333pg333

Hi guys,

I'm looking at doing some in car filming and am wondering what is the best camera and setup for this? I have seen where some guys use 'lipstick' cameras mounted off their rear vision mirrors as well as the traditional mounting. Is there any camera to not get or some that are better suited to this? Any advice is appreciated.

Patrick

bleucamaro

I has a Mustang that I mounted an oldschool Hi-8 handycam in using a very rudimentry mount. I think the lighter the camera, the better, because heavier cameras will move unless the mount is perfect. Also, mounting further back in the car is a benefit because you can see the drivers hands, and the dash as well as the road. Be carefull of the automatic light adjustments as they will sometimes wash-out the outside of the car. And find one with a remote so you don't have to reach way back to start and stop it.

hope that helps.

333pg333

Thanks BC. Every little bit helps.

Dynamite 76

Have you decided on a budget? And, what if any are the requirements for the mounting system? I know a few guys that use a professional type suction cup mount, but some organizations may not allow its use.

On the lower end of the budget, less than $500 total cost, the mini Digital Video cameras are very popular. I have a Panasonic PV-GS85 and am very happy with it. If you have a roll bar, get the mounting system for it. I don't, and built a mount from aluminum stock in place of the rear seats, mounted to the rear seat belt locations. Seems to work good, although if I were to start over I would design it a little better and have the camera mounted higher.

A little self promotion, in car video with the system here...
http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=411170&fr

Edgy01

Think seriously about going straight to a High Definition camera. Everyone is going to this eventually. You can record in HD but now use it until you get hte HD TV down the road.

Tony356993

Sony Mini DV with I/O port camera mount. Works great and is relatively cheap. Bonus - you can take some vid of the kids every once in a while.

333pg333

Thanks for the advice guys. I have heard some say that the new digital with the hard drives are more susceptible to vibration? Urban myth or what? I have a Panasonic that has been playing up. It's a digital but one that you have to use those mini tapes. My plan is to mount the camera on the harness bar as I don't want a cage yet. It's still road and track. How large are the HD cameras and is there any issue with downloading the result to the PC for editing or do you need special software?

cchan

I suppose it depends on what your end purpose with the video is. If you are going to want high resolution then you probably should go with DV or even HD camcorders - although any tape or hard drive based mechanism will probably wear over time from vibration.

If you don't need the highest quality, I would suggest looking into some of the digital video recording devices which write to a flash memory card. No moving parts, and you just copy a digital video file to your computer for viewing/editing (no Firewire transfers, format conversions, etc.).

My setup is a wide angle bullet cam ($200-300) mounted just behind the seats, which gives view from A pillar to A pillar. The bullet cam is fed into an Aiptek MPVR (~$100) which saves MPEG video onto an SD memory card (1-4MB/minute, depending on desired quality - and can go up to 2GB card sizes), which I can secure in my center console storage bin once I start recording. I am only recording my DEs, so I don't need high quality and the convenience factors are great. Here's a sample video at the lowest recording quality, and I didn't do anything to the clip other than trim it before uploading. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLaTujBirY8

The only caveat with the bullet cam/DVR setup is that you may need to figure out how to power it. The camera takes 5volts, my bullet cam 12v, combined with a GPS data logger I wound up creating a mini power distribution system for all the devices rather than deal with recharging batteries all the time. So a camcorder is of course the easiest, just mount and hit record.

There are also a number of threads in the Racing/DE forum on video cameras for the track.

333pg333

Thanks CC, that's good advice. On a side note, I'm surprised that you don't have to wear protective clothing even for a DE day. Just to clarify, are your DE days just untimed practice sessions?

cchan

Yes, timing not allowed - definitely not as "intense" or competitive. Depends on exactly which organization, each one has different rules/emphasis on safety areas. That group was OK with short sleeves and shorts, was a hot day in the desert. As I have advanced and increased speeds, though, I am thinking more about my own clothing minimums depending on the situation.

333pg333

In our club events we have to comply with C.A.M.S. (Confederation of Australian Motorsport) which is pretty strict. These are essentially timed events where you're put into appropriate speed groups, but you can pass or be passed upon signalling. There is still room for a bit of dicing occasionally. Full length, all cotton clothing. No plastic/rubber shoes + gloves & helmet. Many guys just have a race suit. It also gets very warm in Winter / Spring down here so we do swelter a bit.

drfous

You might look at one of these. Records to SD card so no vibration issues and its compact. Quality is so so, but the price is right.

Oregon Scientific Digital Camera

Techno Duck

Tape a gauze pad or cotton ball over the microphone to reduce wind noise.

333pg333

Yes good tip. There are so many i.c.v. that sound so bad with the windnoise that you don't want to watch them.

PTurbo965

I tried the cover that came with the mic on my camera and it had no effect. On playback, all you could hear was windnoise. I'll try the taping some gauze over the mic and see how it comes out.

I know that there is some way to do it, because some videos have great sound and also the stuff you see on tv. The tv set-ups may be wildly expensive to get that sound though, but sometimes I wonder if there just isn't a trick to it and once you know it you're set.