Anyone taken hd video from inside or outside your car while on a road racing track?

How'd you do it?

Going on a track 4/13 and have a small samsung hd digital vid. camera and two different suction cup Delkin mounts but the back window bounces too much and have a two suction cup reticulated mount coming in two days to mount to inside of right front windshield then turn mount sideways and back, mount camera and face it forward for filming.

Can try that one on the side but speeds are above it's stated range safely.

Appreciate the advice.

lance

 

I have a shark bar with a mount for the camera on it. The camera sits between the seats about shoulder height. It is bolted down so it will not go anywhere. I have just done the autocross to about 70 mph but it would hold up to any speed.

 

Thanks. I looked the Shark bar up and for my needs it is not something worthwhile at the price and then it would be in the way as I don't need those belts or rigidity with a t top anyway. I did keep looking and found a double suction mount by Delkin called a "Fat Gecko" that looks like it will work well for me.

 

Fat Gecko dual suction cup, reticulated mount arrived. Even the suction cups move a bunch in angles, etc. I decided to put it on the passenger side inside window and put the arm back away from the dash. It won't bother me much there vision wise, will be further from the HEI and a bit protected from the wind noise with a small camera where I can't use external mics.

I think this will be how I do track day. Maybe mount it on the hood for a local run later.

Lance

 

Just slap it on somewhere and go for a ride! You have to test it in different places before track day.

 

I bought a single suction mount and mounted it to the inside of front windshield for some video at Talladega Speedway last year. I was disappointed with the amount of vibration that showed up in the video and this was with a small lightweight digital camera. I believe the jointed arms on the mount allow too much vibration at the speeds I was traveling. Other videos I viewed from last year's Talladega track time shot by the passenger came out great. I believe the passenger holding the camcorder helps dampen the camcorder but this isn't viable in my case as I want my boy to enjoy the ride in the passenger seat instead of seeing it thru a viewfinder. I plan to purchase an HD camcorder with an external microphone jack (to deal with the wind noise) when I return this year. I am currently trying to figure out a way to dampen the arm on my suction mount to cancel the vibration but utlimately may end up with mounting the camcorder to a solid point to deal with the vibration like the above mentioned shark bar. Post up some test videos of how your dual mount works with your car at speed if you don't mind.

 

i think mako 72 is right about the dampening effect of a person holding the camera.in this clip taken with a cheap digital camera you can see it came out pretty steady.excuse my french as i was just cut off by the ugly black suv while trying to view the vintage vette. btw this was shot on that most dangerous of speedways,(the southern state parkway).

 

I use a gopro hd mounted to the front window, but for track days I'd probably put it inside, or better yet, use a harness bar as mentioned by gordonm.

Don't discount the rigidity - it was a decent boon to my 2002 Corvette Coupe when I had one, and a C3 can use any help it can get.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_tSqOxULRs

 

Shark and Bill...I think solid is better than dampening personally...gives you consistent perspective. I liked the autocross Vid. I'll clip my first experiment with my little Samsung HD Digital with vibration damping built into the lens but mounted with Delkin single suction mount which put the camera too close to the front and center and as a result picked up some electronic tweaks from the HEI voltage. This morning even though it's cold I'll take a second run of the same footage but with the Fat Gecko Mount inside the edge of the windshield and the camera back further and post it later today. I like the Fat Gecko and can put it outside on the windshield or the car and will experiment with that too. It is very stable with two suction cups and very reticulated and can hold an 8# camera for reference. The go pro did a good job for you.

Here's the first clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABHIIaOLNcg

 

most HD cameras have image stabilization. My movies were OK solid mounted to the roll bar. race cameras are really small these days. We have made some nice DVD's of most of the west coast tracks and in Europe in actual races

 

I agree...the little cameras are quite good in HD. I did run the car with the Fat Gecko double suction cup mounted to the inside of the windshield this morning and the links below are to three videos to illustrate. First is windshield single older mount too close to the HEI and got some clicks in the sound track. second is the one made this morning with double cups and is quite stable..camera pointing forward. The third is the double with the camera pointed at the driver..me...not photogenic at all but to illustrate the point that it can do interiors with movement too. I'll use it on the exterior of the car as well at some point. The mount is that strong and since I don't have or want a roll bar/cage or Shark Bar, this is a good compromise. You can see the examples if you have an interest but it looks like I have my solution for my one time thing.

original single suction cup mount in windshield too close to distributor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABHIIaOLNcg

double fat gecko suction cup mounted high and right with camera facing forward nikon facing forward
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNdhsnEaOtE

double fat gecko suction cup mounted high and right turned to record driver samsung hd camera
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUFqyV6ltfo

Lance

 

so what happened with the road sounds recording?....abandoned?

if you were just getting way too much wind noise, maybe tape some foam rubber or cloth over the mic on the camera.... and/or possibly plug in a secondary external mic into the camera(it will likely shut off the on-board built in mic) and stick it somewhere that will pick up good motor sounds

hehe, when I watched the second video, for some reason I was expecting to see you playing the flute while driving in the third video

 

The little Samsung HD digital camera's stereo built in mics are fine and I already have a Windcutter on it. It is only a $200 camera and does not allow external mics which I already have and the Windcutter works fine up to about 40 mph before the t top wind noise above that gets irritating. When I do the day at the track I'll leave the sound track on the video regardless of good or bad sound but I was just looking at placement more than anything for today's testing so the sound wasn't important...it did not pick up the ignition where I will use it so that's good. I have small sponge pieces and think I'll probably add one of them on top of the windcutter which I think is wool and damp it a bit further. Easy enough with the video software to eliminate the voice track and dump some music in there. No time spent on it at all. Did decide that with two more runs it works best on the windshield and the back deck and front fenders on a vette still move a bit too much for rock steady filming.

The purpose of all this testing was to find out which I have now.

lance

 

yeah, I think it worked really well...just that the one with road sounds had the popping from being close to the distributor as you noted, and then at speed was totally clipping on the wind noise so it was just a garble of distortion...not that I mind the music at all, its just that it becomes alittle "detaching" for the viewer vs feeling like you are really along for the ride, and i wondered if you had just abandoned the efforts to lose the electrical interference because of the wind noise being too strong on top of that anyway

 

The popping sound is gone so I've found the spot. It really needs a separate mic down low in the back out of the wind but my camera won't do that. However, I do have a fantastic Olympus FS10 digital small stereo recorder that musicians often use to record their work, listen to new riffs, etc. the sound is so good and I'll just use that in the back where the wind is less or not at all and then swap the camera's sound track out and dump the FS10 road track in. The experience with the real road sounds is better. I'll clip two more I did with the Fat Gecko mounted on the back deck (over the wheels) and one on the l.f. fender to finish my testing. They both have original sound under 45 mph so you can hear the max sound the camera can handle with it's mic's due to wind.

My video software (vegas by sony) will handle 18 tracks so it's easy enough to do. I am, at heart, a still photographer and this is all the most video I've ever done or want to so it's fairly new to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzR1UHIH8Ks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OejQ-0R47b4

 

The camera gets so much wind even inside a t top at speeds above 40 mph that the engine and road sounds overwhelm the microphones even with windcutters or foam on them so if you want to both film and get a good soundtrack you have to use separate mic's hidden in the shelf and shielded in foam or use a separate recorder then marry the sound track to the video track after dropping the camera's sound track. I have as do many software that lets that happen...up to 18 tracks worth for editing videos....so it's not out of the question.

I will use my Olympus Ls-10 stereo digital recorder with its two mics each of which has a little foam hat and use it as the audio track taped at the same time as the video is taken. You can crop and trim both the same way so that's the plan.

I'll clip a link to a photo of the recorder which is small but extremely good to this f.y.i. Also the Fat Gecko Mount on the album of photos.

http://albums.phanfare.com/slideshow...g&a_id=5059217

Lance

 

How did you handle the sound track on the gopro for wind noise? I'll look at your video again which I watched for video but didn't focus on noise. I am planning a secondary sound track recorder down between the seats with my LS10 Olympus for road and engine/exhaust noise based on my experiences so far. The GoPro actually looks like a pretty good unit.

Lance

 

Just watched and up to abour 35-40 or so my camera's mic's work fine with the windcutter or a piece of sponge over them but above that the wind is too strong. Your gopro seems to have the same issues with the wind when your speed increases. Seems like I can get good video or good sound but not from the same mounting place. Ideally, if money were no object I'd have a camera where I could plug in my good remote mics and hide on down low and one way in the back of the back shelf for exhaust noises. Alas, I'll do with what I have for now I think. 30 and 40 will be the least speeds I see April 13 so I have to plan for higher winds I think.

Lance

 

I'll be doing some track time in a couple of months as well and am trying to decide on a HD camcorder. One that I am considering is the Kodak Zi8 pocket cam and some of the in car videos I have seen are pretty good.
It has the external mic jack and the price is right (around 100.00) if you don't want to drop the coin on another full blown camcorder w/ext mic jack.

 

What track and what program?

I found that the Fat Gecko double suction cup mount was the best for me and stick it against the right side passenger inside of the window with the probe with threaded adapter to the side and back then mount the camera on it. It has the advantage with my Samsung HD camcorder which is small that I can reach over and trigger it on and off easily and see it yet it does not block my vision to the right any more than the window post does. Any small camera would work that way including the one you are thinking about. Experiment with where to put the remote mic if you do as good sound in a t top or convert at track speeds is hard to find in any air at all over 35 mph. I have tried my Nikon P7000 as well in movie mode and it works perfectly as well.

For me since I own the Samsung and am not a video person to get good sound after some experimenting I'm just going to use my Olympus LS10 excellent little digital sound recorder independently and it has excellent stereo mikes. When I take the car out tomorrow I'm going to try it in two or three locations..one in the back mid way between the seats. Two, on the front seat sitting there. Three, on the floor of the rear shelf in back. I'll see which works best. I'll clip the various tools I'm talking about to this if it will help you. The samsung is about the size of two cigarette packs with a screen that swings out sideways for size. Don't have a photo of it. Good quality images and sound but not good sound above 35 mph.

Please share your experience with all of us as we are all learning.
Lance