Don't worry too much about the measurements. It's all approximate anyway. There's nothing magical about the lengths -- they just happen to be what I started with, and it seems to work for me.
Dude! Inspiring! Awesome design.. i have built one! Now trying to design my own "mount" for the camera since my local hardware store stocked most but not all parts. I should have a working "Gerbil Cam" soon! haha.
Paco. you ROCk for sharing this. Period. It is illegal to have Badgers in Canada but Gerbils make good camera angles too... even closer to the ground! Rock on bro! I don't comment often but this post DESERVES credit!
You could secure it a little better for heavier cameras by using a pin and hole system instead of just PVC friction. Use PVC glue on the joints that don't need to move and set up a ring of holes at 5º or 10º intervals around the moving joints, and put pins through the holes to lock the joints in place and keep them from twisting and from pulling apart.
There are a lot of good ideas here, I might steal a few and make some mods. I'll credit your channel of course.
Please make the mods! I'd love to see a pin and hole system. The possibility of it coming apart keeps me from trying a number of things with the camera. One thing I'd worry about is by drilling holes every 5 or 10 degrees, you may severely weaken the PVC (like perforations around relatively soft plastic). Maybe if the holes didn't go all the way through?
Hi Paco, not sure if you are still inventing because the last time I wrote you were taking a break. But if you are thinking of coming out of retirement, why not turn your attention to a PVC version of the Camtrol Quadpod Video Camera Stabilizer ehich is being reviewed by Videomaker magazine I reckon you could knock one of these out in an hour and not cost $400.
I'm not fully back into inventing yet. I'm only 4 months into my new career, and have a backlog of videos I want to make before I start on anything new.
I'm betting that you could use the multipod like the Camtrol. The only problem is that when configuring the multipod like that, the weight of the camera is pulling the PVC apart, which could result in a dropped camera. There would have to be some sort of way of securing it, beyond the friction fitting. Anyone want to try?
Thanks Paco, I went to Home Depot and got all of the parts for the Multi Pod, I'm going to have to shop around for the Camera Mount parts. Home Depot only had one of the plugs, the rest of the parts they didn't have. I'll shop around and see if I can find them. This thing is so cool.
You didn't miss something in the video; you missed something in the description ;-) The piece at the bottom of the camera is called a PVC Camera Mount. I use it in all of my camera equipment. The link is in the description, or you can add /watch?v=syFuK8N1dDs to the end of the YouTube url. Write back if you have any other questions.
I think it would probably be fine. Just keep in mind, however, that I designed this to be a inexpensive solution for inexpensive cameras. I'd probably be a bit nervous trusting a $500 camera to something held together with PVC and friction. You may also run into problems with the weight of the lens throwing off the balance of the device. This is all speculation, though, since I don't have a larger camera to test this with. Anyone have experience with something like this?
You mentioned using this rig as a steady cam. Just saw your PVC Camera Mount video. I think using a monopod, balancing it in your hand horizontally and then holding vertically, will do a fair job. A four way cross junction can also give you some balance with a couple of arms reaching out to the sides. I've tried using a walking stick with a camera mount and have gotten fair results.
That's a great idea. If you search for "$14 camera stabilizer," you'll see something similar, but with a counterweight to balance it even further. I hadn't thought of doing it without the weight, though.
This is genius. At first I was going to dismiss the video as just another PVC rig but I will say that is the most impressive set of possibilities for a PVC rig Ive ever seen.
What do you mean, "just PVC?" Just kidding! PVC definitely has its drawbacks. I would love to see the multipod built in lightweight metal tubing with locking telescoping arms and actual joints instead of friction fit. But machining customized metal devices isn't my forte, so I'm stuck with PVC (for now).
What I was thinking was if you just spread the legs out and put them against the tree and used a couple of straps to hold it in place. It would probably be better if the 6.5" leg piece was ~2.5" longer so you would hit both legs with two straps. Maybe turn one leg down...
I didn't have any straps to test it properly, but I just held it in place and it looked like it would work. What I did was spread the arms out and place the legs on either side of the tree. Between tilting the legs and twisting the elbows you can compensate for the leaners.
While I was putting together the video, I was thinking that by combining the multipod and a gopro, I bet you could get some excellent high-quality movement and action shots.
You may be joking, but that is a real possibility with hard, crusty snow. In that situation, I may use a slightly different approach and turn one of the legs vertical, so I can punch through the crust of snow and use the leg as an anchor.
@PacoWarabi You're not talking about my videos are you? LOL! Spring has really sprung around here in the past couple of weeks. Things are springing up everywhere. We did another video hike over the weekend and it's not just dirt this time.
I just watched your weekend hike, and the spring is definitely starting! I can't wait to see your videos in a couple more weeks -- I bet it's beautiful!
Hey there my friend, followed a link over from my buddy woodenarrows' channel... had to check this out some more. How cool! Thanks for sharing... this is gonna come in handy indeed!
@PacoWarabi yeah , but i cant drive yet anyway! so i guess it doesnt really matter haha but it was a great idea , maybe i can accomplish the same effect with with my rc car.
I've seen some footage taken from RC cars. Generally not the smoothest shots around, but they do get some great camera angles and action video! Just don't try it with an expensive camera.
Wow, what a great design, so many ways to use it and a lot of them are ones I've been wanting to do. Looks like I'll be cutting and piecing to build one myself. BTW, is that a Canon Powershot A590 camera?. Looks just like one I have. They are a great little cameras. Thanks for sharing your design with us. Don't be surprised if it shows up as a commercial product, it's that cool!
It is an A590, but actually, that's my brother's camera. The problem with making videos about filmmaking equipment is that you need equipment for filming the equipment.
Paco ... pal ... you are the master of PVC! Most excellent design. Well now I have to hit the big box store and pick up sum'mo parts! Ha! Great video by the way ... with your standard excellence and wild eyes! Good way to start my week ... with a Paco Video!
You've got such beautiful scenery and beautiful music in your videos; I hope that this will make them even better. By the way, did you recognize Horsetail Falls in my video? That's up in your neck of the woods.
Great idea! Thanks, Roosevelt
MiWilderness 3 weeks ago
Absolutely BRILLIANT!!!!!!! Will be making this this afternoon!!
TexanChiro 1 month ago
Pure genius!
mwig50 3 months ago
Very cool design!
globalimage 5 months ago
I love this multi pod; I just need to convert measurements in centimeters.
great video, thank you !... ;-)
wdmc06 6 months ago
@wdmc06
Don't worry too much about the measurements. It's all approximate anyway. There's nothing magical about the lengths -- they just happen to be what I started with, and it seems to work for me.
PacoWarabi 6 months ago
very amazing pod! ill gonna make one for me, I hope to this will work with my DSLR, thanks for sharing!
ramcasty 6 months ago
yeah... too cool.. love it!!!
thefeet 6 months ago
Dude! Inspiring! Awesome design.. i have built one! Now trying to design my own "mount" for the camera since my local hardware store stocked most but not all parts. I should have a working "Gerbil Cam" soon! haha.
Paco. you ROCk for sharing this. Period. It is illegal to have Badgers in Canada but Gerbils make good camera angles too... even closer to the ground! Rock on bro! I don't comment often but this post DESERVES credit!
thefeet 6 months ago
You could secure it a little better for heavier cameras by using a pin and hole system instead of just PVC friction. Use PVC glue on the joints that don't need to move and set up a ring of holes at 5º or 10º intervals around the moving joints, and put pins through the holes to lock the joints in place and keep them from twisting and from pulling apart.
There are a lot of good ideas here, I might steal a few and make some mods. I'll credit your channel of course.
shadeydave 7 months ago
@shadeydave
Please make the mods! I'd love to see a pin and hole system. The possibility of it coming apart keeps me from trying a number of things with the camera. One thing I'd worry about is by drilling holes every 5 or 10 degrees, you may severely weaken the PVC (like perforations around relatively soft plastic). Maybe if the holes didn't go all the way through?
PacoWarabi 7 months ago
You are amazing!
cumanagoto 7 months ago
Well documented, photographed and presented. Truly inspirational.
Thanks Paco!
vidskitkid 7 months ago
Nice one paco
g0vqw 7 months ago
LOVE THIS! THANK YOU! gonna use this LOTS for hammock camp vids, etc.
FAQUAD2010 8 months ago
Hi Paco, not sure if you are still inventing because the last time I wrote you were taking a break. But if you are thinking of coming out of retirement, why not turn your attention to a PVC version of the Camtrol Quadpod Video Camera Stabilizer ehich is being reviewed by Videomaker magazine I reckon you could knock one of these out in an hour and not cost $400.
theprintsofwales 8 months ago
@theprintsofwales
I'm not fully back into inventing yet. I'm only 4 months into my new career, and have a backlog of videos I want to make before I start on anything new.
I'm betting that you could use the multipod like the Camtrol. The only problem is that when configuring the multipod like that, the weight of the camera is pulling the PVC apart, which could result in a dropped camera. There would have to be some sort of way of securing it, beyond the friction fitting. Anyone want to try?
PacoWarabi 8 months ago
that is awesome, I see a project tomorrow
dragonflyhiker 8 months ago
Thanks Paco, I went to Home Depot and got all of the parts for the Multi Pod, I'm going to have to shop around for the Camera Mount parts. Home Depot only had one of the plugs, the rest of the parts they didn't have. I'll shop around and see if I can find them. This thing is so cool.
muddog1561 9 months ago
How did you get the piece to stay on the bottom of the camera, did I miss something in the vid?
muddog1561 9 months ago
@muddog1561
You didn't miss something in the video; you missed something in the description ;-) The piece at the bottom of the camera is called a PVC Camera Mount. I use it in all of my camera equipment. The link is in the description, or you can add /watch?v=syFuK8N1dDs to the end of the YouTube url. Write back if you have any other questions.
PacoWarabi 9 months ago
Do you think this could support a lightweight DSLR like the Lumix G10?
tdmiller11 9 months ago
@tdmiller11
I think it would probably be fine. Just keep in mind, however, that I designed this to be a inexpensive solution for inexpensive cameras. I'd probably be a bit nervous trusting a $500 camera to something held together with PVC and friction. You may also run into problems with the weight of the lens throwing off the balance of the device. This is all speculation, though, since I don't have a larger camera to test this with. Anyone have experience with something like this?
PacoWarabi 9 months ago
Very very cool!
BCkayakcamper 9 months ago
You mentioned using this rig as a steady cam. Just saw your PVC Camera Mount video. I think using a monopod, balancing it in your hand horizontally and then holding vertically, will do a fair job. A four way cross junction can also give you some balance with a couple of arms reaching out to the sides. I've tried using a walking stick with a camera mount and have gotten fair results.
robertwgardner 10 months ago
@robertwgardner
That's a great idea. If you search for "$14 camera stabilizer," you'll see something similar, but with a counterweight to balance it even further. I hadn't thought of doing it without the weight, though.
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
@PacoWarabi
At the YouTube location: watch?v=T1aPbwcqquk
you can see a demonstration of the principle.
robertwgardner 10 months ago
Brilliant!
robertwgardner 10 months ago
you should get an HD camera and everything would look amazing.
OutdoorsIsFun 10 months ago
@OutdoorsIsFun
Yeah, hopefully my next big purchase will be the GoPro Hero HD camera.
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
This is genius. At first I was going to dismiss the video as just another PVC rig but I will say that is the most impressive set of possibilities for a PVC rig Ive ever seen.
Democratese 10 months ago
@Democratese
What do you mean, "just PVC?" Just kidding! PVC definitely has its drawbacks. I would love to see the multipod built in lightweight metal tubing with locking telescoping arms and actual joints instead of friction fit. But machining customized metal devices isn't my forte, so I'm stuck with PVC (for now).
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
What a great idea! I am impressed with it's versatility!
krcims 10 months ago
As usual, an excellent design and great video! If one were to carry a strap or two with him, I think, it could be used as a tree pod.
OvalVW 10 months ago
@OvalVW
I've thought of that, but I haven't found a good way of doing it yet. Any suggestions?
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
@PacoWarabi
What I was thinking was if you just spread the legs out and put them against the tree and used a couple of straps to hold it in place. It would probably be better if the 6.5" leg piece was ~2.5" longer so you would hit both legs with two straps. Maybe turn one leg down...
OvalVW 10 months ago
Comment removed
OvalVW 10 months ago
@PacoWarabi
I didn't have any straps to test it properly, but I just held it in place and it looked like it would work. What I did was spread the arms out and place the legs on either side of the tree. Between tilting the legs and twisting the elbows you can compensate for the leaners.
OvalVW 10 months ago
@OvalVW
Okay, I think I see. I tried something similar, but it kept wanting to shift sideways or slip down. I'll have to try it again.
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
Seems very good invention. Thanks for sharing!
Trophybow1 10 months ago
Sweet! Love the scenery as well! This goes to my facebook!
catascouts 10 months ago
This tool is cool ! Try to make one by myself. Thanks for sharing it!
Lotos61 10 months ago
The very best!!!
marianaweb 10 months ago
This is on the list to build for sure. Excellent job on the video production also.
EconoChallenge 10 months ago
@EconoChallenge
Thanks for noticing the production values. I tried hard on this one, and I even did it without stealing anyone's music!
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
bud : )
HALIBU77 10 months ago
@HALIBU77
Bud, bub, whatever. It all works!
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
great work bub!!!
HALIBU77 10 months ago
geez... impressive! i think I am going to make one for my gopro
micbergsma 10 months ago
@micbergsma
While I was putting together the video, I was thinking that by combining the multipod and a gopro, I bet you could get some excellent high-quality movement and action shots.
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
@PacoWarabi for sure!!!
micbergsma 10 months ago
Great design! I actually thought the snow pod' was going to sled down the hill. :)
Knoptop 10 months ago
@Knoptop
You may be joking, but that is a real possibility with hard, crusty snow. In that situation, I may use a slightly different approach and turn one of the legs vertical, so I can punch through the crust of snow and use the leg as an anchor.
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
very cool man
jmmurdy 10 months ago
That's cool! I may just have to build one of these some time. I love the new design.
You got some spectacular shots too!
rileyphillip 10 months ago
@rileyphillip
Well, the location really helped. It doesn't matter how good your steadicam is if you're just filming dirt.
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
@PacoWarabi You're not talking about my videos are you? LOL! Spring has really sprung around here in the past couple of weeks. Things are springing up everywhere. We did another video hike over the weekend and it's not just dirt this time.
rileyphillip 10 months ago
@rileyphillip
I just watched your weekend hike, and the spring is definitely starting! I can't wait to see your videos in a couple more weeks -- I bet it's beautiful!
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
I made your pvc cable cam mod. I can't wait to try this out. Thanks for posting.
wingman115 10 months ago
@wingman115
And make sure you put up some footage. I want to see how it looks when other people use this!
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
Very cool! A great use of PVC.
thefrugalfilmmaker 10 months ago
@thefrugalfilmmaker
Once I built the PVC Camera Mount, there was no end to what could be made.
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
Brilliant, Paco! MacGuyver doesn't have anything on you, my friend!
otakop67 10 months ago
@otakop67
He's got one thing on me -- the mullet.
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
@PacoWarabi True, but you have the bandanna... OF DEATH
otakop67 10 months ago
@otakop67
Sounds like the name of a really terrible martial arts film.
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
Hey there my friend, followed a link over from my buddy woodenarrows' channel... had to check this out some more. How cool! Thanks for sharing... this is gonna come in handy indeed!
intenseangler 10 months ago
@intenseangler
I'm glad you like it. It really is a handy device (if I do say so myself).
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
the dolly idea was great
alextroch 10 months ago
@alextroch
As long as you don't mind always filming one direction (although I guess you could drive backwards).
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
@PacoWarabi yeah , but i cant drive yet anyway! so i guess it doesnt really matter haha but it was a great idea , maybe i can accomplish the same effect with with my rc car.
alextroch 10 months ago
@alextroch
I've seen some footage taken from RC cars. Generally not the smoothest shots around, but they do get some great camera angles and action video! Just don't try it with an expensive camera.
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
@PacoWarabi ok thanks I would have used my gopro helmet camera
alextroch 10 months ago
instead of gardening supplies, I'm going to the plumbing section.
thecyr 10 months ago
@thecyr
:-)
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
nice
eldoggie2000 10 months ago
@eldoggie2000
Thank you kindly.
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
excellent!!
JGDeRuvo 10 months ago
@JGDeRuvo
Why do I suddenly have "Bill and Ted," running through my mind?
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
That is way COOL. Awesome job.
I will look in your site for the details of the mount portion. how did you build the portion that camera mounts onto?
5*
convert2010 10 months ago
@convert2010
In the description, I have a link to it. Once you build the PVC camera mount, the sky's the limit to what you can build.
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
I will be building a Multi Pod ASAP
jem4345 10 months ago
@jem4345
And then post a video response ASAP. I can't wait to see what you do with it!
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
Wow, what a great design, so many ways to use it and a lot of them are ones I've been wanting to do. Looks like I'll be cutting and piecing to build one myself. BTW, is that a Canon Powershot A590 camera?. Looks just like one I have. They are a great little cameras. Thanks for sharing your design with us. Don't be surprised if it shows up as a commercial product, it's that cool!
Woodenarrows 10 months ago
@Woodenarrows
It is an A590, but actually, that's my brother's camera. The problem with making videos about filmmaking equipment is that you need equipment for filming the equipment.
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
Paco ... pal ... you are the master of PVC! Most excellent design. Well now I have to hit the big box store and pick up sum'mo parts! Ha! Great video by the way ... with your standard excellence and wild eyes! Good way to start my week ... with a Paco Video!
RallohE 10 months ago
@RallohE
Well, your comment is a good way to start my week. Thank you kindly.
PacoWarabi 10 months ago
You, my friend, are a genius. I will be building one of those ASAP.
CaneMajor 10 months ago
@CaneMajor
You've got such beautiful scenery and beautiful music in your videos; I hope that this will make them even better. By the way, did you recognize Horsetail Falls in my video? That's up in your neck of the woods.
PacoWarabi 10 months ago