DIY: Chest cam for users of standard point and shoot cameras and the like...

**hucksquaw** · 10-30-2012, 08:13 AM

After being unsatisfied with how I was shooting POV footage last season with a Sony Bloggie that was gifted to me for christmas, I thought I would try to come up with something better this season. I racked my brain and I think I came up with something pretty good so I thought I would share. (I could also use a bit of advice on how I might "waterproof" the whole system.) Anyway, here it is.

What you will need:
- a plastic window scraper (one of those that you can get to next to nothing at a local hardware or drug store in most mountain towns or, in my case in Norway, are given free by businesses who put their logo on them).
- a short piece of cord (i.e. 2-3ft of 3mm static cord or similar)
- one mini cord-lock
- a 40" nylon strap with buckle (available at REI, other gear stores, and some hardware stores for a couple dollars. oh, if you can, get one with a stretchy section, like the chest straps on most backpacks, because it will be more comfortable to breathe - i wish i had done this)
- one M6x16 bolt and one washer to go with it
- one small piece of 4mm rubber or similar (i used some scrap 5.10 climbing shoe rubber i had laying around)
- two zip-ties
- one Joby ballhead (google it. this is the only somewhat expensive piece you will need)
- something to make holes with in plastic (drill or pocket knife) and a small wrench to tighten the bolt

Building (i will keep this brief because most of it is common sense. ask me if i need to clarify):
Put small holes in all 4 corners of the plastic window scraper. Take cord and attach it to the top holes so that the cord is long enough to go around your neck and have the scraper hang at chest level with a few inches (4-6") of cord to spare. On one hole tie the cord directly to it while on the other hole loop the cord through the hole with the mini cord-lock so that the height of the whole system can be adjusted on your chest. Lay the 40" nylon strap across the bottom holes, punch holes in the strap equivalent to where the strap lines up with the holes in the plastic scraper, and throw the zip ties through these holes to secure the strap to the bottom of the scraper. Now measure out where you want the ball head to be positioned on the scraper depending on where and how you want your camera to be mounted. Put a hole in the plastic large enough to accommodate the bolt, which will attach the ballhead. Measure out and cut a piece of your rubber (or whatever. i used sticky rubber so that the ballhead holds firm and doesn't spin or rotate since it is only attached with one screw from the back, but i guess you could use velcro or something else as long as it adds ~4mm of space and will keep the ballhead from spinning/rotating on the plastic) to fit in between the ballhead and the plastic. Attach ballhead using bolt with washer and rubber (or whatever) spacer. Tighten well with wrench but be careful not to tighten too much and strip the threads in the ballhead. Attach slider piece from ballhead to camera, slide into ballhead attachment, orient camera in whatever direction you see fit, wear and go ski.

Here are some pictures:
Front (without camera, obviously):

Back:

Ballhead:

Wearing the whole thing with camera:

Some cool features that make this system unique:
- you can orient the camera in just about any position you want, adjusting any angle between landscape and portrait mode as well as any angle of tilt forward and backward.
- the camera is quickly detachable (with the push of a single button on the joby ballhead) so you can go from chest-cam to taking handheld video or stills with ease (and with gloves on).
- the joby ballhead has a level on it that comes off with the camera when it is detached (this likely has no use when on the chest mount but can be handy when taking handheld video/stills).
- easy to make and can accommodate just about any small digital video camera or point and shoot camera.
- the construction and the wearing of the whole system feel surprisingly solid. I have very few doubts that it won't perform exceptionally well out "in the field" (although I have yet to put it to the test. will report back when i do).

oh, i added one more thing after it was all said and done: i attached the wrist strap to the camera that comes standard with any small digital camera and used a small keychain carabiner to clip the wrist strap to the cord that the whole system is hanging from (around my neck) so that if, for some reason, the camera comes unclipped from the ballhead, or when i unclip it to take handheld video/stills, i dont lose the camera - but it still allows me enough length to detach the camera and comfortably hold it up to take handheld video/stills.

Now i just need to figure out how to make a "waterproof" encasement and still be able to use the functions and take the camera on and off from the ballhead. Any ideas?