Well now that my car is mostly done, and I've got a few weeks before school starts back up, I decided to put together a project I've been wanting to do for a while.
A Camera Rig.
What the hell is that you ask?
It's a set of rigging used to enable photographs like...
NOTE: ^^ not my photos. Just very good examples of the type of photos a rig allows you to take
As for buying a premade kit, there's only a few companies that make specific parts for it, and the result.. is that it costs several hundreds of dollars to buy a kit. Well... Screw that. So I made my own.
The C.O.M. right now is a hair over $65.00.
Parts used:
Suction Cups from Harbor Freight
- One two cup unit, two single cup units. The reason for this is that the dual cup unit doesn't oscillate or anything, so it requires a fairly flat surface to mount on. The single cups require a much smaller footprint, and work well for the support beams.
- 3 METAL extending poles. Again, I went to harbor freight and picked up some that looked like they'd fit the bill. (1x 4-8', 2x 3-6')
- A few dozen 1/4"-20 nuts, bolts, washers
- Couple feet of aluminum
- Drill press (with metal drill bit, you'll destroy a non metal one)
- A little bit of wood
Hinges
Drilled a 1/4" hole in the middle of the handle, and used a 2.5" bolt with several washers and a locknut to secure the hinge.
As you can see, it's basically a U-joint. I measured the aluminum strips, bent them, drilled the appropriate holes, and mounted. In total, there are....6 of these on the rig.
For the single cup units, I cut a peice of 3/4" MDF the shape of the handle, drilled pilot holes, and screwed it to the handle of the suction cup. NOTE: This picture is not final. I took the picture of the wrong cup when I was shooting these. The other one is finished, the difference is that there are
1) a few larger holes drilled out so that ties can be fastened around the handles making sure the suction isn't broken by vibrations
2) two more screws added, giving a total of 6 around the circumference.
The other side has another U-joint with washers and lock nut.
Poles
The main pole came with the groove and top slots built in, so it locks every 6" or so. I then turned it on its side and drilled holes every 3" the length of the extending section. This allows for great versatility in mounting the support poles.
The support poles are also drilled, but every 2". I then drilled 4 holes on the non extending beam, making a + if you were to intersect them. Again, allows for more options when mounting the unit on a vehicle.
Whats that square dealy?
Its how I mount the camera. I made a box with the aluminum strip, drilling strategically placed holes allowing for LOTS of mounting options, also allowing me to expand this later with flash units.
I'm going to pick up some steel tubing and make a full cage for that frame, so if something were to happen, and the camera were to fall, it would be fully protected. It shouldn't, but shit happens.
Why won't the camera fall off?
Because I'm a blooming idiot and am ignoring the fact that it will fall off.
Nawwww, I kid. I can't say with 100% certainty that it won't, but thats why you test test test. For example,
thats about 10lbs of water, hanging from the rig for an hour. It only sank about 2" down because the suction cup on the side of the car was on dirty paint and didn't have the best suction.
AND, the it'll always be used with a come-along for extra security
That, coupled with the full metal cage for the camera, it should be okay.
How do you take photos?
One of two ways:
1) Wireless shutter. THis is the best option, and mine is in the mail. Until then, there's option
2) Long ass USB cord. I've got a 25' cord that's plugged into the camera and I then control the camera from my laptop, also giving me the ability to take picture after picture and adjust settings on the fly.
Options 1 + 2 =
That's great and all, but those poles are going to be ugly in the final shot
In the final shot, you won't ever know there were poles.......
Shots using the rig should be ready in a day or two, depends if I get ballsy and use the rig without the finished cage or not.....
But yea, about $65 in materials, and 6hrs of work... Should allow me to greatly expand my portfolio
A Camera Rig.
What the hell is that you ask?
It's a set of rigging used to enable photographs like...
NOTE: ^^ not my photos. Just very good examples of the type of photos a rig allows you to take
As for buying a premade kit, there's only a few companies that make specific parts for it, and the result.. is that it costs several hundreds of dollars to buy a kit. Well... Screw that. So I made my own.
The C.O.M. right now is a hair over $65.00.
Parts used:
Suction Cups from Harbor Freight
- One two cup unit, two single cup units. The reason for this is that the dual cup unit doesn't oscillate or anything, so it requires a fairly flat surface to mount on. The single cups require a much smaller footprint, and work well for the support beams.
- 3 METAL extending poles. Again, I went to harbor freight and picked up some that looked like they'd fit the bill. (1x 4-8', 2x 3-6')
- A few dozen 1/4"-20 nuts, bolts, washers
- Couple feet of aluminum
- Drill press (with metal drill bit, you'll destroy a non metal one)
- A little bit of wood
Hinges
Drilled a 1/4" hole in the middle of the handle, and used a 2.5" bolt with several washers and a locknut to secure the hinge.
As you can see, it's basically a U-joint. I measured the aluminum strips, bent them, drilled the appropriate holes, and mounted. In total, there are....6 of these on the rig.
For the single cup units, I cut a peice of 3/4" MDF the shape of the handle, drilled pilot holes, and screwed it to the handle of the suction cup. NOTE: This picture is not final. I took the picture of the wrong cup when I was shooting these. The other one is finished, the difference is that there are
1) a few larger holes drilled out so that ties can be fastened around the handles making sure the suction isn't broken by vibrations
2) two more screws added, giving a total of 6 around the circumference.
The other side has another U-joint with washers and lock nut.
Poles
The main pole came with the groove and top slots built in, so it locks every 6" or so. I then turned it on its side and drilled holes every 3" the length of the extending section. This allows for great versatility in mounting the support poles.
The support poles are also drilled, but every 2". I then drilled 4 holes on the non extending beam, making a + if you were to intersect them. Again, allows for more options when mounting the unit on a vehicle.
Whats that square dealy?
Its how I mount the camera. I made a box with the aluminum strip, drilling strategically placed holes allowing for LOTS of mounting options, also allowing me to expand this later with flash units.
I'm going to pick up some steel tubing and make a full cage for that frame, so if something were to happen, and the camera were to fall, it would be fully protected. It shouldn't, but shit happens.
Why won't the camera fall off?
Because I'm a blooming idiot and am ignoring the fact that it will fall off.
Nawwww, I kid. I can't say with 100% certainty that it won't, but thats why you test test test. For example,
thats about 10lbs of water, hanging from the rig for an hour. It only sank about 2" down because the suction cup on the side of the car was on dirty paint and didn't have the best suction.
AND, the it'll always be used with a come-along for extra security
That, coupled with the full metal cage for the camera, it should be okay.
How do you take photos?
One of two ways:
1) Wireless shutter. THis is the best option, and mine is in the mail. Until then, there's option
2) Long ass USB cord. I've got a 25' cord that's plugged into the camera and I then control the camera from my laptop, also giving me the ability to take picture after picture and adjust settings on the fly.
Options 1 + 2 =
That's great and all, but those poles are going to be ugly in the final shot
In the final shot, you won't ever know there were poles.......
Shots using the rig should be ready in a day or two, depends if I get ballsy and use the rig without the finished cage or not.....
But yea, about $65 in materials, and 6hrs of work... Should allow me to greatly expand my portfolio
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