Zheng's GoPro Gubbinses

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A month ago, the gadget stork delivered a shiny new GoPro Hero3+ right at Zheng Labs' Shipping and Receiving South entrance. It was supposedly 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 that delay (that kid won't get out of the water until his lips are blue) to craft some GoPro accessories. First off: a tripod plate compatible with the excellent entry-level EXPLORERV Vista Explorer Tripod. This plate has a dovetailed slot so you can swap out either an included GoPro case mounting stub or, as requested by the dwarven foreman at The Forge, a mounting stub that's compatible with 1/2" EMT electrical conduit. Now you can put your GoPro on a tripod and, using the conduit as an extension, get really close to the action. (The creation of 10' conduit selfie sticks is left as an exercise for the adventurous reader.) But here's the thing: The GoPro is a fantastic little camera, but it's only got a 2.5 hour battery life. If you're doing an extended 3D printing timelapse, you've got to keep it charged via USB. Barring some freak accident of quantum superposition, there's no way you're getting a mini-USB plug through the side of the waterproof case. So we came up with a naked GoPro mounting bracket, too, and included conduit and tripod-plate variations thereof. A thumbscrew and nut combination keeps the conduit in place. You'll want to super glue the nut into the mounting stubs before inserting the conduit.