> I ran in my first autocross this past weekend, and had my
> wife video tape
> my runs. Well after watching the tape I have decided that I would like to
> mount the camera inside the car, (because my wife is better at
> taking care of
> the kids than video taping) so my question is this.
ANY mount is better than a hand held camera.
What is the
> best method
> for mounting a camera in the car? I can't easily put a bar between the
> B-pillars because my shoulder belts attach to the doors instead of the
> B-pillars. I have looked around and found this site and wanted to know if
> this would pass tech or not? It seems like it may not be stable
> enough to get
> a good quality recording.
> http://hybrid.honda-perf.org/contrib/cameramount/mountintro.html
> Anyone have
> any suggestions?
This is not a bad method, if your camera is light enough. There was a
company called Cruisecam that had a device for sale just like this. I think
that company went out of business, but they used a similar aluminum
extrusion that went across BOTH seat's headrest posts. The very minor
downside of that method is that both seats must be close in line. The
positive was that it was more stable than using only one seat. I have one of
these and it works well, but the heavier the camera, the more vibration and
movement I got.
We (conecam.com) decided that it made more sense to use a smaller camera as
the actual video input device and mount the camcorder or VCR in a
low/safe/padded area. This was the idea behind the ConeCam and then we were
able to put the mini-cam anywhere we wanted, including outside the car. :-)
As it is, we have been working the last week on a some new mounting methods,
and one of the new brackets will be a headrest post mount, similar to the
above, but using anodized extruded aluminum parts. We will have a single
seat mount and a dual seat mount. We are also creating a line of camera
clamps and brackets for other areas of the car.
Another method that works well (for at least 2 seater cars), is the large
suction cup mount made by the German company "Hama."
Some people have had success using a simple tripod and number of bungee
cords, but I never liked how well this worked for me, or the
stability/repeatability of it.
And of course, there are some more expensive alternative for track cars.
Look in the back of SportsCar or Grassroots for ads. A good example is
racecase.
> Also should I buy a wide angle lens? What is the best
> settings for filming? Do you have to have image stabilization? Any info
> would be appreciated. Oh the car is a stock 1991 Sentra SE-R.
Wide angle is good. We use wide angle lenses on the conecam, but most
camcorders are wide enough at the zoomed out setting to work fine. Just
don't forget and leave the camcorder zoomed in as I have done. :-) You can
experiment, but it is nice to see most of the windshield area and your hands
on the steering wheel. For me, I was able to see how much I really suck at
steering. Even with a wide angle, you will still get a bit of tunnel view
though, because the cam only points ahead.
I have heard different points of view regarding image stabilization. I have
heard on some camcorders, it does not work as well because the image is
moving too quickly. I have seen it working on a Sony and it seemed to really
help, and it can be turned off, so if it was me, I would get it.
If you are looking into getting a camcorder for autocrossing, you might want
to consider some features in addition to image stabilization. I highly
recommend (if it's in budget) a digital camcorder with firewire output.
Great for connecting to your computer of laptop. Second would be A/V inputs
so you can hook up alternate cameras. I also recommend a good name
camcorder, as motorsports can be hard on delicate eletronics.
Randy Chase
http://www.conecam.com/ <-- please check out the video links for examples
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