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If your phone is bursting with dog photos and videos then we think that you'll absolutely love the Pivo Pod. You can now capture your dog in action and ultimately they can be the star of their own show.
There are several camera mounts on the market that use your phone and some smart tracking technology to follow you around and automatically shoot whatever you want.
The latest Pivo Pod has taken this one step further and their AI powered smart tracking feature is now designed to track your dog !
With a 360-degree rotation built in, the Pivo Pod can follow your dog, rotate, automatically zoom and move smoothly.
Perfect for recording training progress, a new puppy's antics or simply capturing the sheer magic of your dog, the Pivo Pod is a breeze to use.
Ultimately, this amazing little gadget turns your smartphone into your personal cameraman. No need to ask anyone to film you and your dog, the Pivo Pod lets you record everything on your own and share cute videos on social media or simply look back and learn from your training sessions.
We were so excited to get our hands on this little device and put it through it's paces. Oh, and if you're wondering, the video shows us playing with the fantastic PetSafe Automatic Ball Launcher.
The question is though, how easy was it to use ? Spoiler : If you can use a smartphone, you can use a Pivo Pod, but for the long answer continue reading. |
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PIVO POD REVIEW
1. Pivo Pod : Set Up
The Pivo Pod oozes quality straight out of the box. Small and compact, it's incredibly neat and arrives with a natty remote control, charging cable and an instruction manual.
Connecting the device to your phone is straightforward. We simply downloaded the app, pressed the button on the Pivo and used bluetooth to pair the devices. Then we were ready to go.
It doesn't matter how big your phone is either, the adjustable holder means you'll be able to get some great shots on any smartphone and the rubber phone clip is sturdy enough to hold heavy phones without scratching them.
It's worth mentioning that the adjustable holder works both vertically and horizontally, but for dog tracking you will need to position your phone horizontally (landscape).
Measuring only 7.3cm x 6.3cm x 6.3cm and weighing only 176g, it's lightweight and portable so there's not a lot of equipment to carry round.
It's also worth mentioning that the battery life is approximately 6 hours, so that's plenty of filming before you need to recharge.
The Pivo Pod has three small extendable legs to ensure it's stable when placed on the ground and there's even a small bubble level (miniature spirit level) to indicate whether the surface is perfectly horizontal.
Of course, you could opt to use a tripod with the Pivo and whilst the Pivo is compatible with lots of tripods, they do offer their own.
Incredibly compact the Pivo Tripod is ideal for filming your dog as you can adjust the length neck and the height of the tripod legs.
The Pivo Tripod has three height adjustable leg locks. You can adjust the tripod’s height up to 160cm, making it ideal for video shooting at various angles.
For added stability, we recommend that you extend the legs of the tripod to maximum width just in case your dog takes an interest in the tripod !
Easy to use, it's both lightweight and foldable for space saving storage (amazingly, it folds to 40cm).
2. Pivo Pod : Performance
We found the app easy to navigate and master. Equipped with options to track a face, body, horse or dog, you initially need to tell it to auto-track a dog, and then it begins searching.
Once it's locked onto your dog, you're all set to begin recording.
To start, simply press the red button which is located on your phone screen. Pressing the same button will also stop the recording making it simple to use.
Or you could opt to take advantage of the Pivo Remote Control. It can operate from up to 15m away for seamless recording during sessions.
Ultimately, with no filming experience at all, we found it super easy to set up and use.
Even playing fetch which involves a large range of movement and speed, if your dog momentarily leaves the frame, running at speed, the Pivo Pod immediately zooms out and recovers the auto-tracking. Really clever stuff.
The quality of the tracking and the range depends on several factors including lighting, distance as speed as well as your smartphone camera spec.
The Pivo Pod astounded us at how well it kept our dog not only in frame but in focus too, capturing the good, bad and downright funny.
Initially, we had the tripod setup too high and the camera continually lost our dog as he ventured too close (below) the camera.
As it only pans, it doesn't tilt, we'd suggest placing the Pivo Pod on the ground or simply lowering the tripod, so that the Pivo can track your dog easier from a lower position (unless of course you have a Great Dane).
Once we had the Pivo Pod set up at the correct hight, we were astonished by how well it tracked our dog.
As you probably know, training your dog needs 100% attention, so filming at the same time is almost impossible. The Pivo Pod is just like having your very own cameraman. It records everything, letting you concentrate on your four-legged friend.
Our one gripe would be that dog tracking only works in landscape but the text and options on the screen are still in portrait mode - so you need to be adept at reading at a 90° angle. But this is a fairly minor point.
Watching back your videos is simple. Each video and photo is catalogued with a thumbnail and the length of the video so you can select and watch at leisure.
Once you have the raw material, you can view it, trim it to get the best bits and then post them to social media or send them to friends and family at the touch of a button.
If you need some inspiration, you can explore a few tutorials and stories from the Pivo app.
The only thing that might take a while to get used is the fine-tuning functions. There are options to alter the tracking setting including speed, auto-zoom, predictive follow and target exposure.
After playing with the settings, we found that the Pivo Pod tracked our dog much better with the auto-zoom switched off.
There also some presets in the dog mode for Obedience, Nose Work and Dog Tricks or you can create your own presets.
To be honest, we're not experts, and our videoing is probably quite basic, but if you're looking for a more professional video these options will probably help.
OUR VERDICT
The bottom line is the Pivo Pod offers a host of features to make recording your dog simpler especially when you're on your own. As far as we know (and we did extensive research), it's the only camera mount to offer AI smart tracking for dogs.
Image resolution is fantastic and well detailed, the auto-tracking was amazing making it easier than ever to add that professional touch to your video content.
Sure, we had a few snags setting it up and working out how high to position the camera took a bit of trial and error, but these were minor. Once you've got the hang of how to position the Pivo Pod, you'll never really be troubled.
With prices starting at £150, it's a great entry point into the AI smart tracking market. It's so simple that it only requires you to know how to use your smart phone and doesn't involve lugging around any equipment.
All the above adds up to mean that we would definitely recommend taking a closer look at the Pivo Pod
It's worth mentioning that if you pick up the Max version, then you'll also be able to attach your camera in addition to a smartphone or tablet and you get 10 – 12 hours run time.
Currently the slightly cheaper Lite version doesn't have dog tracking.
Reasons to Buy
+ Unique AI Smart Dog Tracking
+ Small & lightweight
+ Long battery life
+ 360° rotation
+ Simple controls
+ Intuitive App
+ Works with a wide range of smart phones
+ Remote control option
Reasons to Avoid
- Charging cable extremely short
- Doesn't tilt
- Won't track multiple dogs
Smart Phone Specification
Pivo's apps are compatible with both iOS and Android smartphones which meet the minimum configuration requirements -
📱 iPhone 8 or above with iOS 13.0 or higher.
📱 Premium Android phones from 2017 and later with Android version 9.0 and higher.
Buying Options
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We hope you've enjoyed reading our review as much as we enjoyed testing the Pivo Pod