Detachable Car Mount for Time Lapse Camera.

https://www.instructables.com/id/Camera_for_time_lapse_pictures_made_easy/
Here is a movie I made with the time lapse camera that shows in the link above.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWh46mqROkQ

This instructable is more or less a continuation of my time lapse camera project. The first thing I wanted to do was make a car mount for it so that I could take time lapse pictures as we are driving around town. Plus I want to drive through the different places that I worked. I worked in two different cemeteries and there was a lot of different landscape that looked like it would make a nice looking time lapse movie. The camera itself worked really good. If you would like to take a look at it you could click on this link above.

The mount I made worked well but I knew that I was going to need to do more work on it. One thing I found out was with the camera running all the time, I had to have a switch on it so that I could turn it off when we are sitting at a stop sign waiting for the light to change. I don't know of anyone that would want to watch the car in front of you for 10 or so pictures. By turning off the camera all you needed to do was hit the switch once the light change and you were back in business.

The mount I used Velcro so that I could remove it when I was not using it. Another thing that I need was some way of hooking the camera to the mount so that I could remove it so that I could use the camera on my tripod or on the other project that I am working on. This other project is also a continuation of the time lapse camera. The only different is that this mount will be a rotating mount that I can put on my tripod for taking panorama pictures.

I have used this mount and it works really good for the pictures that I need to make panorama pictures with. With the camera taking the pictures by itself and the mount rotating by itself, all I had to do was get out of the way and let it do it thing. I would let it rotate 4 or 5 times so that I would have a lot of pictures to choose from and then pick out the ones that I wanted to use. One thing I found out about taking pictures was that you need a lot of pictures to choose from. Some times a car will get in the picture or someone may move in front of the camera when you are not looking and you will have to spend a lot of time editing the pictures to be able to do the panorama.

Note: (You will need the Firefox browser to view the site. IE will not let you open the pictures right or make comments on what you see. Thanks for viewing the site.)

A word of two on safety; anytime you are working with any kinds of metal, you need safety glasses and other safety type equipment. Gloves are also helpful. I can not be responsible for any harm that might come to you if you try to build this instructable for yourself.

Here is a link to a movie that I made with the time lapse camera. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-IO_QlNqqg

Step 1: Parts List and Equipment Used.

1. Drill and bits.
2. Grinder
3 Files
4. Saws
5. Safety glasses.
6. Gloves.
7. Metal cutters
8. Pliers
9. Needle nose pliers
10. Vice gripes
11. Hammer
12. Small screw driver set.
13. Regular screw driver
14. Solder & Soldering Iron.
Material
1. Small motor
2. Battery 9 volt.
3. Small pieces of plastic
4. A few screws.
5. 2X4 5 inches long
6. Switch
7. Camera
8. Connector from mother board
9. Plug from earphones
10. 5X6 piece of plastic
11. Top off 9 Volt Battery

Step 2: The Detachable Time Lapse Car Mount;

I found a piece of 2X4 that was the right size. Next thing I needed was the plastic. I had to piece that was 6 inches and had to cut it the same length as the 2X4. I put the two together with 4 screws. On the bottom where the screws are I put two strips of Velcro. I also put the other matching Velcro on the dashboard of the car. In the picture you can see the clamp that I use later to hold the 9 Volt Battery.

Step 3: The Detachable Mount:

On the top of the mount I had to make the brackets. You can see them in the picture. I gave it a test run to make sure that everything was going to work as plan. It held the camera nice to tight. Plus the camera was at the right height to get good picture without showing the dash board. While I was testing it out I found that I was going to need to change a couple things. One I needed to put a switch on it so that when we are waiting at a stop sign, we would be able to shut the camera off and turn it back on once the light changed. The other thing I needed was a way of plugging in the camera so that I would be able to take it off the mount and use it with my tripod that I had. Plus I wanted to use it with the other mount that I am making.

Step 4: Working on the Electronic of the Mount;

In the pictures below you will see the other side of the mount. The battery the I used is a 9 Volt battery. I took an old battery apart to be able to use the top of it so that I would be able to unhook it when it needed changed. I also installed the switch at this time. I had to use a piece of plastic to make the mount for the switch. The last part was the plug that I needed for the camera. I use the plugs from a mother board and the plug from an earphone to make that hook up. The wiring was pretty easy. I put one lead from the battery to the switch and from the other side of the switch to one side of the earphone plug. Then I put a wire from the other side of the battery to the other side of the earphone plug.

Step 5: Closing the Project for Now.

In closing, I would like for you to check back. I have one more part of the project that I want to add later. Add a comment if you see something you like and if you don not like it, comment anyway. What the heck, a comment is a comment good or bad. Chuck

Part #3 will be the rotating tripod mount for my time lapse. Check back to see it.