Zheng's GoPro Gubbinses

cults3d

A month ago, the gadget stork delivered a brand-new GoPro Hero3+ right to Zheng Labs' Shipping and Receiving South entrance. Apparently, it was meant for time-lapse photography, but while the dwarves were setting up tripods and lighting in The Forge, my son strapped the camera to his head and took it down the water slide. We seized this opportunity (that kid won't get out of the water until his lips are blue) to craft a few GoPro accessories. First: a tripod plate that's compatible with the excellent entry-level EXPLORERV Vista Explorer Tripod. This plate features a dovetailed slot, allowing you to swap between an included case mounting stub or, as requested by the dwarven foreman at The Forge, a 1/2" EMT electrical conduit mounting stub. Now you can mount your GoPro on a tripod and use the conduit as an extension to get really close to the action. (The creation of 10' conduit selfie sticks is left up to the adventurous reader.) But here's the thing: The GoPro is a great little camera, but its battery life only lasts for 2.5 hours. If you're doing an extended 3D printing timelapse, you'll need to keep it charged via USB. Unless you experience a quantum superposition anomaly, there's no way you can get a mini-USB plug through the waterproof case. So we built a naked GoPro mounting bracket and included conduit and tripod-plate variations. A thumbscrew and nut combination keeps the conduit in place. You'll want to superglue the nut into the mounting stubs before inserting the conduit.