Elph Rig - built in January 2003
In January 2003 I built a new rig for my Canon Elph. The rig uses some ideas from Cris Benton's Elph rig, though it has no HoVer capability. Here are some pictures taken during its construction. The rig is made of 2mm aluminium (my first rig used 1.5mm and was a bit too flexible). As before, gears, axles and bushes came from disassembled scrap video recorders (obtained free from video repair shops!).
This rig, though more robust, actually weighs less than rig 1 - largely due to the lighter camera. The total weight of 774 grams breaks down like this:
| rig (without camera and picavet) | 486gm |
| Elph camera (including battery and CF card) | 224gm |
| picavet suspension | 64gm |
In May 2003 an optional video downlink module was added to this rig. Details are here. In May 2004 the rig was badly bent in an accident and was rebuilt for an Ixus 500. It then looked like this. In February 2005 another accident finally brought about its demise. See here.
 |
The two parts that make up the camera frame. The small piece (made of 1.5mm angle) will, after further sawing, become the shutter servo support. The large piece has been bent into shape, but as yet no holes have been drilled. The pieces are resting on a drawing of the rig showing the dimensions of the camera and the position of its control buttons. |
 |
The camera frame almost ready for balancing. The shutter servo is in place and holes have been made for the bolt that screws into the camera tripod socket and for access to the on/off and shutter buttons. Later a layer of thin ply will be glued to the bottom of the frame to protect the base of the camera from being scratched. |
 |
The set of parts that make up the rig (before painting). Click for more information on construction details. |
 |
The first assembly of the rig. The tripod legs are temporary versions until I buy some carbon fibre rods. |
 |
A front view of the completed rig. Note the Pekabe blocks on the picavet suspension. |
 |
A rear view of the rig. The shutter servo 'finger' can be clearly seen. |
 |
An end view. The two aluminium temporary legs come from a micro-tripod for 35mm cameras. |
 |
A close-up view from the front. The notch at the back of the camera frame allows the camera to be switched on and off (and the mode to be switched to manual) without removing it from the frame. |