All my mic stands, shock mounts and mic clips are fitted with quick release connectors so I don't have to thread anything. So, when I got into photography, I quickly ascertained the value of the same kind of system. All my large telephotos, camera bodies as well as my monopod and tripod are fitted with manfrotto RC2 connectors - even my little point and shoot.
The RC2 is a little overkill for a tiny camera like the Canon G7, but I don't mind because fitting all my camera gear with the same kind of mount makes everything interchangeable. Sometimes I actually use the G7 as a camera, but most of the time I use it to grab video. The solid-state recording medium eliminates any acoustically-coupled mechanical noise associated with dragging magnetic tape over a rotary head. The mic is still acoustically coupled to the body, but at least there are no moving parts and motors rattling around inside the body when I'm recording.
There have been times when I thought it would be helpful to have a small hand dolly for the camera, or be able to place the mechanical movement of the camera under computer control. The movement could be recorded slowly, then sped up in Adobe After Effects. So, I'm going to reach for a solution that is close at hand and, as a Lego-nerd, I have a tendency to see a solution to some problems though acrylonitrile butadiene styrene-tinted glasses. 
It turns out that the Bogen 3157N plate fits very well on top of a Lego 32532 6x8 Technic Brick. For the uninitiated, there are resources available that allow you to buy parts ala carte. The peeron part link will automatically list sellers that have this part in stock.
All that I had to do was use a Dremmel to grind off the studs and then epoxy the two parts together. Now I can use standard Lego parts to attach to the camera to anything I can dream up, including Mindstorms parts for computer controlled movements.
NEEEERRRRRRRRDDDDS!
Party Like it’s 30 years ago!
21 minutes ago
4 comments:
very cool
Call me crazy, but I see no actual Mindstorms brick on the camera mount, so how do you get it to take photos for you?
You're right. That is just a picture of the dolly. The make article made it sound like it was a picture of a mindstorms robot. It isn't.
there's homebrew firmware you can get for this and various other series of Canon cameras that will allow you to e.g. remote trigger over USB - go hunt it.
plus i so want to dig out my old abandoned legos and try making one of these - i think the parts for the old pneumatic wrecker-crane truck should do the trick? and could even be pressed into service to remotely alter the rotation and elevation of the camera itself. drop a couple 9v or 4.5v motors on there to run the wheels (fwd/back + steering, or tank-track style, geared way up and over-volted so they run slowly and quietly) and you're all set.
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