Does anyone know of an adapter that will allow the sideways mounting of a camera onto a tripod head? I have a piece of angle aluminum I'm considering using to make my own, but I'd rather find one in production.

A device which bears the label "Manfrotto 400" is a geared head. It has a large tripod thread on the bottom and if mounted correctly to your existing head can allow a dutch movement 90 degrees to left and right. It has a quick release plate on top. The quick release plate is circular so can be oriented in any horizontal direction.

It is not intended to enable pans or tilts but is intended mainly for fixed positioning of the camera.

You could probably expect to pay about AU$600 for a used one, so cost-wise it may be a bit overkill for what you want to do.

Alternatively you could search the eBay for an old Miller LPT head which has a tilt lock. These also have a large tripod bolt hole on the bottom. It has to be an LPT. Older versions without a tilt lock will work but may slump. Newer ones may not have the full 90degree movement. Fix it to your existing tripod head turned 90degrees horizontally then use the tilt to dutch the camera 90degrees sideways. A link to an image of this head is here. Note the disk for the clamping style tilt lock is on the far side as viewed. Older heads without tilt lock are of similar appearance.

http://exposureroom.com/members/DARANGULAFILM/7d60e770eb224d6c8705a55bd42cece6/


Again, costwise if might be a bit overkill when a piece of right-angle bed-iron or aluminium could suffice.

Take greater heed of the advice of others who may reply here.

Thanks Bob,

I thought I remembered seeing an adapter once on the web specifically for turning the camera sideways, but I've lost it. I'm really leaning toward my own creation, since it will cost about $12.

Home made will be easiest and cheapest. lighter and perfectly functional.

You may need to use a thin sheet of rubber on the surface of your right-angle between it and the camcorder base as the camcorder may tend to slip if it is front-heavy when you shoot with it sideways, I used a cut piece of automotive tyre inner-tube glued to the right-angle with yellow contact-adhesive.

However, if using inner-tube, be careful not to overtighten the screw or bolt you use for fixing the camera to the right-angle. Depending on the type of camera, the hard base area of the camera around its tripod screw-hole may be small. The inner tube may also load the camera casework around the tripod base which may pull its own miniature fixing screws or damage the camera's internal metal skeleton.

A dried thin layer of yellow contact adhesive painted onto the right-angle, then dusted with talcum powder, then wiped clean should serve just as well to immobilise the camera when it is mounted sideways and not load the surrounding casework any more than a standard tripod will.

If you can find a piece of right-angled metal with a long face, choose this so you can mount the camera back over the centre of the head to keep it balanced. Otherwise, resetting the ball to level the head can be awkard.

Go to home depot and look through the wall framing brackets. The one I got is a 1/8" thick "L" about 5" on one side and 10" on the other. I trimmed it down a bit and painted it with black stove paint. I would second the rubber strips idea as it's worked well for me. The metal is so strong though that drilling holes for mounting hardware, you will need a drill press and good bits. I put a quick release system on it and use it for greenscreen and portrait work. I made 2 of them for about $10 and that includes the paint!

I've already gotten a 2.5" x 2.5" pieces of 1/4" aluminum angle cut at 6" for the job. Going to paint it black as you did, plus use a thin piece of cork for the seat and add a quick release plate.

I'm starting to see a market for these...

What about something like this?

Really Right Stuff ... Quick-Release Camera Body L-Plates (http://reallyrightstuff.com/QR/05.html)

To the others that posted solutions, can you post a photo of your creation? Thanks.

Exactly...except not for a video camera such as a HMC-150, but the concept is there - and the price!!! Wow!!!