Thread: Motorised DSLR Tripod, Work In Progress.

I was about to route the backs of the legs out to add an additional telescoping leg when I noticed some very small cracks(another threat was started after a few shandies hahaha) so they are possibly scrap or will be spares.

This is a test run to see what size the head needs to be to fit all the bits on it and it will be slightly smaller than in this pic, it will also be made from timber and not ply.

Tripod mock.jpg

There are three of these and they are the top slides that have a loose half lap joint to allow for swelling and warping, the bottom is now recessed around the leg for a cleaner look.
Guide2.jpg

Lower guide assembly which still needs some material removed as it looks a bit chunky, it has a matching Ironbark bottom cap that is screwed on which allows the locking mechanism to be repaired.

WP_20160408_13_59_49_Pro.jpg


Just a quick mess around with some scrap to see what sort of dimensions I need to make it all work.
WP_20160409_17_05_37_Pro.jpg

One lower guide almost done and the other two are now drying and they will be finished off tomorrow.
Just tried a quick coat of Orange Oil to see how the timber comes up and I think it looks quite nice-

R0246244.jpgR0246245.jpg

It is way bigger than it needs to be but it's tough and serviceable.

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Congratulations. You've done a fine job.
A wooden tripod has been on my must do list for the last 10 years - no start as yet though. So many complexities!

I'm not sure whether you are asking for critique or not, but two things which I wonder about are
1. The lazy Susan bearing. Unless there is some type of locking mechanism which you aren't showing us then I don't think it will give you anything like the rigidity needed for good photography.
2. Your choice of Aussie hardwood seems brave. I don't think there is any Aus hardwood that I'd trust for making a precision instrument. Most wooden tripods are made out of ash. Personally, I don't see why beech isn't best - especially with the dimensions of yours. Apologies if I mention this too late.

Cheers
Arron

Hi Aaron, yeah I'm all ears when it comes to both timber and construction.

I have no real knowledge when it comes to wood and did almost no research on tripods but it will be far from a precision bit of gear, if it's no good I'll make a better one I guess.

I'm not 100% sure what you mean about a locking mechanism for the bearing? It is a 150mm diametre bearing and I would assume that once it all stops moving it should be fairly stable, will the shutter cause the head to move on the bearing? I was thinking of running a truck hub seal on the head which would add a slight amount of preload to the bottom which may fractionally reduce movement.

It is only for stills and is just needed as my brother can't hold a camera still enough to get a decent photo, the camera body is 1.4kg and is an old Canon 1DS Mk3, max lens weight is also 1.4kg- Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM - Telephoto zoom - Canon UK

Originally Posted by Ubernoob

I'm not 100% sure what you mean about a locking mechanism for the bearing? It is a 150mm diametre bearing and I would assume that once it all stops moving it should be fairly stable, will the shutter cause the head to move on the bearing? I was thinking of running a truck hub seal on the head which would add a slight amount of preload to the bottom which may fractionally reduce movement.

I mean that the more you can lock the camera down and prevent movement the better. The lazy Susan bearing is for facilitating dinner parties, it was never designed to be a precision instrument - so there will be flex both in the thin metal and in the bearing race. This will be evident when:
- You touch the camera - the camera always dips when you press the shutter.
- The shutter and mirror do their thing.
- You breathe on it.
- Someone walks nearby, or cars
- There is wind.
These tiny movements are always there and are made much worse when the lens is at the 400mm focal length. You can ameliorate movement to some extent with remote releases and mirror lock up, but artifices like that are a severely limiting.

I also note that the lens has image stabilization which may or may not help (basically designed for a different type of movement).

Does it matter, well it depends how seriously you take your photography and whether the subject matter is one that demands image sharpness or not.

Hmmm, I don't really have good enough gear to try it out, however, the camera will be operated remotely and the Lazy Susan bearing is rated for 100kg and is better built than I was expecting but yes I can see movement being an issue.
I was originally going to use a couple of angular contact/thrust bearings but I figured I'd try the lazy way first, I could still add one and use it to preload the Lazy Susan bearing.

Originally Posted by Ubernoob

Hmmm, I don't really have good enough gear to try it out, however, the camera will be operated remotely and the Lazy Susan bearing is rated for 100kg and is better built than I was expecting but yes I can see movement being an issue.
I was originally going to use a couple of angular contact/thrust bearings but I figured I'd try the lazy way first, I could still add one and use it to preload the Lazy Susan bearing.

Most tripods have a system where you make your directional adjustments first, then lock camera to tripod quite rigidly, usually by turning a lever.

But yep, no harm in trying your way first. Considering the other handicaps your brother has to overcome, it may be far from an issue.

On a slightly different tack, did you consider simply mounting a gimbal head on your homemade tripod. Like https://www.fotogenic.com.au/jusino-...#/product/1186

You could automate the movement of the gimbal head if need be.

The benefit is smooth movement combined with absolute rigidity when needed.

I'm not sure of the extent of the recipients disabilities but I also suffer from rsi and like most of us it's sometimes bad and sometimes not too bad. When it's not too bad I would want to switch the automotives out and go manual, for which the gimbal is good because it kind of suspends the camera/lens from above and is very stress free to hold. The camera just kind of rocks there, nicely balanced.

Or a readymade motorised pan/tilt head with joystick control

Bescor MP 360 Motorized Pan and Tilt Head F HDSLR and Video Camera'S | eBay

I could add a lock quite easily but it would have to have a micro switch that was triggered when the device was locked or the motors would self destruct if they were operated.

It really is a wait and see sort of build, I have no idea if I will have to add some sort of guide to assist the linear actuator or if it will be stable enough on it's own........I doubt it, hahaha! Originally I was looking at using a gutted office chair ram and a ballscrew, who knows, the final build could be completely different and I'll turn this in to a Arduino controlled time lapse unit for myself. I am rubbish at planning things.

For some reason I don't seem to have finished pics of this one but this was the stacking one I did last year-





This had forward, backward and rotation when the black dome bit was added, it worked quite well.

consider tossing the gear reduction motors and looking at stepper motors they are tad more sophisticated but really sweet. I had really bad carpal tunnel only solution was the surgery. That fixed it.

Yeah I was originally going to use steppers but this one was to be as simple as possible, the reduction motors are really slow so fine adjustment should be pretty simple and they are self locking so it could be run on a few AA batteries if need be.

If it was mine I would have used steppers but if something goes wrong my brother can't fix it

I believe he's now had four surgeries all up on his hands and they are still no good, the Dystonia makes healing difficult as his body never really rests so things often tear again or just don't heal properly. He also supposedly had one of the worst surgeons in the UK do the first two ops which didn't help either.

The motors and pulleys turned up today, not sure if I ordered the wrong belt but it seems as if it is supposed to contact the pulley at 180 degrees instead of wrapping around the pulley. To add to that the 40t pulley has the gears cut at an angle so I have to wait to hear back from the seller, I might just buy another set from another seller.

I also grabbed some more wood for the legs and sadly all that was suitable at my local timber yard was Tassie Oak so that will have to do. I'm also re-doing all of the top guides as after sanding I spotted a crack on one slide, they will be getting done in Spotted Gum with 5 layers of veneer and a Spotted Gum cap on the bottom. I hate re-working stuff so it has to look nicer than the last slides and I think it should look a bit nicer and still perform well.

Pulley.jpg

Actuator arrived today, it works which is nice but there is some play so I'll need some linear bearings to keep it stable.

Got some rough shaping and chiselling done on the first of the new guides, it will get a shape tomorrow, it has veneer and a top cap as the visible bottom side does. I need to learn how to use and sharpen a chisel, the belt sander was used hahahaha!

New Guide.jpg