Project Gun-Cam!!! (NOW WITH MORE EXCLAMATION MARKS THAN EVER!!!)

[Mr. G36!]

Hey, fellow ASCers! In my quest to bring you all the most state-of-the-art equipment and jazz of that nature, well...yeah, I totally fail. However, in my quest to bring you the lowest quality of utter crap, I present to you all "Project Gun-Cam!"

See, I've always wanted to film a game, but it's so hard to plan and execute. Obviously, having a hands-free camera on you is the best way to go, and the best way to go about doing it is to use one of those fancy-schmancy helmet-cams. However, with a price-tag of $350+, I came up with my own alternative...at a price of $0.73!



As you can see, all I did was take a standard armalite carry handle, and attach a regular old digital camera to it via the mounting hole for the ACOG. I used a simple screw, two nylon washers to keep it from sliding through the hole itself, and a rubber washer to keep the camera in place.



It's kinda obnoxious, but considering that I envisioned this about two hours ago, I think it's coming along! Of course, the quality won't be as nice as one of those $350 HD helmet-cams, but it'll get the job done. It's decent, and it has pretty good sound quality on it for a simple digital camera.


Above: Gun-Cam from operator's perspective.
Below: Gun-Cam's perspective


Anyway, being that the camera is a nice silvery-gray that just shouts out "Hey, I'm right here, you assholes!" I needed to do something about that. The answer, of course, is the handy man's secret weapon: Duct Tape;



Basically, I used layers of Real-Tree-patterned duct tape to make a sort of jacket for the camera. It's got at least two layers of tape on any given area, minus holes that I've cut out for the lens, display, and controls, and it easily slides on and off; I'll probably just use an elastic band to secure it to the camera further. As of yet, it's not padded or anything, but I'm far from finished. What still needs to be done is padding to protect the camera itself, and I'll have to devise a way of actually protecting the lens itself while still allowing it to see. What I'm thinking is that I can make a tube for the lenses to extend into, and incorporate some kind of clear, hardened protective lens cover. Even if it won't actually stop a BB, if it'll just slow it enough to not cause any real damage, it's all good. And I know that the risk of my camera breaking is very real, and I knew that before I even started this, so if it happens, it won't be a huge shock.



Anyway, as of now, that's where I am. Just figured I'd post this, as I'm sure some people will get a good kick out of this budget POS set-up, ha ha!

[The Lettonian]

Try ordering one of amos' lens protectors for sights and scopes and such...he can cut them to whatever diameter you need. I THINK it's amos who does them, anyway...a quick forum search has yielded naught, but maybe someone else will be able to help you out. Looks good, man!

[Shirley]

How are you going to aim?
I've done the screw method, it's better to drill a hole into your helmet and do the same on the helmet.

[Mr. G36!]

Originally Posted by FNG_13

Try ordering one of amos' lens protectors for sights and scopes and such...he can cut them to whatever diameter you need. I THINK it's amos who does them, anyway...a quick forum search has yielded naught, but maybe someone else will be able to help you out. Looks good, man!

Thanks, I'll look into that!

Originally Posted by Mr.Hitman

How are you going to aim?

Ha ha, ideally, I'd have the camera on the side rather than the top, but since my R&D department is...well, non-existent, ha ha, I'll probably be able to make due by just aiming down the side of the rifle adjusting based on where the BBs go. That's how lots of people shoot anyway, ha ha!

Originally Posted by Mr.Hitman

I've done the screw method, it's better to drill a hole into your helmet and do the same on the helmet.

Originally, I was thinking of mounting the camera to my shoulder somehow, but with my readily available tools, this was more practical. That, and I don't actually wear a helmet (my Avatar is actually from a real CF training ex); I wear a boonie, and even if I did make a mount for it somehow, imagine how funny I'd look with a big camera strapped to my noggin, ha ha! Though it'd probably give me an edge, as the enemy would probably be confused for a second or two...

[cooney]

Looks like a paintball hopper :P
But neat idea.

[L473ncy]

I don't know if you have slip on/epaulet things but I'm sure you could probably think of a clever way of mounting your camera on your shoulder with something like that.

Heck even if you don't have those slip on things, sewing some slip on things onto your shoulder and mounting the camera that way might work.

Looks.... OK but it's amazing for a $0.73 job. Hell even making some wort of riser to mount the camera on so you can actually aim down the sight might be a good idea.

[deep in the bush]

I so love low tech man, thats bloody great!!!

[Boyso]

Or take a MinoHD.

Since the screw for mounting on a bipod is underneath the Mino, just take a similar screw, attach it to the side of your gun, and screw in your minoHD.

Now you can aim, and you have 720p footage

(Finally found a use for my MinoHD! Thanks :P)

[pastlifeuknow]

Nice Mr.G36 getting something like this

or

or something similar would allow you to mount it futher forward and out of the way of your sights

[Mr. G36!]

It's actually on the C8, but I have a Battery box on the side because of the RIS, so it wouldn't fit. And, if I were to just remount it on the side, it'd be taking footage sideways, which isn't hard to fix, but I have no video-editing software.

As for the G36 RIS in general, the G36 is just one of those rifles that needs to stay plain. They just don't look right with an RIS and M4 stock and all that stuff...no offense to anyone who's got that set-up, ha ha!

[Bandit]

I'm interested to see the game footage that comes from this!

[The Acer]

What are the dimensions of the bolt you used?

[Mr. G36!]

Honstly, I don't know. I just went to a hardware store with the camera and carry handle and looked through the screws they had until I found one that fit the camera's tripod-mount. Whatever the standard tripod mount is, and length-wise, it was probably around an inch, maybe a little less, but certainly not more.

[Reckless]

.... why are we worried about seeing his sights... he's got a giant zoom reflex sight bolted to his carry handle!... just aim the camera so it's where your bb's go..

gun cams get great footage... just remember not to keep it pointed at the ground

[Mr. G36!]

Ha ha ha, "Hey, everyone, come download this three-hour video of my feet!"

Should have some updates soon, by the way...working on establishing some padding, and then I'll do a sort of trial-run to see how the quality holds up while it's actually in use. Probably won't get any gaming footage for a while though. Stay tuned!