Video Camera Dash Mount Question

[Anthony Silver]

For the past few weeks, I've been trying to hunt down a dash mount for my Panasonic SDR-H40P video camera. So far the search has been unsuccessful. I checked with Best Buy, and the goons up there acted like they didn't even know what a dash mount was. I tried Google, and still nothing.

Does anyone know of a place that sells the mounts (suction cup or otherwise)?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

They have a lot of cheap options here... http://www.filmtools.com/succupmoun.html

 

[Jason Boggs]

Here is a thread about various mounts:

http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/showthread.php?t=20234

 

[David Mikulec]

I've got a Ram no-drill mounting pad between the seats of my vehicle and along with the Ram laptop desk I've fashioned a camera mount using several aluminum tubes from Sticky-Pod and a Radio Shack fluid head from one of their older, better build tripods. It basically looks like a monopod bolted to the Ram mount. This leaves my windshield clean and unobstructed, plus I can pan the camera without having to reach or fumble around while I'm driving.

 

[Mikey Gribble]

I've had several windshield mounts and never liked any of them, including some really expensive german made ones that sucked. I went and bought this one at Best Buy just because I knew the suction cup on it worked really well because I have the same one on the windshield mount that holds my stormhawk. Here is the link to the mount
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8345622&type=product&id=1176506228750

I use it for my small sony handicam for stremaing video. The suction cup is really strong and the bendable pole/arm is surprisingly strong too, but it's just not quite enough to hold the camera exactly in place. It will slowly start to lean one way or another, so what I did is mounted it in the bottom corner of my windshield so the arm of the tripod could rest on the dash and now it works great. I like it because you can turn and readjust where you are aiming really fast and it's dirt cheap.
If you give it a try, and I would, just plan on finding some way to give it a little additional support.

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

LOL I have that one from Best Buy and it sits in my closet collecting Dust, it's the biggest POS ever, I tried and tried and couldn't think of or find a use for it. Biggest waste of $18 IMO, luckily I just used some best buy reward points and didn't pay dime.

 

[Mikey Gribble]

Well there's your answer. By it from Dustin because he doesn't want his.

It depends on how heavy your camera is. If I tried to put my VX2100 on it then yeah it is going to be a pos, but it works great with a light weight camera. I've probably been on seven or 8 chases with it this year and the suction cup hasn't come off the windshield yet and the only adjusting I've had to do is aim the camera down a couple times because it's a little more back end heavy so it will tilt after a while. It's great because it is so easy to adjust. All you have to do is bend the arm, or just unscrew the adjustment knob, which is a ball connection so you can turn the camera to face any direction.

You don't have to listen to Dustin or I. Go to Best Buy and take it out of the package. See for yourself. If you are using a light camera it works fine. Just put it at the bottom of the windshield so a portion of the flexible arm can rest on the dash. That's all I did and it worked great. Or go to Best Buy's website and read the reviews. There are a bunch of them on there that will say the exact same thing I did. If you use a light weight camera it's perfect, but if you are using a heavy camera is won't work. Dustin was probably trying to put his 97 handicam on his lol.

As I also mentioned before, I bought my first windshield mount in 2004 and have had two of them since then, both of which cost $120 plus, so it's not like I don't know what else is out there. In fact one of the mounts I bought was supposed to be for race cars and it sucked. Race cars my ass.

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

Well there's your answer. By it from Dustin because he doesn't want his.

You don't have to "by" or buy it, you can have it, but it doesn't work...

Dustin was probably trying to put his 97 handicam on his lol.

Actually I bought it to use as a quick connect mount to the drivers side window for the SLR, it failed miserably. The ball joint head is made of cheap plastic and does not stay in position, the arm and suction cup work ok for an $18 piece, it was able to stay stuck to the window fine and not bend unless I wanted it to, however those functions are useless without a quality head. I would recommend spending a little more and getting a good side window mount if using it for a still camera, not only is this thing made of plastic it's cheap plastic. Absolutely NO WAY I would recommend using it for a windshield mount for a camcorder, not even a cheapo handicam, spend a mere $80 more bucks and get something quality that will last and you don't have to worry about positioning in the corner or rigging something up so it's steady( http://www.filmtools.com/succupmoun.html). But at the end of the day it's $18, worst case scenario you spend $18 try it and if you don't like it, no big deal.

 

[Mikey Gribble]

Here is a picture of how I have it set up. Like I mentioned before the suction cup works great. All you have to do is loop the bendable arm under the camera and let part of it brace itself against your dash and you're good to go.
I've had other mounts and this is by far the easiest to quickly adjust if you want to move side to side or up and down to get a tornado in the shot.
Do whatever you want. I don't really care, but you can go down to the store, take it out of the package and see for yourself what your getting. Yeah it is cheap, but I've owned some of the most expensive windshield mounts there are. I want my camera mounted in the corner of my windshield and the more expensive ones block more of your view and are harder to adjust. Here is a picture of how mine is set up in the car.
http://www.loadedgunchasing.com/images/DSC00297.JPG

No it probably isn't going to work as a side window mount for a SLR Dustin. They aren't exactly the lightest cameras and it's not going to hold the weight with the arm stretched out like that. If I tried to park my D70 on that it probably wouldn't hold steady at all if I were driving.

I prefer having a corner mount on the windshield since I'm already tight on windshield space. I don't want a camera in the middle of my windshield blocking my view. I already have a stormhawk (PDA with GPS unit sticking out the top) in the middle of the windshield, a laptop right in front of me blocking the bottom portion and the bottom right corner is blocked with my video camera for streaming. I looked at similiar products to what Dustin posted a link to, but like I said I want my camera for streaming out of the way and I want one that is quick and easy to adjust in any direction. I ride shotgun while my chase partner drives, so my perspective inside the car is going to be different then somebody who is chasing solo or driving. If you are going to be driving then blocking a portion of the windshield may not be a big deal to you and would make the camer more accessible. It all depends on the application.

For and quick easily adjustable mount in the corner like I show in the picture it works fine. If you want something that is going to go square in the middle of the windshield and hold steady while you fly down diirt roads then don't get it.

 

[Anthony Silver]

Thanks for the responses & links. Mikey, my camera is very light weight, so I think your suggestion might work. Looks like the install is fairly simple, and I can avoid having to drill any holes into my dash. I'll head over to Best Buy tomorrow and see what they have.

 

[Ben Holcomb]

I had that bestbuy mount last year, and wish I had found and bought a Filmtools mount instead. The head didn't stay stable, however, even when it did, the whole thing would vibrate back and forth while driving, making the video I have from my dashcam terrible.

Invest in one of these. It'll be the best thing you ever did
http://www.filmtools.com/filmtools-in-car-windshield-camera-mount.html

 

[Tony Cook]

I had that bestbuy mount last year, and wish I had found and bought a Filmtools mount instead. The head didn't stay stable, however, even when it did, the whole thing would vibrate back and forth while driving, making the video I have from my dashcam terrible.

Invest in one of these. It'll be the best thing you ever did
http://www.filmtools.com/filmtools-in-car-windshield-camera-mount.html

Can you get a full 360 swivel out of that model with a small to mid-sized cam? Also, does it have a quick release mechanism to pul the camera off (not the whole mount, just the cam)?

I tripod in the passenger floor right now when solo chasing, which is less than ideal in a number of ways. It is pretty steady vid, though, so the only other concern is vibration in the video. I have one of the Sony HDR models, which seems especially sensitive to vibration, also.

Thanks,
TonyC

 

[Ben Holcomb]

You can face the camera in just about any direction. Removal is with a screw, and isn't very hard. Quick release would be nice, but it's not the end of the world.

For what it's worth, I've seen a lot of chasers using those mounts this year.

 

[Darren Addy]

You can add a Quick Release system to ANY standard tripod connection. A QR system is made up of a clamp that screws to the tripod (or in this case windshield mount) and a matching plate that screws into the bottom of your camera. So you can make ANY mount a quick release mount... it doesn't have to come with it.

Just search ebay (or google) for: "Quick Release" system. As with anything there are a whole range of prices.

 

[Tony Cook]

Thanks for the info, guys. I have seen a couple out there, too, in passing, but haven't gotten to check one out up close. Looks like a nice deal, though.

TonyC