FitcamX view angle modification

The current version of the FitcamX for the Polestar 2 fits very nicely to the car, but they have designed it in such a way that the camera itself points too much downwards, so the dashboard takes up quite a bit of space in the picture. That also means there is potentially interesting information lost in the upper half of the picture. FitcamX has said that they are working on a revision to the housing, and that customers will receive this when it is ready. Moving over the innards to a new housing isn't very difficult if you have the tools (basically a small philips screwdriver), but I'm still not convinced that it is something everybody will be comfortable doing.

While I'm waiting for a new housing, I decided to modify my camera to improve the situation. The modification means cutting/removing an internal feature in the housing, and also 3D-printing a new part to go in there to hold the camera module at a different angle.

This is just a brief overview of the mod, as I guess most people would rather just wait for a new housing instead. Anyways, here goes.

After opening the housing and removing the electronics (not strictly necessary, but highly recommended to avoid damage to it), there's a fixing feature for the camera module that will need to be removed:



I used a pair of electronics side cutters and a knife to get most of it, and then a Dremel to remove the leftovers, leaving me with this:



Then I designed and printed this little part:



It fits between the existing features, and will hold the camera at a new angle. Installed like so:



After installation, the lens protrudes a bit further out, and also points more upwards than before:





There is still quite a bit of the dashboard showing, but far less than before, and there is more information in the upper part of the picture. It is possible to take it even further, but that would require more modification of the original housing, and I didn't bother with that. I'm quite happy with the result I got.

Here's some sample footage, but keep in mind that it was late night and very dark outside, so footage is perhaps not the best. For the last part, the brilliant headlights of the PS2 is showcased on a dark and narrow road at good speed (make sure to watch in 4k, might take some time before YT has made that available) :


If anyone would like to do this to their FitcamX, I'm happy to share the file for printing the small part needed.

Edit: The file for the 3D-printed adapter is available for download from this link. It is a quick print, print with 0.2 or 0.3 mm layer height, 3 or more perimeters. No supports.