The world of suction cups is a small and mundane one. They’re typically some form of rubber, perhaps with a lever to suck out the air while you pray that it holds on. Some offer multiple suction cups in a single mount. But have you ever used an electronic one?
The Hydra (buy here) is the new electronic suction cup from Tilta. It uses electronics and an internal pump to pull a vacuum – or as much of one as it can – to ensure it stays stuck to your vehicle or other surface with your camera attached.
Editor’s note: Despite what Tilta’s marketing photos may show, ALWAYS secure cameras attached to vehicles with steel cable. Without it, your insurance may be invalid for both your gear and your vehicle if the camera falls off and causes an accident.
Tilta Hydra Electronic Suction Cup – A new way to suck
Most suction cup mounts generally either have a lever that you turn or a button that you repeatedly push to suck out the air from between a rubber cup and whatever surface you’re attempting to attach it to. Any smooth surface works, from windows to car bodies.
However, the new Tilta Hydra Electronic Suction Cup, as the name suggests, does things a little differently. It uses electronics to pump out the air for you, as well as monitor it to ensure it’s keeping hold of the surface.
It checks a thousand times a second to spot any leaks as fast as possible. If it detects air entering into the suction cup, it will continue to keep pumping it back out as quickly as it can to try and ensure a hold.
Not your usual suction cup mount
It’s clear that this is a beefy suction cup mount. It measures a respectable 14.6 x 14.6cm on its base, which means it can hold a lot of weight. Up to 20kg maximum vertical capacity, according to Tilta. This is pretty impressive, considering most of us would only use it with a small mirrorless or action camera.
The base features a built-in 2000mAh battery, which Tilta says offers up to 24 hours of sucking power. It can be powered/charged via USB-C up to 10W (5v @ 2A). Of course, this will depend on how tight your seal is.
It comes in two parts. One is the standard Hydra electronic suction cup base while the other is the mount. There are three available, depending on your needs, and each attaches to the base using M4 screws. This design means you can potentially make custom mounts for this – if you happen to have access to a CNC that’s capable of machining aluminium.
Price and Availability
The Tilta Hydra Electronic Suction Cup is available to buy now for $78 for the base only, $104 for the base and either the NATO or Multifunction head and $116 for the base and Hydra M25 head.
