What support/stand to use for a specific webcam?
October 13, 2020 9:56 AM Subscribe
I'm trying to find a support to use with a webcam for playing board games and Magic: The Gathering online with friends, but it's proving difficult.
It's a Microsoft Lifecam HD-3000, which doesn't have a traditional attachment point for a tripod; instead, there's a rigid but flexible rubber foot that stabilizes the camera on a flat surface or allows it to hug the top of a monitor.
I'd like to find a flexible support that can suspend the camera facing down over a table surface with minimum intrusion into the frame, but I'm not having any luck and my class schedule leaves me with very little time to DIY a solution. Microsoft doesn't seem to produce anything along these lines, and I haven't been able to find any third-party aftermarket solutions either.
Has anyone else encountered and solved this particular problem? Apologies if I'm missing something completely obvious; quarantine has made this the first time in my life I've ever owned a webcam, so I really have no idea what I'm doing with it.
It's a Microsoft Lifecam HD-3000, which doesn't have a traditional attachment point for a tripod; instead, there's a rigid but flexible rubber foot that stabilizes the camera on a flat surface or allows it to hug the top of a monitor.
I'd like to find a flexible support that can suspend the camera facing down over a table surface with minimum intrusion into the frame, but I'm not having any luck and my class schedule leaves me with very little time to DIY a solution. Microsoft doesn't seem to produce anything along these lines, and I haven't been able to find any third-party aftermarket solutions either.
Has anyone else encountered and solved this particular problem? Apologies if I'm missing something completely obvious; quarantine has made this the first time in my life I've ever owned a webcam, so I really have no idea what I'm doing with it.
I've been doing this exact same thing for game playing online, but I have an entire photo studio at my disposable.
What has worked best for me with cheap web cams for streaming is using some sort of gooseneck clamp. This allows me to easily adjust it by hand without having to re-rig a tripod or whatever.
For a webcam without a 1/4" thread, I would screw that gooseneck into a tripod and just secure the camera with the clamping end. If you don't have a tripod, I would recommend what is called a super clamp which you can clamp to basically anything (like your desk or table), and the gooseneck will fit into the stud receiver, and then you can point it wherever you need to. There is probably something cheaper than that Manfrotto super clamp that will do the exact same thing, but those clamps in particular are the standard and it's still cheaper than a tripod if you don't already have one.
posted by bradbane at 10:31 AM on October 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
What has worked best for me with cheap web cams for streaming is using some sort of gooseneck clamp. This allows me to easily adjust it by hand without having to re-rig a tripod or whatever.
For a webcam without a 1/4" thread, I would screw that gooseneck into a tripod and just secure the camera with the clamping end. If you don't have a tripod, I would recommend what is called a super clamp which you can clamp to basically anything (like your desk or table), and the gooseneck will fit into the stud receiver, and then you can point it wherever you need to. There is probably something cheaper than that Manfrotto super clamp that will do the exact same thing, but those clamps in particular are the standard and it's still cheaper than a tripod if you don't already have one.
posted by bradbane at 10:31 AM on October 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
How large of an area do you need to cover? How tall or short do you need it to be? Any limits or minimums on the footprint (width between feet, etc.)?
posted by rhizome at 6:02 PM on October 13, 2020
posted by rhizome at 6:02 PM on October 13, 2020
SnakeClamp is a brand name that makes some items might work. Pricey, though. As are traditional copy stands. They have the geometry I think you're describing.
I wonder if you could find a cardboard box of the right size. The cam can look down through a hold in the top. Large portions of the box would need to be cut away for visibility and light.
posted by SemiSalt at 6:15 PM on October 13, 2020
I wonder if you could find a cardboard box of the right size. The cam can look down through a hold in the top. Large portions of the box would need to be cut away for visibility and light.
posted by SemiSalt at 6:15 PM on October 13, 2020
We've been using a jury-rigged overhead camera setup that works pretty well for our covid game playing sessions. I'll describe it in case it helps you think through your similar issue. We need a birds eye view of a game play area about 24"x 18" or so.
Build a stack of boxes on one side of the game table (in our case it's a stack of boardgame/puzzle boxes; big books would also work). For us the stack is about two feet tall. Just *below* the top box, wedge several chopsticks about halfway into the stack so they have one end sticking out. The top item should be a heavy box/book that will hold them in there securely. The chopsticks form a kind of "diving board" shape hanging out over the game play area. In my case I lay a cellphone on that diving board, camera pointing down. You want several chopsticks slightly separated so they can take the weight of the cellphone evenly; I usually use three or four.
Adjust how far the camera hangs out over the play area by adjusting the chopsticks and the phone. Adjust how big a play area you're seeing by adding/subtracting boxes from the stack.
I originally tried this with a triangular coathanger, which works, but the chopsticks are more rigid so they do better holding the camera nice and flat. Wooden rulers or similar things might be worth a try depending what you have around the house. I also tried securing the cellphone to the chopsticks with rubber bands; turned out it wasn't necessary with the phone, but might be something to experiment with your webcam.
posted by LobsterMitten at 11:19 PM on October 13, 2020
Build a stack of boxes on one side of the game table (in our case it's a stack of boardgame/puzzle boxes; big books would also work). For us the stack is about two feet tall. Just *below* the top box, wedge several chopsticks about halfway into the stack so they have one end sticking out. The top item should be a heavy box/book that will hold them in there securely. The chopsticks form a kind of "diving board" shape hanging out over the game play area. In my case I lay a cellphone on that diving board, camera pointing down. You want several chopsticks slightly separated so they can take the weight of the cellphone evenly; I usually use three or four.
Adjust how far the camera hangs out over the play area by adjusting the chopsticks and the phone. Adjust how big a play area you're seeing by adding/subtracting boxes from the stack.
I originally tried this with a triangular coathanger, which works, but the chopsticks are more rigid so they do better holding the camera nice and flat. Wooden rulers or similar things might be worth a try depending what you have around the house. I also tried securing the cellphone to the chopsticks with rubber bands; turned out it wasn't necessary with the phone, but might be something to experiment with your webcam.
posted by LobsterMitten at 11:19 PM on October 13, 2020
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posted by GuyZero at 10:07 AM on October 13, 2020