Tripods and their flexible-legged cousins are great for photographing hands-free. Except for the part about having to screw the camera into the mount and setting everything up so they’re steady. The lazy among us need to get our Kodak moments, too, and the Gomite Tiltpod looks like it understands the need for simplicity.
Designed for compact shooters, this isn’t the kind of rig that’s likely to support your “professional photographer” needs, so go take your Gorillapod with your DSLR and whatever other crap you need to cram into that Ultimate Photographer’s Bag. For the rest of humanity who still carry compact cameras, though, this is probably as sweet as it gets.
The Tiltpod is a small camera mount that you can tie to a camera’s wrist strap (or slip into your wallet, if you don’t like dangling objects).  With an underside made from grippy material, it will keep hold on non-flat surfaces, like rocks and wood; it’s also magnetic, so it will stick onto the hood of your car and other random metals you fancy putting your camera on top of.
Instead of screwing the camera onto the magnetic base (which takes time), all you have to do is pre-screw an included pivot onto the camera’s tripod socket before you head out. Come time to take a group photo, you just slap the base on whatever surface you want, stick the pivot to the designed slot and you’re good to go. After the shot, just pick up the camera and the base — no elaborate disassembly necessary.
Gomite has the Tiltpod available now, priced at $17.95.
[Gomite]