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do-it-yourself video camera handle
If you don't own one of these obscenely expensive Sony or Canon video cameras you should tinker your own handle for your skateboard video camera. The handle makes filming steadier and more comfortable – especially when shooting with a fish-eye from down low.
The shape of your handle depends on your video camera and the used material depends on whatever is available...
Basically you need (in order of appearance):
MATERIAL
- a metal pipe (for our sample we used an old heating pipe from which part of the isolation got cut off): ca 15 - 20 mm in diameter, 2 mm thick and ca 40 cm long – but especially the length of the metal tube depends on the size and shape of your video camera: the handle should lead around the cam quiet tightly but with enough space to grab around and push all buttons. The metal pipe should be bendable with some effort!
- an iron bolt: 4 mm thick and ca 10 – 12 mm long (if necessary saw it off !)
- bicycle handlebar tape – from a bike store
- a tripod screw for your video cam – available in every photo or video shop
TOOLS
- pencil
- measuring tape
- iron saw
- hammer
- bench vise (or Chuck Norris/Hulk Hogan)
- power drill
- 2 metal drills with a diameter of 4 mm and 6 mm
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1) Consider how long the whole video camera handle has got to be and saw the metal pipe appropriately with the iron saw.
2) Now you have to define the right length for the lower, flat part of the handle (length "a"). To gain enough stability this part should be as long as the bottom side of your camera with your biggest battery attached! Mark this on the metal tube.
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3) Now hammer the marked part of the metal pipe as flat as possible (or compress it in the bench vise).
4) Each video camera has two holes on the bottom side to mount it on a tripod: the front hole without a screw thread serves as fixation, whereas the rear hole has a thread for the tripod screw. First measure the distance between the rear edge of the bottom side of your camera (respectively the battery) and the center of the rear hole (the one for the tripod screw) – (length "b").
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5) Add 1-2 cm and mark this length on the flattened part the metal pipe (starting from the still round part). Like this you get the mark for the drill hole for the tripod screw.
6) Next measure the distance between the two holes' centers (length "c") and based on that mark the drill hole for the front fixation screw.
7) Now you have to drill two holes at the marks: The front hole should have a diameter of almost 4mm, so you can screw in the metal bolt with some effort. The rear whole should have a diameter of 5-6 mm, so you can just push through the tripod screw.
8) Screw the metal bolt in the front hole.
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9) Then you have to bend the round part of the handle - either carefully in the bench vise or by a very strong relative...
10) Once you have bent the camera handle you can wrap it with the bicycle handlebar tape.
11) The real hardcore skateboard filmers fix their camera remote to the handle so they never have to take hands off it while filming!
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| 12) Finally you can tighten the handle to your video camera with the tripod screw - the fixation bolt prevents shifting. |
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