DIY technology can sometimes offer solutions to hobby problems ignored by big brands. A unique new mini tripod is an interesting example.
As discovered by the website DIY Photography, the recently-showcased, wedge-shaped, 3D-printed tripod gives your photo or video shooter the ability to stay stable and level just centimeters off the ground.
The compact device thus lets you keep the camera level, dry, and clean while delivering unique low-angle shots.
It was invented and built by designer Chris Borge, a photographer who claimed to have gotten tired of using rocks to prop his camera up.
Frustrated with this problem, especially during outdoor and nature photography, he figured he could create his own fix. This prompted him to look at 3D printing for a possible solution, and he pulled it off neatly.
His video demonstrates the tripod tool he invented.
Borge’s curiously designed contraption doesn’t much look like what you’d expect from a tripod but it does what he wanted from it.
The little device, called the Ground Level Camera Mount or “Low boi v1,” acts as a wedge-like platform.
With it, users can adjust height per corner through hinges made from nuts, bolts and other parts easily sourced from a hardware store.
The main support parts of the tripod are what Borge 3D printed for the sake of the complete assembly.
As Borge explains in his YouTube video, he hopes that level horizon and stability don’t need to be casualties of a low perspective. “Shots this low down have a lot of depth and detail that makes for more interesting storytelling,” he adds.
He also mentions how commercially made tripods with flat-folding legs and stabilizing saddles do exist on the market but are for one thing usually expensive and secondly, not capable of really getting down.
Commercial examples like the $159 Leofoto Ranger LS223CEX or the $149 Platypod eXtreme camera support are robust and compact but still don’t get nearly as low as Borge’s DIY device.
His tripod design is very different in being able to get exceptionally low to the ground and also in having such a compact footprint that you can place it nearly anywhere.
The coolest thing about Borge’s little tripod wedge is that anyone can 3D-print it at home cheaply (assuming they have a 3D printer on hand).
The inventor has put his 3D design files for the platform component onto the website Printables, where they’re available for just $10.
According to DIY Photography, it’s possible to build the device with these plans for a cost of $20 or less in materials, and that includes the cost of the design files.
The necessary materials include:
2x 8mm ID rubber o ring
6x M4 nuts
6x 50mm M4 bolts
2x M8 nuts
1x 70mm length M8 threaded rod, or 1x 70mm M8 bolt
2x 100mm M10 bolts OR M10 rods
Taking aside the price of a 3D printer, this is a neat idea. With a bit of design refinement, it could also be a popular ready-made product.
Borge also has a YouTube channel with many other DIY ideas worth exploring.
Image credit: Chris Borge
