Multiple ram mounts for single camera use

[camelbird]

Ideas? comments...

I want new angles/shots with my camera and instead of buying another camera I wanted to come up with a quick and easy way to connect and disconnect my camera from several points on the kayak.

My first mount was a cheap and simple pvc rod with a cap and a 1/4" bolt connected to the top. Solid, did the job well but when I wanted to take off I would have to spin the camera around several times.

My idea is to have 2-3 ram ball mounts located on the yak and one ball connected to the camera and one ram connector. One ball on the nose, one ball on the upper left over the shoulder and one ball off to the side on the right.

Anyone out there done this before, comments, problems, ideas etc?

Thanks in advance

Justin

[camelbird]

something like this...

[DOGFISH]

Its not just RAM, but YakAttack makes the Panfish mount. It can slide into the mount made for it. You can take a look at those on the YakAttack web site. There is also another mount around, which I an not sure about the name, but it has a long arm on it so that, form the seated position, you can swing it out and around to the front of the kayak or back around to the rear of the kayak. You can change camera positions while in the kayak. If you look around the internet you can find them. Good Luck.

[camelbird]

Thanks! I'll check it out.. something that swings out like a boom mic would be perfect

[CB kayak 02]

I think your idea looks pretty good!! adds versatility and should be an easy to use concept.

[ictalurus]

RAM makes a couple different camera mounts that have a ball on one end and screw into the tripod mount on the camera. You could leave the ball attached to the camera and just pull it out of the arms which are mounted in different places.

Here's an example:

http://www.ram-mount.com/CatalogResu...5/Default.aspx

If you want to stick with PVC, here's a close-up of my mounting system:





I just shove the open end of the elbow onto a PVC arm that branches off my fish finder mount:



I wouldn't do a surf launch with it, but it's secure enough for quick shots. You could drill holes in it and use some sort of retaining pin for a more secure connection that will still be easy to remove.

[camelbird]

Awesome, thanks Bill

I really like your use of the rubber stopper/washer on the screw...

[ictalurus]

Thanks, Justin. It's a grommet that I found at West Marine for another project. They come in a small box of 5 or 10. It fit the bolt perfectly and keeps the camera from spinning around. You can probably get away without using it if you choose the bolt length more carefully than I did so that the camera sits flush on the PVC when tightened down. I was in a hurry and bought one I know would be long enough and never replaced it.

I have that RAM camera mount for use on my other kayak. It screws in tight, and the camera doesn't spin. You just have to be careful when removing the mount from the arm and make sure you don't drop the arm in the water. One end of the arm squeezes tighter than the other when loosened. I just make sure to have the tight side attached to the mount on the yak. I don't have any pics handy showing that, but I can take some this weekend if you want.

[camelbird]

Thanks for the insight. If this is the way I'm going I will have to be careful when un-clamping the lock - maybe a safety float for the camera would be a good idea as well.

Would love to see a pic!

Thanks Bill

Justin

[ictalurus]

I finally had a chance to upload some pics of my RAM camera rig. Here it is on my Tarpon:



Here's the arm by itself. See how one side stays more closed? That's the side I attached to the mount, which makes it easy to remove the camera with the camera ball still attached.



Here's the arm without the camera mount:


The part for mounting to the yak came from YakAttack and is called the "Screwball", which is for the Wilderness SlideTrax. For your yak, a 1" RAM ball will be the ticket.



Hope that helps. Let me know if you need pics of anything else.

[DOGFISH]

Here is a neat camera mount and extender. The extender and mount are sold separate. It also mounts to a Ram ball.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search...tialSearch=yes

[camelbird]

Bill,

Thanks for the pics, perfect explanation. That's definitely what I'm envisioning for two of my mounts.

Don,

Thanks again for the follow up, I never thought of using an extended arm like that, I always thought of a boom that would swing out. I like this one better as it can have a few different applications.

I appreciate it guys.

I'll post some pics

Justin