Guys,
I have mentioned it before - but now I need to get SERIOUS.
I picked up a nice little Hi-8 camera (SONY CCD-TRV46E) at a good price
(everyone else is going digital) and I really, really need to design and
make or buy a good in-car camera mount. This is the only reason I
bought the camera.
I got myself a wonderful, strong Manfrotto "clamp" style mount - but
simply bolting the camera onto it using the tripod screw, no matter how
tight I do it up, leaves the camera "wobbling" at the slightest
provocation. The wobble is beyond what the "steadyshot" technology can
manage and makes the pictures unusable. Even at idle (lumpy cam) the
pictures are pretty rough.
At the last race meeting I worked on the other weekend I was doing
pit-lane duties so I got nice and close to lots of cars - and just about
every one of them has a camera mount. BUT all the cars apart from
Formula V were tin tops with full roll-cages with "X" cross-bracing
behind the seat/s. These people had a flat metal platform welded
between the cross bracing (nice and steady) with a padding-filled box
bolted on top to hold the camera. Imagine a bird's nesting box with the
hole in front for the lens and you will get the picture (no pun intended).
My problem is that my rollbar only has a single diagonal brace AND it is
against the rules to weaken this bar with any welding (except at the
ends where it is held in place, of course).
I can use "U" bolts/muffler clamps, so I was thinking of maybe hanging a
similar box-type affair from the horizontal top bar of the rollbar?
I only have one seat and no headrests, so I can't use those arrangements
that fit a horizontal bar held in place by the headrest "poles".
Anyone got any plans/designs or pictures of an arrangement I might be
able to make/buy? There must be people with cameras in cars like mine?
Any webpages (Google is no longer my friend - I have worn it out).
HELP!
Oh yeah, I even tried clamping the Manfrotto mount to the top of the
windscreen. Great pictures when it wasn't wobbling and through the
windnoise (I would use an external microphone normally) I actually got
to HEAR my new carbies for the first time :-) Those things really SUCK :-)
--
Eric
'68MGB MkII
Adelaide, South Australia
Check out the new British Cars Forum:
http://www.team.net/the-local/tiki-view_forum.php?forumId=8
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