DIY rig to automatically remove yourself from 360 photos and videos

[OmerAli]

Hello Everyone

     This is going to be a very simple How-To post to construct a cheap and affordable DIY handheld rig for your 360 cameras. The rig can be used for any camera/camcorder as it is built using the standard 1/4 screw mounts. However, this DIY rig is primarily helpful for your 360 cameras as it will help to automatically remove you out of the frame. 

 I would also like to mention that this DIY rig was made after looking at the specs and design of @HiroyukiTakisawa's great post on "Making a 360-degree camera mounted helmet". 

Please note that links to products/services in this post are provided only to give you a starting point. I am in no way affiliated directly/indirectly to these services/products

::Summary::

Usage: any 1/4 inch screw mount capable device

Form Factor: Handheld

Primary Function: Help remove hands, head, body and other objects from 360 photos/videos nadir

Cost: Less than $30

Built Time: Less than 30 Minutes

::Working Principle::

    Though the rig is fairly simple and there's no maths or science behind it. However, two key factors help to stitch image properly and patch nadir completely

1.   Height of the rod/stick (measured from shoulders up)
2.   Diameter of the base disc (mounted at the base, that helps to patch nadir. Experimented with different sizes and the best result is presented in this post)

::Equipment Needed::

1. Standard Extendable Selfie Stick (Here's one affordable selfie stick on Amazon. All we need is an extendable selfie stick with 1/4 camera mount) - Cost up to $USD 20
2. Standard Sized CD. You can use your old CDs too. - Costs around $0.50 per CD
3. Design and print a CD Label. You can design anything using MS Word, Photoshop or any other online services and it is mostly for free. One such service is Maple. Do keep it in mind the Google's policy on fixing nadir (I recommend to check @LucioV's post on fixing Nadir which will help you understand the manual process as well as hints about Google's policy on Nadir Patching). You don't want to put up anything which violates the terms. Also, based on numerous tests, I recommend to keep your design marketing/text free and as simple as possible.

::Construction::

 Well, its a very basic setup. Infact, its just like those school projects we used to have during 6th grades. So, here's an old school like step-by-step guide:

 Step 1:

      Take a used/new standard CD/DVD. The standard CD size is 120 millimeters (4.7 inch diameter)A standard CD

I used an old CD at my workstation.

Step 2: 

          Print a black or preferable dark colored label/sticker as we do not want our design to be see-through.A standard size CD with a black printed label

I used MS Word's online template to design this CD label (yep, the bad printer toner though. I hope you would get a better result)

Step 3:

       Create a design that is somehow circular in nature. By circular I mean, there are no hard edges, cross or perpendicular lines or text that gets skewed/stretched/overlapped when the camera software tries to stitch the image. 

 I designed a compass keeping the above view in mind.a compass design printed on 80gsm paper

I had to use my scissors to cut the outline. I am sure you will have computer printing shops and getting a CD/DVD label printed is fairly cheap and easy these days. All you have to do is to provide a design if you wish and you will get a high quality properly cut vinyl that you can stick directly to your CD.

Btw, I managed to get it done manually and it looked ok-ish

 The compass design on the CD

 Step 4:

          Punch a hole and remove the additional design. In your case, if you are getting it printed from a proper design shop, you won't have to worry about it.Step 5:

    All you have to do is to stick your selfie stick through the hole so that the disk gets mounted to the base.

Step 6:

             The rig is done. You just have to extend the stick at least 2 feet (from shoulders up) and start shooting.

::End Result::

I am going to share two photos here. One with the same design (the compass), the other with a very simple text ("Let's Map").

I want to highlight the following factors:

1. The height of the selfie stick (which help to get a better result)
2. The diameter of CD which gives you just about the right amount of Nadir patching
3. Complex design = stitching problems (end result: poor nadir)
4. Simple Text/Design = better stitching

 As you can see the cd pretty much removes everything from the base, but the complex design made it very difficult to stitch properly.

 On the other hand, a simple text (placed alongside the diameter) gets stitched up neatly. You must have also noticed that in this picture there's absolutely nothing in the bottom other than the disc. That is due to the height of the selfie stick.

::Conclusion::

    Why do we talk about the height?

1.       Photography is all about light and composition. with standard cameras we ideally want to put the subject in the right quadrant, looking through the camera lens right at the subject. When it comes to 360 photos and videos we tend to look down at the subject. That is why we need to add extra height which helps to:

•  Capture more environment
•  Helps to remove most of the elements from bottom 20% of the image

     What's with the diameter of the CD?

1.        If we use a smaller CD/circular object, it will remove a certain portion of the nadir and it is more likely that you will still find yourself in the frame
2.        If we use a large object as the base, we might end up losing more than 20% of the base, thus losing adequate amount of details from the image         and which might violate Google's guideline on nadir patching (resulting your picture might never get published on street view or taken down).

:: Final Note::

         Experiment is the key. There's no one solution or final solution to any problem. For more this rig works best when I'm using my 360 camera in Video mode because it does most of the work for me automatically. I connect my Ricoh Theta V on this rig and record in video mode using Google Street View app, so, I cannot afford to post-process the long video. 

         If you are familiar with photo editing tools like Photoshop etc and are not working with 360 videos, perhaps manual post-processing gives the best quality results. I am also working on Photoshop actions to fix the nadir, if that works out, I will update this post accordingly.

[JohnPeter]

very creative idea 

[OmerAli]

Thanks @JohnPeter 

[Raphael-Mahumane]

This is very helpful and easy to design at low cost @OmerAli, it is obvious that we all own a selfie stick and we might not afford a helmet or do not have skills and resources to use Photoshop for editing. But this can help and encourage all of us to use 360 photos and capturing using video mode without appearing on the scene. 

Thank you a lot for sharing this great idea and knowledge with us!!!

[HiroyukiTakisawa]

Hello, @OmerAli

It's an awesome idea and DIY!

Thank you for sharing:-)

[OmerAli]

Thanks a lot @Raphael-Mahumane

 I am very pleased that you got the bigger picture. I use this every time I go out for 360 photos/videos and I wanted to share the info so that everyone could benefit from this little trick. 🙂

[OmerAli]

Thanks a lot @HiroyukiTakisawa-San

    Coming from you, it means a lot to me. 

I am also working on the DIY Helmet rig (mostly based on your design, but will add a 1/4 inch extension screw and the same CD to its base). I hope to post the results soon

[KhamphoutS]

Great idea! @OmerAli

Love it and will try my soon

[OmerAli]

Thanks @KhamphoutS 

 🙂

[PaulPavlinovich]

This is a cool idea @OmerAli well done. For anyone making a device who needs the screw size it is 1/4" TP20

Regards Paul