RA camera mount

    I'm not a photographer myself, but here are a few pics of a camera mount that I just made for someone else.


    It is meant to fit the 28 mm diameter barrel of Rob Allen or other rail guns, and I tried to keep it as clean as possible on the outside and bottom where the shooting line would be. The aluminum piece can be adjusted for the desired height with the range of pre-drilled holes, or even flipped upside down if desired to get the camera up above the gun. The clamping knobs need only be loosened, and not completely removed, to install or remove the mount. And lastly, the knob that screws into the camera base is captive, so it won't fall out even without the camera attached. The clamping assembly is Delrin, so as not to mar the gun, and the camera arm is aluminum with a neoprene rubber pad.


    As alway, any and all constructive criticism is welcome!




    Edited once, last by Guest ().

    Tin Man,
    As always your design and productions are perfect. Your mount puts the camera in the perfect position IMHO. The barrel clamping system is also perfect to allow for adjustment of the camera height and to prevent any interference with the spear shaft or pulling the bands onto the shaft. Your camera mount is exactly what I need for a new UW camera I wanted to buy.
    Thank you for another perfect production just like your RA spike which works flawlessly. Please reply or PM me to let me know when I can get a camera mount for my RA and cost please.
    Mucho gracias
    hau


    nunca bucear solo
    nunca becear sin chaleco

    Beautiful clean work as always Jeff. I was just about to ask for you to make me one then I remember I use a wood gun. Maybe I can just use the aluminum arm without the clamp?


    Hau, Tin Man's Spanish is probably rustier than yours ;) BTW It's "muchas gracias" gracias is female.

    My Spanish? I don't think that I can even count to ten. Sounds like one of those "demotivational" posters from despair.com - "Maybe your purpose in life is to make everyone else look good by comparison . . ." :D


    Dan - Sure, you could just mount the aluminum arm to the gun with screws. Alternatively, you could attach it to the trigger mech holes like in an earlier mount that I made (pics below) so as not to require additional screw holes. If you are using one of the common trigger mechs like Poseidonsub, Alexander, or Neptonics, then I think the holes are all the same.



    $50 for the complete RA mount pictured. $30 for the complete trigger mounted arm. If you just need a bent piece of aluminum and want to do the rest yourself, then $5. Plus shipping in each case.

    Am I correct that you want an arm like the one for the RA mount? Do you want me to pre-drill a series of mounting holes? The arm is approximately 3.75" tall, by 4.75" wide. The camera mounting knob is 4" out from the gun, if you want to check those dimensions for your camera housing. Call it $10 shipped including the plastic/stainless captive knob?

    Edited once, last by Guest ().

    Your design is just great, but I would do a couple modifications; You can drill continuous holes instead of the 5 holes, so you can slide the mount to the dsired position without the need of unscrewing the knobs completely.


    On the other hand, I have seen many flooded (and even broken) housings due to the excess force in a single point, which is the screw hole. I have seen a design in an Italian website that is like a "cage" that they cover with neoprene, where the camera is fixed using tire tube pieces. That absorbs the recoil of the gun better and the force is not apllied all in one point.


    Maybe you can come with a drawing of that?

    Marco Melis

    A bad day fishing is ALWAYS better than a good day at work.

    Thanks Marco. The slots are an excellent idea, and easily incorporated. The only reason that I used individual holes, was that I expected the user to cut off any of the aluminum arm that projected above the shaft, once he had the camera height set to his preference. With slots, you could not trim the excess, which might make loading more difficult. This is only in my mind's eye, as I have no photography experience. So it could be completely wrong.


    Do you have a link the site showing the "cage" design?

    Thanks for the pics Marco. I always was hesitant to use that one screw hole even though it has a little SS plate. I figure with the recoil there's just too much stress at one point with the plastic being so brittle.

    Quote from Tin Man

    The only downside that I see is that it really needs to be custom fit to the camera housing.


    I'm not sure about that, if it is alluminum, it can be bent to fit any housing. At the end of the day, what really keeps the camera in position are the rubber bands. You can also add more neoprene/silicone or any filler to the "cage".


    Anyway, I have an Olympus Stylus 770 SW with it's housing. I offer myself as a "Stunt driver" :rolleyes1::D:cool2:


    I insist, I have seen many housings broken due to the stress generated in that single small area.

    Marco Melis

    A bad day fishing is ALWAYS better than a good day at work.

    Quote from Marco

    . . . You can also add more neoprene/silicone or any filler to the "cage".


    That's a thought. I wonder how secure it would be if you attached a block of Shapelock plastic to the aluminum arm, and then molded the Shapelock to fit around the base of the camera, and then fastened the camera into its custom "bed" with straps like you show? Should be easy to get a perfect, form fitting cradle, which would probably require very little to keep the camera in place? Might not need the vertical cage support then?

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