Dashboard Camcorder Mounts

Patrick Kerrin

Patrick Kerrin

EF2
Joined
Jul 8, 2004
Messages
181
Location
London, Ontario, Canada
It looks like I need to get a new system going to mount my camcorder on the dashboard.

I am looking for something that will either accept a manfrotto/bogen mate attached to the camcorder and that I can firmly and/or permanently affix to the dash protruding up about 2 or 3 inches.

I googled and got links off David Drumond and Amos's website and they were either dead links or didn't anything close in the case of video Innovators.

Can anyone suggest any other souces??

Thanks


Patrick
 
It looks like I need to get a new system going to mount my camcorder on the dashboard.[/b]
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Hi Patrick,

A lot depends on your vehicle, and what you are willing to do to it. Some of the best solutions I've seen here and elsewhere have been "homebrewed", often involving parts from donor tripods. They may fall into one of the following categories:

- vacuum-cup mounts attached to windshield
- hard mounts firmly attached to dash
- vehicle specific mounts (ie. crown-vic police mounts)
- actual tripods or monopods strapped in somehow
- "pipe" mounts that extend from floor, or used in combo with a laptop mount

Basically there's very few generic solutions that will satisfy everyone's needs. I personally use a modified tripod head/RAM mount combo attached to my dash.. works well but I'm always looking at other options.
 
camera%20mount.jpg


Manfrotto Magic Arm
Manfrotto Suction Cup
tripod head with quick plate

* This picture is from late 2003, this actually Patrick Cool's car (which explains the GPS hanging LOL). At the time this setup was around $450. The magic arm was $250, the suction cup $105, the tripod head $20 or so (not in the picture) + tax was around $450 CDN. I am not sure how much it would cost today.

There is no vibration or anything. I actually rest the elbow on the magic arm on the dash in my chase car and this eliminated the possibility of vibration.

Dan Wexler actually got his mount from a store in Cali. Not sure which one, you can email him and ask but it was along these lines http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/speedprod15b.htm

I know Dave Patrick also got a new one which was removable, you should send an email to Jerry's list, I am sure you will get ton's of solutions haha.
 
camera%20mount.jpg

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That magic arm looks cool, and I was tempted to go and find it online, until I noticed a big limitation -- look how it's positioned! That works great if you chase solo, but using that if you have a shotgun partner is a bad idea. Any kind of wreck and the airbag is going to drive the Magic Arm into your friend's skull at 200mph! †

I had a mount for the first time on my last chase (thanks to Darren Addy) -- it actually was just a sturdy metal tripod resting in the center of the car. It didn't get in the way for me or Darren (who sat shotgun) and it wasn't in the way of any airbags. I imagine in a wreck it might fly around and pose an impact hazard, but then so would nearly any mounting system in a wreck.

<div align="center">[attachmentid=219]
† "I'm crazy tripod head man!
I've got a tripod for a head!
Now gimme some candy!"</div>
 
Thanks John Tom Caleb & Ryan!

I was looking for something that would hard mount to the dash (say with a bottom plate that I couls screw in permanantly and extended up 2 or 3 inched to meet the camcorder) - I used to use a big manfrotto/bogn clamp but am sick of watching camcorder occasionally fall off the dash and crash to the floor maybe once every 9 or 10 chases (worked very well otherwise). :angry:

I never considered the suction-cup method as I though it too would be prone to falls. Is that anyone elses' experience - maybe that is not the case. I think I would prefer to attach to the dash rather than the window and I would maybe be interested in the smaller 3-cup one that the racing supply company offered (I called but they are closed 'til Monday).

Maybe the suction-cup method provides an element of vibration dispersion???

Any further thoughts anyone?

Thanks again,


Patrick
 
I've found that the Suction Cup based system I use, actually doesn't dampen the vibration much. What I have is this: Woods Power Grip Camera Mount

This in turn is mounted to a plexiglass plate screwed securely to the dash on the passenger side. I have to use a bungee cord to help stabilize the vibration and connect that to something either under the dash or under the passenger seat.

I tried building a rig that would allow me to mount this to the windhield but that really bounced. Of course, I used aluminum for the mounting too. The beauty of this particular system is that I can remove it and mount it to the driver or passenger side window, or take it out of my truck and mount it to the roof or hood providing a very stable platform to shoot from.

I've done a couple of local car dealer commercials using this mount on the outside of the vehicle getting some awesome near ground level motion shots and mounted it to the roof for behind the vehicle style shooting. I haven't as yet had the need to mount it to the hood to shoot back into the driver/passenger yet, but it does show you the versatility of the mount. Shoot, I've even mounted it to the inside of an airplane window.

It has it's limitations, but allows for a variety of mounting that a tripod, or static mount simply won't do.

Simply leach a decent tripod head from an old tripod, screw it on to the mount, set it so it's reasonably level and your off and running. Adding the tripod head will allow you to pan/tilt the camera while it's on the mount. You can do it with the mount, but it's a pain.

Hope that helps a little.
 
Jay,
Do those suction cups effectively adhere do a textured dash board?
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No they dont .. They do act as dampeners though. The thing that truley holds the sticky pod on the dash is a suction cup on the window glass by an articulating arm.

One thing that got me. As Jay mentioned.. it works outside the car too..

At the Chaser Convention this year the guy from stickypod was there.. And his suggestion with my camera was to mount it outside due to its size.. RoFlMao

What an insult to my intelligence.. I said to him with others around "If you think for on second i am going to place my $3,500 camera outside of my vehicle on a storm you got another thing coming" it was at that point evident that he meant well but had no concept of what it is like to be on a storm with high precip and hail, let alone a 60 - 70 mile an hour wind bombarding my camera as i drive inserting dirt and debris in all the nooks and crannies..

I think it is a good product for someone with a lil handicam on the dash... Its more of a consumerish item as opposed as a professional item in my opinion.
 
No they dont .. They do act as dampeners though. The thing that truley holds the sticky pod on the dash is a suction cup on the window glass by an articulating arm.

One thing that got me. As Jay mentioned.. it works outside the car too..

At the Chaser Convention this year the guy from stickypod was there.. And his suggestion with my camera was to mount it outside due to its size.. RoFlMao

What an insult to my intelligence.. I said to him with others around "If you think for on second i am going to place my $3,500 camera outside of my vehicle on a storm you got another thing coming" it was at that point evident that he meant well but had no concept of what it is like to be on a storm with high precip and hail, let alone a 60 - 70 mile an hour wind bombarding my camera as i drive inserting dirt and debris in all the nooks and crannies..

I think it is a good product for someone with a lil handicam on the dash... Its more of a consumerish item as opposed as a professional item in my opinion.
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Exactly my thoughts! It also fits well in the back of the car on the rear deck, facing out the front window!
 
Well an update is in order.

I took the link to the Ram Mount site and found a mount that would suit my needs and then found an online vendor "GPS City" who *claimed* to have 3 in stock. I called back the next day for the UPS tracking # and there was 'glitch' with my order, then the next day there was a 'glitch' with their system and lo and behold they were now out of stock.

I cancelled my order as I smelled a rat.

At least my credit card has not been charged. I will dispute the charge if it does come through. And will not call GPS City again.

So I too my old clamping system and borrowed a nice electric drill and went to town and I now have a much more secure set up that I think I will be happy with! Cost of 2 bolts, 2 wing nuts, and 4 washers - 5 bucks!

Thanks for all the insights, turns out the do-it-yourself approach can produce good results.


Patrick
 
camera%20mount.jpg
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:blink:

I really hope that there is no passenger sitting behind that during a chase, unless the airbag has been disabled. If you got into a crash with airbag deployment, you'd be injured by the flying camera mount more than the actual crash (in most cases). At a minimum, the passenger would have a busted face in addition to whatever happened from the crash.

Just food for thought to keep in the back of your minds. It seems that very few people consider airbag deployment zones when mounting equipment.
 
I have this and it is pretty cool! You can mount them on the dash or outside the car. Check out the website.

http://stickypod.com/
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I can personally reccomend the Sticky Pod. We saw them at the storm chasers convention last year, and had to get them. Though our chase trip last year wasnt that great, the Sticky Pod worked great. We have ours monted on the dash, and it never moved. You can adjust it to point in almost any direction you want. I highly reccomend the sticky pod. :)
 
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