So this looks like a very interesting Kickstarter campaign. Basically it’s a turret platform for your DSLR, phone, or tablet with 360 degrees of rotation and up to 20 degrees of tilt. There is also a built in usb controller for your DSLR and if you pledge for the silver model (85 left at the early bird price of $149), it also includes a built in motion tracking lav microphone.

The time laps features could be very cool and the motion tracking would be great for adding movement when talking directly into the camera. If the panning is smooth enough this could even be a low cost alternative to a fluid or gear head for your tripod. The Swivl is very interesting, but remember this is a kickstarter campaign so you might not get your hands on this for many months (estimating July of next year). I’m still waiting on the last two kick starter projects I’ve funded (cameramator and the Aviator pocket jib).  

If you’re interested (I pledged), I recommend spending a little extra on the silver edition, the wireless mic options is a very good feature for the extra price, not to mention the motion tracking. There are 85 left (as of this writing) at the early bird price of $149, after that it goes up to $175. I think the Swivl motion platform will definitely be fully funded, but it’ll be at least 6 months before we find out if it’s any good. It’s hard to tell at that price.

Special thanks to Yiannis for pointing this out.

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