Video Cameras & Mounting

[wheelie]

Off for a couple of days with Walshy next week.
I am keen to start to play with some in car footage, and want to go down the HD route.

The camera shortlist is
Canon HF10 http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product ... /index.asp
Sony HDR-TG3 http://www.sony.co.uk/product/cam-high- ... k/hdr-tg3e
Panasonic HDC-SD100 http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/1 ... index.html
With the Panasonic as front runner.

The Sony HQ1 looks good as a secondary camera for use outside the car, either mounted to the front towing eye or a mirror.
http://www.dogcamsport.co.uk/sony-hq1-5 ... camera.htm

I have done a quick search and several posts suggest many of the tracks do not allow suction type mounts on the back window - is this the case at Knockhill ? What about LOT days & MSV tracks ?
Initially I thought this would be a great solution http://www.b-hague.co.uk/camera_suction ... mounts.htm

I have a 2008 Elise S, and do not really want to go down the harness bar route if possible but want something more secure than clamping to the PAX seat. Has anyone built a bracket to hold a camera using the trim mounting screws ?

If I have to go down the harness bar route, which bar to get? Ideally I would prefer not to have to cut any trim. It looks like lotus have different rear trim for cars with and without bars, so it stars to get expensive as the replacement trim is more than the bar.
This setup looks pretty good: http://forums.seloc.org/viewthread.php? ... pid3272548
The one attached to the roll bar is ok, but a bit Heath Robinson http://forums.seloc.org/viewthread.php? ... pid3231952

Any advice would be welcome. Hope to meet some folk at the next track day, work got in the way yesterday.

Cheers
Dave

[Skyenet]

Had a quick look at the specs of the cameras and none seem to have AV in which you would need if you were wanting to connect a bullet camera such as the Sony HQ1

Also useful to be able to use a separate microphone to capture appropriate sound and cut down on wind noise. The Panasonic and Canon both seem to provide sockets for Audio in.

I have made up brackets for in cabin use (Sport Tourer S2) from odds and end lying around, often using a monopod for some added support. Can dig out photos if required.

Had one in between the seats and another mounted just above the radio.

Other issues to think about are starting and stopping recordings, vibration, and image stabilization, and auto/manual exposure and focussing.

Bullet cameras are great but you will need a Camcorder with AV in. You will also need power to the bullet camera and need to think about microphones.
Using the 12V cigarette socket can lead to lose of power if the plug works loose

Also think about how easy it will be to edit your footage. Is the output from the Camcorder in a standard format. For example the format of recordings in JVC Hard Drive recorders needs to be converted to get it to work on a MAC (and a PC I think). However the Video recordings made in my Pentax Camera are fully compatible with my software as is.

I made wide use of a Cullmann Suction Mount with a Jessops Ball and socket head attached. Less than £40 for the two items and very versatile. Had no problems holding Camcorders securely on the Elise Bodywork or windows. Still got it and use it on my motorbike still.

Cullmann Suction Mount
A versatile camcorder/camera support. A conventional 1/4 tripod thread connects to a fast adjusting ball and socket type head which has a suction cup mounting device. Simply place on to glass or any other smooth surface (car bodywork etc) and press the lever to create a very powerful vacuum mount which can stay firmly put for days on end. Another lever breaks the seal and releases the unit. Very handy, and opens up a lot of possibilities for shooting on the move or in places where a tripod just isnt practical.

http://www.keene.co.uk/electronics/mult ... ycode=CUSM

http://www.jessops.com/Store/s18124/0/T ... lse&comp=n

[wheelie]

Skynet

Thanks for the detailed response. If you have some pics to hand of your old setups that would be great.

There do not seem to be any solid state card based Hi-Def camcorders that have analogue video in. I ruled out Sony kit as it did not have an external mic input. The Canon HV30 looks good, but I am keen on a tapeless workflow.
http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product ... sp?specs=1

The plan would be to use some form of SD recorder with the bullet cam.
http://www.race-technology.com/video4_2_7539.html
http://www.dogcamsport.co.uk/datatoys-xm-dvr-pro.htm
http://www.dogcamsport.co.uk/dv500.htm

Editing will be on a Mac of some form or other, iMovie & Final Cut should handle the footage via a transcode.

[Mikie711]

For the sony HQ1 you could use a Arcos. I use a 2Gb Arcos 405 with my sony 520 bullet cam as it was much cheaper than any of the recorders listed on the cam sites. The quality of the picture is OK, can be a bit liney in low light conditions but nothing serious. An example here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeR-ldb2w1A.

Have a look at the HD panasonic SD card camera, mine is the SD1 I think the new one is the SD9, fantastic picture quality and small.
For editing the arcos video I use quicktime pro and for the HD video from the SD1 I use either the current imovie or imovie HD that came with Tiger OS, it has more editing options that for some reason apple stripped out of the new imovie.
Never used my camcorder in the car but the bullet cam is mounted with industrial strength velcro which seems to work fine.

Mike

[Shug]

Andy uses the Sony TG1 currently - we've got it about as cheap as you'll get it anywhere in the UK, when you take in the cashback offer

Have to say the quality is stunning, as is the build. It's a titanium case and he rigidly mounts it to the chassis of the Atom with no problems in image quality - it even smoothes it out beautifully. The fact he's not had a single problem, despite the kicking and blasting it gets hanging onto the Atom goes a long way in my book...

[Sanjøy]

Not much to add here but worth looking at http://www.vimeo.com/ to host your HD content rather than spending all that cash for it to be youtubed.

I am also on this shops mailing list for suction mounts http://stores.ebay.co.uk/fastfilms1

[Neil72]

The pikey option :

http://www.goprocamera.com/index5.htm

[BiggestNizzy]

http://www.actioncameras.co.uk/ATC3k.html

been meaning to get myself one of these for ages.

[Steady]

One thing to consider regarding mounting, is to be able to see either the viewfinder or the LCD - several cameras now you can fold the LCD inside out so you can see the picture from the side, which is useful in a 2-seater, where otherwise you'd have to look in through the back window to set the camera up.

Also you want to be able to see a red light or something that shows you when it's recording. I remember one time many years ago, a very kind technician from the BBC taped an enormous red on/off button to the roll-cage for me to easily press at the special stage start and finish. Unfortunately I pressed it as I clambered in over the roll cage, and with no light to say it was on, I hit the button again at the stage start, so I recorded just the road sections that day. Fortunately Day 2 it worked better and they had something to show...

Editing is very important to consider. I have miniDV tape camera, and it's a hassle to play the tape and pull it onto the computer via firewire, and I thought a hard disk camera would solve this, by quickly downloading from the disk via USB2. But oh no! I cn't remeber whether it was a JVC or a Panasonic I was looking at, but I didn't buy it that daay; I wnent home and read user reviews on the internet, and found it recorded in a proprietary file format that couldn't be edited

Also have trial with microphone placing. If you can use plug in a seperate microphone (not all cameras have such an plug) that can pick up the nice noises your car makes, it will make such a difference to your enjoyment watching the footage than if you have duff sound