Veho are a UK based consumer electronics company making a wide array of different products. Today we have a review of one of their camera accessories called the Muvi X-Lapse.
The Muvi X-Lapse is a panoramic time lapse accessory compatible with cameras, smartphones and other similar shaped gadgets that are able to take photos. Its design allows it to be mounted on a female 1/4 - 20 UNC tripod fixture which is located on the bottom of the unit. On the top a male 1/4 - 20 UNC fixture is placed for mounting cameras up to 750 grams. So most standard/compact point and shoot cameras will be compatible. However, we've stumbled into problems with DSLR cameras such as the Canon 600D, because they weigh more than 750 grams and the lenses severely extrude over the balance point. They overbalance the X-Lapse and fall over as it turns around. The three flip-out metal legs, with circular foam grips underneath each, definitely help to provide stability and keep the design compact, but are pushed to the edge with standard shaped DSLR cameras; a slightly deflating point.
Our favourite element of this product is the smartphone bracket. This screws onto the male fixture and has flexible plastic grips which snap and hold a multitude of different shaped and sized smartphones. We tested this with the iPhone 5, which is the lightest and slimmest of all the iPhones, and it was securely held so well we could trust it and walk away while the X-Lapse did its thing. Having said this, the X-Lapse doesn't offer the adjustment of the angle of the device, it's always vertical, a frustration that demerits its capabilities. So achieving a time lapse of the sky or looking down at a road from a building is tricky and it has to be manoeuvred around. Of course, this is where we found using a tripod helped the issue; well sort of. We couldn't trust our iPhone being held in the bracket at an obtuse angle but could trust a camera screwed into a tripod at an angle such as that.
The actual design of the X-Lapse is stylish and rugged whilst also being compact. It's ideal to throw into a bag or even keep in a pocket due to its hard rubber-like plastic exterior body. The actual functionality and setup process of the timer is simple. It's a twist mechanical timer mechanism, so no batteries are needed - a nice touch. The timer can be set from anything between 1 to 60 minutes, so 90° degree (15 minutes), 180° degree (30 minutes), 270° degree (45 minutes), 360° degree (60 minutes) sweeping time-lapse films. The X-Lapse helpfully alerts the user when it's finished turning by ringing a bell.
We found many good free time lapse apps within the iPhone App Store and we also saw that they are regularly available for the Android platform too. These Apps tell the camera how regularly to take photos and maintain consistent camera focusing and settings, so the images don't differ from one another. Some compact cameras have timer settings on them to create time lapses but others don't sport such abilities.
The results have been impressive. The time lapse films we've made have been smooth and stable. 60 minutes is a decent period to create a time lapse but isn't enough to do a day to night time lapse or other longer projects. The same can be said regarding shorter lapses, as we couldn't create a 360 degree lapse in 15 minutes, we'd have to wait for 60.
Overall the Veho Muvi X-Lapse is a convenient product for those who are keen to capture panoramic time lapses on the go from smartphones and compact digital cameras.
