I just bought a few more things to add to my collection - all are in the $20 range. Almost everything I do is stealth, so size really matters ~
http://www.adorama.com/TG42TT.htmlI like it because it's a real tripod - standing 42 inches, but collapses down to 11 inches, so it's still easy to sneak in. My wife put it at the bottom of her purse and I recently got it into a venue with no problem. If I go solo, and there are no patdowns or wands, I think I can still easily get in by putting it in my sock.
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I also just picked up this clamp style rig:
http://www.trophytools.comThis works out really well when you want to just clamp the cam to the front or side of your seat or to the seat's armrest, zero in for a screen shot, and then sit back and enjoy the show. I used it recently and found that you can pan with it pretty easily simply by grabbing the grips of the clip and turning it. It pans pretty smoothly this way also. If you are zoomed in and start messing with the locking nut, you can definitely see some jitter though.
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Need a versatile monopod? Here you go - by far, my favorite monopod: Hakuba HMS10SG Monopod
maximum extended height: 56 in.
minimum height: 4 3/4 in.
folded length: 9.8 in.
weight: 1 1/4 lbs.
http://image.bizrate.com/resize?sq=400&uid=530739606You can film with this by extending the pod's leg out to about knee height, and then you just hold it in front of your seat between your legs and steady it by holding the cam against the front of the seat or up against one of your legs. Drape a shirt or something on your leg and that (along with your leg) will largely shield it from view.
You can also use this as a tripod (as pictured) in the same manner you would use a small table top type tripod. If you have the cam attached to this, you can also fold in the legs and hold the monopod up by gripping it the same way you hold an umbrella handle or a pistol grip - which is a lot easier on the hands than holding the cam itself, and you get a much more steadier shot than a regular handheld. I've been at shows where I was standing right behind a moshpit - and I just extended the monopod out to about 12-15 inches in length and filmed over top the crowd and got a nice steady shot while doing so.
I've also filmed by extending the main monopod leg, and then extended the two short legs out away from me. The shorter legs were extended in an upward position and I leaned them against the seat in front of me.