Camera Mount for the Track - Help Please

[Batboy]

I'd like to mount a video camera in my car this weekend at the track. I don't have any special car mount (I do have a normal tripod) nor do I have a harness bar or roll bar to mount it to. Has anyone come up with a way to mount a camera without using anything of these specialized pieces? I was thinking of using a tension bar (the kind used for shower curtains) and then strapping my tripd to it. Anyone know if this will pass the race tech inspection? Thanks for any help!

 

[Janni]

I wouldn't pass any sort of tension bar mount. The weight of our camera and the vibration would unseat that thing in a heartbeat.

You MIGHT consider using some bandclamps or HUGE cable ties and try to mount it to the top of the passenger's seat. Use the cutout in the seat where the harnesses feed through as the "bar" and strap it to that.

There used to be the Dean Word camera mount for GTS's - but he's been too busy to manufactur e- they occasionally show up on the classifieds and eBay. WOn't help for this weekend, though.

 

[Batboy]

Actually he emailed me and told me he had some. But yeah not sure if he can get one to me in time.

 

[Kai SRT10]

I made a cheap and effective camera mount out of a flash bracket and a nylon strap. It fits on the passenger seat. Total cost was about $15.

Look here for pictures:

http://gallery.viperclub.org/showphoto.php/photo/16655/sort/1/cat/all/page/2

http://gallery.viperclub.org/showphoto.php/photo/16654/sort/1/cat/all/page/2

http://gallery.viperclub.org/showphoto.php/photo/16653/sort/1/cat/all/page/2

 

[Vipera Russelli]

I use this suction mount for my viosport bullet cam and it works great.

Link: http://www.viosport.com/store/customer/home.php?cat=245

It has a standard threaded post just like on your tripod, although I'm not sure where you could attach it inside your cabin, which is where I suspect you would want to put your camcorder, unless it's a really small camcorder.

I use a bullet cam (really, really small), mount it on to the flat intake depression at the front of the hood (nice low angle), run a wire along the hood and fender seam, in the passenger window and into my glove box, where I keep locked up my camcorder. I have plunger button that comes out of the glove box that allows me to select, on, off, record, pause, and even tells me via a colored light which function I'm in and if I'm nearing, or have reached, the end of my tape. Resolution is very good—better than TV--but not as good as my camcorder does alone. I don’t have ANY issues with vibration either, although I’m not sure if the bullet cam has vibration reduction or not.

Here is my bullet cam:

Link: http://www.viosport.com/store/customer/ourgear.php?page=ac3_overview

 

[Batboy]

The strap mount looks good but I will have a passenger with me most of the time. My time trial laps I won't and I might be able to use something similar.

I like the suction cup one and have looked at those. The problem there is I don't have a bullet cam and I'm afraid the weight of the camera will be too much for a suction cup mount.

I'm hoping I can rig up something similar to Kai's. The way I see it there is a true mounting place in the hatch area. That mounting point is the spare tire. If I can make some kind of rig to mount to the spare tire mount and then to the camera I think I will be set. Now I just have to do that in two days.

 

[FrankBarba]

Why do you guys always think of this stuff 1 day before your suppose to leave for your track time?

 

[Batboy]

hehe. Actually I wasn't even going to bother. A friend of mine wanted to film it. Of course when I told him he couldn't film while in the car without a mount he refused to leave his camera with our stuff "ungaurded". So, I was trying to find a way to take it with us. Otherwise, I wouldn't really care. Of course, it would be cool to see how bad a driver I am.

 

[Catwood]

http://www.chasecam.com/bulletcam.htm

Contact Randy Chase, he might work with you on price if you say you heard of him from the Viper Board. He's local to me and I've hook up a couple of folks before and did a GP about a year ago.

Carl

 

[Randy]

If you had an RT/10, you can make one fairly easily that connects to the snaps on the back bulkhead and bolts through the holes in the "roll bar" (my camera is mounted in my avatar pic).