Introduction: Boom Mic Pole to Light Stand Adaptor

In this video I would like to demonstrate my design and construction of my boom pole cradle and light stand adaptor. This adapter allows me to very quickly and easily attach my Rode boom mic pole to a standard light stand.

Looking online for a solution, most of the holders I found were overpriced bent pieces of wire that required a grip head and C-Stand. I wanted something very light weight, strong, portable, adjustable, and did not require a C-stand or grip head.

My custom made adapter uses a Scotty Power Lock Fishing Rod Holder that cost around $18. With the pole end of the the problem now solved, I still needed a way to securely attach it to the stud, on the end of a standard light stand.

The fishing pole holder is ⅞" inch diameter at its end, which increased to 1 inch at the top. Despite searching through numerous hardware stores I could not find any combination of pipes or fittings that I could easily pieced together to securely attach the stand to the holder

So, the task now was to to fabricate my own fitting adapter out of a one inch PVC pipe that I filled with epoxy, let set and harden, and then drilled out to the required deptha and diameters for both ends of the light stand and the pole holder studs.

The filler I used is a marine grade, 2 part, gap filling epoxy, that comes in a tube. Both parts are mixed together in the application nozzle when is extracted using a caulking gun. However, there are many sorts of filler that would work as well.

I taped off one end of the PVC pipe and then filled it to the top with epoxy. Once it was fully set, this epoxy is rock hard and extremely durable and can be drilled, which is exactly what I needed to do.

Using various Forstner bits in the drill press I augured out the ⅝" inch diameter hole which will fit on the light stand. Once done, I then flipped the adapter over and drilled the 1 inch as well as the ⅞" inch holes that will fit on to the pole holder.

The result is a very strong and durable connector that holds the pole fishing pole holder very secure, but still allows it to rotate as required.

Finish it off with coat of primer and a couple coats of black paint and it's ready to put in the action.

The pole holder itself is extremely durable reinforced nylon, and is adjustable in 22-½ degree increments. It's designed for holding extremely large fishing poles with a large tuna on the on the on the end line, so I think my lightweight boom pole and Rode video mic might, will work quite well with it.

This is a quick and cheap do-it-yourself solution that turned out as good or better than the commercially available ones I looked at. I know I will be very handy on every shoot I'm involved with in the future. I hope you find this video useful and that it gives you some ideas for similar DIY photo and video gear projects.