CustomFPV Ultralight Camera Mount

In the world of micro drone racing, weight savings are paramount. on a 17 gram drone, any opportunity to save even a tenth of a gram will provide noticeable improvements in flight characteristics. I saw an opportunity to make improvements to the camera mount, which often times can weigh up to a gram or more. I collaborated with Isaac Pettit, owner of Aerial Outlaws, a micro drone racing shop, to bring this design to market.

I considered a few factors when developing this design. First and foremost, durability was the biggest priority. The camera mount is the first thing to impact an obstacle in a crash, and not only does it need to hold up, but it also needs to protect the camera it holds. I decided to utilize a “friction fit” design to achieve this, which snugly mounts the camera, and protects it all the way out to the lens area.

The second priority of this project was stiffness. It is important that the camera doesn’t move at all in flight, as vibrations or movement in the image can make the drone very difficult to control. I achieved this by using TPU filament, which stretches out to the mounting points and holds the mount snugly onto the drone. I also designed a stiff front “leg” that extends down from the lens mount for additional rigidity.

Finally, I focused on making this format of mount as lightweight as possible. I removed the covering around the camera PCB area, and made the outer mounting points as skinny as possible to save weight. This was a process of trial and error, as I made mounts that were super light but too fragile and did not hold up.

Overall, this project took 20 revisions to reach its final form. During that time, I sent versions out to professional pilots around the country to test, and they gave me valuable feedback about its performance. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and the mount quickly became a preferred choice for micro drone racers competing at the highest level.

Because different pilots prefer different angles for their cameras to be mounted at, I made 8 different variations of this mount, in angles between 30 and 50 degrees in 2.5 degree increments. Hundreds of mounts were produced and sent to be sold on the Aerial Outlaws Site.

Iterations 1-12 of the mount, from left to right.