One thing that always impresses me the most is ability to create something really innovative out of ordinary. Take a mundane thing and make it extraordinary. Want even bigger challenge? Turn mildly annoying thing into immensely useful. There are a few companies in the photography world whose products always impress with this special creativity. They regularly release products that makes you want to keep an eye on them, not to miss their next idea. 

One of such companies is Miggo. If it sounds familiar, it should - we looked at some of their products before, namely at the Splat and Pictar. Latter is nothing short of revolutionary in phone photography, and former rarely stays home when I go on a shoot. Actually, two of Splats keep me company - larger one for the camera and smaller for the light. But I digress.

Let's get "annoying" part out of the way. By now the title surely clued you in, and you can easily identify the product we all love to hate. Or at least love to say that we hate it. It's fashionable to talk about just how annoying it is. Yet guess how many Americans own and use it regularly. According to 2018 survey, about 30% of adult population! You heard that right. As ON1 (editing software company) found during their market research, 70% of their customers routinely shoot with their phones and 47%)!) bought new phone this year specifically for a better camera - and where is photography there is an insatiable need in accessories. So, if you gotta use it, let's do it right and in style. (And if you belong to the segment that wishes for this accessory to be banned from the face of the planet, see if this one at least makes you acknowledge that it's a darn clever design!)

So, what can this thing do except hold your phone and take a shot? A lot, it turns out. It zooms in and out, provides motorized control over the angle of shooting, controls the brightness of your image, applies enhancing presets if you so desire, doing it all via its own phone app available for both Apple and Android. And, as if all that wasn't enough, it comes with its own detachable headlight that allows you add the light with 3 power levels. Instead of usual battery-draining Bluetooth, it uses ultrasonic connection, so your stick won't run out of juice for many hundreds of images (Miggo claims over 800 shots on a single charge; if you need more than 800 selfies in one day, you may want to talk to your shrink). If you are familiar with Pictar, you are no stranger to this very clever way to establish connection between your accessory and your phone.

Let's see how the thing looks. This is front view in folded state:

Here it is, extended - you can see how the controls are placed under your fingertips and used to change the angle:

Zoom control can seen here:

Finally, the (detachable) light with three power levels in use:

Light is held in place by magnet so putting it on and taking it off is quick and easy.  

Miggo launched their stick on Kickstarter via their 6th campaign. Do watch the video clip presenting the stick as it's, while as cheeky as any advertising video, show the use cases very well. 

Pictar Selfie Stick
 

There are of course more details on the Kickstarter page, so drop by for deeper look.

So there you go - believe it or not, actually very well designed and practically useful selfie stick! Wonders never cease.