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Field Instructional

How to Turn Nearly Anything into a Tripod for Under $100

Chris Gampat
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Last updated on 07/08/2013
07/06/2013
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Last Updated on 07/08/2013 by Chris Gampat

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Turn Anything into a Tripod (4 of 6)ISO 2001-250 sec at f - 4.0

If I’ve ever really needed a sturdy and super portable tripod, I’ve often turned to Gorillapods. But they can’t do everything necessarily. But upon a recent visit to the MAC Group facilities, I stumbled upon a super affordable way to turn nearly anything into a stable shooting surface on the cheap.

 

Benro BH0 Ballhead

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Turn Anything into a Tripod (5 of 6)ISO 2001-60 sec at f - 4.0

This ballhead is a single action version–which means that with a twist of that knob you see there the entire head will essentially be able to move about. But if you’re taking a single shot that doesn’t require you to pan, or if you’re shooting a timelapse, this is really all you need.

This ballhead is built pretty darn well for its affordable price. Fair warning though: hold onto your camera when you loosen that knob.

Kupo Convi Clamp with Adjustable Handle

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Turn Anything into a Tripod (6 of 6)ISO 2001-160 sec at f - 4.0

Kupo makes grip gear and some really sturdy stands. And the Convi Clamp is no exception. Even though it is built for the studio, its one heck of a clamp and quite literally the backbone behind this entire hack.

It clamps down onto nearly any surface and if your surface is flatter than what you see in the photo above, then you can insert a little flattener piece.

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Turn Anything into a Tripod (3 of 6)ISO 2001-160 sec at f - 4.0

To keep it clamped in place, you’ll need to crank it. Think about a vice grip–that’s pretty much what this is!

Do the Math

Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Turn Anything into a Tripod (2 of 6)ISO 2001-100 sec at f - 4.0

Let’s see here: The Kupo Convo Clamp: $24 + Benro BH0 Ballhead: $47 = $71.00 + tax.

Edit: Also add in this threaded mounting plate and that tacks on another $15.

Not too shabby, huh? Note that this isn’t meant to replace a full tripod, but is instead meant as a quick hack that is super portable and efficient.

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anywhere Benro bh0 ballhead convi clamp hack kupo Timelapse tripod
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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