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How a frying pan can help you take photos and videos from super low angles

by 57 Comments

tripod-pan-04

Grabbing low angle footage and photos is somewhat of a challenge. Even the lowest of tripods have some height to them. Then again, you probably don’t want to put your camera on the sand. Here is one of the cooler ideas ever shared courtesy of Roger Payne at fujifilm-blog. Oh, and it uses a frying pan. Really.

Actually once you see this, you will never realize how you lived your life without a frying pan tripod before.

You would need an old frying pan (please remove grease prior to use), a ballhead, a nut and a bolt.

tripod-pan-01

Once you have all the pieces, drill a hole at the center of the pan. Now, if you got a nice pan, this can take quite a while, so don’t give up.

Now, that you have a hole in the pan, pass the bolt through the hole and screw it into the base of the head.

tripod-pan-02

There you have it. Now, this will probably not work on any surface, as there is a bolt head on the bottom of the pan, but it would be perfect for a shot at the beach or at the park.
tripod-pan-03

One last word or advice. This hack will probably work with any camera, but it will work best with cameras that have an LCD screen that can flip upwards. Look at the Fuji X-T10 on the top photo. This way you don’t need to lay down to look at the screen.

[via fujifilm-blog]

P.S. got a smaller camera? Use a pepsi bottle!

P.P.S. Got a spare pan? Make a beauty dish!

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  • David Harpe

    Or you could do something like this and not trash your frying pan:
    https://amzn.com/B00BSH3UW4
    There are other magnetic options out there for bigger ball heads, etc. The magnet mount comes in handy with other applications as well…

    • BJFaber

      if your pan is aluminum, then a magnet won’t stick

      • David Harpe

        If it’s really really cheap cookware yes, but anything induction compatible will work. Even if it isn’t magnetic you could use a suction mount.
        Either way if you put a big screw through the pan it’s no longer going to be useful as a pan. If you’re out in the woods/hiking you’re always looking for ways to dual-purpose gear so it would be good if you could still use it as a pan. In addition if you have a screw head through the bottom you would be able to use it on floors/etc. because it’ll scratch and it won’t be level. Magnet/suction fixes that problem.

        • BJFaber

          I don’t think it is any betterto take an expensive frying pan and then stick it in sand and salt water, I think most would rather buy a $5 Ikea pan specifically for this use

          • David Harpe

            You can buy cheap frying pans that are magnetic. Salt water is not going to hurt a frying pan.
            If you’re driving to the beach in an SUV maybe this isn’t such a big deal. But when you build this thing it does ONE thing and it’s kinda large/clunky. When you travel you already have enough stuff that does just one thing. Dual purposing is far more beneficial if you’re trying to hike/etc. as I mentioned. A magnetic mount also makes it easier to break down so you don’t have this big ball head sticking up in the middle…

          • R Fachin

            love the idea ….. am going to use a heat bag – bean bag , instead of drilling etc . cheers.

  • Marcell Nikolausz

    Very cool.

  • Ideal for the Fuji Eggs Series…

  • A frisbee works too and is lighter weight.

    • i actually think having a handle on this makes it way better, for certain situations at least. this is clever.

    • and you can fly it lol

  • HA! Genius!

  • Dave ?

  • Henrik Bartels

    You could also take a towel and a plastic bag. You might carry that on the beach anyway.

  • newworld666

    as low shooting, probably cheaper, more compact, 2 knobs for adjusting .. i imagine just more serious
    Cullmann Revomax RB5.1
    Manfrotto 209

    or just Manfrotto MTPIXIEVO-BK

  • I assume it’s non stick.

  • Joe Richard Whitmore

  • Luca Rüedi

  • Bobby Hicks, Do we need one of these for our trip? 🙂

    • Well Dave, I got the platypod in today, did you? But that’s a good idea and a lot cheaper.

  • Marcell Nikolausz

  • Is this for PANorama shots? Lol

    • pepeng agimat

      It’s for.. Panning

  • Nettik Photography

    Great idea! I’ll be sure to keep this in mind next time I get rid of pots and pans!

  • John Davis Eddie Wong I thought it was a pretty stupid idea until I actually read it…makes sense!

  • Mark A Sob

  • If you invert the center column on your tripod you won’t have to pack a frying pan in your camera bag and you can get your camera as close to the ground as you like.

    Creative idea.. but highly impractical. Haha.

    • Dude, I carry a 16″ cast iron pan with everywhere I go.

    • Well, I did that once and the feet sunk in just a bit and I got sand in my hotshoe and viewfinder. Not fun to clean.

  • Frying pans for photographers, I’m quite sure a plastic plate would suffice??

  • Randy Deloviar

    sometimes when I want to shoot a really low angle I place my actual camera on the actual ground (gasp)…I know… hey, I didn’t choose the thug life…

    • Jason A.

      With a cloth, like a bandanna or something, under it if you’re that worried about it touching the sand.

  • Michel Dei-Cont

  • Alex Timmermans

    maybe “weird”, but i use this tripod…. http://store.dji.com/product/osmo-tripod?site=brandsite

  • That’s honestly one of the most “DIY” ideas you’ve shared recently, and the reason I follow your page 😉

  • Sarah Hipwell

    I do believe Elliot Hook posted a similar idea at least 3 years ago!
    http://digital-photography-school.com/a-project-for-the-new-year-how-to-make-a-diy-ground-pod/

  • Hey, Openview Cinema guys (Konrad Norris, Bryce Laquatra Norris, O. O. Cody Norris and Colten Kidwell) have you ever tried this?

  • OMG!!! why have I never thought of this!!… I have been shooting some waterscapes for awhile now and I always had a issue where when the water would come in my tripod would start to sink in the sand ruining my long exposures… the pan sounds like a great idea so the weight of everything is spread out and will not sink during a long exposure.

    • Oh that’s a great mod idea. You could make three of these and bolt them to the bottom of each tripod leg to prevent sinking!

      • But you’d need to have a way for the leg tips to “bend” to the bolt of the pan.

        • Na some higher quality tripods have threads on the end so you can screw stuff in. Then drill the hole at an angle

          • You would need to swivel or the angle would change depending on the spread of the legs.

  • delicious!

  • Terence Wright

  • FRSHGRND.com

    I dub this the Frypod.

  • TheInconvenientRuth

    If you use a wok on grass you can do some really groovy sliding and panning video shots…

  • Jason A.

    “this will probably not work on any surface, as there is a bolt head on the bottom of the pan”

    Countersink the bolt.

    • Or make it upside down

    • Exactly what I was thinking.

    • BGenie

      Good idea. If it’s a thin pan, one can use a hammer to dimple in the center of the pan before drilling the hole.

  • I made mine back in 2015 and have only used it a few times, but, smaller footprint (tripod is at least 18″), 2″ shorter when compared to flattened out tripod, can be staked to the ground or tied for securing.

  • My camera bag is ready!! ?

  • Anne

  • Doug Birling

    Why would you use a frying pan? As apposed to a board, a board that’s flat and easier to pack? Like I could see a board. Materials like wood and foam are used all the time in photography and video, especially video. Hell I use a frosted shower curtain to diffuse light sometimes because I like the quality more than some of my other options. And I get that this is a DIY site, but a frying pan? That’s just silly.

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