I just bought a cullman suction mount and clamp for the miniDV... I also have a helmetcamera (lipstick size) that works nice too.

Hmm, the custom plate-under-windscreen has a lot going for it. Looks like a simple enough idea (if only I had some power tools...).

I haven't decided on the camera yet. I'm somewhat of an expert at still photography (digital and conventional) but the whole video scene is nearly Greek to me. I was browsing at a retail outlet and said to the salesperson, "gee, I know I need image stabilization" which used to be an option a few years ago. Now EVERY camera has stabilization. But the counter-geeks can't say which system has BETTER stability (or faster shutter speed/frame rates or...).

I thought there was a large choice in still cameras. Holy cow there's a ton o' video choices! I've narrowed it down to DV or Digital8 (I think) on the off chance I want to do some PC editing (for the Firewire connection).

I have a camcorder mount from IO Port Racing Supply. They are in California, near Oakland I think. It clamps onto the roll bar and meets the SCCA requirements for camera mounting. It is very stable, even on a modified-class race car.

I have an IO Port in my race car and it works awesome - too bad the stock stook roll bars don't provide a place to clamp it to.

Hi, we do offer a small camera that provides in car and out of car (or anywhere!) ability. We also offer some various mounting methods, and we are creating some new ones.

One that has been designed and is in fabrication is a dual suction up mount (with safety tether) that attaches to a flat panel either on the hood or behind the seats.

http://www.conecam.com/

We have some videos up that show what the small cameras can do. Having run camcorders, the vibration is a much bigger issue when dealing with a large mass. Small cameras don't have the problem when mounted correctly.

Another data point. If you buy a small cam, please make sure you get a wide enough angle lens! Otherwise you will not see enough from the in-car video. Our's has almost a 90 degree field of view.

Also, check for bandwidth and resolution.

Feel free to ask any questions. We are racers and autocrossers first.

Regards,

Randy Chase

Randy,

I love the all videos but prefer the in-car cam myself. Who's driving? Is it all you or is a mixture of you and David?

The footage from the Atwater ProSolo is MR2 buddy Andrew Lin. We blew the weekend's video shooting with a bad cable to our video camera.

All the rest of the linked videos are of me, except the short "oopsie" video. I had more in-car videos, but when my server was getting killed by the bandwidth, I removed them. I plan on getting some new footage, now that we have gotten better at tweaking the MPEG compression also.

I am horrified to watch my handling of the steering wheel. :)

Here are some videos:
Me with a passenger at Qualcomm...who said MR2s don't have to shift much? :)
http://www.conecam.com/video/InCarRandy1.mpg

This one matches the other bumper mounted cam shot:
http://www.conecam.com/video/sdtour1incar.mpg I didn't like the outcome of it, because we shrunk it too much and it's hard to see, but you can see me flailing on the steering wheel :)

See the difference as far as MPEG settings on this one:
http://www.conecam.com/video/sdtour2conecam_hires2.mpg

David sent me some video links a while back and I watched the handling of the steering wheel to see who was driving. ;) His use of the wheel may look better but you're still the fastest. Better watch him though, he's a fast learner.

BTW, welcome to the board.

Okay, nobody sells a mount that fits our funky roll-hoops.

After attempting a complicated arrangement I fell back on the $6 (+$30 tripod head) solution. A 3" wide aluminum L-bracket mounted exactly where the windscreen mounts. Would've been cheaper than $6 but I had to buy 3' of L-braket and a doorway-filling amount of sticky foam tape (my attempt to cushion the underside and protect my plastic). This is similar to the triangular baseplate but even simpler, lighter, and more rigid. The best part is I could make it with the half-dozen tools in my garage. You can do anything with a vise, hacksaw, hammer, and Dremel (but I used a drill-driver instead).

It stood up to one Auto-X okay but those mounting points are through a cover that feels a bit flimsy and flexes. Camera (Sony TRV-17) ends up close to my right eye location but it does need a wide angle lens adapter.