From the DIY drawer: Clip-on tripod adapter
I’ve been experimenting with ways to attach my phone to various things (like a tripod), and have been testing out a variety of methods for doing so. One of the experiments lead to a prototype case/adapter combo that works rather well, even though I’m not sure if it’s something I want to run with permanently.
The system uses the cheap TPU case I reviewed a while back, which I have many spares of due to its $1.30 price. I made three cuts in it to create a flap on the back that can be opened and closed. The cuts are at an angle inwards, meaning that there’s a lip around the outside of the cut that the flap sort of snaps into.
The other part of this setup consistst of a tripod nut, hot glue, and…err…3D glasses. The kind of 3D glasses you buy for a few bucks at the movies. The plastic thickness fit what I needed perfectly so I used it. I created two plastic strips that both have a cut at the end, designed to grab the edge of the case. These two plastic pieces are then glued together with enough room in between so that you can push them together and create a spring mechanism. The width of the cut in the case is right in between the minimum and maximum “grab” of the plastic pieces so that you can squeeze the pieces together, insert them into the cut in the case, and release to make them expand and grab the case.
The system works, and creates a secure enough grip of the case to not cause any issues with stabilization. This does attach from the same end as the camera is viewing, but doesn’t show up in the image. The adapter itself is very small, which is definitely a great bonus. The flap in the case also seems to stay where it’s supposed to when closed, and is nearly invisible.
The original idea for this came from the way that lens covers work on cameras. For this prototype I did a manual clamp and a tiny cut, but I’m contemplating the uses of this on a larger scale, like a car holder or something like that. Still, I do prefer attachments that don’t show at all on the case (which is why I don’t use velcro), so I do plan on making a tripod adapter that’s more similar to the Glif, but different since my S II doesn’t have the iPhone’s (sometimes) useful square edges. I’m thinking a modified large clipboard clip with a much weaker spring mechanism, but we’ll see what happens.
