Just received my suction-cup mount today.

I bought a cheap one from filmtools.com. Considering the price I'm pretty happy with the build quality. I hooked it up in about 5 seconds to my dash and took a quick video on the way home. The video isn't all that exciting since I was on the street and didn't test for much beyond the posted limits. Even from a simple test I think it's going to be great for the track once I experiment with a few different interior locations (you can mount it to any flat surface - externally too). Film Tools is sold out now but I think PongoBaz ordered one from another company, so I'm sure he'll chime in if you're interested in getting one.

FWIW - The camera was just a point and shoot Leica in video mode. It'll look much better once I hook up a proper HD cam and put the rig through its paces on June 10.

Here's the vid

 

Can you mount this on the outside and have it hold at decent speed?

 

Hope so

Honestly, I guess it would depend on the position, how heavy/big the camera is and what you mean by decent speeds. There are much bigger and better mounts out there so I don't think I'll get too aggressive with the camera on the exterior of the car.

I'm going to try it this weekend weather permitting. Obviously I wouldn't do it at the track but the suction should be strong enough to shoot some stuff on the streets. You can monitor how well it's holding by viewing the white plunger. If a red line appears it's loosing suction.

 

Mine arrives today! I'll be trying it at the track this Sunday.

 

Can't wait to see the vids Phil. Where did you end up getting yours? I think by the time I got mine here it was just over $100. $49 for the mount, $18 for shipping and $37 for UPS customs handling! Hopefully you did better.

 

got it from vacuummounts.com for $49 but I chose FedEx delivery at $30...we'll see if I get raped on brokerage fees.
NO brokerage fees from FedEx. Ordered it Monday at 2pm and it arrived by noon today. Well worth the $30 delivery charge. All set for Sunday.

 

How did the camera mount work out?

 

It worked out well. The mount I purchased is really great for smaller cameras. it keeps the camera stable over bumps and at high speed. It also articulates enough when using a smaller camera so you can mount it pretty much anywhere.

It's less ideal for larger cameras. For the Mosport track day I rented a commercial HD camera which had some weight to it. It was too big to mount the camera right side up so I mounted it upside down and rotated the image 180 degrees in post. I haven't edited or posted that footage yet but it's a little unstable ( I also had issues getting the correct exposure, but that's an entirely different issue). Next time I rent another big cam I'm going to rent a proper industrial mount too to keep it stable. Once I get a moment to edit video of a lap or two I'll post it so you can see for yourself.

I think Pongobaz has posted some footage using his.

 

Here you go:

 

This is OT. But check out vimeo, they provide HD video, 10x better than youtube.

sample here http://www.vimeo.com/1089248

 

Thanks guys, the AIPTEK is a pretty small camera so I bought the same mount, let's hope it can support the camera. The GoPro has been doing pretty well for me, but I'd like something a little higher resolution. I can then use the GoPro for funky shots of tires, etc.

 

That's a good point. Additionally, if you view the video on Youtube (not the embedded link) there is a "view in high quality" link under the view count that greatly improves the quality. It doesn't appear for every video, only for those that have been exported with certain codecs. Like in Phil's video here.

 

It will support that camera no problem. I've done exterior mounted shots at 110km/h. I'm sure it could do more, I just don't have to guts to push it.

 

I bought a cheapo $4 mount for fun. Here is a vid:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=SjU4mXK_Avc

 

Phil, I think you should remove the gps while on track (unless you need it to show you the turns..ha ha)
also doesn`t the location block the view of the road up ahead
a pet peeve of mine is people who put the gps in positions that block there view. I have seen some put it right in the middle of drivers side windshield.
I like the harness bar for camera mount