Howto: Bike Camera Mount

[esquire]

Alright so I was bored this afternoon. I've been wanting a camera mount for my bike for quite some time but I'm too broke/cheap to buy one so I thought fuck it I'll make one. I then realised I didn't have anything to make one out of so I took a slightly different approach. So here goes.

Ingredients:

1x Digital Camera with movie function. In my case this was an Olympus 720sw (shockproof, waterproof, dogproof) but you can use whatever camera you have lying around the house.


1x Mini flexible tripod. I got mine free when I bought my camera but they're very cheap to buy.


1x Roll of gaffa tape.


Method:

1. Attach camera to tripod.
2. Position tripod on fuel tank of motorcycle to achieve desired angle.
3. Apply liberal amounts of gaffa tape to legs of tripod (no need to go overboard though, this shit is strong).
4. Switch camera on, set to movie function and enjoy.

The Result:



and a test ride

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6A4bqYuuDg]YouTube - Bike-cam Test[/ame]

How do you feel now, people who payed lots of money for a camera mount? Pretty stupid I bet. And jealous because yours doesn't have gaffa tape.

[chew]

18 Gauge fencing wire, araldite and gaffer tape. How to build a country. Love it.

[Murley]

LOL... actually seems pretty solid/stable!

[Dog Loaf]

love the dodgeyness

[Satan1]

That's pretty much factory

[Squash]

how is that stuff on paintwork?

[BeNo]

That's tip top...
Better than z germans...

[baxter]

good work dude might have to try this out on the dirt bike

[Uncle Flash]

I'm surprised at the quality of the picture and how stable the mount is. A good instruction for those that want to have a go at this before spending bigger dollars on dedicated equipment. And:

1. 1:40 Scootah! Yay!
2. Watch that paint dood. I once used gaffa on a tank for protection and I could see the paint rising as I carefully peeled it off.

[esquire]

2. Watch that paint dood. I once used gaffa on a tank for protection and I could see the paint rising as I carefully peeled it off.

I was a bit worried about this at first. But it doesn't seem to have done anything. So far so good.

[RAO]

[Ferris]

Now that's what I want.

[lee]

the psp & usb camera seems like the go to me. 5 metre cable, so you can safely store your psp anywhere in the bike and route the cable to suit. camera get destroyed? meh.

FWIW, I'd run a small little piece of rope/string and tie it around your wrist strap. That way if shit hits the fan you won't lose your $3-400 camera

lee

[esquire]

What a lump of shit. Where's the gaffa tape?

[esquire]

After yesterdays success I thought I'd try my hand at a rear facing mount. After a few concepts involving gaffa tape and/or cable ties I realised that I needed to try something else. It was at this point that I decided to make a burger. Whilst eating said burger I had an epiphany. A few measurements, sketches and remakes later this is what I had.






The design is simple. 2 bits of MDF cut to shape and size to achieve the desired angle. Then 1 5mm bolt through the bottom of the horizontal surface with a knut on the underside (a wingknut would be better but I didn't have any lying around). The bolt fits into the thread on the bottom of the camera (usually used for a tripod) and then the knut secures it in place.

One advantage of this design is that there's potential for a proper camcorder to be mounted for higher quality footage. Unfortunately my camcorder is a bit on the house brick side so I'm still using the mighty Olympus.

My net is shaped to fuck at the moment so another YouTube upload will take a number of years but here are some stills from my test video.





Only problem is that darn fender. This is something I will look into resolving in the week.

[Lach]

U brining the cam tomorrow?

[esquire]

U brining the cam tomorrow?

Of course I am. Bring yours too.

[T-Rex]

I know where you live...

[steve9119]

it's made from wood?



here is one i made....

[ame=http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2836425/motorcycle_camera/]Motorcycle Camera - Video[/ame]

[Uncle Flash]

it's made from wood?

Even worse. It looks like MDF and one or two nails have almost missed! Scary carpentry.

You need a small L bracket to strengthen the join.