[flatlander757]

I'd like to have my camera solid mounted to the Jeep next time I go wheeling so it's not shaking around like crazy in the hands of my passenger. Any ideas? It has the standard threaded tripod mount so it shouldn't be too hard. I'd like some ideas from you guys before I do anything

[jeepteejay]

I wanna get one of these:
http://fourtreks.com/modular_camcorder_mount_kit.html
...but it says they're out of stock.

[kdmeyer]

I've done a lot of in-car video from race and rally cars. Forget the tripod socket in the camera, the tripod base isn't designed for vibration, the mounting surface is typically soft and too small and the camera will always shake.

If you still want to try that, lash your tripod to at least three points of the roll cage with wire ties or duct tape, folding or extending legs as needed, with one mounting point as close to the camera as possible. If you aren't going too fast or bouncy, this can work but it's not great.

I don't have a pic, (maybe later) but what has worked best by far for me is a simple L-shaped shelf made of a couple small screwed-together pieces of scrap wood such as 1x4s. The camera sits in the shelf and you secure it to the shelf with a couple velcro straps wrapped around. You don't even use the tripod socket. It is best to shape the wood to fit your particular camera, so it sits securely in the shelf. Once you have this shelf assembly, you can screw and bolt supporting structure to it to your heart's content.

I secured the wood shelf to the roll bar with a couple stamped steel counduit brackets of appropriate size screwed into the wood and wrapped around the roll bar. I used bolts and wing-nuts to make the bracket relatively easy to remove.

This setup was rock-steady.

Get a wide-angle lens and use manual focus. If the camera has a flip-out display, turn it so you can see it from the drivers seat, unless you have a passenger who can serve as camera man. You'll want to check it to confirm if it's recording and if it's in focus. If the camera has a remote control, that's handy.

You might need to fabricate a framework between roll bar members to give you a triangulated mounting point where you want it. This could be as simple as one or two 2x2s. Wire ties and duct tape are good for lashing frame members to the roll cage. Jeeps are handy because they have lots of roll cage bits in handy places.

For camera placement, I find the video is more interesting if the camera is far enough back so you can see upper part of the steering wheel and maybe the gearshift, so you can see the driver working. Here's where the wide-angle lens is nice.

Another thing to do, that will really improve the quality of your video, is to pay careful attention to the sound. The in-camera mic will probably pick up too much wind noise, unless you are crawling. With the sports car, after a lot of experimenting, I got the best results attaching a good quality microphone, with a big hunk of foam as a windscreen, to the rear bumper pointing at the tailpipe, and it sounded pretty good.

Experiment and fine-tune your setup driving around your neighborhood.

[BlackBellamy]

I use the Bogen-Manfrotto Super Clamp, and then I have an B-M Extension Arm w/Double End Stud and B-M Double Ball Joint w/Camera Platform. The clamp mounts to the rollbar, or the bumper hoop, or really any compatible surface and the double joint along with the extension arm allow any articulation you want.

They're all here at B&H if you want to see.

Here is a test video (41meg wmv) I made a couple days ago - the mount was clamped to the grille.

[Faramir66103]

Have you looked at Ram Mounts? I'd also bet that you could come up with something pretty good by spending some time wandering up and down the isles of the local hardware store.

FWIW,
Adam

[jeepster93]

[Happy Joe]

I tried onboard mounts years ago but was unable to get pictures as steady as a hand held from inside the vehicle (the camera operator makes a huge difference, if talented) (both sometimes tended to induce motion sickness in some viewers).

The best videos that we did utilized multiple cameras and angles which were then cut together to make the video. This would be relatively easy, now, on a home PC.

Enjoy!

[yellowjacket]

Ok get a 1/4 20 boult drill hole in the dash wher it dips above your radio mount carma onto it i will get pics this after noon for u

[1CleanTJ]

Originally Posted by yellowjacket

Ok get a 1/4 20 boult drill hole in the dash wher it dips above your radio mount carma onto it i will get pics this after noon for u

come on dude, use some proper sentence structure and punctuation at least, I had to read that twice just to understand what you were trying to say

[SierraDave]

I found a mini tripod at BestBuy that had the swivel head attached with a single allen screw for about $15. I just removed the swivel head from the tripod and drilled a hole in the trim piece on top of the dash to secure it. My camera is pretty small so it works very well, but if your camera is too large it may hit the windshield due to the height and angle. It works great for capturing a quick still of the view ahead of you or video.

[SierraDave]

My video link didn't work, I'll try again.

http://s63.photobucket.com/albums/h138/dpkoons/?action=view&current=MOV00263.flv

[jmcbroom]

http://www.expressmounts.com/electronics-mount/camera/camcorders-small

[PhulesAu]

BlackBellamy Nice video, which camera?? and does it have stabilizer mode? Some times it's just nice to ride along!!
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=phulesau&so=0
Please note the segments are numbered backwards.

[BlackBellamy]

It's the Panasonic PV-GS320 - I put a haze filter on the lens to protect it from debris, but as a whole that unit is way too fragile to mount where road debris will kick up - I plan to use it mostly mounted on the inside unless I fab up some plexiglass shield or something.

[flatlander757]

Thanks for all the info and pics guys... I think I'm going to pursue a home-depot sponsored camera mount If that fails I'll probably go for that Super Clamp and some crazy adaptors... Nice setup BlackBellamy