Track day camera mounting - what is acceptable?

[Masher964]

Thinking of getting a camera to record track days. My car (Porsche 964) doesn't have headrest mounts and I'm not keen to stick or screw anything to the dashboard. Therefore looking at something like a Go Pro camera with suction cup. I seem to recall suction cups are not allowed on track days?

Can anyone confirm if Go Pro with suction cup is acceptable
Or
How to mount a camera in a Porsche without destroying the dashboard
Or
Alternative suggestions

Thanks.

[shim]

A few years ago suction mounts were ok. Now most say that the cameras have to be 'securely mounted' which means normally you can get away with a suction and tether, then some insist on no suction mounts so you are stuck with having something to fix to like a cage, front or rear seat headrests or finding an existing lint position from the roof or dash trim.

I'm. It sure what you might have in yours to fix to.

[Graham1988]

Here's what I do



To give you an idea of how it looks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkX0Qi5k8Gs

[Masher964]

Graham1988 said:

Here's what I do



To give you an idea of how it looks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkX0Qi5k8Gs

Out of curiosity, since you have a roll cage to bolt the camera to, what made you take this route?

[ringweekends]

For the avoidance of doubt - mounts sturdily fixed to the structure of the vehicle will generally be OK.

Suction mounts are becoming more and more difficult to get past pit lane exit. If you were to use one, try and make it a pro mount and as Shim said - tether it to a fixed point on the car as far away from any occupant as possible so if it becomes detached it can't fling itself at you. Suction mounts rely on a smooth surface, usually glass. What happens if you shatter/crack a window?

Generally speaking - phone mounts are not considered secure in any event.

I'm generalising here - because it varies from circuit to circuit on how the marshalls are briefed. MSV circuits, for example, usually forbid any kind of suction mount.

Remember two things - the circuit will always have the final say on the matter and;
any camera that becomes detached inside the car is a threat to your personal safety.

[Graham1988]

Masher964 said:

Out of curiosity, since you have a roll cage to bolt the camera to, what made you take this route?

Fair comment, and the reason is simply because I did this before I got the cage and I quite like the view. I have considered getting a rollbar mount for the Go Pro but not got round to it, I also wonder whether on the harness bar it will be too low and get mostly seats in the shot, or the roof bar will be too high and get mostly rooflining and mirror!

Also on TF at the Ring you are not allowed cameras, so I can put this on after the barriers my way, whereas onto the cage I couldn't do it as I am firmly in my harnesses and can't move!

[spyderman8]

You can buy extension arms for clamp-type mounts, although they're generally only suited for lightweight cameras. My instructor uses them with lipstick cameras during training in an Elise.

[Masher964]

Anyone clamp a Go Pro to the rear view mirror? It's the only obvious mounting point I can see in my car.
I appreciate the safety warning comments on loose objects. A friend of mine had a minor shunt and could not believe how much pressure his sons football kit bag put on the back of his seat given it seemed to weight very little.

[bikerstu]

suction cups are a no go on most of the tracks nowdays. I bought a roll cage mount for mine

[JonathanLegard]

I guess the same applies to something like a Performance Box that tends to be suctioned onto the windscreen?

[wackojacko]

We use a Go pro with the proper di noc sticky mount and then cable tie the camera arm to the roll cage, that is always fine with marshalls.

[Masher964]

bikerstu said:

suction cups are a no go on most of the tracks nowdays. I bought a roll cage mount for mine

If I had a roll cage I can see several mounting possibilities.

What I have ordered is a Gopro camera and a clamp mount. What I am going to try is clamping the camera to the headlining which has a board backing around the sunroof. This should put the camera around my shoulder level. Whether the camera will be stable enough I will need to see.

With these cameras there is no way of knowing what view you have. Is it a case of trial and error to get the best view? If so, since my mount will not be perminent it could be a pain. Let's see.

[mrmr96]

Masher964 said:

With these cameras there is no way of knowing what view you have.

False.

http://gopro.com/hd-hero-accessories/lcd-bacpac/

[Masher964]

mrmr96 said:

Masher964 said:

With these cameras there is no way of knowing what view you have.

False.

http://gopro.com/hd-hero-accessories/lcd-bacpac/

Granted, but another £90 or so. I'll see how I get on.

[mrmr96]

The field of view is pretty wide, so as long as it's pointed roughly the right direction then you'll get the action.

[bikerstu]

I think as long as the mounting is secure and it's fixed to something solid you should get a good video, a mate of mine had a camera fitted in his track car that wobbled - was a hard watch in the corners lol

[Masher964]

In the end I mounted the camera like this:



And got video like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfC25NIrEWI

[wy906]

Good footage. Is yours GoPro Hero 2? What setting did you use? 1080p medium FOV?

[Masher964]

wy906 said:

Good footage. Is yours GoPro Hero 2? What setting did you use? 1080p medium FOV?

Thanks. It is a Go pro hero 2. Sorry, can't remember the settings but I typically use the best possible so probably 1080p with wide field of vision.

[Danielj1000]

Good to see that the you also caught the bug after the Bedford novice day back April!

The mounting solution that you've come up with works very well, with a good camera position, the benefit of a wide angle lens and excellent image clarity.

I've been looking for an alternative to the Dogcam suction mount that I've been using with my wide angle bullet cam. It's raised no queries at Bedford on the two occasions I've been there but my instructor at Snetterton said he wasn't sure the pit lane marshals would accept it. Nothing was said (it's so small that it may go unnoticed) but I thought I'd try to get an alternative as a back up. I do find it useful to review my lines after a trackday and also to listen again to what the instructor said - I always pick up a few points points I missed while on track. Acts as a refresher before returning to a track too.

I've gone for a head rest mount. Using my standard camcorder results in a narrow view with the mirror obscuring a chunk of the windscreen and there is some vibration. I have a plan though - it's a work in progress!

I think Brands Hatch is next up for me. The Silverstone International circuit would be good too, having all too briefly blatted around it in one of their R8 V10s last weekend. Do you have any plans?