Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Small Tripod and Zoom Selfie Stick for COVID-safer Videos

To hold the camera for my foot operated video conference system I needed a tripod. Some web cameras have a standard screw for a tripod on their base, while smart phones and small tablets need a clamp. I found a Vivitar 7-in-1 Tripod at Officeworks for $20. This has the standard camera screw, plus a separate clamp for smartphones which screws to the tripod. 

The tripod is telescopic, making it small enough to fit in a coat pocket. The catch is that the spread of the legs is very small, making it not very stable when extended to full height, and it only extends to just over desk height, much shorter than a regular tripod. However, one advantage is that the legs can be folded and the unit used horizontally as a selfie-stick. The camera can be turned around pointing away so this could be used in a classroom, or a meeting room, with the operator standing a Covid-safer distance (1.5 m) away from the person being videoed.

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