PIVO MAX
Kieran Alger tests the hands-free video tool designed to capture your exercises without the need for a gym-buddy camera operator
PIVO MAX
£239.99, uk.pivo.ai
The Pivo Max auto-tracking mount for smartphones, tablets or cameras uses an AI-powered app to help you shoot more exciting, dynamic and professional videos of your lifting form, without the need to rope in someone else to play camera op.
Whether you’re interested in capturing workouts for your billions of TikTok followers, or you simply want to analyse your deadlift form, this gadget is designed to make shooting solo fitness flicks easy. But does it? I put it to the test, shooting everything from gym floor drills to my running technique, to find out.
The Pivo Max is fairly heavy, but it’s well designed, robustly built and uncomplicated, thanks to most of the controls living in the Pivo apps. The pod mounts easily onto any tripod that has the standard ¼in screw thread, or can be set down on any flat surface. There’s an easy-to-use clamp that holds smartphones and tablets securely in place. Unlike some of the cheaper Pivo pods, the Max also supports heavier devices, such as pro cameras up to 2kg. There’s a remote control that lets you start and stop recordings and control the rotation of the Max, plus a built-in LED light ring on the Max makes it easy to see when you’re recording.
If you’re thinking of using it in a regular public gym, it’s not the most subtle setup. For best results you’ll need a tripod in your gym bag, too.
Another design snag I encountered was if you’re shooting with an iPhone in portrait mode and you want to use a wired mic – you can’t. The way the phone sits in the mount means the mic socket is obscured.
On the plus side, the battery life is excellent. On paper it packs a ten-to 12-hour shoot time and it largely lives up to that. You can also use it to keep your USB-C devices juiced while you shoot. But only when the Pivo is plugged into the mains.
There are two main Pivo apps – Pivo+ and Pivo Play – where you access all the clever stuff. The Pivo+ app has more of your standard shooting tools, with preset capture settings for activities such as sport and skating. Or you can create and save your own presets. You can do a bit more tinkering in this app with things like exposure, too. Meanwhile, the Pivo Play app offers more fun and creative shoot modes, with clever stills and video styles, from clone trails to panning panoramas, 50/50 video/ photo content and auto pan footage. It’s a bit odd to have two apps that offer some of the same features rather than just one that does it all, but they’re both fairly intuitive to use. There are five different tracking modes: Face, Body, Action, Horse and Dog tracking. I only tested the first thre
