DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Make a DIY Motorized Camera Slider from Your Old Junk

Feb 17, 2016 by John Aldred Add Comment

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

quick_and_dirty_slider

Did you ever think that you could build a motorized camera slider from the junk laying around in your garage?  Well, the folks at Make: have you covered.

We’ve covered some very cheap DIY camera sliders builds in the past, but if a $50 DIY slider or even a $20 DIY slider is still beyond your wallet, then this one beats all other budgets, hands down.  This super down and dirty setup can cost as little as nothing if you have a bunch of old junk laying around.

Utilizing just an old drill, a couple of lengths of wood and some dental floss, a basic but functional slider is born.

Sure, it’s probably not going to help win you any cinematography awards and you might not want to be seen in public with it, but if you always fancied playing with a slider without investing huge amounts of money into one, then this might just be a quick and inexpensive way to get yourself started.

I think in the case of this slider, waxing the boards and adding some sides on the sled to hang over the sides of the rail would be the first modifications I’d make to provide a smoother slide and it would certainly add a little extra stability and reliability to its path.

But camera sliders can be made out of all kinds of junk.  Even the BBC have made their own huge DIY slider rigs, making use of ladders, rope and recycled bicycle wheels to produce some beautiful results for their BBC Life series on Plants.

Can you believe that sequence was made with this rig?

Cameramen at the BBC with their own DIY Camera Slider rig.

Incidentally, that sequence single handedly sparked my fascination with timelapse, as they shot the sequence on a Nikon D200, which was the same camera I was using at the time.

Old shower rails, guttering, pvp pipes, old skateboard wheels, what kind of junk may be residing in your garage just waiting to find a new use?

Have you made a unique camera slider?  Let us know in the comments below.

[Make a Motorized Camera Slider from Stuff You Have in Your Workshop | Make:]

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Build your own motorized custom camera slider from scratch for around $75 Rare photo of Billy the Kid worth $5 million found at a junk shop for two Dollars Default ThumbnailUsing A Motorized Yoyo As A Panning Slider Slider MotorHow To Build A Linear Motorized Slider For Less Than $60

Filed Under: DIY Tagged With: diy slider, make, time lapse slider

John Aldred: from diyphotography.net

About John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

« Snickers Pokes fun at Retouchers With a Sports Illustrated Ad
Get your Color Theory game on point with this fantastic video »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Learn photography

Recent Posts

  • Web Photoshop Launches with Adobe Firefly AI: No longer beta and no longer free
  • How I shot this maternity portrait on a huge 1m² large format camera
  • Photographer’s favourite ‘Robin Hood’ tree cut down overnight
  • Excire Foto 2024 uses AI to judge your photos
  • Ansel Adam’s house is for sale for just $5 million!

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy