redline
03-26-2005, 05:43 PM
We've all seen the photos of tuners, racers, and drifters in an all out sprint, taking corners like they mean it. The action shots are breathtaking, the motion blur of 100+ mph is thrilling. And many of us aspire to take race inspired photos of ourselves, ferociously battling the public roadways in our own conquest for thrill. Well now you can, without breaking the speed limit, or your bank. Read further to learn how.
First off, little background. In both the professional and amature automotive photography worlds, the effect of an onboard camera capturing the adrenaline rush, and somtimes sheer violence of speed is done via expensive mounts and what have you. This is exactly what we are going to do (minus the expensive part and the what have you).
So here is my foreword: To some of you, this DIY may not suffice. You might do either of two things, or a combo of both if your real nutty. A.) Read it and comment on the sheer ghetto-ness of the whole thing. Or, B.) Some of you may become motivated and go out and try it. For those of you who choose option B, PLEASE tell me about your own take on this project, for I would love to hear. This project is still in its "beta" (if you will) stages. I am looking for any comments to improve this product. You may wish to skip to the end results. Yes, there are photos.
With that out of the way, you will need a few supplies. First off is at least 5 feet of PVC pipe. This is cheap and easy to work with. Next you will need to bring your camera to the hardware store and find a 3-4" screw which will fit the bottom where your tripod would normally fit in. After that, you will need a saw, a sharpie or similiar, and a ruler. Then you'll need an end cap and PVC T piece. IMPORTANT: If you are using 1/2" PVC, then get 3/4" end cap and T piece NOT 1/2" they will need to slide over the 1/2" PVC! That is it.
Start off by measuring the distance between your headrests. Mark this distance on your PVC pipe, then add about 1-1.5" on each side of these markings. Saw here. Then you'll want to cut into the ends of each side of the PVC piping. By the way: I am using 1/2" PVC-- if you want to pay more, you can get CPVC if you feel the need to run hot liquids through your camera mount :blink: . Refer to the images below for assistance.
http://img14.exs.cx/img14/9678/img04446ux.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)
http://img14.exs.cx/img14/2274/img04483lg.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)
The ends should look like this, and you should be able to fit it in between the two headrests (with the rests up) so that the bar fits snug. If it doesn't, then go back and adjust your cuts on the ends of each end.
http://img14.exs.cx/img14/8017/img04527wv.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)
Here it is in the SER
http://img14.exs.cx/img14/783/img04550bp.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)
OK onto the actual mount which will hold the camera. Drill a hold in the middle of your end cap so that the screw which fits into the camera will fit into the end cap. Then using glue, glue the end cap into the T piece as illistrated below.
http://img192.exs.cx/img192/3433/img04684re.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)
http://img192.exs.cx/img192/7973/img04691ok.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)
Easy as pie (or counting to 1,2 and 3, which ever you prefer). Next you'll want to drill holes in the cross bar, the one which goes from headrest to headrest. I'd suggest 4 or 5 evenly spaced across the bar. Make sure they go from one side to the other all of the way through. And also make sure the pitch of the holes is completely verticle. Suggestion: Put the bar in place then mark your holes with a sharpie.
Now slide the T piece onto the shaft. Take the screw and screw it all of the way up through the cross bar, the t piece and up through the end cap. You assembly should look as follows:
http://img192.exs.cx/img192/220/img04655dk.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)
Mount your camera and drive. Adjust your settings (if its at night and you want the motion blur effect, then slow the sutter speed).
Here are the results of my mount. As you can see, I need somthing to dampen the bumps and vibrations in the camera. Tomorrow I will add and update this article to include results from adding rubber mounts, or other vibration reduction thingys.
First off, and not really related to the article is this photo of the gauges of a Nissan Quest, which I thought came out farily nice:
http://img92.exs.cx/img92/2176/quest11go.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)
Ok, and now on to the rest of the madness:
http://img92.exs.cx/img92/2376/img04858wp.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)
Result: Lots of Vibration
http://img92.exs.cx/img92/6163/img04869pb.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)
First off, little background. In both the professional and amature automotive photography worlds, the effect of an onboard camera capturing the adrenaline rush, and somtimes sheer violence of speed is done via expensive mounts and what have you. This is exactly what we are going to do (minus the expensive part and the what have you).
So here is my foreword: To some of you, this DIY may not suffice. You might do either of two things, or a combo of both if your real nutty. A.) Read it and comment on the sheer ghetto-ness of the whole thing. Or, B.) Some of you may become motivated and go out and try it. For those of you who choose option B, PLEASE tell me about your own take on this project, for I would love to hear. This project is still in its "beta" (if you will) stages. I am looking for any comments to improve this product. You may wish to skip to the end results. Yes, there are photos.
With that out of the way, you will need a few supplies. First off is at least 5 feet of PVC pipe. This is cheap and easy to work with. Next you will need to bring your camera to the hardware store and find a 3-4" screw which will fit the bottom where your tripod would normally fit in. After that, you will need a saw, a sharpie or similiar, and a ruler. Then you'll need an end cap and PVC T piece. IMPORTANT: If you are using 1/2" PVC, then get 3/4" end cap and T piece NOT 1/2" they will need to slide over the 1/2" PVC! That is it.
Start off by measuring the distance between your headrests. Mark this distance on your PVC pipe, then add about 1-1.5" on each side of these markings. Saw here. Then you'll want to cut into the ends of each side of the PVC piping. By the way: I am using 1/2" PVC-- if you want to pay more, you can get CPVC if you feel the need to run hot liquids through your camera mount :blink: . Refer to the images below for assistance.
http://img14.exs.cx/img14/9678/img04446ux.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)
http://img14.exs.cx/img14/2274/img04483lg.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)
The ends should look like this, and you should be able to fit it in between the two headrests (with the rests up) so that the bar fits snug. If it doesn't, then go back and adjust your cuts on the ends of each end.
http://img14.exs.cx/img14/8017/img04527wv.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)
Here it is in the SER
http://img14.exs.cx/img14/783/img04550bp.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)
OK onto the actual mount which will hold the camera. Drill a hold in the middle of your end cap so that the screw which fits into the camera will fit into the end cap. Then using glue, glue the end cap into the T piece as illistrated below.
http://img192.exs.cx/img192/3433/img04684re.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)
http://img192.exs.cx/img192/7973/img04691ok.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)
Easy as pie (or counting to 1,2 and 3, which ever you prefer). Next you'll want to drill holes in the cross bar, the one which goes from headrest to headrest. I'd suggest 4 or 5 evenly spaced across the bar. Make sure they go from one side to the other all of the way through. And also make sure the pitch of the holes is completely verticle. Suggestion: Put the bar in place then mark your holes with a sharpie.
Now slide the T piece onto the shaft. Take the screw and screw it all of the way up through the cross bar, the t piece and up through the end cap. You assembly should look as follows:
http://img192.exs.cx/img192/220/img04655dk.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)
Mount your camera and drive. Adjust your settings (if its at night and you want the motion blur effect, then slow the sutter speed).
Here are the results of my mount. As you can see, I need somthing to dampen the bumps and vibrations in the camera. Tomorrow I will add and update this article to include results from adding rubber mounts, or other vibration reduction thingys.
First off, and not really related to the article is this photo of the gauges of a Nissan Quest, which I thought came out farily nice:
http://img92.exs.cx/img92/2176/quest11go.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)
Ok, and now on to the rest of the madness:
http://img92.exs.cx/img92/2376/img04858wp.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)
Result: Lots of Vibration
http://img92.exs.cx/img92/6163/img04869pb.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)