Mounting 5D2 on a motorbike

Hi all,

I'm wondering if anyone has ever mounted a 5D2 on a bike. I'm thinking of doing this. Specifically, I'd like to be able to mount the 5D2 on the rear of the bike, facing to my left, or right, where the hard saddle bags normally go (assuming I'm on a bike with hard saddle bags / panniers). The 580EX2 will be mounted on the camera as well, and the camera will be remotely triggered from the handlebars.

I'm looking to get pictures like below. If anyone has done this or know of a site that sells a mount and "tripod" of some sort that I can hookup to a bike, do let me know.

Thanks in advance.

Are you sure that there is a camera mounted somewhere in this picture?

It could have been shot from a car or something to I think

I have one of these and it'll mount to dang near anything:

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …ails&Q=&sku=581​220&is=REG

Ok this is my first post. Been lurking for a few weeks now.

Back in the 80's, I mounted a camera to my helmet and wired the remote trigger to the horn button. Got some pretty good snap-shots from it.

dannygt wrote in post #8896034
Are you sure that there is a camera mounted somewhere in this picture?

It could have been shot from a car or something to I think

Danny,

The picture you see there is one I took from a van. I'd like to do the same thing but with a camera mounted on a bike. The problem with riding in a support van for these shoots is that most of the time, the van gets left behind. If I had the camera on the bike, I could be with the bikers all the time.

Just some background, I shoot for a tour company that specializes in guided tours on superbikes / sport touring bikes. All this while, I've been in the support van carrying, among other things, the riders' luggage, refreshments, as well as the photog (that would be me).

Nik

cdifoto wrote in post #8896035
I have one of these and it'll mount to dang near anything:

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …ails&Q=&sku=581​220&is=REG

Hi and thanks for the suggestion.

That looks like it'll hold the camera, but I'm not so confident it will grip onto a bike doing 40 to 60 mph on twisty roads. As well, if I hit a bump, I've a feeling it would pop off the bike.

When I do these gigs, the bikers are actually riding for over an hour at a time so I'd like to have something very sturdy so that when we do stop for a break, the camera will still be attached to the bike... I'd hate to stop along the way to find that my camera had dropped off some 30 miles back... :s

But I suppose I'll get a closer look at this at one of the local shops here - it could work.

Nik.

Cool gig.

The Super Clamp cdi linked to above looks like exactly what you need. The only thing I might be worried about would be shock to the camera and whatever mount you choose working loose as you ride.

carlmorrell wrote in post #8896092
Ok this is my first post. Been lurking for a few weeks now.

Back in the 80's, I mounted a camera to my helmet and wired the remote trigger to the horn button. Got some pretty good snap-shots from it.

Hi,

I've come across a similar solution. There's a guy who goes mountain biking and has actually bolted an L mount onto the side of his full face helmet and then mounts his 5D2 on the L mount. He gets really good HD footage of his down hill runs on his bike but he says its very heavy, especially since it requires a counterweight on the other side of the helmet. It seems pretty dangerous too. Mounting a very small and light vidcam is one thing, but a full frame dslr is something else. I'd hate to have a nasty fall and break my neck because of the weight of the camera and counterweight attached to my helmet...

But thanks for the suggestion.

Nik

If you can mount it to a part of the frame, you'd be golden. I wouldn't mount a Speedlite though as it will likely snap right off at the foot when you hit a nice bump. The clamp itself won't go anywhere.

Brett wrote in post #8896236
Cool gig.

Yeah. It really is. 5D/4N. I sleep in the same hotels and eat the same 5 star food as well. The grand finale is the last day where we end the tour at the Sepang F1 track. They get a handful of laps around the circuit, which is closed down just for the group of 4 or 5 riders. So the travel and lodging is paid for by my client, plus I get paid for the photography as well...

Brett wrote in post #8896236
The Super Clamp cdi linked to above looks like exactly what you need. The only thing I might be worried about would be shock to the camera and whatever mount you choose working loose as you ride.

Yup. that would be my main concern.

cdifoto wrote in post #8896281
If you can mount it to a part of the frame, you'd be golden. I wouldn't mount a Speedlite though as it will likely snap right off at the foot when you hit a nice bump. The clamp itself won't go anywhere.

cdifoto, thanks for highlighting that. It never occurred to me that the flash would snap off. I guess I would have to do off camera with a cable and hotshoe and strap the flash somewhere else onto the frame of the bike. *scratches head*

This could be tricky....

You could try keeping it simple ie no flash.

Personally I would (and do) just use inexpensive 30Ds and 28-105 f/3.5-4.5s for mounted work. They're small, light, and the IQ is still excellent. Should something go awry, the entire setup would be cheaper than your 17-40L to replace.

Lol! Never thought of it that way. Thanks for the suggestion. A 30D would be a better way to go - even a 350D would do. I wouldn't be so pissed if it dropped and shattered to pieces. But I've a feeling an 18-55 on a crop might work better. 28 may be too narrow and I would wind up missing most of the shots. Even hand held with the 17-40 on my 5D2, I missed more than half the shots. What happens is that the bikes wind up being only partially in the frame. I'm taking these shots with half my torso hanging out the window of the van, my arms extended as far as they can go so that the camera is as close as I can get it to the ground. And through all this, we're doing around 50 mph.

As for the flash, I have a few without the flash - if the sun is behind the rider, the shot isn't so good. So I'd like to use the flash if possible.

But yeah, thanks for the suggestion. Once I figure out the mount, I'll look around for a used, older body.

An EF-S 18-55 IS might be the way to go. The Image Stabilization would help minimize road-shake.

I haven't mounted a still camera to a bike but I've mounted a handycam..

I unscrewed one of my mirrors and inserted a spriggot made by Manfrotto which has 1/4 tripod adapter..

http://www.manfrotto.c​om.au …ode=060&Record_​Number=329

You can also try one of these..

http://www.manfrotto.c​om.au …Code=050&Record​_Number=16

I think that camera shake from a bike mount would have a serious impact on photo quality. Especially at shutter speeds low enough to produce the pavement blur in your sample photo.

Good luck with the project, I hope it works out for you.