I know what some of you are thinking… what the heck is that!?!
It’s a camera support rail… that I’ve heavily modified for a special reason. I’ve been looking for a way to shoot with multiple cameras on a single tripod. This combination lets me attach up to 5 cameras to a single tripod. This is really useful for video shooting as well as time-lapse (as I can get multiple angles/compositions of coverage at once).
The rail system attaches to my tripod (it matches an Arca-Swiss style plate). On the rail are two small clamps (with room for a third) to hold each camera body. At each end is a GoPro mount. This can hold 4-5 cameras at once. Cameras can be angled in each direction for 360˚ of coverage of an environment.
This is a cleaner shot of it (although it was shot in my hotel room in Tokyo, so no perfect studio lights here).
The Pieces
Here are the pieces I used to build this (and for those of you familiar with Really Right Stuff the quality is high and so are the prices).
- BHERO3-B: GoPro Buckle Adapter Plate 2 @ $39.00 = $78.00
- Mini-Clamp Package 1 @ $110.00 = $110.00
- CB-EC: Camera Bar End Connector 2 @ $30.00 = $60.00
- B2-mAS: 38mm clamp with dual mounting 2 @ $60.00 = $120.00
- CB-18 Package: CB-18 and Mini Clamps 1 @ $245.00 = $245.00
- CB-18: 18-inch Camera support bar
- B2-mAS: 38mm clamp with dual mounting
- B2-FAB 38mm clamp with threaded socket
TOTAL $613.00
Features
The clamps are a safe way to attach any camera with an Arca-Swiss style plate.
- The rail has a built-in bubble level to get a straight shot.
- The clamps can be repositioned side to side.
- The center cameras can be mounted either direction.
- The GoPro buckles work with standard GoPro mounts so you can connect the cameras.
- I used the bendable knuckles included with each GoPro to create a camera that can be angled to shoot in any direction for greater flexibility.
- The whole unit weighs about 5 pounds without cameras attached.
- The open spaces in the bar make it lighter and allowed me to attach aVulture Equipment Works strap for easy carrying.
I am quite pleased with how it’s turned out. I was able to easily gather a lot more options when shooting video and time-lapse (safe to say I tripled my output os usable shots).
Geeky… yes. Pricey… uh huh. Virtually indestructible… absolutely.