I'm going to Mid Ohio this Friday, so I decided to get an external video mount for my car- I got this one at FilmTools and it's basically a Powr-Grip vacuum cup attached to a Bogen Manfrotto Tripod head with a custom machined piece. It's reportedly safe to over 100 mph and holds on with 70 mph, but just to be extra safe, I've attached it to my car with bungees in the unlikely event the cup loses vacuum. The apparatus might damage my car if it comes off, but at least it won't be a hazard on the track. Here's a pic I took today:


The other advantage is that if I roll the car like that guy at LMP a few years ago, the camera is destroyed and that footage won't make it to the web

 

looks like a good setup, take some video with it and post it up for us to see!! i like car mounted video cameras

 

Yes please post some vid of it afterwards please I am looking for a similar set up.

 

and maybe get a UV filter so rocks dont damage the lens..

 

that digital camera is a nice one.. my work bought it for 'official' use... too bad i cant BORROW it

anywayz i would probably mount it behind my head so it gives a nice view of the front view

 

Smart to attatch the bunge cords....you will need them!

 

I thought about mounting it in car, but I'm not particularly interested in getting shots of me driving, and I'd rather have sound from outside the car anyway. Besides, EVERYONE does their video from inside, as an F1 fan, I wanted an external camera.

UV filter is on order, I am not a complete fool I sincerely hope that the bungee cords are just a precaution and are not needed because I think I will probably damage my car if the thing lets go, they're just there to make sure the rig doesn't hit the ground. I seriously don't think it's an issue, it's not just a suction cup- it has an internal pump to evacuate the air and there's a sort of gauge on it to determine the amount of pressure inside the cup.

 

from outside you will have no sound, just noise.. Your best bet is well placed microphone in the car that wind noise won't be picked up..

And you may want to get yourself driving if your out to critique yourself and look to improve.

 

I've already tested it, is fine, as long as the wind break feature is turned on, I do get sound. i will be bringing a tripod along so maybe I'll try that out. The goal is to improve, as you said, but I'm not convinced that watching myself drive is that valuable, I think the tendency is to focus on your shifting and steering with in car videos and not so much on the line. I'd rather see how my inputs inside the car translate to how the car is handling on the track, with the rooftop cam I can see how much better (or likely worse) I am than I thought I was. For instance, my confidence with clipping the apexes is much better on right handers than on left handers. WIth an in car cam, it's going to be impossible to see my car relative to the corner markers. With this setup I should have a much better vantage point.

Man, post a stupid picture and everyone wants to put in their two cents, eh? It's a real peanut gallery here...

 

what kind of camera is that and how much? im in the market for a new video camera for evo videos. just wanted to know how much

 

hey....remember to post the vid here k...il be waiting...

 

Canon Optura 20, I got it from Gateway.com for $488, which is at least $200 cheaper than you'll find it at best buy. It's bigger than most of the tiny low end camcorders but has higher resolution and more features... and IMO it's easier to hold steady than the ultra ultra small ones that are all the rage these days.

 

Wow, pretty brave to stick the camera out there.. Why not just hold your arm out the window and steady the camera? You can clean up the jitter with some mad s0ftware y0... :-)

 

Yeah, that is quite ballsy of you...plus all your going to hear is wind niose, so I prefer interior mounted cameras, but this is pretty cool .

 

Any other setups worth sharing? Can't wait for the video...

Cheers,

OS