advice for mounting camera to car for low angle road shoot at DVinfo.net

Greg Quinn · October 6th, 2009, 09:16 AM

I need to take some footage for the title sequence of a doc I'm working on. The aim is to have a low angle (i.e. close to the road) shot, so the plan is to mount a small HD cam (Cannon HV10) mounted to the front of my car, a Mitsubishi Eclipse. I have a rubber sucker camera mount, but in limited tests with this, there's a shocking amount of vibration which would make the footage unusable; any suggestions?
Thanks
Greg

Marcello Mazzilli · October 6th, 2009, 11:25 AM

I am using this with no problems... Sticky Pod - Camera Mounts - Car, Truck, Boat, Motorcycle, Kayak (director version)

Greg Quinn · October 6th, 2009, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcello Mazzilli

I am using this with no problems... Sticky Pod - Camera Mounts - Car, Truck, Boat, Motorcycle, Kayak (director version)

Thanks Marcello, looks like a rock solid rig.

Robert Turchick · October 31st, 2009, 12:19 AM

One suggestion as I do a lot of shooting with a mount on my motorcycles and car...and forgive me if you already know this...make sure you turn off the image stabilizer in the camera and use manual focus and no zoom.

I did a lot of testing and found that the most solid mount to the vehicle (and the sticky pods work great!) allows the vehicle suspension to act as the camera stabilizer. On any vehicle, the road/engine vibration is at a high enough frequency to not come across on the vid if hard mounted. That vibration will interfere with the auto focus and image stabilizer though. And if you use any zoom, the vibration gets amplified.

Hope this helps and if you already knew this, sorry!
Get the sticky pod though...good solution!

Lukas Siewior · December 12th, 2009, 08:22 AM

I used one of these:

Gripper 3025 - The Filmtools 6" Suction / Vacuum Cup Camera Mount

I mounted small camera upside-down so could get lower angle. Results can be watched here (jump to 1:14):

YouTube - D2Forged Promo #2

Greg Quinn · December 12th, 2009, 01:36 PM

Thanks Robert and Lukas, much appreciated. In the end I drilled a hole in a little-visible location at the front and bolted the cam to it. While the car was idling, there was pretty bad vibration, but as Robert mentioned, it was otherwise prettty good. In fact, for my purpose, the vibration was fine and added to the overall 'punk' feel.
YouTube - Title Sequence from "Winning Big" with Debbie Bramwell

October 6th, 2009, 09:16 AM	#1
Greg Quinn Major Player Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: San Diego, California Posts: 505	advice for mounting camera to car for low angle road shoot I need to take some footage for the title sequence of a doc I'm working on. The aim is to have a low angle (i.e. close to the road) shot, so the plan is to mount a small HD cam (Cannon HV10) mounted to the front of my car, a Mitsubishi Eclipse. I have a rubber sucker camera mount, but in limited tests with this, there's a shocking amount of vibration which would make the footage unusable; any suggestions? Thanks Greg

October 6th, 2009, 11:25 AM	#2
Marcello Mazzilli Major Player Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: ITALIA Posts: 416	I am using this with no problems... Sticky Pod - Camera Mounts - Car, Truck, Boat, Motorcycle, Kayak (director version)

October 31st, 2009, 12:19 AM	#4
Robert Turchick Trustee Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Mesa, AZ Posts: 1,389	One suggestion as I do a lot of shooting with a mount on my motorcycles and car...and forgive me if you already know this...make sure you turn off the image stabilizer in the camera and use manual focus and no zoom. I did a lot of testing and found that the most solid mount to the vehicle (and the sticky pods work great!) allows the vehicle suspension to act as the camera stabilizer. On any vehicle, the road/engine vibration is at a high enough frequency to not come across on the vid if hard mounted. That vibration will interfere with the auto focus and image stabilizer though. And if you use any zoom, the vibration gets amplified. Hope this helps and if you already knew this, sorry! Get the sticky pod though...good solution!

December 12th, 2009, 08:22 AM	#5
Lukas Siewior Major Player Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Lyndhurst, NJ, USA Posts: 408	I used one of these: Gripper 3025 - The Filmtools 6" Suction / Vacuum Cup Camera Mount I mounted small camera upside-down so could get lower angle. Results can be watched here (jump to 1:14): YouTube - D2Forged Promo #2

December 12th, 2009, 01:36 PM	#6
Greg Quinn Major Player Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: San Diego, California Posts: 505	Thanks Robert and Lukas, much appreciated. In the end I drilled a hole in a little-visible location at the front and bolted the cam to it. While the car was idling, there was pretty bad vibration, but as Robert mentioned, it was otherwise prettty good. In fact, for my purpose, the vibration was fine and added to the overall 'punk' feel. YouTube - Title Sequence from "Winning Big" with Debbie Bramwell