Whether you're live streaming builds or just desire to take your projection photography to the adjacent level, you can't crush an overhead camera setup. Unfortunately, they tend to be cumbersome and more than oft than not quite pricey. Looking for an affordable solution that could easily be moved out of the way when non in apply, [Jay Doscher] had the clever idea of adapting a common VESA monitor arm to give his camera a bird's eye view of the activity.

If yous call back well-nigh information technology, one of these monitor arms is a near perfect base of operations for a camera rig. They're hands mounted to a desk-bound or work bench, can be quickly repositioned past design, and perhaps all-time of all, you lot don't have to spend a lot of money to become a decent ane. A camera is also a far lighter and less awkward payload than the arm was designed to concur, then y'all don't have to worry well-nigh it potentially dropping your expensive gear. Or cheap webcam, equally the case may be.

All [Jay] had to do was come up with a way to securely mount his Sony A7R3 on the end of one. While there'south certainly a few means you could solve this detail problem, he went the extruded plastic route and 3D printed a beefy adapter plate with the standard VESA bolt blueprint. His Smallrig photographic camera cage attaches to the plate, and thanks to a pair of press-fit bubble levels from McMaster Carr, he's able to go everything lined upward properly over the bench.

Of course, there's an excellent chance you don't have the same camera as [Jay]. Only that doesn't hateful you can't change the design of his adapter to fit your own gear. To that end, he's not only shared the final STLs, but he'southward provided a link to the TinkerCAD projection that y'all tin can actually edit right in the browser.

If you've got a light plenty camera, you lot could put something similar together with PVC pipes or even an articulated arm intended for a desk lamp. But if you've got a DSLR or other full-sized photographic camera, nosotros think it'southward more than worth the $30 USD one of these will cost you on Amazon to brand sure your gear doesn't end up bang-up into the deck during a live stream.