> I've even
> seen people put a tripod behind the front seats with tie down straps to
> various locations.
I do this and it works quite well for me in my daily-driven autocross car.
I've got the lightweight nylon tie-downs with the ratchet mechanisms you can
pick up at Pep Boys real cheap. I put two legs of the tripod on the floor
behind the front seats and the third leg on a small board on the seat
itself, sizing the legs appropriately. I tie one strap from the driver's
seat bracket, behind the "neck" of the tripod, and down to the passengers
seat. The other strap comes from the hatch area, over the seat, around the
neck of the tripod and back to the hatch area. I tighten both straps
progressively to keep the tripod straight and level with enough pre-load on
the seat-cushion leg to keep it from moving. I find most of the flex is in
the tripod head - and I have a pretty good tripod. A small strap from the
"crotch" of the tripod and over the top of the camera will probably help out
alot but I heven't gotten around to that yet. A camera with a red light on
the front to indicate when it's recording is very helpful, too. I have to
reach back and hope to hear the camera start recording on mine and if I
don't decisively hear it, I always wonder if it's taping.
I find that if I zoom all the way out, I can get quite a bit of the track,
much of the steering wheel and the occasional peek at the gauges.
Video at: http://www.kalman.org/will/images/autox1000.mpg (9.2 Meg)
On this video (my first attempt), the brightness/contrast worked out really
well but in two events since, I'm having trouble with the gauges being too
dark or the track way too bright. I'm still looking to see what might be
wrong there. I've not changed any settings on the camera.
I've noted that different manufacturer's stabilization systems are quite
different. The digital-type stabilization on my Sharp Hi8 Viewcam sucks so
I turn it off. I suggest trying it both ways.
Will Kalman
'91 Escort GT
CSCC #232 STS
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