If you have an old mount for attaching a GPS or cell phone to your windshield, you can upcycle it into a suction cup tripod for your camera (just make sure it’s not the flimsy kind that falls off on its own). What you’ll need to do is flatten the mount surface and then install a tripod screw. Nano_Burger has a step-by-step tutorial on how he did this conversion over on Instructables. The resulting tripod allows you to fix your camera in locations that aren’t accessible to tripods that don’t suck (hah, get it?).
Back in June we shared a cool (and nauseating) video of some guys throwing around a GoPro camera attached to a stick. YouTube user Lorduss1 recently did something similar… except with his dog. He mounted a GoPro camera to a stick, gave it to his dog, and then chased the dog around the yard.
If for some reason you’ve always wanted pair up your SLR lenses with the tiny sensor found on the iPhone 4, Photojojo has a new mount that can make your dream come true. The package includes a special aluminum case for your phone, a UV filter attachment, and the lens adapter, and almost guarantees that you’ll be the strangest looking iPhone shooter on your street. Read the rest of this entry »
Reflector mounts (the things that attach a reflector to your bike) are so cheap that bike shops often give them away for free. Add a standard tripod screw, some washers, and some wing nuts, and you’ll have a super cheap camera mount that you can attach to a bicycle (it’s also a way to attach a camera to some random pole if you need to). You can also find a text version of this tutorial over on Instructables.
Turns out having a tripod mount and stand combo is what many iPhone 4 owners have been yearning for — a Kickstarter funding project for a new mount raised more than ten times what the creators planned to raise. Tom Gerhardt and Dan Provost originally intended to raise $10,000 over the course of a month to manufacture the Glif, a new tripod mount and stand for the iPhone 4, but ended up collecting over $135,000 from more than 5,000 backers who want such an accessory. You can find out more on the Glif website, or pre-order your own by contributing $20 to the project on the Kickstarter page.
Jeremy Salvador assembled this strange contraption in an attempt to combine an SLR lens with the iPhone. Salvador created a prototype with an Owle Bubo iPhone camera mount, a 37mm filter with glass removed, a 37-58mm step-up ring, a Canon EF mount adapter ring, and a 35mm Canon lens. Though he’s managed to fit all the pieces together, he’s been unable to actually take a useable photograph.
Salvador is first to admit that the “iPhone DSLR” is pretty impractical:
I realize that some people will be shocked and appalled that I would even attempt to Frankenstein together a DSL[R] lens on a crumby pocket phone camera. And I realize that this contraption will have no practical value. But for me it’s more of a piece of art than anything else. And I’m hoping to have some fun and learn something in the process.
Obviously, the design is pretty cumbersome, and you’d be sacrificing the standard DSLR’s 10 megapixel camera and sensor for 5 megapixels or less, on a tiny cell phone sensor. On the other hand, the idea of being able to snap a DSLR-quality image and be able to upload it instantly online or use Photoshop in-camera is nice, but you probably can’t get all that from the iPhone. But enough talk about what the iPhone can’t do — after all, you can make some amazing fashion photos with it.
Hatcams are a new line of custom baseball caps that have an industry standard 1/4 x 20 tripod mount thread built into the brim of the hat, providing a cheap way to create “helmet cam” videos. While the hat is designed for pocket camcorders like the Flip camcorder, any camera designed to work with a tripod should be mountable. Throw in a remote shutter release, and you’ll have a weird setup for point-of-view photography as well.
Sure it’s geeky, but who wouldn’t want to look like a digital unicorn? Check out how happy this woman is:
If you’re looking for a random gag gift for a photographer in your life that already has everything, this patent-pending $35 hat might be a pretty funny one.
One major hitch when capturing video with a DSLR is that there aren’t many convenient or affordable options for stabilization tailored to DSLR gear. Jonathan Berqvist recruited the expertise of his father to create a wooden shoulder rig, but most people have to pay upwards of $300 to get a setup.
Habbycam now has a slightly more affordable SD Camera Brace, available for $250 from their website.
The rig weighs about three pounds and can support up to 20 pounds of gear, which makes it just about right for video DSLRs.
What’s especially notable about the SD Camera Brace is that the shoulder pad has special holes in them that can be used to mount weights, mics, and sound recorders. Again, a good fit for video DSLR shooters who probably won’t be using in-camera audio anyways.
Here’s a nifty behind-the-scenes video by Nissan Canada for a car commercial shot using a 1/10 scale remote controlled car. In addition to using cranes and camera dollies, they mixed in a few Canon 5D Mark II DSLRs mounted on separate RC cars and a helicam.
Jeremy Salvador assembled this strange contraption in an attempt to combine an SLR lens with the iPhone. Salvador created a prototype with an Owle Bubo iPhone camera mount, a 37mm filter with glass removed, a 37-58mm step-up ring, a Canon EF mount adapter ring, and a 35mm Canon lens. Though he’s managed to fit all the pieces together, he’s been unable to actually take a useable photograph.
