800Degrees

I'm sure there are specially designed in-car video systems - for filming while driving; e.g. racing, etc. However, I already have a basic camcorder (Sony Handicam) and I won't use an in-car system enough to justify the cost.

So, any tips on mounting a camcorder in an RX-8?

I've got it set up on a tripod - two legs in each rear footwell, third leg in the rear cupholder. I'll secure it with a strap via the babyseat tether anchors in the seats. But even with the tripod as low at it will go, the camera's just about touching the headliner. This would be fine if not for the rear view mirror.

Ideally, the camera would be lower and toward the passenger side - about equal to the headrest of the p-side seat. This is easy in cars with removable headrests... you just use the two holes (for the headrest) as the mounting point.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

PUR NRG

It doesn't sound like that's really secure. Regardless of your setup, grap the tripod head and try to move it up, down, left, right, forward and back. Use force roughly equal to 5x your camcorder's weight. If it moves more than half an inch it isn't secure.
________
Pornstars euro

epitrochoid

http://www.stickypod.com/

its more than worth it, trust me...

https://babylon5.millerind.com/~ecly...rx8/dragon.mpg

it may look a little shaky, but we didn't have the stabilizer grommet on because we couldnt find it. this was a very impromptdu shoot, its overexposed and the following car didn't (couldn't! :P) stay close enough, but you get the idea..

you can mount it anywhere, roof, doors, outside front glass, inside front glass, inside rear glass...its well worth it

slavearm

I think there are suction cup mounts for the outside of the car. They used something like that in the JDM insider videos during some drift events... it was pretty sweet coverage.

Slavearm

clyde

There a few options. For external use, and more flexible internal use than a regular camcorder, I can't reccommend the ChaseCam highly enough. I've been borrowing someone else's unit this season and will probably buy one for myself this winter. The system isn't cheap, though. It's a bulletcam with a 3 suction cup mount and extension that connects to a camcorder that you mount elsewhere in the car (I put mine in the center console/cup holder with a homemade foam insert). The bullet cam has a FOV of about 90 degrees, which is better than most camcorders.


A super cheap method for using a plain regular camcorder would be to get a piece of aluminum square tubing that you clamp/bolt to the upper child seat anchor points in the back seat. There are a number of clamps and mounts that you can to use to secure the camera to the tubing that would provide different levels of height and rotation adjustment at various price points from dirt cheap to kinda pricey. If you went that way, it would also be wise to use an additional tether strap to attach the camera to a fixed point in the back of the car in a manner that will prevent the camera from reaching the front passenger area in case the mount were to somehow fail.

800Degrees

Thanks for all the ideas - I've looked at them, ruled some out for cost (just won't use it enough to justify the $$$) and think I've got it solved!

Clyde got me looking at the back dash. I liked using the upper child seat anchors. However, the square tube on top of the anchors, would put the camera too high - it would hit the glass. So, I'd have to extend and drop the bracket - started to get a bit complicated.

So, I kept looking... I removed the pass through door - this was tough. I had to open it. Yep, that's it. Opened it and it fell out in my hand. Okay, so it's not a Toyota. Anyway, with it out of the way, I looked in and up - BINGO! Not far from the Bose amp (but plenty far away to be safe) is a steel plate (red in the case of my Velocity Red car) that is flush with the top of the opening of the pass through. So, there's the mounting plate, just drill... wait! There's already a 1/2 hole centered about 3" back! AND... there's easy access to reach two fingers up there to drop a 2.5" 3/8" bolt down!

Next, I'll cut a 10-12" section of 1" square aluminum tube, drill two holes - one for the 3/8" "mounting bolt" - leaving about 2-3" behind the bolt for stability. The other hole (on the other end) for the bolt that goes into the bottom of the camera.

That's it. Yes, I'm confident that one large bolt will hold it. The tube will be tight up against a flat surface with roughly 1/3 - 1/2 of its length on that surface. This should be far less load than, say, a camera monopod (secured by one pivot point) or anything similar.

It will allow the camera to move side to side about 30 degrees (the camera will always point straight out the windshield) but will not allow for up/down adjustment. It should line up automatically, but i can "manually" adjust if necessary.

If it works, I could always add a tripod head - with the omnidirectional swivel joints...

It's simple and will cost under $5!

I will use the safety teather - good idea!

I'll post pics... if it works

AlexCisneros

Harbor Freight has a dual suction cup that costs about $5, to this you run a bolt through it and attach a camera mount (like the ones on a tripod ~$20)

Suction cup holds about 150lbs

The picture has the camera on the side and a url to a video clip of it on that run.
(I had a severe migraine that day so there is a lot of squealing :o )

AlexCisneros

oops, $6 and holds 125lbs



http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=46134

800Degrees

It worked.
Total cost $8.00.
Extremely solid - No need for teather

AlexCisneros

Pictures!

:D

800Degrees

Had to drill one hole in the underside of the decklid - 1.25" behind the existing hole.
dropped two bolts down through holes
Made the "boom" out of 1" aluminum box/tube; about 12" long - varies with camera
drilled three holes in boom - one for camera, two for mounting to decklid.
Snugged it all up
High enough to get a good view (look closely at camera)
Low enough that it's hardly visible in rear view mirror...

epitrochoid

hows the view from back there?

legokcen

Yes, I'm curious too. How's the view? I'd like to get something that will also show the dash so the Speed can be seen. Something similar to what Hymee put together.

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-yourself-forum-73/diy-camera-mount-car-videos-34881/#post462183

800Degrees

I'll test it tomorrow - ran out of daylight. The boom is so damn solid, that if I've got to add any pieces; e.g. raise it 6", etc., it'll work like a champ.

I'll post some pics Wednesday...