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Flip video mount on a budget

3K views 11 replies 4 participants last post by  heyyall 
#1 · (Edited)
I have wanted to start posting a few videos, but I haven't been ready to shell out the money for a GoPro system. Lucky for me, I had an old non-HD flip video sitting in a drawer. All I needed to do is craft some sort of mount for it.

I tried a couple of approaches using a reflector mount and bolt to screw into the treads of the camera. These didn't look solid or the camera looked too exposed. I then found an old camera case that was in need of a use. I cut down the front an inch or so and tarp-taped the wound closed.



The camera case had a heavy belt loop on the back, but how could this be used? I had an old tube that could be cut to make a stretchy strap. With a simple cross pattern, I can square knot the tube to hold the camera to the bar.



It certainly looks like a job on a budget, but it should hold me over until I'm ready to spend some money.

Here is the first action shot with the mount. It is a quick loop around my house and back into the garage. I might try a few different mount locations since the handlebar mount seems to induce a certain nauseous feeling upon review.



First ride with homemade video camera holder - YouTube
 
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#7 ·
Back to the drawing board :(

The shakiness is too much, but that isn't the main problem. The picture is too "zoomed in" to be enjoyable. This was fully zoomed out on the camera, so I don't think there will be any hope for the set up. Here are a few minutes from a ride I took this afternoon.

Enjoy in a blair witch inspired shaky cam through the woods.



Blair Witch Biking - YouTube
 
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#10 ·
The Flip camera may not be as bad as I first thought. The very narrow field of view turns out to be largely a result of the case mounting system. While I zoomed the lens out, the location of the beltloop and the pressure of the tube straps causes pressure to be applied to the back of the camera. This is where the zoom buttons are. It just happens that the zoom in button makes contact with the handle bar through the case. Since the LCD screen is blocked from view while installed in the case, you don't notice the problem until you get home to look at the footage.

From what I've learned so far, here are some additional directions I would consider.

1. Create a button guard for the back of the camera. This could be a slight modification to the case or to the camera itself. This would protect against the auto zoom in "feature" in the mounting system.

2. Additional stability. The handle bar mount isn't great, but I did learn how to make hte case more stable. The whole unit is made much more solid by taking a third tube strap over the outside of the case (instead of just through the belt loops). In doing this, the camera is held very tightly in case and vibration is minimized.

3. As suggested above, it would be pretty each to make a chest mount for the system. You could run a camelbak clip right through the belt loop and be in business.
 
#11 ·
This has my attention. I was planning on doing the same thing with a Creative Vado I have just taking up space. I was going to try to come up with a chest mount, it seems this would hep with the image stabilizing. I'll post up the results when I get around to doing anything with it.
 
#12 ·
In a way, I wished this would have been a perfect solution for me. Since it is still in 'beta', I'm so tempted on the GP3 and other higher end cameras. Be careful as starting down the path of tinkering with videos could be an expensive proposition :D
 
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