Teach me about in-car cameras

Actually, in, er, on-kart cameras. I want to take video of my kid racing his sprint kart. Is there an economical way to do this?

GoPro. It's about as easy and hassle free as video gets, and picture quality is spectacular on the newest models.

http://www.goprocamera.com/

There are probably options that are somewhat cheaper, but I really, really like the new stuff from GoPro.

A slightly more expensive and a higher quality camera that I'm using a lot lately is the CountourHD. Similar in many ways, but the 720p @ 60fps setting on the ContourHD is spectacular. I got mine from I/O Port racing supplies and they were great. ContourHD at I/O port

It's a bit more fragile than a GoPro, so for karting I'd stick with the GoPro, I think.

a second vote for a go-pro. I have cheaper option for non-kart vehicles, but go-pro is a great out of the box solution.

Okay, I checked out the gopro website and I'm hooked. But which one to get? I'm confused.

We've been using the new GoPro HD Wide for in-car shots with great results. (UTCC coverage)

They are amazing little devices. Simple to use, great quality video, and they come with attachments for roll bar mounting, or suction cup mounting.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/utcc/updates/

I've got the cheaper (like $149 on the 'Bay) version for my son's kart.

Quality is just fine for teaching.

I recommend that you mount it on top of his helmet as opposed to on the kart. The kart will shake quite a bit and you won't be able to see anything. On top of his helmet, you'll be able to see his feet, his hands and the apexes of the turns.

The first time my son watched his from a race, he kept saying, "WHY am I driving THAT line? That's just stupid!"

I got this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-GoPro-Hero-Wide-Helmet-Cam-Camera-Camcorder-/270615021479?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

-Rob

Looks like I am the fifth to vote GoPro. The helmet mount that others mentioned sounds like the way to go. A couple of kart drivers (FJA and F125) I autocross with have helmet mounted cams.

Thanks guys. Good info on the helmet mount. I was going to go with a frame mount because I thought his helmet would move around more than the kart. So should I get the Helmet Hero? Not sure at this point if I should go HD or not. I'm mainly using it so I can analyze his lines, but I may have more uses for it later where I may want the HD. Can it be used as a regular camcorder?

bravenrace wrote: Thanks guys. Good info on the helmet mount. I was going to go with a frame mount because I thought his helmet would move around more than the kart. So should I get the Helmet Hero? Not sure at this point if I should go HD or not. I'm mainly using it so I can analyze his lines, but I may have more uses for it later where I may want the HD. Can it be used as a regular camcorder?

You can use it as a regular camcorder, but there's no zoom and the sound can be iffy. If that's your goal, you might want to consider one of these...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/600651-REG/Sanyo_VPC_CG10BK_Dual_Camera_Xacti_720p.html

With enough duct tape or a clever mount (there's a tripod screw hole) it could be a decent helmet cam too. It's really small; I love mine to death!

The Sanyo would make a better helmet cam than the GoPro would make standard camcorder, IMHO.

bravenrace wrote: Thanks guys. Good info on the helmet mount. I was going to go with a frame mount because I thought his helmet would move around more than the kart. So should I get the Helmet Hero? Not sure at this point if I should go HD or not. I'm mainly using it so I can analyze his lines, but I may have more uses for it later where I may want the HD. Can it be used as a regular camcorder?

HD is nice, but for what you're wanting to do, I'd say it's overkill. If you're looking to get a video camera too, the GoPro won't do it. I'd get the cheaper GoPro and a decent video camera.

I wouldn't worry about a helmet specific mount for it either. They come with sticky quick release mounts which are strong enough to stay on his head.

Now, if you son's a really new driver, mounting it on the kart (I use the front fairing as a good high point to also see his feet) might be better initially. The kit will come with plenty of the sticky mounts, so you can play with different locations. It just depends on where he's generally looking.

For my son, it's hard to see going down the straight because he tucks and when he's really racing hard, he starts looking far ahead in the turns and you have trouble seeing where he is in the current turn. Otherwise, the helmet is the best spot.

And one more point (sorry, we just love the camera), many racing clubs are starting to ban them for an actual race. They say it's a safety issue because most mounts aren't backed up with safety wire or anything. I think that's valid. However, I bet it has more to do with they don't want 20 dads trying to show the race director their kids video to argue racing infractions!!

-Rob

This is my YouTube channel with several in-car videos from my GoPro. There's a few vids from Forza 3 on there as well, but just look for the ones from inside the car vs. outside. http://www.youtube.com/user/racerfink

Get the HD, don't get the cheap one. The cheap GoPros are crap in my opinion. Cantankerous to use, murder on batteries and not a great picture. The HD apparently addresses the latter two problems.

racerfink wrote: This is my YouTube channel with several in-car videos from my GoPro. There's a few vids from Forza 3 on there as well, but just look for the ones from inside the car vs. outside. http://www.youtube.com/user/racerfink

Which GoPro do you have? Nice vid, BTW!

Keith wrote: Get the HD, don't get the cheap one. The cheap GoPros are crap in my opinion. Cantankerous to use, murder on batteries and not a great picture. The HD apparently addresses the latter two problems.

Thanks. I didn't realize there were other functional differences between them.

I have the base 2GB card model. My dad bought it for me for Christmas four years ago. It's nice coming in after a race, popping out the SD card, popping it into the laptop, and five minutes later, watching my video.

I've been thinking about getting the wide angle to put behind me, so you can see more of what's going on, and putting the one that I have looking out the back of the car.

I was pretty disappointed with the GoPro basic model I own. Partly because the best batteries would't even last for 20 minutes in mine. Also, the control buttons are clumsy. And there's no internal monitor....a huge deal for aiming. I've read here that the newer GoPro cameras have better battery life, but I haven't seen that at the track.

I have a ~Flip camera~ which I really like. About $100. Battery life is excellent and it's been totally reliable, even in rain. Doesn't have a removable card but two hours works fine for me. I have about 100 in-car videos with it (all on yourtube). These days, I leave my GoPro home when I go to the track.

I built a cheesey ~$5 Flip camera mount~ for mine.

~My most recent Flip video~

I have no problem getting an hour out of mine. And Sebring and Daytona during the summer aren't exactly easy on batteries. Were you using Lithiums like it says to use?

They have a viewfinder, so it was pretty easy to make sure of what I was aiming at in my car.

I can turn my camera on, and latch the clip, all with my driving gloves on, during the five minute warning on the grid before a race.

racerfink wrote: Were you using Lithiums like it says to use? They have a viewfinder, so it was pretty easy to make sure of what I was aiming at in my car. I can turn my camera on, and latch the clip, all with my driving gloves on, during the five minute warning on the grid before a race.

Yes, Lithium. I wrote them to complain. $5 of batteries for less than 20 minutes of operation.

Glad you are able to turn on GoPro with race gloves......I find it very difficult to navigate the tiny screen icons in bright sun while bumping the multi-function buttons. We're all different I guess.

I'd be lucky to get 20 minutes out of a set of lithium batteries as well. I was using the camera in cooler weather, though - batteries like warm weather, not so much cold. Between the hassle of aiming/setup and the crapshoot on whether you'd actually get something recorded, I put it on the shelf and moved on. Everything I've heard about the HD is much better.

I bought a Flip HD and I'm really happy with it. I added a screw-on mount for both a wide angle and a telephoto adapter and it works great. The form factor isn't as good for a kart though, so I'd probably stock with a GoPro or a Contour.

In reply to Keith:

What do you mean by "form factor"?

In reply to aeronca65t:

Once you have the function set (photo, 3 sec. photo mode, video), all you have to do is turn it on and off. You don't have to touch the function button ever again unless you want to change functions.