Jun 15 2009
In-Car Camera Mount
In-Car Camera Mount Tests from John Rappold on Vimeo.
I’ve been looking for a decent in-car camera mount for a few months. I actually purchased a suction cup mount, but it had too much shake. Another option I looked at was a camera mount that attached to the headrest post. The shake factor control was better than the suction cup mount,but I didn’t like the fact that it showed so much of the car interior. I would have to zoom quite a bit to just get the view through the front window, and that would of course amplify any shake.
I’ve found a solution that I hope with a little tweaking will prove ideal. I purchased a StillShot2 laptop camera mount, and it is working well. You can also find the mount on eBay and Amazon, but the price is about the same everywhere ($110.00).
I was pleased that the mount was fairly heavy, and can support weights upto 11 pounds when moving. You’ll notice in the photo above that a pan head is included. If you want to use a laptop, a large plate with air holes and velcro straps is also part of the kit.
Attaching the mount was fairly easy. Unscrew the bolt holding the front passenger seat nearest the driver and attach the base with a socket wrench. After attaching the base, you simply slide the entire assembly onto the base and tighten. It is very easy to attach and remove the mount. The StillShot comes with a number of accessory fittings to attach to just about any seat mount assembly, although they weren’t needed in my case.
The Mount In Use
Naturally the higher you extend the mount, the more unstable it becomes. I found that by lightly holding the mount with my hand provided enough stabilization. Of course, this isn’t safe, so I need to find a solution (maybe bungee cable) that will do this for me. If you find a solution, comment here or on the Vimeo page for the video.
I tested with four cameras:
- Kodak EasyShare V1073 digicam
- Aiptek Action HD camcorder
- Flip UltraHD
- Canon HF10
$110 may seem like a lot, but the hardware is good, and I really wanted something that would capture those big vistas from my car when I travel to Monument Valley and Lone Pine next year. If you’ve never taken a trip out west by car, you’ve really missed America.
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[...] month, I posted about my new camera mount for my car, and I’ve found another use for it. I attached my Nikon D90 on the mount and snapped 1-2 [...]
Hi John- Your photos are great. Have an awesome trip. I also enjoy taking photos. When I was in college I had a few published and an one women show. I would like to set up a darkroom again because black and white is my faorite. Plus, being to watch the photos come alive in front of you. Tell Cecil, Hi
Enjoy
[...] Nothing I would want displayed normally. Speeding it up seemed to help. I might look at a more expensive investment down the road should the need arise. Also, the first test with the windows down really produced [...]
[...] also have over 4 hours of clips using my Flip UltraHD. Almost all of these clips were shot using my in-car camera mount. There’s some surprisingly nice stuff in those shots, and I’ll be putting together a montage of [...]