Chinese Scooter Club

BigGuy · Mon Apr 07, 2008 9:02 pm Mounting my camera - How to in 17 mins or less!

Hi Everyone,

Well with the arrival of the il Bello, I starting thinking I'm going to need a camera mount for her to take some pictures and/or videos of my scootin', so I did a quick search on the Internet and found the bottle cap method. I modified it slightly and for those interested, here's how I did it:

A quick trip to the hardware store and a little brainstorming with the clerk and we came up with this, $4.55 worth of supplies:

I started by cutting the PVC tee down the middle so it would wrap the handlebars:

Next, I took a piece of the rubber gasket and cut it to fit with a straight edge. I know Leon wouldn't like it if I messed up her handlebars, so this 1/8" gasket will be a good protector:

I then clamped up the tee to the handlebars:

Next, I put on the 45 degree elbow:

Then I drilled a 1/4" hole through the PVC cap:

I put on a locknut, wing nut and a big washer:

And finally, after a dry fitting and cutting to size, it's ready for the camera!

Now it's time for the test run!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wr_GN-U38Rc

The mount is solid as a rock, and the wing nut ensures the camera won't move.

Total project cost: $4.55
Total project time: 17 minutes w/photos

EDIT: From the peanut gallery next door: "That looks like crap".
Okay! So back to the hardware store for some chrome colored paint. I sort of agreed with them, it did look pretty bad, but it looks okay now... sort of:

-Rich

Scootin · Mon Apr 07, 2008 10:48 pm

Cool idea! 8)

px166bajaj · Tue Apr 08, 2008 7:38 pm

Reminds me of Jialings Satnav mount!

BigGuy · Tue Apr 08, 2008 9:10 pm

Here is where I got the idea from.

The PVC was my neighbor's idea, and the actual assembly idea credit goes to Chis, the Chinese guy at my local hardware store.

But I get to take all the credit for it! 8)

Kidding aside, this thing is really solid! It's cheap, it works great and it's a better video (more stabilized) than my friend's $69 mount. His uses a 1/4" tube of aluminum for the riser, very unstable.

My club rides once a week and since I made this, we now document all the rides with pics and video.

Ager · Tue Apr 08, 2008 9:40 pm Camera mount

Hello Big Guy,

Kudos for taking the initiative, preparation and for the engineering. Simplicity is always attractive.

A selling point for the design, or at least another point of interest, would be following up with some shots taken by the camera on a shake down cruise. Beyond frontal shots, I'm wondering how the set up would manage side shots and road conditions while on the move. Do you think having a "ratcheting" system would facilitate locking the camera for some of the more difficult angles?

Drive safe,

Ager
.

BigGuy · Wed Apr 09, 2008 12:21 am

Hi Ager, it can be faced in any direction, 360 degrees, and locked in place with the wing nut. I am thinking about redesigning the mount to make it lower. I think it might be a nice effect to have my headlight in the bottom of the picture.

The chrome of the headlight has a bright shine and the convex shape makes for an interesting rider and scenery reflection that might be quite nice in the shot. I'm not sure how this will look in a photo, but I'm going to give it a whirl this week and see.

-Rich

BigGuy · Sat Apr 12, 2008 8:37 pm

Okay, so tomorrow, I'm taking out the Lil Hog and it has no camera mount. I spotted a CCTV cam mount on my shelf, so what the hell!

Here it is mounted to the plastic handlebar cover:

This is the back of the cover using the metal fasteners, bent open to fit. Got them at Auto Zone. They are MUCH better than the Chinese ones and I can really put some torque on them:

And the finished product:

I never thought to use a CCTV mount, and they're only $4 on the Internet, so this may be a good choice, however, it is no where near as steady and stable as my 3/4" thick homemade mount! I'll probably have to snap the pics on smooth roads only.

-Rich

Ager · Sat Apr 12, 2008 10:15 pm Camera Mount

Hey Big Guy,

Yeah, the CCTV Mount does look more pro. As far as the pics go, I think so… when you put it into operation you’ll be able to assess it better, ergonomics and all that.

When you get a chance, here’s a primer for cycling and photography:

http://kwc.org/cycling/photography/cycling_photography_tips_shoot.html

There are a lot more.

Enjoy,

Ager

BigGuy · Sat Apr 12, 2008 10:40 pm

Good article!

Thank you!

+1 for you :!: