Any ideas on how to build / attach a tripod system for a Nauticam Flexitray?

Thanks! I'll get to test it in a few days and will report back.
Neutral buoyancy isn't an issue with this rig - like most compacts, it's like a brick in the water with 900g+ negative buoyancy as is, without the tripod arms + legs (or lights...) - this should work quite nicely without floats.

Thanks to everyone for your help with this project!

Hello again everyone - as an update, I got to test the quadripod a couple of days ago, and it works great!

The arms held fine, no rotation, and I was actually surprised by the flexibility offered by the clamped leg system, which really allows to make up for positioning uneven terrain! More flexible than I though, as I didn't think it was possible to play with clamp angles as much and still hold the rig in position.

Otherwise as predicted, the compact housing with the flexitray, a small video light, and the arms clamps + leg system was negative enough to be stable, even on a relatively choppy day with respectable surge.

So really happy with the tray test - main downside was that all the critters we found that day seemed to be on walls, where I couldn't use the rig...
Found nothing in the nice flat sandy areas f the dive site, but lots of life in places where I simply couldnt fully setup up the 4 legs, which was a little frustrating to say the least... We finally did find a couple of subjects on narrow platforms on the wall where it was possible to get some test shots (yet with very limited options for the shooting angles...).

Here are a couple of test shots of nudis with the quadripod, nothing fascinating, but happy to have found some stability:
 

So all set now! We have a massive typhoon coming our way, so this was most likely our last dive on this snall Japanese island for a while, unfortunately.

Off to the Maldives in a few weeks if all goes well, where I probably won't have that many opportunities to work with the quadripod - but we'll see what happens on nightdives...
I must say I'm really looking forward to getting more familiar with the possibilities offered by having (at last!) a practical stable platform to work from - guess the next step will be getting a decent videolight for macro

Anyway, it's all good. Thanks again to everyone for helping out on this little endeavour to expand the possibilities offered by a simple Nauticam Flexitray, and I hope this thread will help others embarking on the same path!

cheers

b

 

Really nice work on the homemade quadrapod. Footage looks great.

I've just put in an order for a tripod bases (https://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/0.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.65914c4ds5iFYN&orderId=8140582776331857&productId=1005001793864931) that I'll attach to an identical camera rig.

Will update if it does or doesn't work.

On 8/30/2021 at 12:32 AM, diggy said:

Something like the attached images can be made with cost of less than USD 90 plus shipping. Its available at 

https://www.bgningoem.com

Butterfly clamps, tray, arms etc. all included in this cost. 

Hope this helps 

 

 

Can you compare these clamps to something like a Ultralight Controls clamp?  Im also looking into putting a tripod onto my kit and dont want to waste money on a cheap set up.

11 hours ago, Dann-Oh said:

Can you compare these clamps to something like a Ultralight Controls clamp?  Im also looking into putting a tripod onto my kit and dont want to waste money on a cheap set up.

I can suggest you, regardless of brand, TO NOT BUY this kind of clamps:

https://www.bgningoem.com/BGNING-Aluminum-Alloy-Diving-Clip-Clamp-Light-Arm-Ball-Head-Mount-for-Gopro-full-series-GitUp-SLR-Camera-Other-Diving-Sport-Camera-p1317213.html

these clamps are too small and do not grip tight enough

Tripod tray ordered from Aliexpress arrived yesterday. (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001793864931.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.43284c4dv3RhVP)

Not too bad really, build quality seems perfectly fine. Although hard to go wrong when it's such a simple piece of gear

Had to use my own bolts/washers/nuts to secure it to my Panasonic lx-15 Nauticam Hosing, rather than the ones provided but that's not a big deal.

Perhaps one potential issue will be the 45 degree angle of the 1" ball arm connectors limiting how tight you can position the camera rig to the substrate. However, I'll need to give it test to confirm or deny this.

Looking forward to getting a chance to use this in the coming weeks. 

Cheers!

It seems perfect to me.

45° angle is perfect. Keep in mind that my Nauticam GH5 default ball joints for tripod use are at 0° (horizontal) and you have to tight it strong.

In your config I like that ball joints are so long that you have a mini tripod already. That alone would cover 80% of my typical filming situations. Expecially close details not real macro.

6 hours ago, Mattg256 said:

Tripod tray ordered from Aliexpress arrived yesterday. (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001793864931.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.43284c4dv3RhVP)

Not too bad really, build quality seems perfectly fine. Although hard to go wrong when it's such a simple piece of gear

Had to use my own bolts/washers/nuts to secure it to my Panasonic lx-15 Nauticam Hosing, rather than the ones provided but that's not a big deal.

Perhaps one potential issue will be the 45 degree angle of the 1" ball arm connectors limiting how tight you can position the camera rig to the substrate. However, I'll need to give it test to confirm or deny this.

Looking forward to getting a chance to use this in the coming weeks. 

Cheers!

 

 

Looks great!
There's quite a lot you can do with a Flexitray after all - too bad the standard tray spacing isn't really thought out for extra attachements as is, but a little DIY makes it much more... flexible!

On 11/3/2021 at 3:05 AM, Dann-Oh said:

Can you compare these clamps to something like a Ultralight Controls clamp?  Im also looking into putting a tripod onto my kit and dont want to waste money on a cheap set up.

I would definitely say that these clamps are v. good. I just used them on a 14 day trip. BUT the ultralight would have an edge in terms of how long they would last/function efficiently IMHO.

Diggy

On 11/3/2021 at 2:30 PM, Davide DB said:

I can suggest you, regardless of brand, TO NOT BUY this kind of clamps:

https://www.bgningoem.com/BGNING-Aluminum-Alloy-Diving-Clip-Clamp-Light-Arm-Ball-Head-Mount-for-Gopro-full-series-GitUp-SLR-Camera-Other-Diving-Sport-Camera-p1317213.html

these clamps are too small and do not grip tight enough

 

 

Davide I did buy these and they are a similar size to the nauticam larger clamps. But like I said in in reply to the above query. Am not sure if they would last as long as the nauticam ones. 

5 hours ago, diggy said:

Davide I did buy these and they are a similar size to the nauticam larger clamps. But like I said in in reply to the above query. Am not sure if they would last as long as the nauticam ones. 

I found that the bent design doesn't hold well as the classic plain clamp design.

15 hours ago, Davide DB said:

I found that the bent design doesn't hold well as the classic plain clamp design.

Yes I agree with that! Lest see how long they last :-) 

Quick Q but why not try to 3D print it (the plate)? won't it hold? (even if breaks after a while - still cheap ^^)

Matan.

3D printing is no cheaper than the given suggestions. 
Take for granted that you have a 3D printer, have the knowledge to design, and in addition the final size of the support is almost certainly larger than the maximum home print size posing additional headaches in designing an object composed of multiple parts.

Last: a good material in the quantity sufficient for this application is definitely more expensive than the proposed solutions.