Herzog4

To complete the outfit, Herzog designed a tripod as distinctive as his cameras, which also departed from conventionally designed stands. The tall center post is triangular shaped in contrast to traditional flattened, round platforms. Bolted to each face is a solid 42" tapered leg capped with a pointed metal tip.

Interest in Herzog's camera probably stalled based on an outfit price of up to $15 (about $352 in 2012 currency); which also might be a reason August designed a more sophisticated camera for amateur photographers (patent issued on March 24, 1884 as No. 295,638). Although the 1884 model is relatively unknown, one example was documented by Mike Kessler in the Photographist (Issue 81, Spring 1989).

The camera illustrated in the patent conceptually retains several of the original design elements, but now includes a tilting rear standard and bellows body that traverses a pair of folding metal posts serving as focusing rails.

Unlike traditional tripods in which the camera sits on a flat platform or round 'table', Herzog's design incorporates a triangular head in which a solid leg is attached to each face.

The patent mentions that the camera "can be folded up into a narrow space and used with great convenience." It was perhaps at this time that Herzog abandoned the 'toy' camera concept because there is no further mention of the third model being intended for educational or learning purposes.

At the top of the post is a tapered cone with a thick, protruding threaded wooden dowel which is inserted through a hole in the camera's base. The camera is firmly held in place with a large wooden nut or round knob sized for smaller hands. Height adjustment is achieved by changing the angles of the legs; for example, the wider the stance, the lower the tripod sits. This allows the tripod to be set at a comfortable height for ten year olds to take pictures with minimal effort.