11 dollar collapsable monopod.

Step 5 Improvements

There are( lots of places that this thing could be better.

Idea #1. A rubber tip on the bottom. (cheap)
Idea #2. Make it from pvc so it could be telescoping. A simple pressure fit thingy should do the job without any modifications. (probably not any more expensive)
Idea #3. Add a hand grip. (cheap)
Idea #4. A level on the mounting bracket would be cool. (could be pretty cheap)
Idea #5. A quick release boot on the top instead of screwing and unscrewing the camera manually. (probably require more work and not as cheap)
Idea #6. Tilt ability... pretty big feature in hindsight. (probably require more work and not as cheap)

Comments

[srilyk]

For the tip you could either glue on a piece of rubber (Piece of old shoe sole?) or just use a big dab of shoe goo or similar epoxy - dries to approximately the same consistency of rubber, though you probably want to sand/rough the surface for a stronger bond.

You could easily buy a cheap level @ a dollar store, they often have keychain levels.

For a quick release boot you could just take a non-threaded end cap and barely sand the inside so it's snug, but not too snug. With a spring and a penny nail you could even make a "safety catch".

For a tilt you could probably either use a stiff ball joint, or somehow tighten a loose one. I'm sure for <$20 you could probably add all the parts to make it even nicer! Good job!