Any tips on how to mount a waterproof camera onto a surfboard ? I’ve been thinking about using suction cups but I’m afraid it won’t hold and I risk loosing the camera. I also don’t want to alter the board (I don’t want to glue it on, or add some plugs).
Bad idea!
Assuming you want closeups, the board is floating right in the impact zone, in the way of the surfers, can smack anyone around, including you AND the camera.
Better to swim out, with enough floatation to balance your tech rig, so you can get close with safety, still can duckdive, and no floating parts. Of course, swim fins a must, and BC’s a plus.
A board, if you are planning to sit out on the shoulder, gets the same pics as a telephoto lense.
I thing I haven’t been clear in what I’d like to do. I don’t intend on staying in the impact zone in order to take shots of other surfers. I want to take shots while surfing, like in the exemple below :
I think I’d attach the camera to a piece of plywood any which way but loose.
Then silicon, duct tape and strap the wood to the board nose.
On the other hand , drill it into your the nose of your board,
then replace the nose later…no harm no foul.
Although, I dont agree with your idea of renting it out as a tourist
rental board at Wakiki though 
I think you’d want to do it semi-permanently. I’d suggest you rout and glass something similar to a mast box/foot strap box/fin box into the board so you can mount your camera securely and would allow you to move it back and forth. You could take two approaches: one, which would be something that either attaches directly to a standard camera mount or two, routing/installing two parallel boxes and having a separate rig that the camera goes right into and then have that mount to the boxes.
Hi Pierre, you’re thinking about something like, say, one of the Fuji single-use waterproof types?
I’d try hot glue, perhaps gluing a wooden wedge to the nose and then gluing or otherwise fastening the camera to that so that you’d get the angle right. It’s cheap, it’s quick and it it’s easily removed with a very little heat and something like a putty knife.
Now for the fun trick, how to pop the shutter. I’d suggest perhaps something like a bell-crank or other lever with a string or something attached and stuck in your wax, so that you could just pull the string and take the shot.
It’s probably not going to give you a photo of the quality of the one you posted, but it’ll work.
hope that’s of use
doc…
I saw an article in an old surfers journal issue, where some guys screwed a metal stand for the camera to a longboard. They had very clear pictures of the guys setting their rig up.
Sorry that i don’t know in which issue it was in, but the magazine wasn’t mine.
O’fish’l new glue on leash thingga mabobs glue em on with zap a gap gel easy on theres lots of material on em the hole through is good for lashing a bracket to take a camera of little or greater consequence…I know you don wanna do plugs thats why these are cool they are non invasive…ie no cut da glass atoll…when yoou get tired of the bracket the thingamabobs are low profile so you can use the boardand if you wanna remove em or moove em the glue cleans with acetone or just hacksaw em off above the glass…but I put some on the travel board cause some day I wanna ride it w/ out even the suggestion of a leash…ambrose… lashing a little jam cleat of nifty yacht hard ware …cooler a yellow rubber ducky lashed to the nose has always tikled my reverie
Quote:
Hi Pierre, you’re thinking about something like, say, one of the Fuji single-use waterproof types?
I’d try hot glue, perhaps gluing a wooden wedge to the nose and then gluing or otherwise fastening the camera to that so that you’d get the angle right. It’s cheap, it’s quick and it it’s easily removed with a very little heat and something like a putty knife.
Now for the fun trick, how to pop the shutter. I’d suggest perhaps something like a bell-crank or other lever with a string or something attached and stuck in your wax, so that you could just pull the string and take the shot.
It’s probably not going to give you a photo of the quality of the one you posted, but it’ll work.
hope that’s of use
doc…
Hi Doc,
My camera is a Nikon underwater L35 AW/AF (it’s from the mid 80’s). I plan on using the built in 10 seconds timer in order to take the photo.
Ambrose’s idea of using Ofish’l leash system seems good but I’m not sure I’ll be able to find some over here in France.
What if I use something like that ? :
In the meantime, I searched the web and found this remote controlled system : http://www.watershot.com/products/special/eos_a2.html
But this is way too expensive and complex to setup. Plus, I think the camera pole is probably bolted/glued permanently
About 15 yrs ago Rich Pavel had a camera board that Scott Dietrich and Rich made.It was a small fish kneeboard for Rich and Rex Huffman to be used at Tavarua.The camera was mounted in a fin box on the front of the board.I think it was a millican?? camera . Toby took it out to the channel islands with me but …not much surf.It was a cool little camera set up!! Very small and fairly light.
Right! Like the rigs the guys who work with plate glass use. That would probably work fine, maybe mount a swivelling ball arrangement on it ( such as you see on tech lamps ) , on the fixed handle and some foam on the thing so if it does get knocked loose it’d float. Indeed, anything with a wing nut and a quarter-inch thread ( to fit the camera mount) would work real well
The older Nikons work just fine ( have an old Nikonos 1 myself) and maybe any glue-on leash mount for a safety strap, or one of the Minoltas of similar setup and vintage.
go for it
doc…