Camera Mounts

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stephenperry
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Camera Mounts

Post by stephenperry » Wed Aug 16, 2006 10:45 pm

What camcorder mount(s) do you use for the interior and exterior motion shots?

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D4
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Post by D4 » Wed Aug 16, 2006 11:31 pm

Neil has a very nice suction mount like the type used on shows like fifth gear and top gear etc.. but I can't remember the make at the moment - i borrowed it when I went to the ring at easter - but in truth the best solution today are bullet cams.

Where low cost cameras can me mounted either inside or descreetly outside of the car and will give much better and more pleasing camera angles - I suppose it depends on what you want the camera to do?
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Post by D4 » Wed Aug 16, 2006 11:34 pm

RF Concepts have cheap and well spec'd bullet cams.

http://www.rfconcepts.co.uk/helmet_cameras.htm#Camera_1

I know quite a few who have bought from here - then all you need is to connect a camcorder with an AV in feed or alternative a portable hard drive...
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stephenperry
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Post by stephenperry » Thu Aug 17, 2006 12:53 am

i fabricated an external camcorder mount from bits of an old tripod, it had dual useage - either as a headrest mount or extend the leg and hey presto you had a mount long enough to poke out of the window, great for those external front wheel shots :idea:

it "did a turn" for the bmw car club dvd i produced last year "900 Miles To Munich" (no idea if that was factually correct but the name was suggested and it sounded snappy ) but broke soon afterwards :shock: (thankfully without camera attached) must have been the wind buffeting the outside of the car at "private road" speeds :wink:

i've tried test runs with a laptop and a webcam sitting on the dash in the past, it worked surprisingly well but rattled about too much and had a tendency to slide off when accelerating hard (the camera, the laptop sat on the passenger seat)

bullet cams are great but i don't want anything permanent, too fiddly to route cables, or too expensive - yes, i'll take my ticket and join the queue to find the holy grail :lol:

i'd like to do this just for my own amusement really, maybe i'll get my fifteen seconds of f(l)ame on www.pistonheads.tv ,but i doubt it

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Post by D4 » Thu Aug 17, 2006 2:14 am

just remembered which one Neil has.. B-Hague

like these: http://www.b-hague.co.uk/camera_suction ... mounts.htm
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Post by stephenperry » Wed Feb 14, 2007 3:40 pm

i bought one of these back in November from a company called FastFilms.co.uk, twists into all sorts of funny shapes

Pump cup with swivel and double ball tilt top head

Pros -
When in ideal conditions it is very strong and we have tested the cup well in excess of 2 kg.
3 joints makes for very easy adjustment.
Well suited for inside or outside a car, with a small camcorder or bullet cam.

Cons -
In cold weather you should ideally gently warm the rubber base to help it stick.
Needs a smooth, shallow radius or flat surface to stick - fine on many windscreens and panels of hatchbacks and most sports cars, but anything with a lot of curves you are best to look at other products in our range.
Does seem to leave a circular rubber mark on surfaces, this can be washed off.
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Post by neil » Wed Feb 14, 2007 4:37 pm

Hi Stephen

Yep I'm familiar with fastfilms I met him at a show a while back he let me hang of on off the mounts which to say the least was impressive. The mount I have is a single large suction one - which is hard to put on but is pretty good once its on. Like yours it needs to be pretty much flat or you need 2 people to put it on.

FastFilms resell other mounts so he has a very good selection.

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