In-car Video Systems

[gsbaker]

I'm sure this topic has been discussed before, but the search found nothing.

What would you recommend in the way of in-car video systems? I realize you can piece one together, but does any vendor offer a package for racing?

Image stabilization is obviously valuable in a racing environment, but what about recording media? Is tape still the way to go, or do the all-digital, solid state memories have enough capacity?

Thanks.

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Gregg Baker
Isaac, LLC
[email protected]

[John Herman]

I've used a Sony camcorder, mounted solidly to a plate and bolted to the roll cage using u-bolts. No rubber or other isolation used. Simple, cheap, and good pictures. I have heard of the IOPort(?) setup actually moving around quite a bit more because of all the flexibility at the joints. Also, in the event of an accident or off-road, they can move quite easily with a heavier camera.

[gsbaker]

Thanks John. Are you using tape, and any kind of remote on/off switch?

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Gregg Baker
Isaac, LLC
[email protected]

[whenry]

I have an aluminum box hard mounted to an I/O Port mount; the box is shaped to fit the Sony camera. I went to that system because the thread stripped out of the bottom of the camera. I have used the same camera now for about 8 yrs with no issues. Mine does not like being on autofocus and prefers to be aimed at a fixed point 20 ft or so beyond the hood but that is really the only time that my tapes are not clear. Some folk have reported issues with the digital cameras in the violent environment but others have no problems. YMMV

[Eagle7]

I have a Sony TRV-250 (digital tape) mounted on an I/O Port mount with the rubber removed. Works great. The Sony image stabilization really does a good job.
I put a wide angle conversion lens on it to see a broader view.
I also use a DC power adapter and added a power outlet (cigarette lighter) to plug it in to, so I'm not worrying about battery charge.
My biggest problem is that I can barely reach the camera controls from my seat, and can't see to tell if it's recording or not, so it requires someone outside the car to start/stop it. I've been thinking about remote controls.

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Marty Doane
ITS RX7 #13
CenDiv WMR

[This message has been edited by Eagle7 (edited October 21, 2003).]

[gsbaker]

Good stuff.

I have used a system where the camera body was contained in an impact-resistant case mounted under the dash. The remote on/off switch was on the dash, the remote lens was attached to the overhead roll bar and the camera was plugged for power.

This worked very well. We had a rigid lens mount and an on/off switch the driver could use at any time.

The question is, does any vendor offer this as a package, or do we need to piece it together?

We originally shot some product video with this setup, and now want to get it to some beta testers, who tend to crash a lot--but that's another story.

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Gregg Baker
Isaac, LLC
[email protected]

[Kazoo]

While I haven't been involved with it first-hand, I know of a member of my region who is Pro-Rallying and uses a variety of remote cameras that plug into a camcorder mounted securely within the car. He mounts the small camera's everywhere, I've seen them mounted inside, outside, underneath, etc. I don't have a direct way for you to contact him for information, but you can go to his site...I think he lists an email address there...
www.randyzimmer.com (He posts all kinds of rally video footage there as well.)
Good luck.

[planet6racing]

Gregg:

Check out Sampson Communication ( http://www.sampsonracing.com ). Go to their Accesories page under Racing and there is a ton of good stuff there.

Sean (or is it Shaun?) is a fellow SCCA racer (Spec Miata) and is really great to talk to. He'll set you up with all that you need.


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Bill
Planet 6 Racing
bill (at) planet6racing (dot) com

[John Herman]

Gregg, I use the 8mm tape (small cassette) and just have my brother, wife, someone on the grid, lean in and hit the start button with 3 minutes to go signal. It does not have any image stabilization or other fancy features. I set it for the widest field of view, do not use autofocus, and have the camera set to the outdoor setting. This makes the interior of the car a little dark, but outside is perfect. I hold it down with the camera bolt and two heavy rubber straps over the camera to keep it from moving. Then to keep the tech folks happy, I have a nylon strap loosely attached to the camera. I know others who use a dog collar as the nylon strap, heavy duty and cheap. I try to work on the KISS principle whenever I can.

[944racer]

Gregg,
I have been perfecting a lipstick camera with the Sony digital camera in the car being protected in a bag. It works great. Call me when you get a chance and I will tell you about it and how cheap it is for a high quality system.
Andy Fox

[gsbaker]

Thanks. I've checked the links and found what we need.

BTW, Randy Zimmer's stuff is pretty good.

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Gregg Baker
Isaac, LLC
[email protected]

[Chris Sawatsky]

944racer, do you have any sample videos to show the quality you're getting with a lipstick camera? I have a walkman vcr that I intended to use with a cone cam (www.conecam.com) but their somewhat high price has prevented me from doing that yet.
What make/model of lipstick camera have you had good luck with?

[Blix]

The Skip Barber school was testing in car cams when I was up there one time...they were using the cheapo lipstick cams on the net from China...I think I still have the contact info from the guy who was providing the service. I will call and ask him.

Eric
NER SM #02

[Jake]

I use a Mini-DV camcorder that I have in the glove box conected to a lipstick camera that I have mounted on the roll bar. The video is incredible. There are lots of videos that I've taken this way on
www.racerjake.com
They are fuzzy only because I've compressed them for the web. However, they do give you a sense for how still the picture is.
Here's where you can find a variety of lipstick cameras:
http://www.supercircuits.com/

[94sm]

Fry's had a bullet camera w/ RCA outputs for either $39 or $49 a couple of weeks ago. I was there today and it's back up to $69. The brand is Private Eye, color camera w/ 450 lines of resolution. Even at $69, still cheaper than anything else I could find...

My homemade mount consists of a Bogen head, same head as on the IOPort mount, 2 U-bolts and a cut up mouse pad. Total cost under $30.

[lateapex911]

Originally posted by Jake:
I use a Mini-DV camcorder that I have in the glove box conected to a lipstick camera that I have mounted on the roll bar. The video is incredible. There are lots of videos that I've taken this way on
www.racerjake.com
They are fuzzy only because I've compressed them for the web. However, they do give you a sense for how still the picture is.
Here's where you can find a variety of lipstick cameras:
http://www.supercircuits.com/

I've seen the videos, they are cool.
-What camera did you get? $?
-What was the connection to the camera?
-What did you do for a microphone?

Thanks!


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Jake Gulick
CarriageHouse Motorsports
ITA 57 RX-7
New England Region
[email protected]

[ITTdriver]

I use a JVC CyberCam digital camera and get great results. I use the video for producing TV commercials for the Atlanta Region. Auto Focus works fine and I get little vibration from the mount.
It survived a rather serious crash in turn 5 that resulted in some camera body damage but no internal problems.

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Auto racing, bull fighting and mountain climbing are sports. The rest are just games.
Hemingway.

[Jake]

I use (well borrow) these two parts:

http://www.supercircuits.com/STORE/prodinf...tem=20&mitem=39

and

http://www.supercircuits.com/STORE/prodinf...tem=13&mitem=22

Should work with any video camera with AV inputs.

[Wayne]

I need to get a new in-car video set-up for next year as well. I have been running a Sony TRV400 HI8 mounted on an I/O port mount with an external microphone, wide angle lens, and 12V adapter. Worked ok, except it's broken twice now.

The last race of this year I used it all weekend. Played the tape back when we got home and we got a lot of good footage. Went on family vacation the following week. Used the same video camera. Shot family vacation video the whole week. Never had a chance or reason to play the tape back all week. Got home only to find out the tape either did not record, or it won't play it back. I suspect it is a problem with the playback. Either way I'm in the dog house with the wife for possibly hosing up the family vacation video... probably due to the rough use it gets in the race car don't you know...

Last time I got this thing fixed it cost me $160. I don't know whether to get it fixed again or buy a new one for the race car.

Wayne

[jake7140]

I use and old Sony EVO-210 mounted solidly to the chassis. These units don't have standby, so they don't shut off, I then run a variety of cameras both bullet ($69 one) and some other older handycams as input, each one with a different view. I run them through a little switcher I mounted on the dash and switch during the race depending on time and race circumstances.

The bullet cams work REAL nicely. When mounting to the roll bar, I attach the swivel base to a muffler clamp. Otherwise the bullets can just be zip tied down anywhere including the roll bar (outside included) with good results.

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Steve
[email protected]
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/jake7140" TARGET=_blank>My racing page
</A><A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/elrss" TARGET=_blank>Elkhart Lake Racing_&_Sipping Society
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