Note: reposting here and deleting my own thread about this. Forgot this one existed and it’s more appropriate here.
Hey friends,
I started using a new set of stands for my Model 01 and thought I’d share some pictures and thoughts. Previously I’d used the official octopus stands in tented split configuration, but was surveying options for alternative stands. I enjoy making things and coming up with and testing different solutions to problems and felt inspired by the setups fellow users posted here.
Now, I haven’t been on here too much recently, but I don’t think I’ve seen people use z-flex camera mounts as stands before. I came across them online at some point and thought they just might be perfect:
The particular ones I got were these. Given the low price compared to similar products, I am super happy with the build quality. Nicely machined aluminium and easily sturdy enough for my application.
I initially tried them just as they were:
I realised that on my not perfectly even desk surface - an old workbench top I upcycled - they wobbled a bit. On a flat surface, that wouldn’t have been an issue. However, I also found that - especially with the steep angles I tried initially - some more surface grip would be preferable, too. So I built a base for each side with a thick and heavy rubber sheet at the bottom. I designed them so the z-flex mounting position was adjustable:
These added a bunch of grip and as they were nice and heavy, my Model 01 wouldn’t go anywhere. I found the fact that they added some height problematic, though. It just made using them less comfortable. So I went ahead and devised new bases cut from ABS plastic sheets. As these were much thinner, I had to commit to a fixed mounting position. Since I knew the range of angles I wanted to achieve though, this wasn’t a problem. Pieces of old bicycle tube I got from someone who’d swapped them out for new ones (great material for all sorts of prototyping projects, by the way) were used to make the new bases grippy.
I’ve been using this setup for a few weeks now and I’m super happy with it. The thin and therefore flexible ABS bases in combination with the bicycle tube eliminate any wobble I’d experienced initially and give me plenty of grip.
Bonus: What’s nice about camera gear is that they offer additional mounting points. One example of this is connecting the two Model01 halves - in this case with a stereo bar for microphones:
