GoPro Shorty Mini Extension Pole Uses
The Gopro Shorty is one of the most useful accessories for GoPro cameras. When it appeared around the time of the GoPro Hero 6 launch many were skeptical.
A lot of comments on social media were aimed at the build quality of the shorty, and perhaps they did have a point. The shorty does feel as if it’s made from relatively low grade plastic.
In reality after having owned one of these compact hand grips for a number of years now. I haven’t had any major failings with the mini tripod extension pole.
Today I’m going to share with you some of the ways I use my Shorty to capture all different types of photos and video footage in various setups.
Specification
First lets take a close look at the actual specification of the shorty. This will give you a better idea of how it performs in the 6 practical setups I’ll discuss in a moment.
Size
As the name suggests when fully compressed the length of the Shorty comes in at 4.6in, 11.7cm. Fully extended at 8.9in or 22.7cm for those who use the metric system.
What this means in real terms is that you have an accessory that will fit in almost any pocket and you won’t even notice it’s there. Weighing only 0.14 pounds or 63.5 grams.
Features
There aren’t a lot of features to shout about here. The most noticeable being the very shiny stainless steel thumb screw and screw insert at the camera mounting end. The screw is a little tight when new but it does loosen a little over time.
Fully extended at 8.9 inches you’ll notice there are 3 very small telescopic sections that compact down with ease.
The hand grip opens up to 3 small tripod legs for sitting on reasonably flat surfaces, plus there’s a rather nice brand logo on one of the tripod legs.
GoPro Shorty Practical Uses
I’ve put together 6 practical uses for the GoPro Shorty, listed below. I’ll discuss each in turn giving you an insight into how they perform in real world situations.
- Hand grip
- Webcam tripod
- Time-lapse tripod
- Timed group photos
- Table top photos
- Tracking video shots
Hand Grip
The most obvious of the 6 uses is the hand grip. Holding a GoPro without being attached to some form of hand grip is not advised. Dropping the camera becomes a real possibility if you do so.
You can of course mount the camera front facing for capturing video footage going forward. Perhaps walking along a street, skiing down a gentle slope, even while out trail running. In fact any time you want to get from A to B with dynamic forward movement.
Alternatively, you can have the camera facing you for vlogging, selfie photos and small group shots. In regards to vlogging the plastic hand grip can transfer a small amount of noise to the microphone if your grip is not tight enough so be aware of this.
Webcam Tripod Support
GoPro cameras make great webcams. They are relatively easy to set up and provide sharp streamed video with little or no lag in most cases.
The Shorty makes for a great tripod support for your camera as part of a webcam set up. If you look at the picture above I have the Hero 10 Black inside a Media Mod, plus a small LED light. All mounted onto this compact tripod.
Time-lapse Tripod
Being so small and lightweight the shorty is great for carrying with you where weight matters. Perhaps hiking up a mountain, keeping weight to a minimum is essential.
I’ve used the Shorty many times to set up the GoPro for a time-lapse sequence. As long as the ground isn’t too uneven and it’s not too windy, you have a great little tripod for capturing those scenic vistas with rolling clouds.
Timed Group Photos
The Hero 7 brought to us the timed photo feature for the first time in the GoPro ecosystem. To take full advantage of this great feature the Shorty was there to act as the tripod support.
Perhaps your group had a great day outdoors and finished up having a drink at the local cafe. Setting the Shorty down onto the table, setting the photo timer and memories are instantly captured.
Table Top Photos
The flat lay photo has become a thing in recent years. If you’re in a pinch and need to take a stable photo of objects placed on a table the shorty will do the job. However I’d suggest using a larger tripod for flat lays but the Shorty will do a job here.
You may have a still life photo composition. Using a small tripod allows you to adjust the angle of both the camera and the composition with ease compared to handheld photography.
Film Style Tracking Shots
My personal favorite is the tracking shot. Used in Hollywood for films for an age. The GoPro being so small allows you to position the camera in hard to reach angles.
An example is this video grab from a video tracking shot I took inside a refrigerator for a project I was working on.
Attaching the Hero 10 to the Shorty allowed me just enough movement to track the camera back for a couple of seconds. Record at a high frame rate such as 120 fps and you have a cinematic tracking shot.
I’ve used the Shorty to capture tracking shots inside a vehicle engine bay. And we’ve all seen the shot of the camera emerging from a tall sided glass tumbler. Your imagination is the only limitation when it comes to recording these micro tracking shots.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, from the 6 uses above, there are plenty of practical uses for the GoPro Shorty. There is some room for improvement though.
If GoPro releases an updated version of the Shorty I’d like to see a rubberised textured coating on the tripod legs. This would feel better in hand and also reduce the chance of transferring noise to the camera mic when vlogging.
The stainless steel thumb screw and screw insert is suited to using the Shorty underwater, although I’d advise attaching a wrist strap in this case. A dedicated float hand grip would make a better option here though.
So there you have it. I hope you find some of these ways to film fun, dynamic action footage with your GoPro using the Shorty as inspiration.
I’d suggest taking a look at my review of the Neewer T30 tripod which has flexible legs as an alternative tripod to carry aorund with you.
