A quick and easy way to build a head mounted camera.

This was whacked together a couple of days before a dragon boat race as a way to show the paddlers what the sweep sees in a race.

Something simliar could be used in a variety of sports to give feedback to the atheletes about their performance.

You could use any number of small cameras, including mobile phones.

Step 1: Select a Food Container

First select a food container that fits your camera. The camera in this picture is a cheap little unit, nothing special about the quality, I liked it because it recorded directly to an SD card and was very light.

If you're wearing the thing on your head, it would be nice if the whole thing didn't weigh too much.

Try to select a container that fits the camera as closely as possible.

Step 2: Cut a Hole for the Lens

Next with the camera fitted inside, mark the place where the lens wants to look out.

Cut out a hole for the lens.

Use a small piece of transparent plastic (eg from a CD cover) and use silicon sealant to seal the plastic to the container.

Step 3: Some Head Attachments

Simply strapping the container to your head will result in the whole thing bobbing around too much.

I used some adhesive velcro on the back of the container and on my hat.

Step 4: Now Assemble

There are no holes for switches etc, so you need to setup the camera to start recording before using it. You get a bit of video footage of the device being assembled, but you can edit that out later.

Put the camera in the container, you may need some stuffing to get the camera to fit snuggly.

You may have noticed the use of black fabric tape......no real reason apart from making the box colour coordinated with my black hat.

I used an elastic headband from an old LED headlamp, simply taped around the outside of the container and making sure not to obscure the lens hole.

Just for some extra security I also use some rubber bands around the container.

Step 5: How Does It Look?

How does it look????
Very dorky, like a second rate borg. However the thing cost next to nothing to put together.

Notice how the black tape matches my hat.....very spiffy.

When attaching, start the camera and get someone to help positioning the cam so that the camera face a little inward and down.....or else you'll get a thrilling video of the sky or some other place where you're not looking.

Step 6: The Results

Here is a video of the second heat, Northern Beaches Mixed B crew going through their paces on 3rd December at the Penrith International Regatta Center.