rworne

I'm getting ready for Megameet V, and needed to work on a new project. This project was simply how to build a camera mount for the rear windscreen for as little as possible, and have a stable platform for shooting video.

The requirements:
1. Everything off-the-shelf
2. Mount has to have pan/tilt and quick release
3. Has to be stable
4. Has to be clean
5. Has to be removable/reversable with minimal alteration to the vehicle.

There will be some hassle with swapping the windscreen with the mount(s). That's just because the windscreen itself is a hassle to remove. Especially for the first time.

Here you see the two items purchased. On the left is a bolt that will hold down the mount. This is a special bolt in that the threads are in two different sizes (about $12). The tip fits the mount, and about 3/4" of the way down the bolt, the size increases. The mount on the left is a readily available quick-release mount with tilt. The quick-release mount is a Manfrotto 3229 monopod mount w/quickrelease (about $27-28). The threadsize on this is: 3/8"-16. This is important, because this threadsize will allow you to put on the camera mount without having to drill larger holes.

Empedocles99

What better way to collect self incriminating evidence is there than this

rworne

Sample stills from the video:






Here's some sample video. The camera needed slightly better focus for distance, and if the top was up, there's be less light messing with the shots, but here you go (spawns Quicktime window):

EDIT: Video removed, 'cause it only displays on Macs.

ruexp67

Nice.

Great idea.

rworne

Here's a link to the sample video (Quicktime required):

http://www.oriole.net/~rworne/images/signs.mov

In case you cannot make it out, this vdeo was taken less than a week after the big California storms. I was running through Box Canyon at a very conservative speed (approx 20 in a 30 zone) when I passed the "Flooded" sign.

Rounding the bend, I could see they weren't kidding - after I hit the water. No damage at all, but there went the effort washing the car that morning.

MrChoi

jus an update to those who are interested in this DIY. the two parts mentioned above can be found at www.canogacamera.com and the two parts you'll need are:

Bogen Manfrotto Tripod Head 3229 Swivel Tilt QR Canoga #: 30666

and

Testrite FSA8 Locking Male Shoe to Locking 1/4-20 Male Thread Adapter Canoga #: 58610

Doug0716

Just curious, why use the special bolt, why not just go down to a hardware store and get a screw/bolt that fits, throw a washer on it and call it day?

rworne

Vibration.

Vibration is bad enough, I wanted to make sure the bolt did not move at all. I was going to do what you did until I saw this particular bolt available and it did the trick nicely.

The bolt and washer method requires screwing the mount down really tight to keep it from wiggling too much. The bolt I used makes the mounting point immobile before the mount is even put on the car, and then the mount only needs to be tightened until it is snug.

The only other alternative is to find a bolt with the same size head that would fit under the lid where the nuts were. To add to that problem, it would need to be properly threaded to accept the mount. The camera store already had a solution that was guaranteed to work, so I went with that.

Price-wise, this solution is the cheapest I've seen posted here, and it's not half-assed either.