I gotta test it and update this with a video but for now, here's my DIY GoPro pole.
Get an aluminum bar like this one, strap it along the frame of your bike with velcro tape and you're done. I used this bar for the rotor mount as well.
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
How To Vlog with a GoPro while on a Bike - DIY GoPro Pole for Your MTB
I gotta test it and update this with a video but for now, here's my DIY GoPro pole.
Get an aluminum bar like this one, strap it along the frame of your bike with velcro tape and you're done. I used this bar for the rotor mount as well.
DIY Cable Cam for GoPro Cameras and DSLRs Made with Zipline Ball Bearing Pulleys
How to Shoot Smooth Footage with Your GoPro and a DIY Steadicam
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Why? Because it's not cheap.
We got these professional zipline pulleys from the owner of a zipline park in our home city. It may have helped that we shot a video that benefited him even though someone else was the client.
How To Build a GoPro Swivel Mount - Video Tutorial
Well, you can make one with $3 or something.
It allows you to get 360 degree shots of yourself while riding your bike, skiing or whatever.
Just mount two GoPro cameras at the ends of the pole and you'll get some amazing footage. A cam and a counter weight at the other end will do as well.
How To Set Up Your Freestanding Climbing Hangboard without Drilling Holes in Your Walls
Everything about building a hangboard + training plans now in my guide:
How To Build Your Own DIY Climbing Hangboard without Drilling The Wall Above Your Doorway
How To Build Your Own DIY Climbing Hangboard without Drilling The Wall Above Your Doorway
DIY GoPro Mount for Your Camera Slider, DIY Steadicam and Pole (DIY Monopod)
Test Video - Shot with My DIY Steadicam
Everything I know about building a DIY steadicam is now is in this new guide. Learn how to get amazing cinematic video with this cool gadget that you can build using parts from your local hardware store.
If you don't like the material, no worries. I'll give your money back and you get to keep the guide. Guaranteed!
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Here's a simple and neat way to mount your GoPro HD camera on a DIY camera slider, a DIY steadicam or even a pole.
Everything I know about building a DIY steadicam is now is in this new guide. Learn how to get amazing cinematic video with this cool gadget that you can build using parts from your local hardware store.
If you don't like the material, no worries. I'll give your money back and you get to keep the guide. Guaranteed!
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Here's a simple and neat way to mount your GoPro HD camera on a DIY camera slider, a DIY steadicam or even a pole.
How To Build Your DIY Camera Slider for Smooth Outdoor Video Capture - Tutorial & Test Video
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Update: DIY GoPro Mount for Camera Slider (I upgraded the dolly with bolts as legs)
Those smooth video shots - how do they get that?!
Simple. They use a camera slider which is nothing more than a rail of some sort on which the camera plate slides.
Now, professional camera sliders start at a couple of hundred dollars and the price goes up if the rail is longer. Some of them also have a small motor which allow you to shoot sliding time lapse videos - of course those are even more expensive (some going higher than $1000 ).
As an amateur filmmaker, the camera slider was the next thing I had to build after my DIY steadicam. Basically the lower camera plate in my current design of the camera stabilizer inspired me to build my DIY camera slider.
Now I use it to shoot videos for our solar panels installation services in Germany and Belgium.
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Watch the video below to see the shots I was able to get.
The deep water solo climbing clip below also has a few scenes shot with the slider (the first version, without the aluminum rails).
Materials you'll need for your mini camera dolly
The list can vary according to your own input on the design and functionality of the slider. This is just what I had:
- A base for the rails which can be made of aluminum (wide and thick flat stock), Alubond or laminate flooring. I happened to find Alubond on a construction site and I used for a GoPro HD camera mount as well. If you want a light and robust material this is it - look for a local distributor and maybe you can get some scraps for free (like I did).
- Thin and light flat stock for the rails. Use 2 mm think aluminum plates. Also add an L profile piece for making the base more rigid. The longer the base, the higher its tendency to bend when weight is placed on it (such as your camera).
- Resin glue - Bison Power Adhesive in my case.
- Bolts and nuts (locking nuts and wing nuts).
- Ball bearings - whatever you find at your local store. As long as they're small and light, and can be fixed on bolts with locking nuts, they're good for your DIY project.
- Metal piece shaped like an L as your camera mount. Make sure it has holes through which a 6 mm thick bolt can pass - you'll use an improvised tripod mount bolt to secure your camera on the sliding piece.
- Plate with channels made of any material you find fit. Mine is machine worked, made if iron sheet but I'm planning to make a new one out of Alubond. Anyway, if you can't have it machine made, make one from laminate flooring and use a jigsaw to make the channels for the bolts (you can also use a milling cutter/milling drill bit for the channels).
How to make your DIY slider
The images and video speak for themselves but here are my tips:
- Use as few elements as possible. Example: Have two bearings fit an aluminum flat stock instead of having two aluminium flat stock pieces to fit a bearing when creating the rails.
- Leave a tiny gap between the bearing and the rails. This grants a better slide and less friction.
- You don't need a rail below the base. I thought I needed one but there was too much drag so I set the bearings further apart so they won't touch the rail at all. Now the aluminum piece below the base only ads weights to the rig - but it also makes the base more rigid so that's a plus.
- Add glue only in the middle of the flat stock so when you press them on the base, no glue will get out. You wanna keep the rolling surface as clean as possible for super smooth video shots.
Tiny gap between the bearing and the aluminum rail
(slightly loose fit) - this enables the bearing to roll easily
Sliding cart & camera holder
Conclusion
I need to make some legs for the rail for faster set up when preparing to shoot but for the moment I use it as it is. I improvise with my backpack and my tripod but it can be anything: a rock, a tree, a fence, etc.
Also some stoppers would be nice - you don't want your camera to fall off the rail once it reaches the end.
A system to place the slider on a tripod in definitely necessary and I'm gonna update this article as soon as I implement a solution for this particular slider.
So far, I'm pleased with the shots I get so I guess I'm gonna use it more in my extreme sports & outdoor videos.
Over to you
- How do you find this system? Simple? If not, why?
- What's your preferred tool when shooting video, other than your camera? Mine is the glidecam.
- Do you have any other tips regarding shooting video on a slider?
DSLR Steadicam - DIY Camera Mount Tutorial
Test Video - Shot with My DIY Steadicam
Everything I know about building a DIY steadicam is now is in this new guide. Learn how to get amazing cinematic video with this cool gadget that you can build using parts from your local hardware store.
If you don't like the material, no worries. I'll give your money back and you get to keep the guide. Guaranteed!
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Do you have a DSLR camera and want smooth video footage?
As a filmmaker, you're probably interested in getting gliding shots in order to convey that movie-like sensation to the viewer.
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Since I'm no longer selling the DIY Highball steadicam, you may wanna check out these other camera stabilizers. Click on any picture.
Check out the stabilizers on Amazon Canada, Amazon.UK and Amazon.DE.
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Even though I only own a GoPro HD and a compact camera, I built a DSLR steadicam by simply modifying the camera plates in my DIY glidecam.
You can place any type of video gadget that has a threaded hole for tripod on this DIY camera mount.
It's advisable to build the plates out of 4 to 6 mm thick aluminum as to have them sturdy and light. I used a sandwich type material for the top plate - 4 mm thick, having two outer aluminum sheets and a plastic core.
These sheets are normally used for outside building facades or for interior fixtures.
The brand name (which is used as a generic name as well) for the aluminum composite panel is Alubond.
The bolt heads are buried in the top plate. This enables you to place any type of camera on the stabilizer. The 8 channels take some weight of the plate and also give you more flexibility as to where to place your camcorder.
That's why at least the top plate must be machine worked out of a thicker material. The rest of the plates can be thinner.
Use 4 bolts and self locking nuts to assemble the camera mount.
The middle channel in the thinner plate is for the threaded shaft that goes through the DIY gimbal. The other two channels make the plate lighter and, if necessary (when using and ultralight camera), you can add extra weights (bolts and washers fixed with wing nuts).
If the rig is correctly balanced and yet too lightweight, there may be a problem when flying your camera at faster speeds: the shaft will tilt due to wind. So keep it a little heavy for good inertia and stable smooth video capture.
To balance the steadicam, loosen the big wing nut below the thin plate and slide the camera forward or backward. To adjust the position of the camera, loosen the improvised tripod hole bolt and slide the camera sideways. You can also turn the camera sideways (lens facing lateral side) if that's how you want to shoot.
I recommend you to have the plates made in a shop so every cut, every hole and every channel is perfectly aligned with the rest of the elements.
If you can't have them made in a shop and don't have aluminum plates (or other similar materials like plastic sheets, etc) you can use laminate flooring. Click on the above image for larger view (you can print it out to have it as a reference).
We could't shoot video with the DSLR (Canon 60D) because we didn't have enough weights to balance it (extra weights were needed for the lower narrow plate).
However, it is challenging to hold such a heavy rig for extended periods of time. Now that I've tried it, I understand why a vest and an articulated arm are a must for long hours video shooting.
Go out there and shoot your outdoor adventures. Cheers!
Everything I know about building a DIY steadicam is now is in this new guide. Learn how to get amazing cinematic video with this cool gadget that you can build using parts from your local hardware store.
If you don't like the material, no worries. I'll give your money back and you get to keep the guide. Guaranteed!
|
|
|
Do you have a DSLR camera and want smooth video footage?
As a filmmaker, you're probably interested in getting gliding shots in order to convey that movie-like sensation to the viewer.
-----
Since I'm no longer selling the DIY Highball steadicam, you may wanna check out these other camera stabilizers. Click on any picture.
 |  |  |
-----
Even though I only own a GoPro HD and a compact camera, I built a DSLR steadicam by simply modifying the camera plates in my DIY glidecam.
You can place any type of video gadget that has a threaded hole for tripod on this DIY camera mount.
It's advisable to build the plates out of 4 to 6 mm thick aluminum as to have them sturdy and light. I used a sandwich type material for the top plate - 4 mm thick, having two outer aluminum sheets and a plastic core.
These sheets are normally used for outside building facades or for interior fixtures.
The brand name (which is used as a generic name as well) for the aluminum composite panel is Alubond.
It consists of two layers of aluminium skins in varying gloss levels of 30% to 80% sandwiching a Polyethylene or fire rated core. The top surface is coated in stove enameled structural lacquering system and back surface has a mill finish or stove lacqured polyester lacquering system.I got them on a construction site (hotel) and the workers were masking the elevator door frame with it. One side has a nylon sheet and once you're done shaping and bending your piece, you just peel off the nylon and you've got yourself a clean looking aluminum surface.
The bolt heads are buried in the top plate. This enables you to place any type of camera on the stabilizer. The 8 channels take some weight of the plate and also give you more flexibility as to where to place your camcorder.
That's why at least the top plate must be machine worked out of a thicker material. The rest of the plates can be thinner.
Use 4 bolts and self locking nuts to assemble the camera mount.
The middle channel in the thinner plate is for the threaded shaft that goes through the DIY gimbal. The other two channels make the plate lighter and, if necessary (when using and ultralight camera), you can add extra weights (bolts and washers fixed with wing nuts).
If the rig is correctly balanced and yet too lightweight, there may be a problem when flying your camera at faster speeds: the shaft will tilt due to wind. So keep it a little heavy for good inertia and stable smooth video capture.
To balance the steadicam, loosen the big wing nut below the thin plate and slide the camera forward or backward. To adjust the position of the camera, loosen the improvised tripod hole bolt and slide the camera sideways. You can also turn the camera sideways (lens facing lateral side) if that's how you want to shoot.
I recommend you to have the plates made in a shop so every cut, every hole and every channel is perfectly aligned with the rest of the elements.
If you can't have them made in a shop and don't have aluminum plates (or other similar materials like plastic sheets, etc) you can use laminate flooring. Click on the above image for larger view (you can print it out to have it as a reference).
We could't shoot video with the DSLR (Canon 60D) because we didn't have enough weights to balance it (extra weights were needed for the lower narrow plate).
However, it is challenging to hold such a heavy rig for extended periods of time. Now that I've tried it, I understand why a vest and an articulated arm are a must for long hours video shooting.
Here are two sample videos shot with this current version of my DIY camera stabilizer:
Hanging out with local bloggers outside my city & climbing session - Social Media Brasov
Shooting video on inline skates for a bike tricks video project - I took a nice fall.
For more detailed pictures check out my Facebook album. Feel free to ask me questions in the comments.
Go out there and shoot your outdoor adventures. Cheers!
