Monday, November 19, 2012

How To Make A GoPro Pan Tilt Time-Lapse Rig


 In my attempt to find new and sometimes silly ways to add
movement to my time-lapses, I present my Pan Tilt Rig.
Here is the link to the DIY video on YouTube, click here.
And a demo of the rig in action, click here.

Below are a few photos of the necessary parts and the complete rig.
You need: 
Two modified kitchen timers
Two 2 inch corner brackets
One 10 32 screw and nut (to attach GoPro to bracket)
One 1/4 20 screw to attach second timer to bracket











25 comments:

  1. Where is your source for the egg timers with the big handle to them? Also, where did you obtain the black plastic screw in handle shown on your unit?

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  2. I can usually find Mainstays egg timers at WalMart, but I am having a difficult time in finding something like your's, with the larger handle on the egg timer.

    What setting/fps do you normally use on your GoPro for the vidoes you show with this mod?

    It is a nice DIY piece and thanks for sharing.

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  3. The timer with the blue handle is an Ikea Stam kitchen timer, the black screw knob, was just
    a junk knob I glued to the timer and then screwed a 1/4 20 set screw into.
    With hour timers I shoot 1 frame every two seconds maximum, if you want to really smooth
    shoot 1 frame every second.

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  4. What purpose does the "junk black screw knob" serve and is it necessary? Where can I find one?

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  5. It's just a turn around, there is not enough meat at the top of the timers drive shaft to tap so I
    glued the knob there, it has a quarter twenty nut on the other end. There is no source for that part.
    It's from a pedco ultraclamp that I had ruined. I guess you could use any chunk of plastic, glue it to timer shaft and then drill and tap other side for 1/4 20 screw. If you can figure out a simple solution, let me know.

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  6. I forgot to Say, Thank you for your tutorials! I just bought my hero3 today and I will be attempting to make the pan and tilt tomorrow.

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  7. Thanks, you will have a great time with it. By the way you can do this project with two of the Ikea timers above .... blue knob .... You will need to modify the design of the bracket for the Hero three, the wifi button on the water proof case gets in the way, so the bracket will need to be a little bigger. Also, you can't have any extra weight, no lcd or battery back .... the unit will work best with a properly balanced light camera.
    Good Luck .... send me a link when you have success!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think I will just mount it on the other side, opposite from the wifi button. It should work the same, I think.

      Also I was curious what apparatus you had that hooked up to in the third and second to the last pictures. Looks like an extendable pole but not exactly a monopod. DIY monipod? Tripod?

      Delete
  8. That is a Lowel light stand. Some of their light stands have quarter inch threads you can tap into.

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    Replies
    1. Hey mate,

      So I gave it a shot today but it was a fail. I didn't have a black piece of plastic that is like the one in your bottom timer. So I made two timers of the top design (the blue one that you have pictured). This did not work because there was not enough support, so both timers were bending and could not even turn. It wasn't a stable base.

      Just thought I would share my experience. I need to find something to use to in place of your black piece to have a more stable base.

      Delete
    2. The only thing that I did not do was glue the knob back on, because I didn't have any super glue. Do you think the super glue makes that huge of a difference?

      Also, I did not have an LCD or battery pack. Stock camera and case for hero 3

      Delete
  9. Sorry it did not work, how about using a 1/2 inch piece of 1 inch wooden dow rod as a spacer?

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    Replies
    1. I just did the wooden dowel and I am testing it out now. I let it go for about 15 minutes and checked on it only to find that it stopped ticking. Something is up with the weight being distributed unevenly.

      Any suggestions on how to fix this? Is the HERO 3 heavier than previous models?

      These are the Ikea timers and I did test them at the store and picked the ones that had resistance.

      Thanks for all your help!

      Delete
  10. The Hero3 is much lighter. But to get this rig to work, balance is important.
    If your timer sticks, make sure you work it back and forth.
    Building good timers is essential.

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  11. Is it possible that I email you my attempt to get your suggestions on a fix? Please!

    ReplyDelete
  12. why not post a private video on youtube, send me the link to my gmail address .... blog name.

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  13. I think my mistake was making the wooden dowel too tall. Its about 1/2 inch, but I think it should sit lower to have better balance. How did you connect the "black piece" to the gears? Drill 3 holes and use Super Glue only? I'll try cutting the wooden dowel down to 1/4 inch to see if that will work this weekend.

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  14. Really clever. I made a panning device here http://diytripods.com/gopro-magnetic-egg-timer/ that I'm pretty proud of, but getting pan/tilt would be even better. I guess the other option would be to hook up a couple servos in something like this http://www.servocity.com/html/spt200_pan___tilt_system.html with an arduino or other microcontroller.

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  15. I prefer mechanical timers, I like to set them quickly, so I can concentrate
    shooting with my main camera. I need to work on my skill set to move into
    servos and such. If you build a micro controller unit send me a link.

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  16. Hello

    Are You interested in selling
    This item?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, but I don't have enough time personally to manufacture them one at a time. Sorry. Working on a solution. Stay tuned to my YouTube channel. Thanks for watching.

      Delete
    2. I am already subscriber of Your
      YT channel. It is really cool and very helpful.
      I live in London And I don't have any tools with me
      First time when I watched this I thought that Easier for me is buy it directly from inventor (from You)of this 'device'. But it is up to You. If You will change Your mind PLEASE let me know. I need only one of this
      Best regards from London

      Delete
  17. hello your photos are superb can you give me your settings for timelaps on your car so thank you in advance

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I usually start at one frame every 2 seconds, for an even smoother time-lapse move up to 1 frame a second or even smoother at one frame every half second. Depends on how many photos you can deal with, the more the better the time-lapse, you can always speed things up in editing!

      Delete

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