I wanted a quick and easy tripod for my cell phone. I also was interested in having something like a Steadicam. After reviewing numerous articles on the internet I figured that some sort of mount intended for a car combined with a tripod should be pretty easy to put together. It was even easier than I thought. This camera mount tripod not only looks good but it works well too both as a tripod and as a camera steadying device.

Step 1: Parts

You will basically need three things for this project. The first thing is a camera tripod, the second thing is any cell phone holder meant for a car, and their thing is a quarter inch standard threaded hex but.

I am using a $14 Targus tripod from Walmart.

While at Walmart I found a $6 variable size cell phone holder and am using that for my Nexus 4.

Step 2: Assemble Cellphone Holder.

The cell phone holder is incredibly easy to put together. Mine came with a thin metal mounting bracket which I used the built-in adhesive to attach to the holder body.

I had to bend the bracket by hand but that was no chore.

Step 3: Drill 1/4 Inch Hole

Now just drill a 1/4 inch hole in the cell phone holder mounting bracket. I made mine exactly in the middle although I don't think it really matters where it goes.

Step 4: Attach Holder Mount Bracket to Tripod

Using the 1/4 inch standard threaded hex nut mount the cell phone holder to the tripod. The foam rubber grip of the tripod will act as a lock washer for the nut.

Step 5: Insert Cellphone

Surprisingly my ipod touch does not fit very well into the holder. Possibly adding a case to it would help but in any case my Nexus 4 fit snuggly and securely. Now I'm ready to film!

And as it turns out, my bonus feature request worked just fine. Extending the tripod legs gives enough counterweight so that what normally would be very shaky video turns out to be nice and smooth walking around. More counterweight and a rotational counterweight would help make it even better and should be trivial to add...