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DIY Pole Mapping Camera Mount

by natalie | March 06, 2015 23:38 06 Mar 23:38 | #11661 | #11661

What do I want to do

So after my first post of DIYing it with the plastic pen caps I decided to go back to the drawing board for sourcing a camera mount. The key things I wanted to keep were: 1. The tripod ball mount, (these are pretty universal so any camera could be mounted. 2. A way to fix it directly to the pole.

I considered Chris Fastie's picavet and pendulum suspensions but came to the conclusion that these would both require more assembly than I wanted in an out of the box mapping tool. The suspension is probably superior for orienting the camera but after several tests with the new parts we have come to see that they are in fact pretty secure and more so, since they are able to be tightened down with these nifty thumbscrews picked up at the local hardware store.

Steps

First thing I did was go to Mcmastercarr.com and after searching around, I found these things: IMG_1230.JPG The metal clamp is called a Swiveling I-Beam Clamp for Pipe and Conduit. I also searched for rubber strips and found an adhesive backed one which was pretty inexpensive for a 10' roll.

The thumbscrews and bolts I sourced at the local hardware store as mentioned and will be included in the pole kits. The pole you see pictured is our very own: IMG_1129.JPG Ron Thompson Gangster Carp Drone Swatter

Next thing was to attach the clamp to the pole: IMG_1231.JPG But first I needed to put a piece of rubber strip inside the clamping part to buffer and keep the clamp from sliding around too much. IMG_1232.JPG Next I slip it over the end of the pole and down close to the base of the second section from the top. IMG_1233.JPG And using the trusty thumbscrew and wingnut, clamp it down. This is a semi-delicate part. Although the rubber helps to pad the pole section from the metal clamp, you need to be careful not to tighten too much. Carbon fiber is strong but at this particular point thinnest and also hollow inside. Over tightening could very easily crush the pole.

(ecta64 posted a research not and included a suggestion for buying and using a gorilla tripod. This is definitely not a bad idea. Would be cool to have cameras at different heights together. We are going to test is the pole can support the weight of multiple cameras. As a side note here, we will be offering different size mounts as an upgrade/bundle pack through the Public Lab store. We want to encourage folks to use smaller cameras and get the maximum height with the pole. The mount that is included in the kit I think works best at the base of the section that is second from the top (2A). This way the clamp is actually secured around 2 sections, the inner and outer parts of the put over. At this location it gives you a camera height of about 30ft. That being said, some will want to use a larger or heavier camera, such as a compact or a super zoom. That is why we are going to offer the various sizes.)

After the clamp was securely attached, it was time to attach the tripod ball mount. There are 2 small bolts included with the hardware and when we start shipping should be already in place for easy attachment. IMG_1234.JPG Since the hole and bolt are both 1/4-20 the bolt needs to be manually screwed tight. After this it needs to be secure and not turn when attaching the tripod mount. So for this, (as pictured above) I added a nut to lock the bolt in place.

After that it's pretty self explanatory. Attach the tripod ball mount and the camera. IMG_1235.JPG And Voila'! IMG_1236.JPG The world's longest selfie pole is born!

As mentioned, this set up is surprisingly secure. Even torque from the weight and rotation of the heavy camera I used was not enough to know loose the rig. I am currently shipping a few of these out to beta testers for feedback, but if anyone else has some insight or has tried this process before, let me know what you think. mathew, ecta64, cfastie. Anticipated snags? When fully put together, this pole extends to over 36ft. You get a little dip due to angle and gravity when its at that length but not so much that it's unmanageable. I'll try to post a picture of the full extension with mount soon.


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3 Comments

Ecta64 How sturdy is the mount? Does it stay in place after moving the pole around? I'm just wondering if we need to consider any reinforcement for larger cameras...

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Hello @natalie, and any others working with the pole mapping kit - This kit was my xmas gift, finally getting to set up and use it. However, the mount is confusing. In the package it has a diagram of the mount, and says to see this wiki page (https://publiclab.org/notes/Natalie/03-06-2015/diy-pole-mapping-camera-mount) for assembly instructions. In the included diagram the tripod mount comes out of the swiveling Ibeam clamp parallel to the pole. But above the set up has it coming out perpendicular to the pole. The latter makes more sense, but none of the screws work for that set up, not enough room inside the clamp. But even if it did, the ball joint seems to work against you as well.

The challenge is that you want the camera to be horizontal, parallel to the earth, but since the tripod mount is on the bottom of the camera, you need the mount to hold it perpendicular. And even if you can achieve that, because in my camera (Canon Powershot SD1000), and the one in the pics on the wiki page, the tripod attachment hole is not in the middle of the camera, so the camera lists off to one side and does not remain parallel to the ground. It looks like the same is happening in the last pic on the wiki page as well.

I'm perplexed...Has anyone used the kit who could offer guidance? It's not self-evident to me. Thanks for your help!

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Hi @pataxte! Amanda here from the store. I can see how the different set ups are a bit confusing. I took a look at the mount and it seems that there are actually multiple ways to assemble - with the camera on the top, side, or bottom of the clamp. This works well because, as you mentioned, people may be working with a wide variety of cameras that all have their mounts in different locations. If you use your attachment like in I've added below, and mount your camera from the bottom so it is facing the ground, would that help? My understanding is that the camera does not need to be entirely parallel to the ground to capture results, and the pole will have a slight lean in one direction as well. Great question! I hope that helps a bit, please let me know your thoughts. This is excellent feedback that we can use to improve our kits and instructions! Image_from_iOS_(36).jpg

Best, Amanda

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