Cameras in use

I hope this is in the correct forum. If not please move. I am interested in knowing what types of cameras are being used to video their driving experiences. Specifically are any using home camcorders or digital cameras in the video mode. Any of you that saw my video of my start up know it was on an ancient camera that had video mode that barely got the video and audio together. It was so old the video could not be any longer than 90 seconds. Well, Santa got me a new camera for Christmas. A 12 megapixel Olympus Fe 4010 with Master 2 software. It is about the size of a pack of cigarettes and half as thick. Can these cameras be mounted to the roll bars? Are there mounting systems for videoing the drives? It appears to have a mounting hole on the bottom. I haven't gotten into the camera yet to see what all it can do. Will spend some of the down time this week to learn about the camera and try it out.
Would it be better to get a Chase cam etc for this function? The digital recorders are a bit pricey so I would like to find a way that isn't too expensive as it won't be done on a regular basis. More for my own library of the various tracks I hope to visit. I saw one of the new cameras at Road America that is very small(about 2" square and used a velcro system to mount . I believe there was a roll bar attachment for it as well. Don't remember the price as it was a new item. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Bill

Bill,

The mounting on your camnera will be a std tripod mount fitting, for which you can get a roll bar mount. A 4GB MicroSD card will hold about 35 minutes of quality video, although I undertsand there can be 1GB file size limits, so effectively you can record four 8 minute videos per card and would be wise to have a couple cards on hand. I'd certainly be giving the Olympus a go initially to see what it can deliver, you'll maybe want a spare battery (or car charger/power if available).

I know a number of people that use a std handheld digital videocam mounted to a roll bar sucessfully for recording although you do need to get a good mounting for good video capture. Newer video cams have the anti-shake/stability function too, which will help.

One camera that is built specifically for the job (and that I have considered buying) is the GoPro Hero Cam. This may have been what you saw at Road America? I've heard good reports and it comes with a series of mountings to mount just about anywhere on your car, inside or out. Here's the official site GoPro Official Store, but prices tend be be better (around $130) at online stores or auction sites.

Although deviating from your original question, while on the video recording topic, I talked to a Traqmate rep at Monterey last August. For anyone who is serious about analyzing their driving for self improvemennt and willing to spend the $$ their GPS based system seemed to have a lot to offer. Find them at Traqmate.com

Good luck,

I have the I/O Port camera mount, and LOVE it! It clamps to the roll bar and is infinitely adjustable:

IO Port Racing Supplies: I/O Port Video Camera Mount

I've heard the critical failing of the GoPro camera system is the abysmal sound quality. :cry:

Having said that, although my sound quality in my GT350 is super, on the Cobra it's terrible, even with an external microphone routed down under the dashboard in an attempt to eliminate wind noise.

It failed. :cry:

Bill I have a 2 channel DVR in my car, it has one camera stuck on the front windshield and the other wide angle pointing at the dash and driver. The DVR is motion detectable so soon as you get into the car it can start recording or you can start them manual. The system works great BUT the resolution is poor and the frames per second is not much. I would like to have spent the money on Mike Drews system. Here is a sample.

I have an Aiptek 1080p camera that does 1080p at 30fps, 720p at 30fps or 60 fps and WVGA at 30fps. It has a remote control and external mic jack. I just got a Panduit suction mount (less than $20) to attach it to windows or the body. I also use a mini tripod strapped to fixtures. Sorry to say I don't have any samples of the video uploaded yet.

Mike what do you think the video frame rate is on that video I downloaded? 5 frames a second? Less?

Jack,

You can find that out by right clicking on the file and selecting PROPERTIES and then DETAILS (Vista). It confirms 5fps and 320X240.

Mike

Bill
I have mounted my Fuji 8.2 mega px on the roll bar and by using a small adaptor plate I can run either my video camera or the digital. The problem with the digital is the sound...almost un usable due to sensitivity and I have even tried putting tape over the micro phone hole. The quality of digital pics is great and even thoug its not got anti shake, its as smooth as.
For the standard video camera, I have found that my computor mike fits and works well so have buried that inside a ball of foan to also kill the sound and can then put it some where in the car where it can `listen` with out being blown away. The bolt mounting thread appears to be standard 1/4 BSW if thats any help as making a mount is simple. I will have the car on track again in Feb so should have some action pics then.
Russell

I am now at the stage where i want to install a rear view camera. I still want to install a recording device as well for track experiences. I may have stumbled on to the best of both worlds. I have been monitoring the various sites that offer these devices. I came across a site devoted to trucks and RV's called Rear View Safety. they offer a "Black Box" that acts as a camera and recorder.

car black box system

This system has a two channel recorder that can be mounted via sticky tape. It comes with GPS and it displays the info in split screen.

It also displays a second camera if in use. It uses SD cards from 4 GB to 16GB(37 hours of recording). Display is 640x480 @30fps in dual video it is 640x480 @15fps. Being a safety site, it has an internal G meter that upon impact or a substantial jolt records the event.
I would like some imput from any A/V guys out there.
I am also looking at some monitors and cameras. The ones that look good that are not Name Brand are made by Tadibrothers.
Tadi Brothers
My question is what is the best viewing angle for the cameras. Is 120 good or is the more natural view of 90 better? The little car tag camers use about 170. You can see a lot but you can't judge anything distance wise. My system I have in my truck is impossible to judge how close something is on your side. I think above 120 and it looks like a fish eye lens and is distorted. The Tadibrothers stuff is all interchangable, so you pick and choose which type of monitor you want from rear view mirror to 10" screen which can be mounted anywhere. They have multiple camera units that display 3-4 cameras at once(no recording). They have some that are for the side mirrors so you can cover the full range of views to the rear. They also have DVD players that tie into them with touch screens, and they do everything from AM-FM to Ipod and SD slots, Bluetooth, and of course rear view cameras also.
What I am asking is, has anyone had any experience with this type of equipment and what do you think of their products. The online reviews are good, but who knows who wrote them??

Bill

I bought a E580 Sony 1/3" EXView HAD CCD 580 line bullet camera. I then bought a Neuros OSD DVR. After I got it all installed it always seemed very blocky like it was low res. The guy I got the camera from says It's not the resolution or frame rate but the data bit rate the recorder records at. The Neuros is customizable up to 2500 bit per sec. which he says is to low for quality video. Are there any video gurus out there that can help?

I'm about to chuck it all and install my point and shoot Canon PowerShot SX200 which take superb 720i video but doesn't have an external mic input. The video I've included is at 1500 bps, 2500 didn't make it much better.

I have both the GoPro Hero and the Vholdr Contour. They are both great, but I lean a little more towards the Vholdr. Having both makes it possible to get different angles at the same time

Richard that is great, I put in two cameras, one looking out the window and the other wide angle inside. Then got some cheap video software and married the two. I think your quality is far better than mine. I had the same type dvr set up and took it out.

YouTube - GT40 MK1 road test.wmv

Jack,

How the hell do you manage to wear a hat in your '40.

Kudos to you

Graham.

p.s. nice camera setup :thumbsup:

Jack, I don't think your video looks bad at all, is it TV quality no but neither is mine. What really bugs me is I just looked at the Shell/Ferrari ad which is only 16MB but almost 2 min. long of beautiful video. I just checked and the data rate is only 1046 kbps. So much for that theory. My vendor (DataToys) sent me a short video that they said was taken by the same camera I have and it looks pretty good.

In the past video cameras that used a tape didn't like the vibrations and G loads put on them by being in a race car but these days many are solid state. That coupled with the fact you can zoom in or out to fit your needs leads me to believe that may be the way to go except when you want to do picture in picture which after seeing your video is something I would love to have. I know, buy more cameras and a production company to put the videos together. It wasn't like I was saving anything for my kids to inherit. According to DatToys for lossless video you need to run at 100Mbps. That's with no compression but I know everything I watch on Direct TV comes compressed and still looks great. So I still don't know what to do. It's getting better but more confusing.

RWoerz said:

According to DatToys for lossless video you need to run at 100Mbps. That's with no compression but I know everything I watch on Direct TV comes compressed and still looks great. So I still don't know what to do. It's getting better but more confusing.

Click to expand...

Wow, thats pretty fast transfer rate for a camera isn't it? I bought those two camera recorders off ebay for $89 each, they have the ability to record from an external audio and video source. I would like to have the quality you see on tv during races but if it cost more than $100 I have to run a acquisition slip through the WIC (woman in charge) and after squandering funds in the past she is a bitch to deal with. :laugh:

Graham I have a Gurney bubble, a must for guys 6 feet or taller. Thanks!