car rig. bean bag. rope.

The CineSaddle works very well. May seem overpriced, but it's designed specifically for this job, does it well, and when used properly it's extremely safe.

Saving some bucks here or there may seem like a good idea right until the point your homemade/DIY device comes loose and your $3,000 to $6,000 camera goes bouncing down the road...
 
I neatly placed some towels on the hood and used light duty cargo straps (wal-mart) in an X-pattern across the hood to strap it down. I put the straps inside the camera's top handle. Worked fine and was safe, but the car never went over 40mph. Here is a clip of it in action. Sorry, I didn't get any pics of the set up.

http://snodart.com/snodpublic/car_clip.mov
 
Another thing that's worth looking at too is that stickypod thing. It's only $120 for the pro pack and seems pretty good.
 
Here are some pics of my rig that I have used in the past with great results.
CarRig2.jpg


CarRig1.jpg


Rich
 
snodart, the footage looks good. That's what I'm talking about.

Chainsmaker, The cargo straps look like a great idea!

I'm going to pick up some of those.

Thanks for the tips guys.

-rook
 
Nice tripod head, is that an Oconnor 100?

As for those straps, just watch out, they can be more powerful than you might expect. I've dented the roof of my old SUV while strapping track to the bike rack. At least it my own car!
 
Rich, how do you attach the head to the wood? Is there some special connecting bolt or something that can be bought?
 
ChainSmoker, the wood idea is perfect. No stress on the camera and you can adjust the the angle without undoing any of it. I know what I'm doing next time. Good stuff.
 
Thanks for the kind words Snodart. As for mounting the head to the Hi-Hat Aza, there are a couple of ways. I mainly use the stock bolt that came with the head for mounting to a tripod. But I also use 5/8" Allthread stock that I cut to size, a fender washer, and a 5/8" nut. The size bolt needed is all dependent on what kind of head you use. So it's nothing special or hard to find, just something you can get at any hardware store and would work for just about any head you have. Here are a few pics to help clarify.

Headandstockbolt.jpg
Stock Bolt that came with the head

Stockboltboltedinplace.jpg
Stock bolt bolted in place

Allthreadbolt.jpg
Allthread stock, fender washer, and nut

Allthreadboltedinplace.jpg
Allthread bolted in place

Hope this helps.

Rich
 
Thanks Rich. So is that a ball head? I have a basic 501, which doesn't have any such mounting. I guess I could buy a real cheap arse head for just this purpose.

I've realised I have to start making a collection of simple grip gear just to spice up my shots and give me more options when shooting. Shooting into a car is one thing I always feel like I'd like to do but have not had a way that's safe and secure for my camera.

Cheers
 
Oddly enough that is the only O'connor I have, and ever seen for that matter, that is not a ball mount. But it makes it ideal to use as a Hi-Hat. Let me know if I can be of any more help.

Rich
 
Dude! You were on the cusp of greatness... the only thing missing was a POLARIZER!

I'm really impressed with the footage snodart... looks good... if you'd have popped on a polarizer then you could have dialed out however much of that windshield that you wanted to.

This is a great thread though... I've been wanting to rig one of these up for a while and it's cool to see how you guys chose to do it. I'm all about safety... but I don't think this is rocket science either... I'm glad to see I'm not the only one.

I've been wanting to make a car rig out of Manfrotto suction cups and some aluminum tubing... which is what I'll still do... but I was thinking in the zone of overkill once again and now I think I'll throttle it back a notch and keep the costs reasonable. THANKS for the thread, the pics, and more then anything... the video!
 
I threw this one together this weekend. I used suction cups from harbor freight. They are on sell for $3.99 a piece. I got the aluminum from a scrap yard for about $2. I got the various bolts at home depot, and I got the 3-way pan tilt head here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSAA:US:11&Item=7599543387

The bolt that mounts the pan head can be exchanged in order to gain height. I am thinking of desiging a swivel arm instead so I can put the camera anywhere.

The unit sicks well on the hood of my car, but I use tie downs just in case. I notice the suction cups need to be on a fairly flat surface because the aluminum around them keeps them somewhat rigid. But my design allows them to swivel so this helps. I've also mounted the unit on my door, my back hatch, my driver's side window/door combo etc (I've slightly modified it from what is shown in the photos so I can move the plate to the edge of the suction cups and also move the pan head to the edge of the mount. This allows shooting directly into door windows. BTW, the head swivels 90 degrees to allow for this.)

I found the windshield glare is problematic, even with a polarizing filter. The inside of the car needs to be lit better than the outside. You can see this phenomenon at times in Snodart's footage when the car moves through different lighting. I'm going to experiment on how to keep the footage more evenly lit, but I'm open to current suggestions.


Here are some grabs of the mount. It is about 16" long, which seems like a good size. (total cost was under $60 but the pan head was most of that. Manfrotto makes an adequate monopod head for $17 plus shipping that would cut costs and still work pretty well, but the one I bought is pretty darn nice for the cash and highly adjustable. Also it is much more rugged, made out of titanium, will accomodate much heavier cameras, and has a quick-release head):
 

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MattinSTL said:
Dude! You were on the cusp of greatness... the only thing missing was a POLARIZER!
Click to expand...

[SIZE=+0]lol. Yea, it would have been much different. We wanted the reflections of the plams though. [/SIZE]

jon ness said:
I threw this one together this weekend. I used suction cups from harbor freight. They are on sell for $3.99 a piece. I got the aluminum from a scrap yard for about $2. I got the various bolts at home depot, and I got the 3-way pan tilt head here:
Click to expand...

Great work! I love harbor freight. I have to drag myself out of there every time. Are you going to mount this bad boy on the side? I suppose you could add some safety straps just incase the unthinkable happens. I would love see how it holds up.
 
<<<Great work! I love harbor freight. I have to drag myself out of there every time. Are you going to mount this bad boy on the side? I suppose you could add some safety straps just incase the unthinkable happens. I would love see how it holds up.>>>



Yes, I've mounted it on the side. The curvature of my door is a little problematic as the aluminum on the suction cups keeps them somewhat flat. I gave it the tugg test before I drove it, and it felt secure. I feel it is safe as long as I also use some straps. Even if it were to pop off, it wouldn't go anywhere. I wrapped the straps around to the inside of the door kind of like this:
 

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