Camera Mount
The Camera Mount is the first in what we hope will be a range of ideas to help with the deployment of trail cameras.
The Camera Mount allows cameras to be deployed and retrieved quickly and easily - without straps, trees or posts.
You will also need:
- a suitable 8mm diameter Mounting rod of whatever length you wish.
Comments
"I can leave the rod in the ground so the animals get used to it and the camera always returns to the same place."
"I can take photos in places where there are no trees or poles. The first time I put it on the lawn I got great shots of a hedgehog feeding under the bird table."
"It's just so quick! I can go out last thing at night an put it anywhere without the hassle of tying straps round a tree."
"After putting it at a different location every night I now know exactly where the foxes and badgers are entering and leaving the garden."
"We have seven of them at one conservation site so you can imagine how much time our volunteers have saved!"
What's it for?
Wildlife cameras usually come with a strap designed to wrap round a tree, post or stake. Anyone who has used them will tell you how awkward it is trying to hold the camera in one hand, reach round the tree with the second hand and fit the strap through its buckle with the third hand. In many cases a knee or hip serves as the third hand!
The Intelligent Beaver Camera Mount makes life simple - no trees (*), poles or stakes required. It can be left fitted to the camera so placement and retrieval now take seconds - even with one hand!
* trees are never in the right place - and they are awkward to move! One of us has experience of installing cameras in Kenya to monitor elephants. On one occasion the camera was strapped to a Desert Date tree (Balanites Aegyptiaca) and captured a bull elephant running towards the tree, tearing it out of the ground, then walking off. The camera survived - pointing skyward! Perhaps the elephant was camera shy?
Ready to deploy
This photo shows a low cost Apeman H40 camera fitted to the Camera Mount and ready to deploy.
Deploying at a conservation site
This video was taken by members of a local conservation group and shows the difference between setup with our Camera Mount and setup with the supplied strap.
Deploying in the garden
Many of us wonder who visits our garden or back yard at night - now we know!
Key features
- No tree or stake required.
- No damage to trees - we don't like the idea of screwing things into trees.
- Deployed and retrieved in seconds.
- Can be used with the camera alone or with a camera and external battery pack.
- Accepts cameras and battery packs with tripod bushes in the base, side or back.
- Manufactured in black anodised aluminium.
- Base plate and "L" plate to take the weight of the camera and battery pack.
- Thumb screws hold devices in place via their tripod bushes.
- Central housing locates an 8mm diameter mounting rod.
- Thumb screw to hold the complete assembly at the correct height.
- Fits on 8mm rod or tube - at any height you want.
Mounting rod
Your camera can be mounted from mouse level to moose level so you can source a mounting rod locally - of whatever length you want.
Click one of the links below to find a local supplier.
- 8mm mild steel (carbon steel) rod. Low cost but needs painting to protect from rust.
- 8mm stainless steel rod. Higher cost but should not rust - rather shiny in the wild.
- 8mm stainless steel tube. Higher cost but should not rust - rather shiny in the wild.
- 8mm aluminium rod. Dull finish, will not rust.
- 8mm aluminium tube. Dull finish, will not rust.
Add an extra camera or a battery pack
The illustration shows a camera and external battery pack mounted back to back.
In this case, one has the tripod bush in the base, the other has it in the back.
Camera Mount assembly
- (1): place the horizontal plate alongside the rod holder and check the holes are aligned as shown.
- (2): flip the horizontal plate over, push a thumb screw through the central holes and screw it through one of the retaining plates. It should slide freely in the slot.
- (3): fit the rod holder using 2 x M5 screws. Check that the thumb screw holes face outwards.
You don't need to go any further if you are using a single camera with a tripod bush in its base.
If your camera has the tripod bush on the back, like the Apeman H40, you should fit the L plate with a M5 screw and nut.
Advice: the Camera Mount parts are made of aluminium and won't rust. The screws and nut are made of steel so it is advisable to add a liitle grease or oil to them before fitting - this will help prevent rust during wet deployments.
- (4): fit the rod retaining thumb screw - and the thumb screw and retaining plate for the L plate if used.
Advice: the rod holder is designed for 8mm rod. Some rods may not be a perfect fit. In that case, it is worth using an 8.2mm drill bit (or even 8.5mm) to increase the diameter of the central hole in the rod holder.
Don't panic!
The aluminium parts for the Camera Mount are packed inside a foam insert for protection and one or two parts may have picked up left-over strands of plastic from when the insert was cut to shape. Nothing to worry about, the strands wipe off with a finger, damp cloth or a tissue with a drop of isopropyl alcohol.
Wildlife loves our Camera Mount!
The grey squirrel was introduced into the UK from the USA in the 1870s.
Grey squirrels carry a disease, a Parapoxvirus, which doesn't affect their health but often kills red squirrels - they also eat green acorns which doesn't leave many for the red squirrels who prefer them riper.
All this has resulted in a lower red squirrel birth rate (they like a quiet life and don't like the stress) and they are now classed as "Near Threatened" in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Careful!
A fox and a hedgehog share their evening meal - though the fox does so very carefully!
Captured in a garden at Scropton, Derbyshire, using our Camera Mount. The garden has no trees close to the hedgehog feeding station and a low viewpoint is ideal to see the animals at their own level.
More photo of the Camera Mount
A typical deployment.
A simple DIY desktop mount.
With a smartphone and tripod adapter.
In its box.
