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Inflatable Tripod

  (+9, -5)
(+9, -5)
  [vote for,
against]

A tripod, that's inflatable. For photographic use (although there's no regulations to prevent overlapping usage for eg, fishmongering, pondering or sunbathing, if somehow appropriate).
Ian Tindale, Jul 31 2006

Get one of these babies http://www.joby.com/
Not inflatable, but just as handy. [DrCurry, Jul 31 2006]

Being creative with inflatables http://www.prospective-concepts.ch
These people inflate everything [django, Aug 01 2006]

(?) The inflatoplane, for [django] http://www.nasm.si....ft/goodyear_xao.htm
[2 fries shy of a happy meal, Aug 03 2006]

[link]






       + for simplicity. But "fishmongering" does sound vaguely perverted.
lostdog, Jul 31 2006
  

       this is so bakeable!
po, Jul 31 2006
  

       Doesn't fismongering require some very sharp knives? - May lead to a rapid flaccidation incident.
7ennyn, Jul 31 2006
  

       I want my tripod to be rigid and level. Inflatable things are squishy, they wobble, and they're never quite level. How is this supposed to work?
jutta, Jul 31 2006
  

       You're not inflating it enough.
Ian Tindale, Jul 31 2006
  

       I've got to agree with [jutta], the best conceivable way I could think of making this would be an inflatable dish shape, the camera being mounted in the centre of the convex side (Or of course, massively thick legs on an actual inflatable tripod).   

       Inflatable things generally aren't best known for their rigidity.
fridge duck, Jul 31 2006
  

       [+]High Pressure Inflatable Tripod - rather than those wobbly flaccid under-inflated ones.
Dub, Jul 31 2006
  

       I was thinking of something more along the lines of an inflatable baloon type device from which one's camera was mounted for overhead shots.   

       I'd like a gonflable camera.   

       <rubs chin>
skinflaps, Aug 01 2006
  

       /Inflatable things are squishy,/ - I envision this as being like the tire of a racing bike.
bungston, Aug 01 2006
  

       I dunno, if it were like the tire of a racing bike then it would be so stiff that it would likely take up a similar amount of room to a regular metal tripod. Besides, in order to inflate it that much you would probably need to use compressed air.   

       It would be quite an interesting item to have in itself, but I don't see it as being worthy of replacing its metal counterparts.
fridge duck, Aug 01 2006
  

       I'm not seeing any design here, just a wish for something. I can imagine a couple of possible ways to make an inflatable tripod-oid object, but can't see it being practical. It's either going to be light and bulky when inflated, or heavy and bulky when deflated. Either way, it will be a bother to pump up, and the pump by itself will be more hassle than a metal tripod.   

       There are some paintball obstacles shaped like tetrahedrons that are inflatable. I'll balance a fishbone on one.
baconbrain, Aug 01 2006
  

       I love inflatables, more tools should be made from inflatables - such as airplanes that work, parking lot beams, doorknobs etc... [see link]. This one gets a croissant.
django, Aug 01 2006
  

       Gonflapod?   

       [skinflaps] Gonflacam   

       GII - Gonflable Industries Inc should exist to promote such helium-filled marvels.
Dub, Aug 01 2006
  

       /it will be a bother / People who don't like bother dont worry about tripods, and their cameras are made of cardboard.   

       I think a racing bike-tire tripod would take up about as much space as a deflated racing bike tire, which could be inflated by a one foot long hand pump, of the type carried on racing bikes.
bungston, Aug 01 2006
  

       //Gonflacam//   

       Like it, it would probably work.
skinflaps, Aug 02 2006
  

       //a one foot long hand pump//   

       I have two of those, and I have a mini-tripod that is smaller than either. And even less useful.   

       Sorry, guys, I'm still not seeing a design here. I can imagine an inflatable tetrahedron with internal tensioning straps, but it isn't very steady and wouldn't fold small, and would take forever to inflate. I can also imagine a tripod with each leg made from three bicycle tubes pulling against a webbing, but that is as heavy and bulky as nine bicycle tires, and would take forever to inflate.   

       My very best imagined design is four bladders shaped like elongated American footballs. They all are connected together at one end, to form a tetrahedra of sorts, and have cables running from every outside point to every other. The caps and connectors make the feet and the tripod head. It's steady, but heavy, awkward and bulky, and takes forever to inflate.   

       I wish that I could come up with a better design than those.
baconbrain, Aug 04 2006
  
      
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