Make:

• DIY: External SLA Battery Flash Mod
• HOW TO - macro lens hack
• How To: Use your tow hook as a camera mount
• MAKE Flickr pool weekly roundup
• Camera R-strap
• DIY: Softbox lighting

Uh, that tripod has four legs.

Weird.

also the modo steady --- its 3-in-1 shoulder support stabilizer ( like a steadycam )and table tripod
list is around 185.00 -- link to bh site for pics http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=search&A=search&Q=&ci=0&sb=ps&sq=desc&ac=&bsi=&bhs=t&shs=585&at=Brand_Bogen+%2F+Manfrotto&basicSubmit=Submit+Query

And for €20 this will replace a screw and flat washer (or maybe just setting a camera on its own base)?

Apparently you can tilt it forward and backward, but there are lots of little tiny tripods with more flexibility than this, plus things like beanbags with a tripod thread attached and so on. If this thing was able to support a DSLR then that'd be something, but like every other teeny tripod, it can't.

(Well, it probably can if it's set up flat, but big deal - that just gives you a camera an inch higher than it'd otherwise be.)

There's really no decent super-tiny tripod alternative. Maybe the old eye-bolt with a cord attached that you can stand on and put in tension to help steady your camera, but that doesn't work terribly well. Those strong spring clamps with a basic ball head attached work well, though - you can use them to easily attach your camera to a park bench, thin branch, car window frame or what have you, and there are screw C-clamp types that can hold quite heavy cameras, at the cost of being slower to use.

Clamps are far more portable than any real tripod, but they're too big for a pocket.

..why?

The GorillaPod fixes most of the problems, though it's not really pocket sized (but neither is a DSLR).

Here's an idea: a tripod consisting of thin flexible tubing wrapped around a cylinder of ShapeLock wrapped around a heating element. Press a button to soften, mold into desired shape, let cool to set in position. Maybe not practical, cool to think about.

Subscribe today, save 42% and get web access to MAKE free. MAKE Digital Edition is available only to subscribers.

$34.95 / 1 year
(4 Quarterly Issues)

Subscribe now