Pole Mounting an ATC Mini Camera

A quick and dirty hack for the ATC Mini Action Cam, but one that works it seems with a minimal amount of effort on my part.  A bonus of using this method is that no serious alteration or damage to the original mountings is required - you can convert it back at any time!

Pole Mounted ATC Mini Action Cam

I mentioned previously how the ATC Mini cam came as standard with a couple of mountings - a vented helmet mount and tripod mount?  In using the section that attaches to the vented mount, much of the parts can be used with a few items found round the house in order to attach to a long pole.  This can provide a good range of action shots purely by swinging the pole around whilst riding.

Next up, I've used an old golf club salvaged from the bins from a driving range we visited recently.  The head of the club had already been removed and so with its relatively low weight and ergonomic handle, it makes a good pole to use here.  It's a nice enough length - long enough to fit me into the 110-degree view of the camera, but not too long to drag along the floor or get caught up on stuff.

U-shaped Bracket

A U-shaped bracket will fit around the end of the golf club if I increase the club diameter a little - winding and unwinding sufficient electrical tape around the end gives sub-millimetre accuracy without having to construct anything with any precision.

This bracket will then fit onto the ATC Mini mounting with a couple of washers thrown in to bulk out the thickness a little.  The benefit of using as much of the ATC Mini mounting as possible is maximum strength without compromising the accessibility of the button controls.

Bracket bulked up using washers

And there you have it, a pole-mounted ATC Mini action cam with variable shooting angles built entirely from parts that come with the camera and odd bits and pieces stored in the garage.  I love my garage!

Quick test in the garage