Seldi: multipurpose wearable mount for hands-free videos (updated: April 30, 2018)

Seldi is a wearable mount / rig, with many uses, including hands-free POV or selfie videos, such as with a phone, action camera, or 360 camera.  I was able to try out a prerelease version and here are my hands-on impressions, and a sample video.

Updated: April 30, 2018
First posted: April 23, 2018

One of my favorite types of mounts for a 360 camera is a hands-free chest mount. You may have seen me use one with my GoPro Fusion in this 360 video:

For that video, I used a typical chest mount for GoPros, and an extension arm. With a 360 camera on that mount, I was able to shoot a selfie and POV video at the same time, hands-free, so I could be ‘present’ with my family and fully enjoy the Cars Land ride.

One problem with the chest mount I used is that the strap around the neck was a bit elastic, so the camera bounced up and down as I walked. I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be nice if the strap were rigid, so that it would perhaps be more stable?

Well, I was contacted by Seldi, a startup company that makes a multipurpose, wearable mount:

I found the design interesting because it could be used in many ways, such as a double-handle rig, a stand for a selfie stick, a stabilizer, and as a wearable mount either for POV or selfie videos.  And unlike the chest mount I had used, it was rigid, and moreover, faster to wear.  To show you the ways it can be used, here’s their promo video:

As you can see from the video, Seldi can be used for any type of camera with a standard 1/4-20 tripod hole, including smartphones, action cameras, and 360 cameras.

As I started envisioning how well this would work for roller coasters and other rides, I worried about it falling off me, if the ride went upside down.  Fortunately, the Seldi includes a body strap accessory (among other accessories):

HANDS-ON IMPRESSIONS

Seldi sent me a prerelease version for testing, and I got to try it out over the weekend.  Here are my first impressions.

The Seldi is made of a reasonably sturdy plastic.  It’s not heavy (about 200 grams).  Build quality is good, although my copy had a squeaking sound at the hinge whenever I adjust the frame.

Ergonomics

Ergonomically, the Seldi is reasonably comfortable and was indeed faster to use than a chesty mount (unless you use the strap — see below).  However, my [large] head barely fit the frame and the frame would rub against my ears when I put it on or remove it.

Camera attachment

You can attach a camera on the Seldi in three ways.   On the front part of the frame, there is a mounting bar where you can attach a camera using the included 1/4-20 bolt.  The camera can be mounted on the bar vertically or horizontally.  You can also attach a camera on the rear frame, toward the back of the neck.

If you attach a camera to the Seldi using the bolt directly, you won’t be able to adjust the angle of the camera in relation to the frame.  However, in addition to a 1/4-20 bolt, the Seldi includes a 1/4-20 to GoPro-mount adapter, and a GoPro-mount to 1/4-20 adapter which enable you to adjust the camera angle but you won’t be able to control the direction that the camera faces.

Instead, I attached a ballhead (from my Benro MK10) to the bolt.  The ballhead allowed me to adjust the camera angle, as well as fix the camera direction any way I want, securely.

Stability

In terms of stability, the Seldi is indeed more stable than a GoPro-style chest mount.  As I mentioned above, the issue with the GoPro style chest mount is that it has an elastic neck strap, so my camera would bounce up and down when I used the chest mount with an extension arm.

On the Seldi, the camera remains in position and is more stable.  For maximum stability, you can use the included body strap.  With the body strap, the Seldi was stable even on a roller coaster.

Sample video

I’m still working on a complete video review for the Seldi but in the meantime, here is a sample clip I shot on the Seldi and Insta360 ONE while riding bump cars (I used the body strap).

Where to get it

In the meantime, if you want to get an early bird price on the Seldi, it’s available on Kickstarter here.  You can also check their website here.  It’s a crowdfunded project, but they appear to have a very good track record.  This is actually their fifth crowdfunding campaign.  They’ve already delivered 2,000 units to backers from their four previous crowdfunding campaigns in Korea and in Japan since June 2016, which increases the probability that they can successfully deliver to their backers once more for their global Kickstarter campaign.  They expect to ship units to backers in June 2018.  It will also eventually be available on Amazon.

What do you think of the Seldi?  Any particular uses you’d like me to test out?  Let me know in the comments!