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Photography Accessories

Review: MeFOTO Sidekicker 360 Smartphone Tripod Adapter

Chris Gampat
No Comments
01/15/2014
3 Mins read

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer CES 2014 MeFOTO phone adapter (7 of 10)ISO 8001-60 sec at f - 3.2

The number of cool things that you can do with a phone are pretty damned awesome. Sensor technology just keeps getting better and lots of companies work around boosting the abilities of a phone’s camera. When we saw the MeFOTO Sidekick 360 recently in Las Vegas, we had one big thing in mind when it came to creative inspiration: a timelapse.

Gear Used

We tested the new MeFOTO Sidekick 360 with the Google Nexus 5 and MeFOTO Daytrip tripod out in Las Vegas.

Ergonomics

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer CES 2014 MeFOTO phone adapter (1 of 10)ISO 8001-60 sec at f - 1.8

The Sidekick 360 has a name that reminds us a bit of the old Sidekick phones–but it really isn’t at all. Instead, it’s more about the fact that the gadget can essentially rotate your phone around in a 360 way.

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For starters, there is an Arca Swiss plate that lets you connect it easily to a tripod. But since the Daytrip uses Mini Arca Swiss, we used one of the tripod mount screws.

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer CES 2014 MeFOTO phone adapter (2 of 10)ISO 8001-60 sec at f - 1.8

On either end of the Sidekick 360, there are little knobs that act as a clamp to hold your phone in place. Chances are that you’ll be working one of these more than the other. The clamps grip onto your phone tightly. The only issue is that if your device has something like an Otterbox case on it, we’re not sure quite it will be held steadily in place.

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer CES 2014 MeFOTO phone adapter (5 of 10)ISO 8001-60 sec at f - 1.8

Using another knob, you can adjust the angle of your phone just like any ballhead. The head is a bit too loose for our liking but works flawlessly overall.

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer CES 2014 MeFOTO phone adapter (10 of 10)ISO 8001-60 sec at f - 6.3

If you’re one of those folks who’s addicted to Vine, you’ll also be happy to know that the Sidekick can shoot in portrait mode–which is also good for you Instagram folks. For this review though, we used DT Pro to create a timelapse.

Build Quality

Overall, this is one pretty darn sturdy piece. We wish that the ball head and the knobs were a tad smoother though instead of so loose, but otherwise we don’t have much to complain about. The accessory is made of metal and has very little that would make us question its durability.

Ease of Use

We got to play with the Sidekick 360 when MeFOTO first showed it off at CES 2014 recently. One of my personal project ideas that I’ve had for a while is wanting to do mobile timelapses. In order to do this better and get just the right angles, the MeFOTO Sidekick helps because of the fact that I can fine tune just the right angle.

For what it’s worth though, I also wish that there was a bubble level somewhere on the unit.

Conclusions

The Sidekick 360 is a really cool and very fun way to expand your mobile photography, but we feel that it can be taken even more seriously. Hopefully, MeFOTO will develop an even higher end offering. But if you’re looking to get more serious about your mobile photography, then the Sidekick 360 is a great starters gift.

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360 mefoto mobile Photography Sidekick Timelapse
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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