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On a recent show, I needed to have a view of the stage. Normally there's plenty of room to put a tripod up at the back of the room and have a camera send me a feed of what was happening. In this particular venue, there was no extra space at the back of the room, and no room for a tripod.
What I needed was something stable with small footprint that I could slide between two seats and not take up any space in an aisle. I spied a microphone stand on stage, which was just what I needed. The remaining obstacle was to figure out how to mount a camera to a microphone stand.
Cameras come with a 1/4"-20 hole in the bottom to affix a tripod or a shoe. Microphone stands use a 5/8"-27 thread for mounting clips and goosenecks. Hmm. 1/4"-20 is common... but 5/8"-27 isn't and I figured I wouldn't find "just the right thing" so I set off to the hardware store.
What I needed was something stable with small footprint that I could slide between two seats and not take up any space in an aisle. I spied a microphone stand on stage, which was just what I needed. The remaining obstacle was to figure out how to mount a camera to a microphone stand.
Cameras come with a 1/4"-20 hole in the bottom to affix a tripod or a shoe. Microphone stands use a 5/8"-27 thread for mounting clips and goosenecks. Hmm. 1/4"-20 is common... but 5/8"-27 isn't and I figured I wouldn't find "just the right thing" so I set off to the hardware store.
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My criteria was simple: my solution had to be small, attach securely enough to the mic stand to allow the camera to stay in position and not fall off if it got nudged. Oh, and cheap and easy. I had limit tools and no desire to dump a bunch of money on an untested project.
After wandering through the local hardware store, I came up with the following list of pieces to fashion my camera mount.
A non-threaded female-to-male threaded adapter for 1/2" PVC
A threaded PVC cap that fit on the previously procured adapter
One each 1/4"-20 nut, wingnut and 1-1/2" long bolt
The minimum purchase (12" in this store) of 5/8" ID flexible water hose.
I probably could have done this with just the non-threaded version of the PVC cap, but I figured that building it this way would give me a way to interchange caps that might have new and different purposes in the future.
After wandering through the local hardware store, I came up with the following list of pieces to fashion my camera mount.
A non-threaded female-to-male threaded adapter for 1/2" PVC
A threaded PVC cap that fit on the previously procured adapter
One each 1/4"-20 nut, wingnut and 1-1/2" long bolt
The minimum purchase (12" in this store) of 5/8" ID flexible water hose.
I probably could have done this with just the non-threaded version of the PVC cap, but I figured that building it this way would give me a way to interchange caps that might have new and different purposes in the future.
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something like this instructable looks much more secure!
This, however, is readily available through camera supply houses, etc. A sturdy, compact metal version is available for $7 or $8 and a ball & socket pan/tilt version is available for $13 from Musician's Friend. I salvaged a work box containing two adapters, the first adapting the standard U.S. mic mount to the smaller, European mount. The second adapts the European mount to the standard camera screw mount.
DIY is great for convenience and saving money. In this case, however, I don't see why you wouldn't buy the commercially available solutions.