Track Car Setup with HDSLR

J

JoHA

Member
Just curious if anyone has tried a 7D/5D in a road race environment.

I am looking to attach a T2i to my cage with something like this to record good, usable track day footage.

I expect the T2i to be a better candidate for this kind of application because of its weight. I figure with the lighter body it will put less stress on the mount in sections producing higher G Forces.

Regarding audio recording on these cameras, I understand that there are no manual controls and that often leads to a lot of unwanted noise in situations where it is trying to throw gain at the source to capture sound. Do you think in a situation where there are high decibel sounds being thrown at it that it will be able to take those and keep them from being over modulated? I would like to record straight to the camera if possible and am looking at doing it with one of the Rode video mics and a fairly heavy windsock.

If anyone could share if they think this would be a decent setup for this type of situation it would be greatly appreciated. I was already sold on this camera for other uses, I was just hoping to kill two birds with one stone.

Thanks,

Josh
 
what kinda of a track car? Drag? Autocross? Large track?

Will the launching toss the car up to change the angle to much?

What is that mount rated for as far as weight?

The 7D is about 3lbs or so, with a small prime maybe 3.25 lbs. your going to want something wide so the shake wont be as obvious, maybe a 28 or 24mm 1.8 or 2.8 depending on your budget.

The T2i will be lighter.

I might even try a few runs with 720 60p for cool slow mo effects hehe
 
Road racing on long tracks.

No launching, you enter the track from a roll and get up to speed.

I have a similar suction cup mount with the same Manfroto 3D Junior head that has held just fine in speeds up to 170mph, including a 110mph crash ;)

I was planning on going with the 720 60p for this type of situation simply because of how much motion will be involved.

My main question at this point is if the camera will be able to regulate the high decibel sounds being thrown at it and regulate it to record good audio with the Rode mic.
 
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ahhh, i see what your saying. I havent done much extensive testing, but most people say the auto gain control is crap and can wreck footage even if you use a nice mic.

Would it be possible to setup a recorder as well? Say an h4n? If you had two of those mounts you could mount it to the cage as well, and then use whatever mic you wish. Might be an easier way than dealing with the cameras noise.

One good way to test would be to take your camera out to the car, set it down and just rev the engine a bunch and see how the sounds holds up.
 
probably what I will end up doing. Was just trying to see if anyone had any experience in similar situations before purchasing.
 
This is my test with an ebay suction cup mount on the sunroof (upside down footage flipped in vegas) and an $85 zi8.

Let's see $85 vs my $600 GH1, I think I will just stick with the zi8 for in car track stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5CxYNfanHU


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I AGREE
 
Once I get my cage in, which wont be till the summer I will be using this mount which goes right on the cage. At that point I will probably throw the GH1 with some some crazy lens to see what I get. Also maybe my HV20 with a fisheye just for the hell of it.

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Bwaahahaha totally missed the link you posted in the OP. Yeah that is the same mount I have. Haven't tested it yet but it looks and feels high quality.
 
Car and motor vibrations + rolling shutter + hard mount = jello wobble galore.

You'll need something like a CineSaddle between the car and the camera to isolate the vibrations.
 
Yeah not expecting much but will test it anyway, with the zi8, hv20, and GH1.

It does have a [FONT=arial, helvetica]polyurethane bushing to help eliminate high-frequency vibrations but don't think it's going to help much if any especially on my car with helm joints galore!!!!
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In previous tests using the suction cup mount with that manfroto 3D junior head and a miniDV camcorder the head seems to flex a little bit almost working as a stabilizer. That was when it was fully extended.

You get crazy jello even with the cameras made for motorsports. So I am going to give this a try. At the very least it will have mediocre video with decent sound. The ability to have manual controls and use a ND filter will be extremely useful as well.
 
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