Camcorder box for racecar?, you guys have and good ideas? Options

[GlennCMC70]

title should read good, not god.
i have a small lipstick camera that i do all my in-car video recording w/. this camera feeds directly to my Hi8 Sony camcorder. since i don't use the camcorder itself to record w/, i need/want to mount it in a container/box that will protect it from the harsh enviroment inside my CMC car. you guys have any good ideas for doing this?
i was thinking an $8 battery box (plastic) lined w/ medium density foam would do the trick. any thoughts from you guys?

This post has been edited by Glenn98ZM6: Jul 24 2005, 10:23 PM

[mitchntx]

You might want to rethink putting the camera in a sealed box.

After a shoot with my Panasonic miniDV camcorder, I put the deck in VTR mode and hit rewind, then put it in it's case to drag it back to the office.

About 45 minutes later, I went to pull the camera out and it smoking hot ...

Put you camcorder in a foam filled cardboard box, and hit record. See if you have a similar result.

[CrashTestDummy]

Yeah, why not get an IO camera mount, bolt that to a convenient piece of roll bar, and bolt the camera to that? It could be out of your way, accessable to work switches and plugs, and ventilated. When you are done, unplug the 'stick camera, lay the cable over the rollbar and unscrew the camera from its mount.

The additional benefit is you have a convenient mount for when you want to video the driver to see what stupid things he/she is doing. :-) We find this the most useful part of the whole camera setup. That is videoing the loose nut behind the wheel and correcting that.

I'd love to have a 'stick camera, though, it would be neat to see what the suspension is doing.

[Teutonic Speedra...]

I'd love to have a 'stick camera, though, it would be neat to see what the suspension is doing.

Yeah, I always thought that would be cool to do as well.

[GlennCMC70]

i have an I/O Port mount.

i'm not trusting the 1/4"x 20 insert in the bottom of the camera for one. if i put a safety strap on it tight enough to take the load off the threaded insert, the vibrations cause the camera to shut down. and any of you who have done any racing knows how much dirt and crap gets into a gutted car. it coats everything, including a camera inside and out. this is still a nice camera so i want to take care of it.
in my 98 street/open track car, i would put in the center console and it was perfect.
if i use a box, i have a fan i can put on the box, but that will just pump air w/ dirt onto it.

[rmackintosh]

i have an I/O Port mount.

i'm not trusting the 1/4"x 20 insert in the bottom of the camera for one. if i put a safety strap on it tight enough to take the load off the threaded insert, the vibrations cause the camera to shut down. and any of you who have done any racing knows how much dirt and crap gets into a gutted car. it coats everything, including a camera inside and out. this is still a nice camera so i want to take care of it.
in my 98 street/open track car, i would put in the center console and it was perfect.
if i use a box, i have a fan i can put on the box, but that will just pump air w/ dirt onto it.

Where did you get the lipstick camera, and about home much?

(IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[GlennCMC70]

local store here called Fry's. got a good selection of home security stuff. $60 or so. color, auto iris, built in mic, RCA outputs.

[firehawkclone]

i have a fan i can put on the box, but that will just pump air w/ dirt onto it.

Use a small foam piece(filter) on one side, and have the fan blow out (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/thumbup.gif)

[rmackintosh]

local store here called Fry's. got a good selection of home security stuff. $60 or so. color, auto iris, built in mic, RCA outputs.

hmmmm, I was asking because I always thought they were expensive....there is even a "kit" in the latest Racer Parts Wholesale catalog I saw just lastnight that has a "hermetically sealed" box, the camera, etc....for a camcorder YOU ALREADY HAVE for $499 I believe....

[mitchntx]

Don't underestimate how rugged today's chip camcorders are.

[Absolut Speed]

If it's good enough for mountain biking (it's not mine)...

(IMG:http://arnica.csustan.edu/mtbike/Video/images/setup.jpg)

[PF Flyer]

Glenn ... the I/O mount on the rollbar and a safety strap will be more than adequete.

I've had my Sony Hi8 mounted that way and using the lipstick (bullet) cam and have captured some most excellent video, both in car, out the front windshield and various suspension points on several Speed World Challenge cars, both GT and Touring. And those are 50 minute races.

[PF Flyer]

... here's some suspension cam stuff using the small ball cam. There is no sound recorded with this. It was done to eval a suspension component. Keep watching the tire deflection, though. This was at Road Atlanta.

This post has been edited by PF Flyer: Aug 2 2005, 03:27 PM

[axoid]

I picked up a Mustek PVRA1 personal video recorder this week. I records video from external sources in a Mpeg-4 format. I'll see who well it works this weekend in autocross.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...=photo&n=507846

[Teutonic Speedra...]

... here's some suspension cam stuff using the small ball cam.

Linky no worky! (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

[PF Flyer]

Link Fixed.

I moved some files around the other day.

[SuperMacGuy]

I got my setup at www.chasecam.com, i know it was probably more expensive than it could have been, but they have all the stuff in a nice kit. I made a lightweight arm extension, about 18 inches, and hang it off the b pillar at the autocross. It looks ungainly but is actually a kick-ass camera angle. I get to see what the wheel-nut is doing plus where I am on course! It rocks! I put the camera in the armrest compartment, but the cable are all RCA so I could just get an extension and run them to wherever.
Check out a video (need Quicktime)
http://www.scca-susq.com/movies/050619Pavs...pitatorRun2.mov
or some other stuff at
http://www.scca-susq.com/photoslinks.html