Here is a simple-to-make in-car camera mount.

Here it is installed (before painted):

http://www.hymee.com/rx8/images/CameraRig.jpg

And some photos of the bits and pieces:

http://www.hymee.com/rx8/images/CameraMount1.jpg

http://www.hymee.com/rx8/images/CameraMount2.jpg

http://www.hymee.com/rx8/images/CameraMount3.jpg

The black "bar" is a length of 50mm x 50mm Aluminum angle.

The rotor shaped clamps are made from MDF, and backed with some medium density foam strips. I will put more foam on the bar next time. The bolts go through the holes in the fronts seats, and hold the bar behind the seats.

I then used a 1/4" bolt and wing nut to mount the camera using it's tripod mount hole.

Have a look on the multimedia thread for some great in-car track videos to download:

http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=34789

Enjoy!

Cheers,
Hymee.

PS - Weird.... Why don't the [img] tags work in-line?

PS - Weird.... Why don't the [img] tags work in-line?
Because your tags don't point to anything.

Yours look like this: {img}http://www.hymee.com/rx8/images/CameraRig.jpg{/img}
And they need to look like this

{URL=http://whatever URL you want to link to}{IMG}http:// The image you want displayed.jpg{/IMG}{/URL}

Replace the { and } brackets with [ and ] brackets.

Wierd. I have done tags more than a few times before. Never like that!

[img]http://www.hymee.com/smilies/sm_driving.gif

It works for me here (http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=34789)

Stupid flamin computers, who would want to work with them all day :cool:

I still don't know how to make one Hymee :p

How much of the raw material did that cost you?

I still don't know how to make one Hymee :p

How much of the raw material did that cost you?

Fair comment Taka. I intended to be a little more specific. How about I draw a dimensioned plan?

Costs:

Aluminium angle was cut from a length I had lying in the yard.
MDF was cut from a sheet I had sitting in the garage.
Medium Density from tape = $2.50/lm from Bunnings.
Hex bolts / washers / wing nuts = less than $5
Sony Mini DV Camera = $790 (borrowed from mate)


Cheers,
Hymee.

hmm.... must search for parts.. Still sound difficult :p

Fair comment Taka. I intended to be a little more specific. How about I draw a dimensioned plan?

Costs:

Aluminium angle was cut from a length I had lying in the yard.
MDF was cut from a sheet I had sitting in the garage.
Medium Density from tape = $2.50/lm from Bunnings.
Hex bolts / washers / wing nuts = less than $5
Sony Mini DV Camera = $790 (borrowed from mate)


Cheers,
Hymee.Good idea, Hymee. A CAD-type drawing showing dimensions, angles, etc, would make this DIY complete. As it now stands I'd be inclined to duct tape a 2x4 in place for my camera... ;)

Originall posted be 800Degrees in this thread: (http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=35657&page=6&pp=15)

It worked. I ended up drilling one hole - underside of the backdash. There's a hole there but the "boom" wasn't stable enough.

I drilled one toward the rear, 1.25" from the existing hole...
Dropped two bolts/washers through...
For the "boom", I cut a piece of 1" square aluminum tube (about 12 inches long - will vary with camera)...
Drilled three holes in boom...
Bolted it all up!

Total cost $8.00 and about 1 hour.

Just needs a few tabs of hook/loop and 2 of those rotor pillows a fellow made in an older thread! :D

Fair comment Taka. I intended to be a little more specific. How about I draw a dimensioned plan?

Costs:

Aluminium angle was cut from a length I had lying in the yard.
MDF was cut from a sheet I had sitting in the garage.
Medium Density from tape = $2.50/lm from Bunnings.
Hex bolts / washers / wing nuts = less than $5
Sony Mini DV Camera = $790 (borrowed from mate)


Cheers,
Hymee.


......the footage to wow your mates with....... priceless. LOL :)

I'm assuming MDF = medium density foam, and I think there is MDF on the back of the rotor shaped cutout, but why is the rotor shaped cutout of a different color than the MDF backings?

I'm assuming MDF = medium density foam, and I think there is MDF on the back of the rotor shaped cutout, but why is the rotor shaped cutout of a different color than the MDF backings?

Not quite... MDF = Medium Density Fibreboard, or "Craftwood" by one tradename.

That is what the front "rotor shaped cutouts" are made of. They are indeed backed with strips of self adhesive foam for cushioning.

I did promise someone a CAD drawing of it ... :eek: Slack Hymee!!!

Cheers,
Hymee.

so when you going to sell these hymee?

What - the mounts or the videos? :D

Sorry, I was refering to the mounts :D

yes, I'm not sure where to get an aluminum angle, nor where to powder coat it. I also dont really have the equipment to cut the stock. But if you tidied the MDF pieces up, I think I'd be interested in buying one.

What do you think something like that should / would sell for?

Cheers,
Hymee.

how much time goes into making one, I would buy it for like 25-35 range. If it was much higher I would probably build myself.

That is the problem. I would need to be able to make lots of them quickly and easily and know thay had a good chance of selling them for it to be worthwhile.

I think I'd be just as happy to draw up a plan/instructions and offer it in the public domain.

Cheers,
Hymee.

Drawing works for me, I'm more of a hands on person anyway. That would be awesome.

testing picture reinsertion please ignore this post

That is the problem. I would need to be able to make lots of them quickly and easily and know thay had a good chance of selling them for it to be worthwhile.

I think I'd be just as happy to draw up a plan/instructions and offer it in the public domain.

Cheers,
Hymee.

Did you do up that drawing yet ? :D

I used my standard camera tripod. I extended 2 legs down to the rear floor and the third i left shorter and placed it in the rear storage bin in the center console. I used 2 bungee cords and ran them from the lowest center point of the tripod back to the child seat mounts, and then 2 more down to the front seat tracks on the floor. It's stable and doesn't move around much. I would suggest using a good tripod, though. Mine is the cheap one that I got for free with the camera. It works, but I'd like to see something stronger. I put tape in the mount that the camera itself sits in, just to take out the slack in there. I don't have any pics of the mount itself, but the vids are on my website at www.scottbarton.net/anthony (http://www.scottbarton.net/anthony). You can click on Putnam Park and then Videos and check them out. I know, I know... my mirror is in the way. I didn't realize until afterwards that it was a dual-pivot and could be moved up. D'oh!

btw, I used this same setup on my former 325is for track/autocross/winter rally, and it's always been fine.

I know this thread is ancient, but I've decided to build one of Hymee's camera mounts for an upcoming track day. I'm mostly finished with it. I'll post the list of everything I purchased, pictures, and a drawing of the rotor shape when everything is done.

Hymee,
The only thing I'm a bit confused about is the camera mount hole. You mentioned you're using a wing nut, but I can't really picture how this would work. If I just drill a hole and stick a 1/4 bolt through with a few washers I'll be able to mount the camera, but it won't leave much room for adjustment and I'll probably have to use something else to make sure the camera doesn't come loose and rotate. Anyway, if you could give a little more detail on your solution I'd appreciate it!

only thing i really need is a stencil template for cutting the rotor shaped clamp, and i can do this DIY as well

care to post a 'life size' stencil file up Hymee??

That would be great!

OK. Give me a couple of hours and I'll scan one of the clamps so you have a template. I'll maybe take some more pictures as well.

The mount works really well. Takes practically all the vibes out.

Cheers,
Hymee.

I've already got a cad drawing that I can upload later, so Hymee, if you don't want to take the time to scan them don't sweat it. I'll have pictures of all the parts that I can upload when I get home from work.

thank you skinless, as long as it's 'actual size' that i can print out to use as stencil it's all good :D

Thanks Skinless.

I'll draw a diagram of the camera mount screw & wingnut to help clarify.

I guess I'll have to send out Hymee enhanced stickers who make their own certified reproductions, under licence of course! LOL.

Cheers,
Hymee.

Although I spent 10+ years "on the board" and doing 2D and 3D engineering CAD drawings, I resorted to a quick sketch for this... :sad:

http://www.rx8club.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=82800&stc=1

It quickly shows the verticle bolt up into the camera, and the wingnut used to tighten. You don't want to make the bolt tight in the camera itself for 2 reasons...


It might bust through the short threaded hole in the base of the camera (too long a bolt)
It won't tighten the camera against the clamp unless it is a very short bolt.


The clamp for the headrest is just a tracing off my part. I didn't do anything fancy to get the pattern, just pressed a peice of paper up against the headrest, and it left an impression that I then traced.

Hope that helps.

Please help the Hymee effort by complimenting your camera mount with the other quality Hymee Enhanced products we make at Performance Design Australia ;)

Cheers,
Hymee.

Still dunno why picture insertion with IMG tags isn't working for me, but worked for truemagellan. :(

Cheers,
Hymee.

I've attached a jpeg of the rotor shape that I used for the seat cutout. It's not a perfect match of the one in the seat, but it's close enough for this application. It should be the right size if you print it out in 72dpi. I put my camera mount together tonight and did a quick run, just using my digital camera. Everything worked well. Now I just need to clean a few things up and it will be ready for my upcoming trip to the track!

Hymee, thanks for the clarification on the 1/4" bolt. It worked perfectly. I need a sticker that says "Hymee in-Spired". :)

Here's my list of materials off the top of my head:
2"x4' aluminum angle - $26 at Lowes or Home Depot
1/4"x6" poplar board (for rotor cutouts) - $3 at Lowes
Camper/Canopy foam tape - $6 at Lowes
Misc. nuts and bolts - under $5

I'm resurrecting this dead thread back to life, just to say thanks for a great idea on camera mount.

I just made my own version of camera mounts.

Blog: Camera Mount -in Progress- (http://web.me.com/tacti/RX8/Blog/Entries/2010/8/13_Camera_Mount_-_In_Progress_-.html)

Used whatever i had in my garage, and bought some extra hardware, etc...
cost me only $8 total!

I'm still waiting for the camera mount to be delivered, but can't wait to see how well this would work...

subscribed

test video uploaded.

First Test
http://web.me.com/tacti/RX8/Blog/Entries/2010/8/27_Camera_Mount_3_-_Result_-.html

Video from Local Mazda Meet
http://web.me.com/tacti/RX8/Blog/Entries/2010/9/5_Cincinnati_Mazda_Meet.html

Tact