IRIS+ for mapping - custom mount and camera case design

Posted by Eric Coronel on February 21, 2015 at 9:08am

I wanted to share what I have been working for the past month to properly mount a camera to the IRIS+ (or original IRIS). I never liked the idea of flying a camera like the Canon S100 (or any camera) without some protection and vibration isolation. All take-offs and landings stir debris that can impact an open lens. And any type of crash or flip during landing has the potential to damage the camera.

When 3DR came with the mapping kit for the X8 I was hoping that they would sell the camera case and mount to everybody. That's not the case. And the price for the mapping kit is high and I don't need more telemetry radios and a Pixhawk. I'm referring to this kit.

The mount and case are very similar to the ones offered in the kit. The mount has an isolated top plate with a GoPro mount to latch the camera case. The bottom plate is screwed to the adapter plate that goes to the belly of the IRIS. The GoPro mount from the top plate goes through a hole in the bottom plate. The plates have 10 mm holes to add bigger rubber dampeners.  

3691181850?profile=original

The case is designed around the Canon S100, but similarly shaped cameras will fit. There are 5 mm in all directions to add a layer of foam. The white label in the front is where I'm going to add another hole. The red sharpie marks in the back are where I'm going to expand the holes for easier button pressing and screen viewing. You can also glue a filter for lens protection. There are clear filters and UV filters, for example. The diameter of the filter you see below is 58 mm.3691181909?profile=originalThe pictures below show how it fits on the IRIS+. There is a clearance of around 2 cm from the ground to the lens tube, so I'll most likely add legs that are 5 cm taller. There are 2 leg designs for the IRIS in Thingiverse where 8-mm carbon fiber rods can be added. Again, the white label you see is where I will add another hole to manipulate the shutter, the dial, and the power button.

3691181989?profile=originalThe complete set weighs 322 g (IRIS+ maximum payload is 400 g). The weight contribution of the camera is 193 g and the camera case and mount weigh 130 g. Well worth the weight for camera protection and vibration isolation. Weight will go slightly down with the next version I got printing (2 expanded holes and 1 new hole).

I will test the flight performance soon. We just got a big snow storm so I won't fly until next weekend. The design is very solid, and I'm expecting no major issues. I'm hoping that the weight distribution doesn't affect the flight performance.

I have another design for the back portion of the camera case with a longer GoPro mount, so the camera could easily be pointed forward if desired.

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Tags: canon, iris+, s100, aerial, camera, case, mapping, mount, nadir, photography
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Replies

    • Jimmy Oliver > Flying Buddha February 24, 2015 at 9:23am

      Thank you!

  • Eric Coronel February 23, 2015 at 12:19pm

    Something that I forgot to mention is that even if 3DR starts selling the camera case individually the setup still weighs 500 g, which is 100 g over the IRIS+ payload capacity.

  • wbal57 February 23, 2015 at 12:06pm

    Last week I got the same problem and went down the Ill make a better one myself. I had talked to 3DR and heard that after buying 4 pixhawks from them with the month I still had to buy another pixhawk to get their mount.

     

    3701941844?profile=original

    I'm concerned with weight and the IRIS so I printed the white mount as thin as my XYZ davinci would go and then laminated it with XTC-3D the result is a .6mm very strong mount. I made the lens cover longer than the zoom at the lens's longest travel as the IRIS likes to RTL or land directly over a rock or object just the right size to hit the lens.  

    • Eric Coronel > wbal57 February 23, 2015 at 12:10pm

      Looks great! Please make a post with details about the whole setup if you are able.

    • wbal57 > Eric Coronel February 28, 2015 at 8:31am

      http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:702649/#files

      Here is my design that I am testing now. It uses a 5mm layer of foam to isolate the vibration inside the mount. The "snout" is longer then the zoom of the camera at its max extent to protect it when autolanding on unknown terrain. I print this as thin as my cheap 3d printer will allow and then laminate with the XTC-3d epoxy which greatly adds strength without weight. The white mount in my above post weighed only 38 grams.

    • Eric Coronel > wbal57 February 28, 2015 at 8:33am

      Great design! Thanks for sharing.

  • Flying Buddha February 23, 2015 at 11:19am

    Thank you for sharing, I've been wanting to design something like this for my Y6, but haven't had the time.  I cant wait to see the files on Thingiverse! 

  • Pascal P. February 23, 2015 at 3:25am

    very nicely done Eric. Modular design and the case dimension could be adapted to several popular camera.
    I use Sony RX100 on my Iris+ and during my last bad landing I was really afraid for the camera. Still working but...

  • Eric Coronel February 22, 2015 at 8:15pm

    Once I get to fly the IRIS with the camera setup and check for any fixes I will post the files on Thingiverse. 

    • Evan H > Eric Coronel February 24, 2015 at 4:26pm

      thank you very much! 

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