[IronH4WK]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Whoa that is a neat 270 USDs! But i wonder how long it will stay on the hood before it gets stolen!

There are some really cool suggestions in this thread for mounting a camera. Check them out too.

i'm don't intend to mount the camera outside the vehicle nor do i have $270 to spend for this (read wifey will kill me)

reasons for not mounting outside:
- dust and pollution will really affect the life of the camera!
- when recording, there will be lot of noise when the car is moving (or otherwise)!
- anybody can just rip it off the mount and run away with it and i won't be able to do anything about it!

i read the post from the Fiesta owners thread (post by sanjayc) and liked the idea, but wanted to do something with the stuff i already have and didn't want to actually fool around with the headrest. so without further ado, here's what i've done

items that were used for this project:
- 1 standard issue Getz GLS Dec 2006 model (using the correct model is very important or this experiment won't work hehe..)
- 1 Sony HDR-SR10E
- 1 Cybershot W220 (for shooting behind the scenes)
- 1 Sony VCT-60AV (5ft tripod)

trial #1: since i was going to use a tripod, i was confident that assembly will be stable. oh boy, did i get a rude awakening when i actually took the car out. the tripod kept swaying sideways (when turning) and forward/backward (when braking/accelerating). many a times i had to actually hold on to the tripod to keep it from falling moving around too much. also, at times, due to the swaying of the tripod, changing gears was hindered, which is not something you want when driving in crowded streets.






disappointed that my idea didn't work, i parked the car and went back home.


trial #2: after a short breakfast, some black coffee and sitting around staring at the ceiling for some time i got an idea! if stability was the problem, why not find something to hold the tripod in place; or better, push the tripod against something that will make sure it will stay in place!

so i too the tripod to the back seat and rested the two legs against the front seats. then i extended the third leg, placed it on the back seat and locked it after making sure the tripod wouldn't move around even if, say, the car went over a pothole!

then i removed the pan handle and fitted it from the front (if you know what i mean). this allows me to control the handycam from where i'll be sitting (driver's seat) without having to reach back. using the the controls on the pan handle i can zoom, start/stop video recording and also take pictures. for those who might not have the VCT-60AV, in this position you can make use of your remote commander.

another thing, which i found out in the later part of the run was that if you turn the display of the handycam 180deg (facing forward), you can actually watch through the RVM what is being recorded!





one thing i did notice was that since the handycam is a bit to the back, when shooting you'll need to zoom in a bit to avoid the interiors of the car. also, the height will need to be adjusted.

i'll post the video once i've downloaded, converted and uploaded them.

[SDP]

@Ironhawk -> I have tried this myself. In my Alto, I find it difficult to find a position for the tripod where it won't topple. So once I actually tied the tripod legs to 3 diff things on the front-passenger side. One leg to the door-hinge, another to the glove-box hinge and last one to the seat-adjustment lever. Managed to get a quite a stable setup .

I used to have a carrier on top of my alto and a couple of times I had mounted the handycam on the tripod and without opening the tripod tied it to the carrier. Got some amazing footage, really stable. Only 3 problems:
1. People who notice the contraption, give weird looks.
2. You are exposing the camera to the elements especially harsh sunlight and dust.
3. Operating the handycam becomes a hassle. The remote did not work from inside. So had to operate by hand while driving. Quite a crazy thing to do.

[IronH4WK]

Originally Posted by IronH4WK

i'll post the video once i've downloaded, converted and uploaded them.

here you go lads!

1. going up the parking ramp at a steep angle didn't seem to bother the setup.

YouTube - Up the ramp

2. driving around was a breeze; no hindrance to driving.

YouTube - The Drive

3. no moving around of the tripod - even when going over speed breakers, potholes or while taking turns. the movement that you see is of the camera that i'm shooting with.

YouTube - The Equipment

4. going down the parking ramp didn't ruffle any feathers either.

YouTube - Down the ramp

[arjithin]

I am planning to purchase a dash cam to record the road/traffic in front of me. I am convinced about the need of a dash cam with one bad experience of Insurance scam.

I researched in Amazon and other similar websites, there are many Chinese options available, but none has reliability.

Any one has suggestions on a good dash cam within a $150 budget?

My basic requirements are
1. should start recording when the engine starts and ends when the vehicle stops automatically
2. Should have a continuous recording mode of minimum 1 hr
3. decent night video quality
4. Should be able to accept backup SD cards
5. Should work for at least 2 years.

[knp]

I had bought one from ebay.com; for around 70$. It has all the features that you had listed above (except point 7, as I too don't know their reliability). this is an excellent one, with very good HD recording; and have been using it for last 3 months and no issues so far.

[bejoy]

There are a few members already using the car camera. Check out these posts:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ml#post2660195
hvkumar has been using for years, so it has to be reliable, a tad expensive though. There are a few videos also posted else where including night shots.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...ml#post2703538

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post2713472

[Tempelhof]

Is this the thread to know about (inside the car) dashboard mounted camera?

Can someone (or, Mods) point me to the right thread?

Thanks

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by Tempelhof

Is this the thread to know about (inside the car) dashboard mounted camera?

This is more about mounting solutions for general video cameras.

For action/sport/helmet camera choices, check this thread out : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/gadget...ntour-etc.html

For dash video recorders (safety, evidence, etc) see:
1) http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...-feedback.html
2) http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...ml#post1294731

cya
R

[hellmet]

A couple of weeks ago, I received my car mount from ebay Hong Kong, so I gave it a try when I was commuting (hyderabad). I used a Canon HD PowerShot SD-780 IS and mounted it on the windshield. At the end of the journey, the camera was warm, but the memory was full about half a km from destination. Here is a video for those interested:

http://youtu.be/e22Js-ZQhsM

Video is very compressed, I compressed it before uploading to YT which compressed it further. Original video is very clear.

The only issue is that this isn't a permanent solution since there is no way you can charge the camera on the go. Have to take it home to recharge. There possibly are cameras in the market that allow you to do so using mini-USB ports, I don't know.

[SDP]

Originally Posted by hellmet

A couple of weeks ago, I received my car mount from ebay Hong Kong, so I gave it a try when I was commuting (hyderabad). I used a Canon HD PowerShot SD-780 IS and mounted it on the windshield. At the end of the journey, the camera was warm, but the memory was full about half a km from destination. Here is a video for those interested: http://Youtu.be/e22Js-ZQhsM
..

Can you please share details about the mount itself? A couple of snaps which show how and where the camera is mounted inside the car would also help.

Thanks
SDP

[arjithin]

I am currently using a nokia 5230 with mounting base as my recording device as well my GPS within city. I have a car charger for the phone for providing cont, power.

Only drawback is that the phone runs out of memory space in 2 hr of recording, hence we need to manually overwrite the existing video.

[infotech58]

How do you manage to run recording and GPS at the same time?

Originally Posted by arjithin

I am currently using a nokia 5230 with mounting base as my recording device as well my GPS within city. I have a car charger for the phone for providing cont, power.

And, do you people remove the camera from the dash when parked the car at a publich place? I believe, just like a visible GPS, an in-dash camera increases the chances of theft/break-in.

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by infotech58

How do you manage to run recording and GPS at the same time?

And, do you people remove the camera from the dash when parked the car at a publich place? I believe, just like a visible GPS, an in-dash camera increases the chances of theft/break-in.

I believe it cant be run simultaneously. I use my recorder mostly in City driving where I dont need GPS and travel times of less than 1 hr, its not a big issue for me.

You are right - I always remove the base and phone from my dash . I put a dash disc for easy mounting. Still not convinced that a permanent camera is good from a safety point of view. Havent come across any camera that can be hidden.

[honeybee]

I have a small-ish laptop (Acer Aspire One) which could have 300GB free on any given day. I am thinking of buying a good webcam, such as Microsoft LiveCam series and use it along with the laptop as my car cam. The laptop battery should last for at least two hours easily, so it's not a problem for my daily commute.

The Microsoft cam comes with a small plate which could be shaped into a sort of a grip, but I am at a loss as to where the cam should be fitted. Also will it be able to shoot videos at 30fps?

Also are there any good webcams which specialize in night-time video recording? I could use it with the laptop to act as an aid in night driving too.

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by honeybee

I have a small-ish laptop (Acer Aspire One) which could have 300GB free on any given day. I am thinking of buying a good webcam, such as Microsoft LiveCam series and use it along with the laptop as my car cam. The laptop battery should last for at least two hours easily, so it's not a problem for my daily commute.

Do you plan to use it daily? wont it be a pain every time switching on and off the laptop itself? Where do you plan to keep the laptop?