I’ve been video taping my swing for many years. I’ve rigged up many contraptions to get my camera set up in the best spot to tape the swing. Tripods are the best plan but hauling a big tripod to the driving range and onto the course isn’t very convenient.
The Golf Video Perch by Makaw is a perfect solution for easily and quickly setting up video or still cameras to capture everything from your golf swing to your kid’s school Christmas program.
Mounting
The Golf Video Perch first has a clamp for attaching the unit to a golf bag, golf cart or anything which is up to about 1.5 inches thick. The clamp has some nice thick rubber padding so it won’t damage your golf bag. I’ve clamped my Golf Video Perch onto several different golf bags, golf carts, golf hand carts, counter tops, my car window etc.
Just before Christmas I was very pleased to be able to use the mount while trying to get decent video of my kids’ school Christmas program. My standard tripod is about six feet tall when fully extended. With hundreds of parents jockeying for photo position and walking by, half the Christmas program would have been the back of peoples’ heads if not for my Video Perch. I found a piece of a temporary wall which was just the right thickness for me to mount the perch on. I got on a chair and mounted my video camera on this piece of wall about eight feet up in the air. My video was flawless and the people walking in front of me didn’t get in the way of my camera.
Arm
Once mounted, the first adjustment is an arm which is about 5-6 inches long. There’s about a 90 degree range the arm can be adjusted. The range goes from parallel to the mounting surface to perpendicular.
Circular adjustment
There’s a two inch circular extension coming out of the arm. With this section you can rotate the camera 360 degrees.
Ball & socket
The end of the circular adjustment has a ball and socket joint inside where the camera mount connects. With the ball and socket joint you can position the camera at a perfect angle and tighten.
Smart camera mount and wing nut
One thing that bugs me with camera mounts is the stupid screw which goes into the camera. The screw is tightened from the bottom of the camera mount and a flat head screwdriver, quarter, key or something flat is needed to tighten the camera securely. The Makaw Video Perch has a terrific solution for this frustration. They’ve put a retractable wing nut here instead of the standard flat round screw with a slot. This is an awesome solution.
The picture below shows the Makaw version on the left (the one marked “cool”), and a standard mount on the right (“not cool”).
The camera mount also has a safety latch to prevent accidental release (and the subsequent damage) of the camera. This is a nice additional feature to help protect a potentially hefty investment.
Holy Level Batman!
A nice addition to the Video Perch is just below the camera on the mount, a level. Having a level is very nice when shooting video. It prevents having your videos look like an episode of the original Batman.
On the course
Obviously on the range you can set your bag behind you with the Perch and video your swings. You can easily capture a round of golf with the Perch as well. I have a very small Canon camera with video capability. If I’m walking the course, I can mount the Perch in a spot which doesn’t interfere with carrying the golf bag, and set the bag down behind where I’ll address the ball. I can power up my Canon in a second or two and hit record. Then I can go home and watch every shot and critique and analyze my game (or lack thereof).
Conclusion
Whether you are a golfer or not, the Makaw Video Perch is a great camera mount. It is very strong and sturdy and can place your camera in any position you need. The quality and design are top notch.
On the course I’ve had a great time video taping my swings, and even had lots of fun mounting the camera onto a motorized golf cart and chasing the geese around.
For more photos of the Makaw Video Perch, click here.
HOGWire – Golf Industry News
Nice Review… This is a blazing invention. Much more indiscreet than a tripod. Great for golfers and bootleggers alike. Where was this during “Fore Inventors Only?”
This looks like a really great idea. As you mentioned you feel kind of goofy hauling your huge tripod to the range. This seem nice and compact!