Track day Camera

[TheMonster]

Hello all,

I'd like to buy a camera to record my track day exploits in car.

I'm clueless about all this technology malarkey, so an all in one package that is easy to use is fairly key. I've tried a search but didn't have much luck other than that don't get suction pads as they won't be allowed on track. Not really sure what alternatives there are.

Budget say £500

Does anyone have any advice?

Thanks in advance

Monster

[madmatt1985]

http://www.fastfilms.co.uk/index.php

all depend on the car and what shot you want. this should cover most areas.

http://www.fastfilms.co.uk/mini-dvr1-camera-kit.ph...

[scoopz]

You'll get two forms of response:

1) Dedicated bullet camera(s) and video recording device as sold by several online companies Example Bullet Cam Kit

2) Full sized solid state camcorder with dedicated car bracket Example Camera :: Example Headrest Mount :: Example Roll Cage Mount

It's up to you what you go for. I've seen some excellent results from bullet camera style systems and they're extremely versatile if you want to place the camera outside the car, for example:
Sample Bullet Camera Video

But I personally opted for a full HD (Panasonic SD100) solid state camcorder and then bought a the headrest mount, roll cage mount and suction mounts from b-hague (linked above). The benefit for me was that I can use the camcorder for other events other than tracks days and it's been used to good effect on a stag weekend, wedding, etc It takes a little longer to set up the camera mount to get a good viewing angle, etc but once I'd got it in place I simply leave the bracket in the track car. The panasonic cameras also come with remote controls make them ideal to start/stop the recording on the track days and the SD100 and a few others have mic input if you want to run a mike into the engine bay. Unlike the normal bullet cam systems you can get a camcorder with optical image stabilisation which helps reduce all the vibrations coming through the car.

I've not upload any sample footage from my camcorder using the brackets yet, I've only got hand-held footage from the camera before the brackets arrived:
Sample Camcorder footage
and a friend has used a headrest mount with a Canon G9 compact camera(!) to film:
Example Headrest Mount with Canon G9

I'm sure others will chime in with their views/opinions, my advice would be to go for a camcorder and dedicated bracket if you don't already have a camcorder, if you already have a camcorder then try one of the bullet cam kits.

Edited by scoopz on Tuesday 21st October 22:03

[bad_roo]

VIO POV1.

Why make things any more complicated than they need be?

[sdd]

Come and see me on any Gold Track event or at any Elise Trophy race and I'll show you the Chasecam stuff we use which is broadcast quality, very durable and ultra easy to use. We also rent it so you can try before you buy and clearly you get the rental fee taken off the purchase price if you decide it's the way to go.

My experience of using 'handhelds' adapted for in car use is that the vibration eventually kills them off over a sustained period of time. They are OK for the odd one off but eventually they will die.

Stephen

www.track-club.com

[AndrewD]

Hi Stephen

Any idea how immune to vibration the chasecam stuff is (including mountings)? Can you overlay real time data (eg. speed, rpm, brake & throttle position)?

I want something for my Juno to use in UK VdeV next year. I had terrible results with various cameras in the SR3 a few years ago, too much vibration.

Andrew

[sdd]

Hi Andrew,

I've got some footage of Chasecam kit on a Red Bull F1 car, we've used it extensively on our JP1 and I've supplied kit to Anthony Dunn who is racing VdeV this season.

I'd be confident enough to give you a refund if you try it and weren't happy with the pictures. Let me know what if any track days you'll be at in the near future and I'll see if we can sort out a trial. Drop me a note to [e-mail]

Stephen

www.track-club.com

[NTEL]

I'll be getting one of these from Oregon Scientific. Apparently a lot of the Geneta boys use them. Some say the sound is a bit crappy but for £150 ish (cheaper if you look around) for a "mount anywhere" waterproof camera, that can't be bad:

http://www.oregonscientific.co.uk/prod_atc5k_digit...

[madmatt1985]

sdd said:

Hi Andrew,

I've got some footage of Chasecam kit on a Red Bull F1 car, we've used it extensively on our JP1 and I've supplied kit to Anthony Dunn who is racing VdeV this season.

I'd be confident enough to give you a refund if you try it and weren't happy with the pictures. Let me know what if any track days you'll be at in the near future and I'll see if we can sort out a trial. Drop me a note to [e-mail]

Stephen

www.track-club.com

the below is a clip i made up (im crap with editing) the video was done with the above.
EDIT, RONG CLIP. PLEASE WAIT.

Edited by madmatt1985 on Thursday 23 October 18:13

[TheMonster]

Cracking response. Thanks everyone. I just need to make up my mind now.

Cheers

Monster (appearing on a youtube video near you soon...)

[scoopz]

AndrewD said:

Can you overlay real time data (eg. speed, rpm, brake & throttle position)?

A friend of mine has a multiple bullet cam system with a data logger, here's his latest video post (added today) from Croft showing speed, gforce, track map and position. It can also show rpm, lap times, etc but he's not setup for that:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=EHBjBSjIz_Q&fmt=...

[mpaul0055]

Wow.. Scoopz...

Where do you get this sort of setup from?

[System-G]

bad_roo said:

VIO POV1.

Why make things any more complicated than they need be?

Deffo the best available for your £500.00 (Cheaper if you can bring one in from the States

We had one on one of the Caterham R300's testing for next years series. Absolutely brilliant bit of kit. Leagues ahead of what we use on the Roadsports.

If you can find it, there's some footage on the FauldSport Group on Facebook from James' R300 fitted with his. I can't access Facebook at work so can't post a link. Sorry.

It was also recently featured on the Gadget Show. Showing how tough it was. Fully waterproof (including the control unit which has a colour LCD to aid in setting up) etc...

[fastfreddy]

AndrewD said:

Hi Stephen

Any idea how immune to vibration the chasecam stuff is (including mountings)? Can you overlay real time data (eg. speed, rpm, brake & throttle position)?

I want something for my Juno to use in UK VdeV next year. I had terrible results with various cameras in the SR3 a few years ago, too much vibration.

Andrew

This is the place you want: http:\\www.drivedata.com

They supply kit to F1, WTCC, FIAG GT, ALMS etc. and it's the only kit that works reliably. Trust me, I have used everything mentioned on this thread and Drivedata is the only kit I'd recommend if you want good quality, reliable in car video recording.

Even Chasecam recorders suffer from vibration and stop working randomly. Drivedata also has real time overlays for speed, rpm, brake, throttle etc. so their stuff will do everything you need.

if you want something cheap and cheerful then you can buy sub £100 flashcard recorders I think, but the quality from these is nowhere near what you can get from a good bullet cam and separate recorder.

I'm not a fan of the POV1 because you are stuck with 1 camera, whereas a bullet cam/recorder combo means you can add overlays, more cameras. PIP unit etc. later if you want to. The video quality from the POV1 is also not the best from the tests I've seen.

HTH

Edited by fastfreddy on Friday 24th October 15:28

[scoopz]

mpaul0055 said:

Wow.. Scoopz...
Where do you get this sort of setup from?

It's not my setup, I've asked my friend for his exact setup (as shown in the pic above) but I believe the camera setup is from DogCamSport but all the other sites listed in this thread will sell similar.

To get the data overlay he's using Racelogic Performance Box (vbox) and then using Trackvision software to overlay it on the video.

[Racelogic]

There's now one box that does everything, the Video VBOX. It takes two bullet cameras and using a built-in GPS engine, creates a graphical overlay showing speed, g-force, time, position etc.





Cost is £1395+VAT not including cameras.

[jdwcd]

this is what ive got, may be parting with it soon

package 3
extras where tv and extension leads

http://www.qv500.com/onboard/packages.php

Edited by jdwcd on Wednesday 26th November 13:58

[Maxx]

Sorry to throw another option at you but there is a new product from Race Technology being launched at Autosport International in January. Essentially it's a high quality (DVD D1) 4 camera solid-state recorder which can optional work with their DL1 data-logger or be used as a standalone video recorder. Being solid state it is designed to be able to work in harsh environments such as a high vibration race car. There is total freedom to place any video screen (or partial - see rear view mirror in sample below) anywhere on screen as well as any data from the DL1. Also "triggers" where, based on data you can highlight certain events (see "Braking Now" text in sample).

The recorder itself retails at £799+vat, a DL1 is £499+vat but RT will be offering a package price and a package including cameras etc. The product includes a program to design your own layouts which take seconds to load plus a comprehensive DVD authoring package with special options such as the ability to place chapter markers for each lap etc.

I've been helping beta test the product (as an enthusiastic user, I have no commercial link with RT). This is a VERY EARLY effort where we had sound problems and glitches with laptime display. Also I mounted the DL1 wrongly and the Braking Now trigger was too sensitive. It does give you some idea what is possible though.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2Xid9jU9ngo

There are a few other also, search for maxxuk and video4

Maxx

[MDBRL]

Footage recently recorded using VideoVBOX at Silverstone:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=rz9kSa__q_s&fmt=...

[bodgit]

oregeon scentific currys £100 works ok for me no wires like most of them, mounts with em as well