Hobie Cat Forums

I have finally nutted out and finished my Camera Gimbal Mount.



It's taken over a year of tweaking and adjusting the design but so far, I'm pretty happy with the result. The Mk1 version was mild steel and, even though it worked well, the adjustment needed improvement.



These photos are the Mk2 version. This is made entirely from stainless and poly and you will need to have access to a lathe and TIG welder. Unfortunately not cheap. Hope this clip explains it better.



If you're thinking of doing similar, note that the pivot friction adjuster needs to be simple and easily accessible as it needs to be adjusted due to water ingress changing the friction. It's surprising how stiff the pivot needs to be to dampen and smooth out the motion.

Please let me know what you think.

_________________


Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

That is just awsome!
Funny I was just thinking about this today. Was something significanly more complicated though.

_________________

The counter weight looks like it would get hit by waves. Have you tested the system in any major wave situation or at high speeds???

_________________
Paul
DogsLife
2011 Adventure Island (Little Dog)
2010 Tandem Island (Big Dog: "We keep a leg up on the competition")
2001 Wilderness Systems Woodsman Kayak 14.5 (Blue Dog)

http://dogslifeadventures.blogspot.com/

Thanks Cows. Using the camera as the counterweight is another option.

Very perseptive Paul, it does at times get hit with the odd wave and I havent really given it a go at high speed or in chop yet. The counterweight connecter bar could be reshaped to lift the counterweight and I could possibly get it up another 50mm ( 2" ). But it doesn't really worry me that much as most of the footage is edited into 5 second clips so any movement of the camera due to a wave hitting the counterweight can be edited out. ( although I'm not ruling out a Mk3 version )

_________________


Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

Wow!
A SteadyCam for an AKA!
Congratz. The counter balance is brilliant!
Sooooooo.....when is it going into production?

Fred

_________________
Always looking for ways to make good things 'Gooder'

Thanks for the feedback Fred. The season is just starting down this way. I'll give it a good test over the next 9-10 months to see how it performs.

_________________


Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

I'm guessing at a retail price of around $300-$400...

Wow that is brilliant! Between you and sun-E-sailor I beginning to think my public education was a joke! I want one

_________________


Steve

Clever design, beautifully engineered and constructed.
Very nice work Slaughter.
It's interesting that you found it necessary to adjust the friction. The commercial versions of stabilizers use bearings so friction is eliminated, but I like your adjustable friction for damping.
Looking forward to seeing the results and maybe even being in them!
We're overdue for an outing.

Thanks fellas for the feedback. I wouldn't mind knocking up some mounts for those who are interested but I want to test this out first over this summer to make sure that there are no design flaws. $300-$400 may be stretching it a bit Madwand unless I make you my Marketing Manager. P.S. Love the avatar photo Steve. The friction surprisingly needs to be quite substantial Stringy to eliminate that motion sickness for the viewer. In that clip where the connections were loose, my daughter couldn't even watch it and felt nauseous.

You're right about a an overdue trip. Davew who we met on the Patonga trip is coming up to the Lake around the weekend of the 17th if you want to join us. Don't know what we are doing yet but I would like to go out through Swansea channel at some stage and see if I can hunt down some humpback stragglers. Still haven't seen one.

_________________


Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

I wasn't being facetious, it looks like such a high quality piece of precision equipment that I would expect to see it cost that much. I couldn't afford one, but that's what it looks like. Hi speed man.

I'm keen- especially if you are going offshore. Keep us posted with details.

I'll give you a ring Stringy when it's closer to the date. Dave is up this way for a few days and wants to camp over, possibly Wangi.

Were abouts are you sailing Madwand. What's your location ?

_________________


Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

Nice work....

Does the dairy (or other liquid food processing plant) know what you are using that SS triclover clamp for???

I hope you're not accusing me of stealing a Tri-clover from work NAHCA555. Just because our country was built by thieves, murderers, crooks and pickpockets, doesn't mean that we still partake in such activities. There is a difference between stealing and borrowing.

_________________


Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.