HOW TO Make A Hat Cam

[bluegillboogieman]

It is hard to fish with one hand and take pictures or video with the other. This hands free contraption has worked for me.

 

 

It is a small digital camera that also records video. This is a Cannon Powershot, It is NOT waterproof so I have to be careful. It is mounted to my cap bill with a tripod release plate camera mount. I simply screwed the cap bill to the plastic mount plate. I preset the camera function, usually to video mode and turn the camera on by reaching up and finding the on/off button with my fingers. Then I'm hands free to land and unhook my fish. I have to take my cap off to use still camera mode so I can be sure I'm getting the shot I want. Zooming in video mode is a little iffy too, I usually do that with cap off too. Then, when I download to my computer, I edit the videos with software, and freeze frame and select stills from the video to upload to BBG.com. Instructions down below.

 

 

Let me begin by giving credit where it is due. I don't know who this is that inspired me, I got this photo in an e-mail years ago. It is titled Hands Free Cell Phone.

I saw it and thought, that'll work way better than that duct tape I've been using!

Then, after I joined this bunch of photo freaks, I started trying to figure out how to take pictures and try to fish too. Duct tape came to mind, then I remembered I had an old tripod that a camera screwed onto a removable part. Hmm!!!

Above photo is the part that connects to the bottom of the camera. The red arrow on the right is the male threaded part that connects. The red arrow on left is the screw hole in the plastic where I screwed it to the cap bill.

The photo avove this is the bottom of the camera. The red arrow points to the female threaded reciever.

Up there is the bottom of the mount attached to the camera. The right red arrow is the male screw slot that you can turn with a quarter or knife. The left arrow is the hole the cap bill screw will go into.

Final step, attaching the mounted camera to the cap bill. Bottom red arrow, see the screw? Before you put that through the cap, position the camera on top of the cap bill, centered and about halfway front to back. Don't want the edge of the bill to be visible in the video. Draw around the mounting base on the cap bill top. Then determine a good spot to screw up through the bottom of the bill and into the thick plastic of the mounting base. Don't use a screw that is so long that it screws into the camera itself. If you want, use two screws. Practice before you hit the water. I had to learn to keep my chin down while filming.