stick pic

So i saw the Stickpic and thought instantly it was such a great idea for taking photos especially when i'm always travelling by myself. But unfortunately it's so expensive and limited. You can only point it along the stick, so much potential for so much more. So i got thinking, wouldn't it be kewl to make something that's a stickpic and a monopod combined.

To do this, my idea is to combine the head off a cheap tripod I had bought a long time ago with the rubber feet you get for the walking sticks. The fricion fit should be enough to easily hold a camera on, and the gimbal head will let me convert it from a stick to a variable height monopod. Such an elegant solution!!!

So now, to make it! I found the single screw thru the flexible rubber feet was way too flexible and was not gonna stop a camera from popping off the end with at least 30 degrees of flex. So struggling with some super glue and duct tape I got a nice and tight solution, taped off to resist bending.

Still there was an approximatley 10 degree flex in it, when i popped on my fz7 camera (not a light camera by any measure). I needed something to support the weight. A pen clip! lightweight and just the right length. I installed it on one side bent and tensioned with good old duct tape.

Problem solved! now I have an excellent little gadget that will make photography even more interesting. Combined with my el cheapo hacked canon digicam, the next ski trip should be interesting =)