alexb76

What's the best Camera mount for our cars? I wanna mount my Lumix LX3 this season to take some good track videos (in HD)!

I guess the only option is windshield mount with suction cups... what's the best option out there?

Edgy01

The weight of your camera (to which I am not familiar) is a big factor. Also, do a search on the GT3/GT2 forum for the 997. I believe they had something listed there one time.

Here's a few:

http://www.vacuummounts.com/prodpics.php

http://www.chasecam.co.uk/Mounts/Suction.aspx

(I use the one in the middle on that second link)



The one I use is based upon a three suction cup base, and has a couple of ball heads on it for adjustments. Keep in mind that the heavier the rig, the more complex and demanding you have to be for your mount. Most are not designed to handle much weight.

cab&coupe

Dan, how about a picture of your setup?

Edgy01

Here's the setup, mounted in the windshield area (pax side). The entire rig is 3 lbs, 10.5 ozs. Not a lightweight system. If a roadway is extremely rough, you will get some jiggling, and possible harmonics of that jiggling.

alexb76

The weight is 265 grams, 0.58 pounds. Is that too heavy? It's not a super micro camera, but it's still compact.

Edgy01

That's nothing. My rig is so heavy that I'm sure it's influenced by the road conditions. Yours would be ultra safe. I wish I could tell you where I got mine. (Somewhere in the USA).

alexb76

So, what would be the best compact suction one for this smaller camera?

Edgy01

Perhaps one from that second link I gave you earlier--like the far left one.

Here's a source in the USA: http://www.saferacer.com/chase-cam/?manufacturerid=62

brendo

i have used a flip video a few times and i love it. the biggest drawback is that it doesn't have a card you can remove for memory but it does hold 1 hr of HD video. if you're looking for something that integrates with throttle position, etc, it's not your solution.

here's a sample if a few quick warm up laps in seattle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxFdt8-fvBI

however, it's affordable and very good quality.

for a mount, i used a commercial mount (think hollywood) that cost me about $80 that has a vacuum suction. i was most concerned with being on the track and having the thing flip off. this thing is awesome. i don't recall where i got it but i think this is it --> http://www.filmtools.com/filmtools-i...era-mount.html

the best thing about the flip video camera (http://www.theflip.com/en-us/) is that it's very small and it's just absolutely so easy in the car, with kids, etc. certainly, it has fewer options, etc, but i've found it to be very handy.

alexb76

So, is flip mountable like regular cameras? I mean I got a great camera, takes great HD video, but not sure if the weight would cause trouble (hence flip)?

RF5BPilot

Google "Fat Gecko Camera Mount". I got one of these for the car and external mount on the airplane. Also, someone else posted (what seems to be) a good camera, see goprocamera.com. I ordered one; haven't received it yet.

Handoogies

I think sometimes its cooler to mount the camera further back (rear seats/cage?) so you could get a partial shot of the driver in action as well. I often see rally cross videos in that setup, although I'm quite sure they use pen-stick cams for those.

alexb76

Where would you mount it on the back? If I had a roll-bar that'd be easy, but I don't.

Edgy01

With a suction system you can mount it to hang from the rear window. I did that one time -- see video:

alexb76

Oh ok cool. I just contacted Chasecams, and they said best is the SM31 (what you got), as with other smaller ones you gotto mount the camera upside/down. I can reverse it back in Software, but probably best is to get the right one.