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Monday, March 8, 2010

DIY GoPro HD Chest Mount

I’ve spent a lot of time lately playing with my new GoPro HD. Probably too much time. Ever since I received my GoPro a few weeks ago, I have been wanting to do something with the base of the original packaging. It is a base for attaching the camera just like the others in the kit.
Here is a video showing what NOT to do with the GoProHD:
YouTube: The wrong way to mount a GoPro HD to a Super9


I had the idea to modify mine after reading about someone else who attached theirs to a kite.
Tools needed:
1) Use the rotary tool to round the corners of the base plate. It wouldn’t be nice to be stabbed while using the mount.
2) Use the drill to make four holes in the base.
DIY GoProHD Chest Mount
3) Run a long piece of nylon rope through the holes to make an X pattern on your back.
DIY GoProHD Chest Mount
4) Attach the GoPro HD to the DIY chest mount with the vertical clip
DIY GoProHD Chest Mount
5) After some quick testing, I determined a small piece of paper needed to be stuffed under the clips to prevent rattling. The connection between the base and the clips isn’t quite perfect. Because we used the vertical clip above, we can’t use the orange rubber stopper that comes with the camera for this purpose.
DIY GoProHD Chest Mount
6) Put it on and go make some video!

Here is the video showing the DIY chest mount:
YouTube: DIY GoPro HD Chest Mount


UPDATE: I was frustrated with the lack of flexibility for this mount and eventually bought the GoPro Chest Mount. This could be improved with nylon webbing and velcro instead of rope and slits instead of holes.



Posted by Chris Luhman at 6:37 AM
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14 comments:

  1. Beautifully clear and high quality video Chris and a very ingenious solution to a chest mount. I have also found the waterproof rear door cuts out too much sound, except when I mounted my camera backwards facing into the wind - in this situation, the waterproof door is essential to prevent too much wind noise. I was suprised that the suction mount caused too much vibration - I found the opposite when I fixed it to my tank, so I guess it depends on how much the item the suction mount is fixed to virates itself.
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  2. Very cool man! nice job!!
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  3. Dear Chris:

    You and Bob Skoot are going to re-invent the motorcycle adventure. I thought you had a very practical and clever idea, with the chest mount. I wouldn't trust a suction cup mount in dealing with motorcycle vibration, and I ride a bike that doesn't vibrate. Bob uses a tether with his and that makes good sense. I would be reluctant to attach a suction cup to my rig's paint.

    This camera looks like cool farkle. It takes great pictures and the sound is interesting too.

    Fondest regards,
    Jack • reep • Toad
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  4. Gary: The suction mount works great on the Ural, but my Super9 is just too rough. The suspension is setup rather aggressively, so it transmits a lot of bumps into the camera mount. Once the salt is washed away, I will try it on my other bikes. And where is the video proof of your camera being on the tank?? :)

    Bash3r: Thanks!

    Jack: Thanks. The suction mount is quite strong. I can tow the bike around with it. It just shouldn't be used with a stiff suspension like my Super9. The Ural did great with it, and I suspect my SV650 will also. Not sure about how it will work on the WR yet. The suction won't damage the paint either. It IS a cool farkle, but having the power of the sun is better. ;)
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  5. Chris:

    I was going to make something with my Packing mount too. Just haven't figured out what yet. I have already ordered my Ram-Mount adapter plate and will be using Ram-Mounts on my crash bars.
    I was thinking of Velcro straps with this plate on my rear top case for some rear video, or perhaps I will mount a low angle regular videocam for the rear. I liked Gary's rear facing riding video.

    OH, if you want ORANGE, you'll have to buy it yourself. Do you all think we won the lottery or something ? Maybe a diecast model would be do-able

    bob
    bobskoot: wet coast scootin
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  6. Bob: I have been thinking of a low mount too, perhaps under the Bike. I haven't see Gary's video yet. I'll have to go check it out later.

    You mean you didn't win the lottery?! Dang TV lied again! ;)
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  7. I think I will just sit back and let you all work the bugs out. When the time is right I will make my move. Looks like we're all going to have to be video makers as well as rider/bloggers these days!

    A camera mounted on a kite? Interesting. What did they do, fly the kite behind the bike?
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  8. irondad: Yup, a camera on a kite. Nothing related to motorcycling, but a neat idea. I did see one guy mount a pole (monopod) on his back and put the camera on the end of it to get a different view of riding.

    If everyone did video, who would teach us to take better photos?
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  9. Chris - Going back and looking at the video (the only clip in this posting) that was taken when the camera was mounted on the tank of my bike (honest - check out the top of the forks moving differently to the camera angle!) using the suction cup, it doesn't look so good now especially when compared to the videos taken when it was mounted on my handlebars. This is surprising as I would have thought the suction mount on the tank would eliminate some of the vibration. When I mounted the camera on the bars, it seemed to be shaking much more, but the end result was actually better.

    As your experience shows with different bikes, it is very much a case of trial and error.
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  10. Gary: Yes, lots of trial and error figuring out the recording settings, where to stick the camera, and which housing to use. It's nice to have choices to be flexible. I'm going to get a couple RAM mounts and copy you and Bob. My panavise is basically a RAM mount on a suction cup.
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  11. vibration on a bike is like on a guitar string, some points move a lot, some don't move at all. You need to find a sweet spot for your mount then hope that the length of the cameras mount arm doesn't induce any more vibration. I've just bought 2 pushbike speedo/light mounts for £2 each as opposed to the £expensive go pro ones. I've going to glue one of the quick mount brackets to them and see how I get on.
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  12. ChrisJ: You're right about the vibration. Some bikes just vibrate a lot more than others. I've been having great luck with my panavise mount and the chest mount. Let me know how your solution works. I'd love to see some photos too.
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  13. OK so the suction mount works well on the rear plastics of the bike but prompts " does my bum look fat in this" comments due to the wide angle lens. I've yet to test it on the tank. The speedo mounts appear to grip well but the rubber "non slip" inserts that insert between the clamp and the bar compress too much and with the weight of the camera a good 4-6" above there is movement. Push bike handle bar mounting produced unusable footage. I'm trying to rejig it to get the centre of mass of the camera closer to the bar. On the push bike this lower mount won't be an issue. On the motorbike it will mean the camera can't see through the screen, just the speedo, not what I want to show! I've got an idea for some less compressible rubber, just not found where to get some from yet.

    I copied the chest mount design above but used round elastic instead of string and the footage is good but I could do with the "upside down camera patch" to allow more flexibility.
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  14. ChrisJ: The suctions works great on the tank for me. I've also recently tried using a RAM mount on the handlebars. It works fell, but has a slight jello effect as the vibration is transmitted into the camera making the image wobble. Maybe use some old inner tubes as dampening?

    The chest mount is still my favorite, and I use it almost every day now.
    ReplyDelete

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