autox camera mounts?

[pj86GT]

Hey all,

1996 mustang cobra, using a aiptek vid. cam, interior is stock, e.g. no harness bar...

I have my back seat out, so I'd either want to clamp the camera to that metal & have the camera set a few inches higher via something like this:
http://www.filmtools.com/ultralight-...ing-mount.html

or

go with some sort of headrest clamp, but obviously something that will fit the thick single headrest rod that the car has...

Either way I'd like to get a view of my steering actions as well.
Any suggestions?

[MFE]

Get a suction cup mount and stick it inside your quarter window, or on the rear window. I haven't seen a headrest mount yet that produced useable video, as flimsy as these seats are. If you have a coupe you can use a big L-bracket slid down behind the rear seat and tied into the crossbracing, then mount the camera on the forward part of the L on top of the seat.

[pj86GT]

Good point regarding the seat movements MFE! Thanks for the input...

[Moving Target]

I've been using both a suction cup mount and a clamp onto the passenger headrest for my in-car footage and and have had problems with vibration and having the camera fall out of position with the headrest mount. I'm going to try out an adjustable cargo bar like what is marketed for keeping stuff from sliding around in the back of a truck box.

Sorta like this thing:
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...70_12114_12114
but trimmed down to fit behind the front seats and reusing the clamp to mount the camera to the cargo bar.

I've bought the filmtools Gripper 115 (in reality, it's the Wood's Nukklehead Jr.)
http://www.filmtools.com/filmtools-i...era-mount.html
http://www.powrgrip.com/cgi-bin/powrgrip/LJ45PH155.html

Mucho happy with it.

I've also tried another smaller suction cup that I've stuck to the inside of the passenger roll down window and have a crappy kodak camera (doesn't do sound and vid capture is 20fps ) but it's great for seeing what I'm doing (usually not looking ahead and sawing the wheel too much) while competing. Syncing the two requires some $$$ software and a lot of patience if you want to do some fancy picture-in-picture clips.

That ultralight mount looks a bit too flimsy for an aggressive competition environment.

[pj86GT]

Thanks for the info moving target, that Gripper mount looks like a winner...

[imfamousjim]

i made one to attach to the passenger headrest out of about $5 of hardware from lowes and a $5 generic camera tripod. i'll grab some pics this weekend. I'm not sure if your looking to take a cheap route or not, but im really happy with mine. and for the price, i can't complain.

[Moving Target]

I am not above doing things "ghetto" but I bought a Cullmann touring kit earlier this year from a local camera shop and have been using parts of it (suction cup mount, sliding clamp and the ball swivel) for some of my mounting needs.

<swiped the pic from http://www.shortcourses.com/guide/guide4-4.html>



Like MFE stated, a headrest mounted camera has a tendency to jiggle around due to the amount of slop in the OEM seat latching mechanism plus being so cantilevered out and up near driver's eye level. It works but it's not perfect.

The clamp I've been using from the Cullmann kit has some shortcomings as well (hard to tighten down around the head rest support, prone to allowing the camera to rotate downwards from vibration, lame way of attaching the extension rod from the tripod to the sliding clamp for this kind of usage).

I'll probably post up a visual of what I'm describing since pictures show it better.

[Hipogt]

Originally Posted by MFE

Get a suction cup mount and stick it inside your quarter window, or on the rear window.

I would like to get a mount very soon and I'm leaning toward this type. Does the rear window mounting allow the camera to be low enough? I never thought of the quarter window, but I guess you just recline the seat all the way down. Anyone have any real world (o/t or autox) vids with a suction cup mount in either position?

Moving Target, lots of good info.

Thanks,

[MFE]

You could mount it as low in the rear window as you wanted, assuming the combination of camera and mount will allow the camera to be vertical when mounted on the angled glass. But when I mounted my camera on top of the rear seat, its height was fine.

[Hipogt]

Maybe I'm looking at this all wrong. But I'm thinking I would want to mount the cup on the rear window as far forward (near the seats) as possible to have the best camera view, which would be the highest position. Or do you just move it back for the correct height and the camera can be adjusted (zoomed) for the view? Sorry, but I'm totally clueless on this subject and I want to make the best choice once.

Thanks,

[MFE]

If you mount it up too high, your angle through the windshield will be pointed downward too far, unless you're only really interested in what's going on inside the car.

[Moving Target]

Originally Posted by Hipogt

I would like to get a mount very soon and I'm leaning toward this type. Does the rear window mounting allow the camera to be low enough? I never thought of the quarter window, but I guess you just recline the seat all the way down. Anyone have any real world (o/t or autox) vids with a suction cup mount in either position?

Moving Target, lots of good info.

Thanks,

http://www.powrgrip.com/cgi-bin/powr...deo_Clips.html

...well for starters...

And no, I'm not a shill for the product, I just really like it.
I know there are a few guys on the forum that have posted vids in the "Official Picture thread" using these kinds of mounts too.

One of the (big) problems with mounting on the rear glass area is unless you have a remote to easily start and stop the recording, you'll waste a lot of running time (again, this depends on how much storage media the camera has). Having the camera mounted nearer to you solves this issue.

You just have to decide on whatever location works best for your needs.

[gt40mkII]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the GoPro Hero setup for motorsports. I've been using one for about a year and love it. It's easily the most versatile setup I've ever used. I have permanent mounts for the camera on my roof (front and back views.) I also have used the suction cup mount on the fenders, and interior windows. That mount is good up to 200mph, as tested by GoPro on their Formula Mazda car.

As far as bang-for-the-buck goes, this is VERY hard to beat.

[MFE]

Because the thread specifically asked about mounts

I assumed the people asking already had a camera. I agree the GoPro is a good deal, I'm using one now myself with a suction mount up high on the passenger side of the windshield, but its mounting system is unique to the GoPro and the GoPro won't mount on standard mounts unless you make an adapter.

Here are the 3 different camera setups and locations I've used so far:

GoPro "Wide" mounted up on the windshield with a suction cup

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/9...500_707975.htm


Aitpek mounted on the harness bar with a homemade "i/o port" style mount:

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/S...-LX_680818.htm


Sony Digital8 Handycam mounted on a homemade bracket above the rear seatback cushion...and mic's taped over the tailpipes

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/c...d-on_68540.htm

[Moving Target]

Remember what I said about ghetto?


http://www.princessauto.com/truck-tr...word=cargo+bar

It has swivel pads so it has a tendency to twist so I'm going to wrap some sandpaper or emory cloth into the "cup" of the swivel to add some rotational friction. Ghetto but much more stable and using my Cullmann pipe clamp, infinitely height adjustable.

I'd bet even money that Harbour Freight has something very similar for cheap.

I've seen lots of guys using the GoPro Hero but I've already got a couple of decent video capable cameras so buying another one (with a GoPro specific mount from what I've seen) was a non-starter for me.

[Hipogt]

Originally Posted by Moving Target

Remember what I said about ghetto?

Hey! I had a similar bar in the bed of my old Ranger, except it was a little more horizontal. I couldn't figure how you were going to brace it from side to side. Just be careful not to tighten it too much as you may end up with a misplaced "Gurney bubble".

Thanks everyone,

[Moving Target]

Funny you should mention that as I now own a 1990 Ranger.

The cargo bar idea is just another (possibly bad) example of mounting a camera inside a car. I'll very likely use something to spread the load out on the headliner (thin plywood or similar) so I don't accidentally do what you described.

In my short test drive around my neighborhood, the video seems very stable and only shows some noticeable shaking going over potholes (big shock ).

I really like options.

My $0.02

[Hipogt]

+1 on the options. Oh and btw, good point on the remote. If no remote and I don't have gorilla arms, do you just edit later...?

[Moving Target]

You betcha. However, the way the bar is located, I can still easily reach the shutter button. I've always tried to mount my cameras so I don't have to rely
on someone else to start it and stop it for me. An extra memory card is nice in case of "fat finger" syndrome.

My camcorder came with editing software and I've used Quicktime Pro to edit clips from my other two cameras.