Case Study: Pro Tripod by Peak Design
- Kyle Sekenski
- Jun 18
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 19
Professional tripods co-developed with Jimmy Chin
THE BACKGROUND
Case Study: Pro Tripod by Peak Design
Peak Design is a US company based in California that is entirely crowdfunded and specializes in radically innovative designs.
Photographers are always looking for a tripod that strikes the perfect balance of reliability, professional-grade stability, and affordability. One that fits smoothly into their creative vision and allows them to seamlessly take the shots they want to take without interference or worry.
Peak Design sought to create a wholly-crowdfunded design that would allow for high-quality and seamless use at an affordable cost, and came up with the Pro Tripod- which comes in three sizes and is designed to be lightweight, sturdy and professional-grade, with a number of innovative features.
Our Approach
Peak Design collaborated with acclaimed mountaineer and filmmaker Jimmy Chin for this project, after Chin came to the company with a request for a rugged, transportable tripod that could stand up to tough environments and allow for professional filmmaking and photography use.
The result is the Pro Tripod, which makes use of a number of elements redesigned from standard tripods. This tripod was crafted around these seven key design elements:
Efficient, compact, easy to grab: The Pro Tripod has a much smaller diameter when fully folded than a traditional tripod, making it much easier to grab and pick up with one hand- it's only about the diameter of a water bottle. Plus, the legs are reshaped from the normal cylindrical tripod legs, allowing for an easier fit in the hand.
Steady engineering: The Pro Tripod is engineered for rigid and dependable stillness when in use, with legs and a center column made from carbon fiber and a taller deploy height than competing tripods, meaning less use of the center column to achieve the shooting height the user is after.
Innovative & pro-grade ball head: The ball head of the Pro Tripod is perhaps the most radically redesigned feature from a traditional tripod, thanks to the use of a single-ring adjustment feature and panning capability that's perfectly fluid and built in, allowing for smooth, gliding, Hollywood-style pans when filming.
Thoughtful UX: The Pro Tripod is loaded with small features designed to enhance the user experience and interactions with the product, from revamped leg cams to make setup or takedown fast and simple, to the ability to adjust the tripod with different attachments to facilitate shooting upside-down or at an unusual angle. Plus, there's a small compartment within the center column designed for holding a hex tool for maintenance.
Video shooting: For shooting video, there's the tilt-mod (available as an add-on) that allows the user to add fluid tilt to the built-in fluid panning of the tripod's ball head, for shots that stay 100% smooth from all angles while the camera is in motion. There's a telescoping handle that extends to 36.5 cm, and there's also a pro leveling base add-on available that allows the user to mount their own third-party head onto the tripod if they wish. Other add-ons include the creator kit (ideal for those who film content using a phone camera), as well as the mobile phone mount available by itself.
Expertly designed kit and accessories: With specially-crafted carrying bags, roller bags, camera clips, and camera straps, everything fits together harmoniously to make carrying and using the equipment seamless.
Specs: The Pro Tripod family comes in 3 sizes tailored to the needs of the user- Pro Lite, Pro, and Pro Tall.
TOTAL BACKERS:
2,278 backers
AMOUNT RAISED:
US$ 1,881,430 / US$ 100,000 goal
PERCENT OF GOAL:
1751%
THE RESULTS
This was personally one of my favorite Kickstarter campaign videos I've seen. Peak Design Pro Tripod's Kickstarter video campaign humorously portrays the collaboration between Jimmy Chin and the design team on the tripod. Chin's requests are used as a clever narrative framing device way to show off the tripod's design and features, before a slick & high-production voiceover segment with music showing off the components in a darkroom. There were questions from backers about the various add-ons (since this product has a lot), as well as the leveling head add-on. Overall, backers seemed very excited for this one. The build-up was palpable.
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