has even been a guest on the show before. I’m also a fan of his first major product, the Platypod. In fact I keep one in the studio next to me at all times because I use it for mounting things in a pinch. Platyball however is different. Platypod arguable created the plate type mount category, and the way I saw it at the time the main competition was small tripods, like the bendable Joby styles that every company was making. Playball is entering a space that is very saturated. There are more ball heads, in more price ranges, than I can keep up with. Still, I see the Platyball as having a ton of opportunity in front of it.

While every company touts their ball head as the best, in most cases they are more similar to each other than not. The base mounts on the tripod, and the ball has a post that sticks up. There are usually multiple knobs, for loosening and adjusting the camera angle, panning features etc., and they almost all require holding the camera with one hand while you control those knobs. Those that are more expensive often have bubble levels that allow you to level the base, the part that is screwed to the tripod, but then, technically, the ball could be adjusted to mess up that ‘level’ status. Platyball says they turn the ball head upside down.

With Platyball, the ball is on the bottom, that is what attaches to the tripod. The main ‘head’ part is on top. This means that regardless of the levelness of the tripod itself, and the angle of the ball, the part of the Platyball your camera attaches to can be leveled independently. That means the panning feature is level independent of the mount. I should note that there are two versions of the Platyball, the Ergo and the Elite. The Ergo doesn’t have a level, although both models come with a mounting plate for your camera that has a bubble level on it. For the Ergo I found myself using the level in my Canon camera. The Elite, on the other hand, has a built-in electronic level – and it’s even user calibrate-able.

The other unique thing about the Platyball, and the feature that has me wanting one to replace my Acratech, is that it’s usable one-handed. You can hold the Platyball, press the tighten or loosen buttons, and adjust your camera easily. Plus, because the camera is mounted to the same part, not the ball below, it’s all one-handed.

As Platyball progressed closer to shipment, Platypod sent me pre-release copies of both the Platyball Ergo and Elite to test out. I should add that I am not normally a huge tripod / ball head user. As a live music photographer, we don’t take tripods into the photo pit, but like every photographer there are those times I need a good setup. I own a large Induro, and small Gitzo traveler for those times. While I had these two Platyballs I wanted to get a quick feel for them. The video starts with an unboxing, and then to test these Platyballs I decided to take a day hike up a local mountain. This is not an in-depth review, by the way. These were pre-release models and all I was going for was seeing what my first impressions of them were. I also reported back any issues I found, so they could address them before actual release.

Availability of the Platyball is set to be as follows, although, again, these are in development to the last minute, so these timeframes could change. According to Platyball, they anticipate shipping to Kickstarter backers soon, possibly by the end of October, 2021 – continuing into Nov, Dec and Jan. Indiegogo backers and retail should be available in late March. I think it may be possible that they open up pre-orders for the public in early 2022, but I would guess that depends on the rest of the production schedules.

Join me as I share my first impressions of the upcoming Platyball, from the makers of Platypod, on this Behind the Shot.

Connect with Platypod and Platyball

Platypod: platypod.com
Platyball: platyball.com
Facebook: @platypod
Instagram: @platypodtripods
Twitter: @platypodtripods
YouTube: @Platypod

Platyball Instructional Videos

Platyball – A Video Manual: YouTube.com/Platyball
Platyball Elite LED Level Guide: YouTube.com/Platyball

Connect with Steve

Portfolio: stevebrazill.com
Facebook: @SteveBrazillPhotography
Instagram: @stevebrazill
Twitter: @stevebrazill
Flickr: @razz2
YouTube: @behindtheshot

Some images in the gallery below were provided by Platyball.