How to make sure that you always have a tripod with your camcorder
Hitachi compact camcorder with mini-tripod attached by cord
This idea for making sure that you always have a tripod handy for your camcorder occurred to me after I forgot to pack a tripod with my camcorder.
Consequently my shots weren’t quite as steady as they would have been if I had been shooting with a tripod.
The camcorder was a Hitachi compact camcorder and the tripod was a mini tripod, the kind that has legs that you can bend to any shape.
This isn’t my main film making camcorder, I usually use a Sony Z1 camcorder for this.
I use this Hitachi camcorder to shoot ‘library footage’ – footage that I might be able to use in a future short film.
The reason I use it is, it’s compact, it’s easy to carry around, and it’s a HD (high definition) camcorder.
How to make sure that you always have a tripod with your camcorder
Rather than risk forgetting to pack the tripod again, I decided to fix it permanently to the camcorder.
First, I drilled a small hole near the head or top of the tripod, near but not on the base plate, where the camcorder is fixed.
Next, I threaded a small split ring through this hole.
Finally, I threaded the noose of the wrist strap, the part of the camcorder that you usually wrap around your wrist, through the split ring.
It’s now impossible to pack the camcorder without also packing a tripod, because the tripod is permanently attached to the camcorder.