Simple camera or phone aiming platform (replaces tripod)
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- čas přidán 2. 11. 2023
- A very simple platform that allows for easy aiming of a camera or phone, based on the idea of a ball and socket joint.
If you want plans, see the dimensions for it near the end of the video. - Jak na to + styl
Genius. Not even a minute into the video and I i threw my phone into a roll of packing tape and put it on my coffee mug and had a tripod in seconds without leaving my desk. The offset camera clears the side of the roll and my galaxy s20+ happens to require the tape roll to be squeezed oblong everzso slightly, which holds it snug.
cool! I just checked my phone and it just fits too!
@@matthiaswandel Just had to try this myself. What a genius idea.
Nice! 50.8 mm blue painters tape & 76.2 mm mug. iPhone 15 pro with case. Can’t tilt sideways too much but probably would only use around rotational axis parallel to the screens longest edge anyway.
Mine fell into my tea.
@@ricos1497 that because you are only supposed to use it on coffee 😁
His videos are a master class in problem solving. At least eight different problems were solved in the most elegant ways possible. That's the real value of this channel, IMO.
It was great seeing the new solution, thinking how great it was but then getting hit with an even simpler one. Seeing all of those intermediate steps helps explain the final solution and provides access to intermediate solutions which may work better in a pinch.
An alternative: use a small bean bag. At any angle you like, portable, and fits in a pocket. To make a bean bag type bag, use a small fabric pencil case, filled with buckwheat hulls, or grains of sand if you like, or whatever doesnt degrade.
There's a commercial version called The Pod that I've been using for years with small cameras. Their best feature is perhaps that you can use them on any uneven surface as the bottom of the bean bag just conforms to the surface.
Found my way here from your scanner-camera page. I remember reading about it a long time ago, around the time you published it. It came back into my memory today and so i googled it and voila. Looked around the site hoping you were still kicking it and good to see you are here and still making content.
your problem solving skills are fascinating. such a great ballance between engineering and getting things done.
using those dowels instead of screwing the camera into the base is a great example ❤️
I love hearing the thought process as you work through each part of the build/ design
Since he built a lot of them, now I know what Matthias will be sending me this Christmas!! 😊
That's my favourite path of projects on your channel:
idea => freehand-prototyping => geometry lesson => bandsaw => contraption that nobody has ever seen before but always wanted to have ;)
haven't seen a video from you in quite a while. I guess life is busy.
@@matthiaswandel yes, there were some things I hadn't wished for. But it got better, so hopefully there will be new videos.
this is a job perfectly suited to making a wood lathe useful.
BTW the method for cutting the edges on the round surface is very interesting
this genius inventor from the deep woods of Canada destroyed the million dollar tripod industry....
Hmm, I have yet to hear a peep myself from the rabid Christmas market floggers and here is Matthias already well into his present making - what provident organizational skill.
The tape and mug idea is excellent. I have an engineer’s mind so I took it one step further and used the tape to tape my phone to the side of the mug. Brilliant!
I have not woodworking tools... I will 3D print one! Great design, Thanks!
I love how frugal he is! Satisfies me...
I do professional video and streaming and you've essentially built the same system that big tripod systems use. Most of the higher end/video tripods use a 70mm bowl mount to connect the tripod head to the legs, the bowl lets you perfectly level the tripod head even if the legs are uneven.
Watching you build this for a completely different group of camera users was really neat
Yep, this is a simple version of a low-hat, out of wood of course :)
The simplest phone camera holder I've stumbled upon is my Casio watch. I expand the band which has holes (not the stretchy watch bands) to fit around my Samsung S23. Then rest the watch face flat on the ground or table or fence post. You can tilt the phone slightly upwards or downwards within the band. Works well most of the time in a pinch. Thx for the tutorial Matthias
Just love your engeneering skills and thought process.
Your genius is elegant simplicity. Your solutions consistently produce the most funtionality bang for your complexity dollar!
Clever design and cool gift. Nice job Matthias 💕🤙
One way to improve the de-kinking of the bandsaw blade would be to make a winding path through 3 or 4 skate bearings aligned so that there isn't a straight path through them. Though you might do that in a clamping fixture so that the path is 'straight' as you are setting up, then squeeze the blade while running to run through them. They use a similar technique to straighten wire coming off of various spools. Now I get to re-watch the entire video to see what I missed while drafting this. 🙂
The trick to 'remembering' that you have one of these, is to spend a few dozen photo-shoots deliberately using them, and having one or more stored wherever you keep your camera. I can see making some that end up as camera fixtures, if you add a bolt through the center, with a conical cutout from the bolt holding point, and then a large 'nut' gear (either with an actual nut, or with a T-nut for more depth of threads if that is 'useful) at the base that tensions the base at whatever angle you set. This would need clearance for the bolt head, and you would probably need a spherical adapter for the bolt head, but might help in situations where a camera may get jostled and you want some level of repeatability, without making the setup 'permanent.
The engineering state of mind 👍. You had invented 2 times simpler solution than I would 😃. Great job!
Sooo clever!!! I'm using a beanbag now but can't wait to make and try this. Thank you!!
I like the beanbag, to replace or augment the socket.
I love watching your problem solving and abaility to rapid prototype, this sort of innovating is what we all can aspire to.
Just FYI you've reinvented the bowl leveler that is getting popular with tripods today. A similar version to what youve built can be found as a stand alone "leveling base" assessory that can be added onto existing tripods or simply placed on flat surface. 👍👍
So much ingenuity in such a simple project.
The master of the prototype (and end product)
I think it would be a good idea to add a harness or strap to secure the camera in case someone bumps the stand while using it - especially for the ones meant as gifts. Very interesting design. Thanks for sharing.
This could be 4 cup hooks, one near each corner, with rubber bands that cross over the top of the camera, and end up clear of the lens.
My brain all ways hurts after watching your videos. Keep up the good work.
This is a brilliant gift idea, thank you so much!
Brilliant, Matthias! Really well done! 😃
I'm definitely going to make one... But with a screw to fix the camera!
Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
Really Enjoy watching your videos
Loved your spoofing title for this vid. Thank you for sharing.
Matthias's friends watching: "Welp, we know what were getting for christmass"
That is just freakin’ awesome. Now I’m definitely gonna be trying to play with this idea, I could see using a few!!! Awesome work!
Good thinking matthias. Balls are a tricky to make. Quote of the day. 😂
Cool idea. I just whipped one out with my SAK and a section of a branch. Super easy, too, already pretty smooth after I peeled the bark. I got the positions wrong for the pegs, so it could hold my phone too, just a little. But I can make another, no sweat, as I still have half the round I cut.
Thanks for the idea.
This is great. It's inspirational. Makes me want to do my projects that i've been putting off.
An infinite-axis telescope is a ball-in-cup mounted telescope, also called a spherical-mounted telescope. The first Newtonian telescope was mounted in this way.
Nice! I've been thinking about designs to tie into my windshield mount for my phone (I video often that way) something I can change orientation quickly, safely and easily. Nice to see this one you've come up with.
A lot of Wandel wizardry going on here. Thank you for sharing.
He tests thing so well. Will not sponsor brands that make him tell lies, either.
You have 1st time. Simply put, 2 rolls of tape work supremely with my phone thanks again, Hephaestu.:) sorry for the classical reference 😊🎉
Nicely done ✅
TV Kitchen and engineering put together.
This is going to be great when sharing videos from the workshop with family and friends.
You know, this would be a really great project to do on your 3D printer. I need to put a model together and produce an STL file for such a project. Thank You!!!
Brilliant, Matthias!
Great Idea, already seen on Insta. To make it even simpler (easier to make) 2 halfround skids (half disks) with a board in between might work too....
If the arc of the wood had a metal layer, then you could use a Neodymium magnet to prevent the platform from falling of the base, and if the camera is fixed with velcro wraps to the base, you can use the entire holder even upside down.
Neat idea - very simple.
This is great not only for cameras, but also for propping your phone or a small tablet on the table for reading during lunch at work.
I am going to make one. I will just use a lathe to make that semi-sphere slice. And also the ring.
You do have a lathe. You could jury-rig a ball making gizmo on it.
You might make one with a large enough surface on top to bu used as a countertop easel for cookbooks or tablets on a kitchen counter or at a standing desk, so that either is at a more useful reading orientation. Something with an adjustable level of 0-15 degrees.
this would be a great portable and quick mount for a spotting scope - provided you had a flat enough surface - same thing is true for a laser
so many possibilities! Great Job!
could put three stubby legs on the ring so it would not wobble when placed on a rock
wonderfull idea 😉
Youre the bes carpenter ever greetinhs grom México
so simple it gets hard to understand why this is int a thing yet😅 thanks to your head nugget for all you do for us Matthias😁
Very similar to a bowl head on professional video tripods. Essentially you can level your fluid head really quickly without fiddling with the leg length of the tripod.
Quite innovative
Off to the shed now to fire up the wood lathe, freshly inspired, I don’t really need one but apparently I absolutely must make one.
Very Clever!
Hate to comment on someone clearly million more times more skilled than I but I think the proper router bit would give you that perfect rounded edge.
Definitely would design one to fit my coffee mug perfectly. Or make it a coaster for my coffee so it stays on the desk where I’d actually use it.
Pair of cheap servos with drive wheels could give you a remote controllable solution.
Nicer video tripod heads actually use this exact sort of mechanism to let the operator correctly level the camera without having to adjust the legs independently.
Love it!
cool idea😀
I would love to see you replace the trunnion in one of your bandsaws with this design, for tilt-a-whirl cuts - for no other reason than to anger the safety police.
Excellent 👍👍👍🇩🇰
Brilliant!
Handy design! You could probably bevel the edge with a router, or even a rasp if you were hand-tool inclined, or if the bandsaw cut was to scary.
yes, a round-over would do. But I prefer the sanded surface, cause most of these ended up rocking just a bit, and sanding it a bit more doesn't show when all the bevels are sanded.
@@matthiaswandel I was not thinking of a round over actually, but a chamfer. I guess it all depends on what tools and bits a person has on hand. (Heck, I don’t even own a router, it just struck me as another option).
1.) Rubber feet on the base to reduce table or surface vibrations.
2.) A stick on bubble level
3.) Different bases at different level height. Have a swivel plate on the bottom as well to counter adjust for non-level surfaces.
What you essentially created was a lowered, half ball head joint without the tripod housing/legs. Pretty clever.
Would love to see a more refined machined aluminum version.
Making an aluminum version might might be an example of over-engineering.
I like it. One suggestion to prevent the stand from being shook out of alignment is some type of grit (sandpaper?) between the two wooden parts.
Put it on a flattish beanbag?
@@Struthio_Camelus I have used one of those beanbags and they are handy. But they don't have the range of movement that this wooden platform has (nor a tripod).
@@cemx86 I hear that, I was thinking about a small little beanbag in the bottom of the socket, just enough to rub the bottom of the ball.
Failing that, cut little pieces of rubber glove and glue to the socket rim.
This is great to design for 3d printing
That looks great. My little tripod has a tendency to topple over when I try and point the camera up or down at a steep angle.
I have an idea for the CZcamsr woodworking community (if it hasn't been done before): a secret Santa type situation wherein all the participants make a video of making each others' gifts but the twist is, the process of making the gifts must be inspired by the methods/approach/philosophy to woodworking that the recipients are known for (bonus points for combining your methods with those of your recipient.) I think this has the potential to be a cool and entertaining way for both the makers and audiences to check out new channels and generally to look at things in new and challenging ways and would be a nice act and show of solidarity for the community for the holidays.
been done before -- I guess you don't watch videos of building stuff.
@@matthiaswandel Thanks for the response - not as much as I used to, but I've been getting back into it lately. I used to watch all day every day during college and a while afterwards but trailed off when life caught up to me about the time you moved I think. As always, thanks for the superb content and if you or anyone can throw me a keyword to check out the secret Santa type stuff, I'll be certain to check it out.
Now drill a bunch of holes in the base for the pegs and you have an universal product in your hands!
Skateboard grip tape on the bottom may be helpful in making it a little more stable
You could really overengineer it by having magnets around the rim and have the platform be ferromagnetic. Like inlaying a strip of steel in the spherical part of the platform. Can also have a magnet that screws onto the camera and a piece of steel in the platform. Though, you're still limited by the height that it sits on. The setup time has pretty much all competition beat.
Martin from @Wintergaten has taken to saying "the best part is no part" and I think that applies here.
That’s exactly what I was thinking too! Magnetic rim would be handy
A Shinto rasp would also work pretty well for rounding over the edges without the risk of kinking a band saw blade or worse.
When I saw the jam-jar, I was expecting a hole-saw, and angled axis revolution to get a perfect spherical bottom. (As is used in rough-grinding lenses). I guess the bevels-and-sander approach works too.
Very cool:)
Cool
I’m going to make one
Nice!
Pure genius mind
0:33 Ahhh Duramax - one of the greatest scores Dollarama has delivered unto us!
What a brillian idea! Will this show up as cheap plastic knockoffs on amazon before Christmas?
Now I assume your next move could be to add several holes for camera holding rods with female thread and rods with several heights to screw there. Also, a rubber surface may enable the camera not to slide. And the next may be creating silicone molds for colorful urethane resin products. Do you dream your projects while you are sleeping?
I'd love a "stocking filler" from MW!
I often use a heavy coffee mug with a shallow tea saucer as the base for the camera and use the rim of the mug the same way. But both are fragile and don’t float
tbh cameras don't float either
Can you imagine a Christmas where you receive a gadget made by MW???!!
Don't mind me, I'm just gonna steal that idea and patent it, thank you.
I do haz a DSLR. I may make one too! I usually use a similarly chonky lense on mine. so looks like the longer pegs are to keep it from rolling over shorter pegs? I wonder how a "snug" but unthreaded peg would do in the tripod mount socket...
adding a powerful magnet would help.
I'm unsure if you still have a lathe (haven't seen you use one in a while), but you could turn a half sphere on the end of a chunk of wood, then cut your desired shape out of that half sphere. That way, you are working with a true sphere shape and not having to approximate it by hand.
You could probably also cut the base out of that same piece of half sphere.
It may be one of the tools that he parted with when he moved from the farm to his current location. That said, he made that lath, so he could likely make a new one if he felt the need. Speaking of which I picked up a benchtop belt sander with a disk sander from a surplus store, that I didn't check before hand, but the casting was broken (several places) that In intend to use his ideas for a desktop bench sander to make into something useful for me. (The bearings and motor are all good, just the cast fram and a few 'covers' ended up being broken. Intentions need to change to actions though, and that's taking way too long...
FYI, there's a similar, existing product called the Tiltpod. It's smaller and therefore the camera's weight can make it harder for it to maintain its position, but it screws in and is always with your camera, which is much more convenient. (My previous comment about this seems to have gone missing. Did I say something wrong?)
Thanks for the video! Did you consider that perhaps wood-turning a partial sphere out of a log could be a faster way, rather than going to the band saw and the belt grinder eye-balling the desired spherical edges?
lathe would take way way longer!
You made enough to give to all the commenters? 🙌🏼
One of the few applications where 3D printing would have some real benefits -- given the choice, of course.
but I was able to iterate my design MUCH faster by cutting pieces of wood
I'll print it!
The pegs should be done like bench dogs, multiple holes and friction fit.
The base or the plate should be coated with something that has a little grip. Strips of rubber, rubber cement, or maybe varnish?
I just follow to see what new things he can do with bamboo skewers, his new favorite wood product. 😅😅
nice
A question: when you were cutting in the band saw, wouldn't it be safe if you were cutting on the other side of the blade when you tilted the base? That way the bottom of the piece is supported and it won't be able to turn when being cut. Instead of using the contraption you used.
that would be much safer, but I can't see through from the bottom of the table. Following the line precisely is kind of important