In case you’ve visited a tourist spot just recently, you may have noticed an individual or a group of friends posing in front of a camera attached to the tip of a telescopic pole.
This type of device, known as the selfie stick, was frequently used by extreme sports fanatics. However, in the last years it has become more popular among people in Southeast and East Asia. Nowadays, it seems that selfie sticks are going worldwide, mostly due to their reasonably-priced components and the never-ending desire to take self-portraits from a somewhat farther distance than what the arm could reach.
If ever you do not like the idea of using a selfie stick or doing a selfie, you can stop reading this article. However, if you want to learn more about this latest craze or perhaps you are interested to buy one, continue reading.
What are these so-called selfie sticks?
These are the cheap counterparts of a monopod, which is a tripod without two legs. Professional photographers use the monopod to hold their cameras in a steady position. On the other hand, selfie sticks are meant to be grasped at the length of the arm so that the photographer can fit into the frame. Some products include a mechanism that allows the photographer to trigger the shutter from a distance.
What is the best one to buy?
The three basic kinds are as follows:
- Bluetooth-enabled Sticks
You can pair these sticks with either your iPhone or Android phone. It has a button on the handle that you can press to take a picture.
- Sticks plugged to the smartphone’s headphone jack
This, too, has a button on the handle that you can press to take a photo.
- Sticks without remote triggering function
Some are sold with a Bluetooth remote (keychain-sized) as part of a package deal.
I advise you to forget about triggerless selfie sticks since you still need to use your camera app’s timer or a remote trigger, which can easily get lost and is hard to use when you are holding the stick.
The best choice are the Bluetooth-enabled sticks, particularly, if you like to take your picture from a farther distance without holding the stick, for example letting it lean against a wall. However, it can be fussy to pair your phone with a Bluetooth device, which is a common complaint among Amazon reviewers. Moreover, you should not forget to fully charge the stick’s battery using a USB cable.
I would go for the selfie sticks that come with a headphone cable, since there are no issues when it comes to pairing or charging. The electricity coming from the headphone jack allows the user to operate the button. Though this solution is low-tech, it is efficient and will not let you get arrested in South Korea. Besides, these selfie sticks happen to be cheaper than their Bluetooth counterparts.
