Photographic Adventures with a 3D Printer. Part 5: Adapting the Peak Design Capture Clip with Pro Pad to a Sam Browne-type belt design—while not losing your trousers

The three 3d-printed plates to fit Peak Design's Capture Clip with ProPad
One of the top plates is used , depending on the width of the belt
The bottom plate is optional

 

This article needs an introductory word on differences between English English and American English on items of gentlemen’s clothing. Trousers in UK are items of outerwear. In the USA they are ‘pants’. Pants in UK by contrast are items of underwear. In UK ‘shorts’ may be pouter or underwear, usually these days usually the former.

The Peak Design Capture Clip with Pro Pad attachment is designed to fasten to your trouser belt such that the camera hangs in space from the quick-release plate bolted to the tripod bush. Peak Design show this arrangement working in their promotional material. However, when I tried this with a moderately heavy camera and long lens I was left in fear and dread of the weight pulling down both belt and trousers to my ankles. While not overly concerned about such a wardrobe malfunction I did worry that the first thing to hit the ground would be the front of the lens. Both my grandfathers would have pointed out that a good pair of braces would have provided all the security needed; they were both ‘belt and braces’ men. However, braces went out of fashion in the 1950s but I do notice while people watching that they are far more commonly worn in the USA than in UK, so Peak Design’s arrangement may give less course for concern in the country of their design. Using a second belt around the waist for the Capture Clip/Pro Pad would eliminate the trouser problem altogether.

I then realised that if some of the weight of the camera could be borne by a shoulder strap then trousers and camera would not only be safe but also more comfortable to carry. Those who know their military history will realise we are now in Sam Browne territory.

General Sir Samuel Browne VC had his left arm severed at the shoulder by a sword in an action during the Indian Mutiny in 1858. It was his bravery that day resulted in the award of the Victoria Cross. Lacking his left arm he had difficulty in returning his sword to its scabbard. In order to stabilise the sword belt he had attached to the belt a strap that passed diagonally over the right shoulder. Other officers in the Indian Army realised that the Sam Browne Belt was useful even to possessors of two arms and its use eventually spread into the British Army and then to forces, civil as well as military, around the world. The Sam Browne must have conveyed some sense of power and seniority as well as utility since it still plays that role in fact and fiction. Commissioner Selwyn Patterson in the BBC detective series Death in Paradise is incomplete without his Sam Browne.

Sam Browne Belt
Creative Commons CCO 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication

Those who know their camera accessories will realise that a ready-made Sam Browne camera belt is made by Cotton Carriers in the form of their Slingbelt. That though seems to lack a quick-release plate suitable for rapid attachment to a tripod or monopod.

The system I have devised using simple 3D-printed parts allows a Peak Design Camera Strap (Slide or Slide-Lite) to play the part of the diagonal over-the-shoulder strap of the Sam Browne.

Capture Clip and Pro Pad converted to Same Browne
arrangement. The camera strap in the upper part of the
photograph passes over the opposite shoulder 

Optional plate added - enables faster location of the
entrance to the Capture Clip

A simple plate inserted during assembly of the Capture Clip/Pro Pad has two holes to which can be attached Peak Design Anchor Connectors. That alone may be sufficient for some users but if another plate is also added, a ‘landing pad’ for the quick-release plate above the slide-in entry on the clip, the process of inserting the camera into the clip is quicker and easier. The photographs show how the system works and extends the use of the Capture Clip.

Stages of Assembly

How to Build Your Own

You can download stl files from Google Drive HERE

I used a Bambu Labs A1 3D-printer with the following settings: Smooth Plate; Bambu PLA Matte Filament; 0.4 Hot End; Preset 0.2 mm Strength plus the 25% sparse infill with gyroid pattern.

Photographic Adventures with a 3D Printer. Part 4: Adapting the Peak Design Capture Clip to Attach a Camera Strap

I like the design of Peak Design’s Capture Clip and in a few situations, on a rucksack strap for example, it is useful as it stands. However, it seems not to have been developed as a wider system, as has been done by China-based companies. The ProPad attachment is an exception although it now seems to be available in some countries but not others. I can find it on Peak Design’s UK website but not on the US version, and UK retailers appear to have stock. I will return to the ProPad in a future article.

With the Capture Clip there is no means of attachment of a camera strap such that the camera can either be used without encumbrance in the hand, attached to a tri/mono-pod or parked on the clip when not in use. Variations of the clips from other manufacturers have such provision. Therefore, I tried a number of methods to attach Peak Design Anchor Connectors to the clip. I eventually designed and built a 3D-printed plate which fits between the two halves of the Capture Clip bearing holes to which Anchor Connectors and, therefore, Peak Design straps (Slide and Slide-Lite) (which I use routinely).

I also noticed that it was easier to use the clip if the attachment had an area raised to be level with the entrance for the camera plate, especially with a freely-hanging clip on a strap. In other words, one dimension out of three is thus taken out while finding the point at which the camera plate slides into the clip. I also made sure that access to release the clip was not impeded. The attachment is also of a thickness such that the bolts do not protrude from the back of the clip.

Here is a short video:

How to Build Your Own

You can download stl files from Google Drive HERE. I used a Bambu Labs A1 3D-printer with the following settings: Smooth Plate; Bambu PLA Matte Filament; 0.4 Hot End; Preset 0.2 mm Strength plus the 25% sparse infill with gyroid pattern.

Photographic Adventures with a 3D Printer. Part 3: Window and Table Quadrapod for time-lapse and other videos

There are times when a tripod is utterly useless. One of them is when trying to make wide-angle time-lapse videos from an open window. You simply cannot get close enough since the lens of the camera has to be virtually outside the room. Over the years I have built all sorts of devices to hold cameras, from the size of GoPros to full-frame cameras and camcorders. Having rejected several commercial designs as being unsuitable since they were not tall enough to span a window frame and having lashed up several using other materials I designed and built one soon after buying a 3D-printer last year.

My criteria were:

• Stability
• Adjustable height legs for levelling
• Suitable for virtually any camera
• Ability to connect a variety of mounts e.g ball head, video head, GoPro, phone holder
• Portable and easily assembled
• Any metal parts to be easily available and/or standard photographic sizes

I opted for four feet which provide stability over a wide area, Hence the term QUADRAPOD. Since this is one of several types I have made this is my WINDOW QUADRAPOD which can also be used as a TABLE POD.

The photograph below shows the design I came up with sitting in an open upstairs window. The key point is that it enables wide-angle views (with focal length lenses of, for example, the full-frame equivalent of 11 mm in my GoPro) since the front of the lens can be positioned virtually level with the line of the external wall. Stability and levelling can be achieved by virtue of its four adjustable feet. Two feet are attached to each leg which are in turn attached to a plate. The plate has holes of two sizes for standard tripod screws of both ¼-20 and ⅜-16. All the parts are 3D-printed in matt black PLA. The only other parts needed are stainless steel bolts and metal threaded heat inserts.

The version shown has legs of different heights since the window cills are lower than the internal window ledge. However, I have made sufficient short and long legs to enable a flexible setup, depending on the difference in level between inside and outside, and also for use as a Table Pod.

The photographs with explanatory captions show how different cameras on different sorts of attachments can be mounted.

Window Quadrapod with Nikon Z7 and 14-30 mm f/4 lens
on Neewer Lex Tilt Head

...or on a ball head

With iPhone on Peak Design mount

with GoPro Hero 10

From below

Table Mode - with two short legs

Adjustable feet with locking nut

METALWARE ITEMS

M6 30 mm Bolt (2 per leg). On Amazon UK as  M6 x 30mm

Thread 304 Stainless Steel Hex Socket Head

Cap Screw Bolt DIN912

M6 16mm Bolt (2 required), On Amazon as M6 (5 x 16 mm)

Hex Set Screw (Fully Threaded Bolt)

M6 Heat Insert (9 mm o.d; 7 mm long).

2 Required for leg attachment bolts

M6 Heat Insert (9 mm o.d.; 8 mm long).

4 Required

Standard Photographic Tripod Screw ¼-20

 Head o.d. 12 mm. Shank including thread 11 mm

Standard Photographic Tripod Head Attachment Screw. ⅜-16

Head o.d. 12 mm. Shank including thread 13 mm

Leg Bolt Assembled (requires Superglue Gel or Expoxy)
and Foot Locking Nut

A number of the attachments I use have built-in bubble levels. I could easily have incorporated one into the surface of the plate but could not decide an optimum position since different attachments cover different parts of the plate. If needed a separate bubble level can simply be placed on the plate.

For transport in a bag, the legs are simply detached and the bolts screwed back into the holes at the end of the plate.

For extra security, a cord can be tied from one of the holes in the plate to a piece of furniture in the room. Making sure the open window cannot close on to the assembly is also a wise precaution.

I also 3-D printed a box to hold the various parts and accessories on internal trays:

How to Build Your Own

You can download stl files from Google Drive HERE. I used a Bambu Labs A1 3D-printer.

A few explanatory drawings:

An Adapter to Connect a Peak Design Clip Plate to the Sony RX10iv Camera. Photographic Adventures with a 3D-Printer. Part Two

As I explained in Part One of this series, the Sony RX10iv has a serious design flaw in the strength and positioning of its tripod bush. I designed this 3D-printed plate to allow a Peak Design Clip Plate to be attached to the camera in a more suitable position while at the same time providing a greater degree of protection for the base of the camera.

As with the previous Arca-Swiss compatible tripod plate, this plate prevents movement which allows the screw to become loose and movement of the front end of the plate from the camera when the camera is tilted backwards.

When attached to the camera with the screw and either a strong elastic band or a cable tie around the lens barrel, the Peak Design Clip Plate—itself Arca-Swiss compatible—can then be mounted.

I have tried the device, using the Peak Design Clip as a ‘parking place’ when using the camera along with binoculars. I do not use the Clip for whether attached to a bag or a belt for carrying cameras on long walks but I have no reason to suppose anything would be amiss.

Other accessories could of course be substituted fot the Peak Design plate.

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For those wishing to 3d-print their own adapter the relevant file is available together with a list of the metal hardware HERE.

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A Tripod Plate to Correct a Design Flaw of the Sony RX10iv. Photographic Adventures with a 3D-Printer. Part One

The Sony RX10iv—or Mark 4 for those who can’t do Roman numerals—is an amazing camera in many ways and there is nothing else like it on the market. Although old in the tooth by modern standards and missing some features (it was released in September 2017) and recently discontinued it has a devoted following particularly with those using it for travel and wildlife photography. The maximum focal length of the zoom lens, equivalent to 600 mm in full-frame 35 mm terms, is a particular attraction.

I realised when I bought a Sony RX10iv camera that there was a problem with adding any sort of attachment, be it a quick-release tripod/monopod plate, a strap or a handle, to the tripod bush in the bottom plate. The tripod bush is so far back that any standard tripod plate sticks out under the screen to catch the unwary in the face when using the viewfinder. I quickly found that over the years since it launch, damage to the camera has been reported to the area of the camera behind the tripod bush and to the plastic base plate of the camera around the bush. There are photographs showing the destruction of the plastic plating  around the bottom edge of the camera caused by the use of a standard quick-release tripod plate.

The Tripod Bush is close to the rear edge of the
camera and a long way from the centre of gravity

Some of the damage seemed to have been cause by the screw holding the plate in place becoming loose and allowing the plate to rise at the front end and to press into and damage the back edge of the camera. A commercially available L-bracket seemed to offer a possible solution since rotational movement was very limited and  the screw remained tight for days of use. Using my small milling machine I also modified the plate to allow attachment of a Peak Design Clutch hand strap. I described that modification in a previous post.

In the early summer I decided to buy a 3D printer. Once I had learnt the necessary CAD in order to design things from scratch, I made Arca-Swiss compatible tripod plates that locked in place, at the rear by making a small lip that fitted up to the back of the camera without interfering with movement of the screen, and at the front by fitting under the lens barrel. Once screwed in place the tripod plate was rigidly fixed, allowed mounting on a tripod at onear the centre of gravity of the camera and was fitted with an anchor pocket for a Peak Design Clutch. I used that for days on end both on and off the tripod

Then another problem was pointed out to me. I had not used the camera at very high angles on the tripod. Pointing upwards there comes a point at which the centre of gravity is such that separation  of around 1 mm can be detected between the plate and the camera at the front end. That can only be explained by lack of rigidity of the tripod bush itself and flexing of the bottom surface of the camera. I found videos showing repairs being done to other parts of the camera and could not believe the tripod bush has such a flimsy means of attachment to the rest of the camera. The means by which the bush is attached seems inadequate for a camera of this weight and more suited to a small compact camera.

Several people have modified tripod plates and reported their designs on the two Facebook groups that cover the RX10iv. Some have lashed the plate to the camera around the tripod barrel with either strong elastic or an inflexible cable tie. One has a Mark I version of a cnc-produced plate in metal. Therefore, my final modification to the plate was to include that feature. Once a strong elastic band or a tight cable tie was fitted, there was no separation of plate and camera at any angle and nothing I could do to move the plate and thereby loosen the screw. A number of people have now bought and tried the latest—and final—version of the tripod plate and have found that it works as intended.

The 3D-printed tripod plate and its features

The final version, after many iterations and trials combines all the features I wanted into a single plate:

• Arca-Swiss compatible with stops to prevent the plate from sliding off the mount
• Allow smounting of the camera at or near the centre of gravity, very useful with all tripod/monopod heads but especially for pan-and-tilt video heads
• A ¼ inch tripod bush in the plate allows other accessories to be attached
• A pocket to accommodate a Peak Design Anchor enabling use of a Peak Design Clutch hand strap

I did of course wonder how strong tripod plates made of PLA plastic would stand up to normal use, and to additional forces that would not normally be encountered. In short I found it difficult to damage the plates with a hammer.

A considerable effort has been made by a number of people to overcome the problem of the RX10iv’s tripod bush—an effort that should not have been necessary had the designers not done such a bad job in the first place. 

…And over the past few months I have realised that the most useful accessory for a photographer is a 3D-printer.

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HOW TO GET ONE

I have listed ready-to-use plates on eBay. Those interested should search for Arca-Swiss Compatible Tripod Plate Specifically for Sony RX10iv Mark 4 Camera in the eBay search window.

For those wishing to 3d-print their own plate the stl file, instructions and notes on other components required are HERE.

Peak Design Clutch Hand Strap shown attached to an earlier version of the
tripod plate

Fitting a Røde VideoMic Me-L or -C with Furry Windshield to an iPhone in a case - with the help of a bit of plastic card

Wind kills the audio of video recorded in the field. Fitting most microphones plus windshield quickly to a phone in a case is a pain. Some sort of clamp with a cold shoe mount is needed together with wires to reach the Lightning, or USB-C socket. Three leads/adapters may be needed to get from the microphone to the socket (e.g. TRS-TRS, TRS to TRRS and TRRS to Lightning). In a simple set up these leads get in the way of the hands. The type of microphone that overcomes these problems is one that plugs directly into the Lightning socket or the USB-C socket on the latest iPhones. However, there is a snag. Major manufacturers like Røde have made the stem from the body to the plug such that it fits an iPhone without a case but not when a cases from most manufacturers is fitted; the stem is simply too short. Since, when on the move, a protective case seems the norm, the Røde VideoMic Me-L (Lightning) or Røde VideoMic Me-C seems out of the question. However, there is a way to plug the microphone directly into phone. That is by using a docking extender. The ones I bought (they come in packs of two) are shown as suitable for attaching the Shure MV88 microphone to an iPhone within a case. Similar extenders are available for USB-C sockets. A slide-on clip is supplied with the microphone and I have this pushed on to make contact with the docking extender. Whether that helps stabilise the linkage I do not know but it may help a little.

I was pleased with the firm push-in attachment the VideoMic Me-L made with the extender and the extender with my iPhone 14 Pro. There was however one irritation. The occasion I use this microphone is in wind, i.e. with the furry windshield, a.k.a ‘dead cat’ or in this small version ‘dead kitten’. But inserting microphone+extender with the windshield already in place was tricky because the long hairs could easily get dragged between the contacts of plug and socket. To overcome this I glued (cyanoacrylate ‘superglue’) a small strip of styrene plastic (approximately 0.8 mm thick) to the docking extender. That keeps the fur out of the way when the microphone is plugged in. The styrene strip slides over the edge of the phone case.

I have tried the docking extender in a number of different i-Phone cases and it works with them all.

The complete set-up. The iPhone is in a Peak Design Mobile Everyday case
with Mobile Tripod attached

With modified docking extender

The docking extenders (pack of 2) I bought for my iPhone 14 Pro are on Amazon as:

i-Phone Docking Extender Adapter Converter. i-Phone Extension Adapter Connector… The pack is labelled Male i-OS to Female i-OS

Similar extenders are also available for phones with USB-C sockets, e.g. iPhone 15 and Røde VideoMic Me-C