How can I mount an action camera to a tripod when both have "out" tripod screws?

Question

I recently bought an action camera made in south Africa by a company named VOLKANO, the accessory pack has a tripod mount with an "out screw" (sorry i have no clue whats its called) and my tripod (voyager T1000) also has an "out screw" for mounting. Is there some way i don't know to take the screw on the tripod out and screw in the mount for the action camera? I have tried adjusting the mount but no result

Answer 1

It's typical to refer to "in" and "out" sockets and bolts as the, uh, biologically-inspired terms "female" and "male", respectively. So, the thing you are looking for is called either a male-to-male adapter or a male-to-female converter — same thing with two different names based on two different ways of looking at the problem.

The tripod thread is standardized, with 1/4"–20 typical for tripods and 3/8"–16 often used for lighting equipment. The 3/8" stud is also usually used to connect tripod legs to tripod heads, so if your accessory happens to be basically a tripod head itself, you might want to connect that way. (I don't know if your tripod has a removable head, but this may be useful to others in a similar situation.)

Assuming both devices have the same tripod thread, a male-to-male adapter like this one will do the trick. Or, if you need to convert between 1/4"–20 and 3/8"–16, there are plenty of double-ended adapters like this one which provide that. These are all cheap enough that if you're not sure, you could just buy them and experiment.

There's also a small chance that your action camera has some weird idiosyncratic connector made for some other thing that same company sells. But this seems unlikely.

Answer 2

If the thread of the camera is the same of the tripod, then you can use a connector nut.

Theese are normally used for "allthread" or threaded rod and are commonly found in hardware stores. (In case you wonder, they are used to connect or join two pieces of threaded rod, end to end)

For better support you can make a small square of wood or plastic with a hole for the nut. The wood block should be as tall as the connector nut is long, sot it is flush on both sides when inserted into the block. Depending on the type of wood you may just pressure fit the nut if the hole is made of the right size, but epoxy glue or construction adhesive is also a good idea.

Edit: a second idea

A small block of aluminum, of similar size of your tipod's plate and little taller than the sum of both screws' protrusion. Drill a hole trough and use the right tread tap to cut threads in the hole. This way you can thread the block to the camera and the block would act as the normal underside of a camera with a conventional tripod mounting hole. If you don't have the tools or the materials, this is a pretty simple task for a machinist shop. They may even have a piece of scrap metal they can use to build the piece.

Answer 3

The Voklano Action Camera cannot be directly mounted to a tripod because the camera body does not have threaded insert common to most other cameras. Many accessory mounts for this camera are sold separately. Looking at the camera manual on line: All mounting accessories attach to a waterproof plastic housing, available separately. Once so mounted, a helmet mount, a handlebar mount, a belt clip and other mounts are attachable. The online manual does not show a tripod mount. However, I think, if you are clever, you can mount the camera with waterproof case to a tripod using commonly available hardware.