Trackday Camera Kit

[thewelsho]

Does anyone have any experience of this camera kit from Scooby World or know of anyone who has?

[andy]

This is the only camera grip worth having IMO. As used on Top Gear etc and by a few on here. Don't bother going for a kit that has camera included as it will be pish quality. Go for a decent camcorder and a good grip.

Made this video with the Hague grip stuck inside the windscreen and a reasonable, but not expensive JVC camcorder. Clicky link. Totally stable and even testing it mounted outside the motor it was fine - I just wussed out on mounting my camcorder externally

That kit will cost you £329.99. The Hague mount will cost you £78.95 which leaves you a couple of hundred quid plus to spend on a decent video camera. You can get a good Hard disk video camera for under £200 now and you can use it for other things. Their bullet camera is pretty restricted in its abilities.

[thewelsho]

This is the only camera grip worth having IMO. As used on Top Gear etc and by a few on here. Don't bother going for a kit that has camera included as it will be pish quality. Go for a decent camcorder and a good grip.

Made this video with the Hague grip stuck inside the windscreen and a reasonable, but not expensive JVC camcorder. Clicky link. Totally stable and even testing it mounted outside the motor it was fine - I just wussed out on mounting my camcorder externally

That kit will cost you £329.99. The Hague mount will cost you £78.95 which leaves you a couple of hundred quid plus to spend on a decent video camera. You can get a good Hard disk video camera for under £200 now and you can use it for other things. Their bullet camera is pretty restricted in its abilities.

Hmmm that is very interesting! Really good quality too, perhaps the better option.

Edited December 28, 2007 by TheWelsho

[thewelsho]

This any good Andy?

[andy]

Hmmm that is very interesting! Really good quality too, perhaps the better option. Much is the camera though?

Any camcorder will do the job as the Hague suction mount comes with a standard fitment that will take any camcorder or camera. That camcorder was a JVC job. Cost me, I think, about £250 two years ago, but it's broken now (coz I dropped it on too many rocks!) and I've not got round to replacing it. Looked recently as I need a new one for 2008 and you can get WAY better than that camcorder for less than £200. They're also mostly hard disk recording jobbies nowadays so no need for tape any more. Tapes for that camcorder I used were a tenner each so instant savings.

[andy]

This any good Andy?

Funny you should mention that - that is exactly the model I've been considering! I'm no video guru, but for web publication that meets my needs at a price that fits that is spot on. Maybe someone more clued up on the video side of things might add comment?

[thefastone]

Well what ive been hearing is that Mini DV is still the way to go for quality, HDD Ive heard is improving, but if your looking for the quality, then Go Mini DV (tape) but dont take my word for it, there are loads of reviews out there from pretty reputable sources, check out any good magazine on the subject, and you should get some good info there!

and as for the mount, yeah, Ive got that very mount that Andy has pointed you too, in fact, that company LIE blatantly, they never designed a thing, everything was designed and manufactured by Manfrotto, so is very good quality, we were having a discussion about it only a month or 2 ago, good for more than just camcorders, its good for photography, to use a previous example...

So on the whole, I agree with andy, the mount and camcorder is the way to go!

[ScoobySounds]

Nah, this one's the only way to go. hehe

this was my old scoob.. a £90k camera precariously sticking out of a 5k car ;0) Needles to say I wasn't driving.

[thewelsho]

Well what ive been hearing is that Mini DV is still the way to go for quality, HDD Ive heard is improving, but if your looking for the quality, then Go Mini DV (tape)

So on the whole, I agree with andy, the mount and camcorder is the way to go!

Hmmm, that puzzles me! See, the quality of shooting is dependent upon the lens. Tape, hard drive or whatever, is just a place to store the video capture. The problem arises when the light coming into the lens (analogue data) is then converted into digital data for the sake of saving it onto a HDD. In digital recording (at least with sound) one must set the capture rate (snippets per second) and the bit rate (the quality of each captured snippet. In audio, a technique called Pulse Code Modulation is used). I say that to say this: perhaps the sample rate and bit rate can be ramped up to improve the quality. Then again, this would create much larger files and perhaps the camera's internals are not equipped to cope with the processing involved in capturing such large files. This means that the qulaity would suffer, but not on account of the lens.

OK, what was all that about! I must be bored! I am bored. Thanks for the input though. and I think you are right about the camcorder direction... maybe! The camera kit above jsut seems to e so unassuming, and easy to put places, perhaps even attached to a crash hemlet. Can't do those sorts of things with a camcorder. Well you could but ... OK, I'm going now!

[thefastone]

Cheers Mr Decisive!!! I think that it was for flexibity, LIke I say check out the reviews they know a lot more about it than I do!!!

[duncan_stephen]

Or you could go for this one.......

http://www.dvbuyer.co.uk/details.php?mn=2&...=11&PID=298

[thefastone]

And when the last time that you saw in impreza with headrests like that! (Early Classics execpted....)

Edited December 28, 2007 by thefastone

[mctwistuk]

And when the last time that you saw in impreza with headrests like that! (Early Classics execpted....)

hows the car going now John? You got the coilovers fitted? You will need to post up some pics of all the mods.

[thewelsho]

hows the car going now John? You got the coilovers fitted? You will need to post up some pics of all the mods.

Yes all fitted. It's going great guns! Can't wait till te next track day; if I live that long! Ha!

[scouk]

I've been looking at one of thest el-cheapo helmet cam's ebay linky

Heard mixed reviews sound quality being quite poor.. and not sure whether it's worth it or not.. You get what you pay for I suppose and i'm not prepared to spend alot. So looking for alternatives too...

[st3ph3n]

I got a bullet camera from Dogcam Sport - http://www.dogcamsport.co.uk/ - The quality is good, but my recording solutions let me down initially. If you want something good and simple then just get a good camcorder, if you want the flexibility of mounting the lens elsewhere then get a good bullet cam, and then get either a camcorder with an AV input (hard to find) or get an MP4 recorder. They're much easier to comeby now than they used to be. I'm using a cheapo ebay special from taiwan and it does the job.

Except my camera is currently not working and I've not got around to getting the soldering iron out yet.

[scouk]

I got a bullet camera from Dogcam Sport - http://www.dogcamsport.co.uk/ - The quality is good, but my recording solutions let me down initially. If you want something good and simple then just get a good camcorder, if you want the flexibility of mounting the lens elsewhere then get a good bullet cam, and then get either a camcorder with an AV input (hard to find) or get an MP4 recorder. They're much easier to comeby now than they used to be. I'm using a cheapo ebay special from taiwan and it does the job.

Except my camera is currently not working and I've not got around to getting the soldering iron out yet.

Hmm.. never considered using a proper camcorder.. I know it sounds obvious.. But felt it was too big to lumber aroudn in the car.. woudl prefer something smalller like the bullet cam.. More descreet.. In saying that.. One of my next projects in an in-car PC so I could just plug a camera/webcam straight into the USB port for recording... Hmnnn...

Quite fancy getting small cheap camera and attach it to the rear wing facing backwards for a laugh.. Cheap.. so if it falls off it's no biggy

[thewelsho]

The bullet cam idea is perfect for the car, due to its small small size making it easier to mount in small spaces. However, it can only be used for one thing, whereas a camcorder can be used for loads of stuff (not that I have the desire to record anything - but you never know). So I think I am going to go down the HDD camcorder route with one of those car-mount things that Andy mentioned.

Thanks for the help and anyone who is at Knockers and is on-track when I'm not and wants a shot of the cam to record their laps, your welcome to it.

[RA Dunk]

how you getting on with this anyhoo john? simple enough to set up and use is it?

[thewelsho]

how you getting on with this anyhoo john? simple enough to set up and use is it?

Doddle. Took me a while to settle on the right camera though because the hard drive ones would cut out with the vibration. Took me three attempts to settle on a digital camcorder that records directly onto flash memory. The clamp was a hit straight off. Next time you're at Knockers, I'll stick it in your car and you can record your laps, then I'll stick it on a DVD/YouTube for you. Of course, you could have borrowed it anytime but living a milliom miles away makes that a little bit tricky

Edited July 7, 2008 by TheWelsho

[RA Dunk]

Doddle. Took me a while to settle on the right camera though because the hard drive ones would cut out with the vibration. Took me three attempts to settle on a digital camcorder that records directly onto flash memory. The clamp was a hit straight off. Next time you're at Knockers, I'll stick it in your car and you can record your laps, then I'll stick it on a DVD/YouTube for you. Of course, you could have borrowed it anytime but living a milliom miles away makes that a little bit tricky

no probs cheers for the offer , was thinking about getting one of these thingie doofer things for a while now, just havent got round to it yet , did you need to buy a CF card (or something similar) with the recorder?

[thewelsho]

no probs cheers for the offer , was thinking about getting one of these thingie doofer things for a while now, just havent got round to it yet , did you need to buy a CF card (or something similar) with the recorder?

Yeah. The camera uses an SD card but not the standard ones but a new fangled one called SDHC (high capacity). The later versions of the SD cards were more expensive and still are, but they are way more affordable now, especially from places like "7dayshop.com" A 4GB cars is about £15. I have a 8GB and a 4GB. The 8 GB is good for about 90 minutes of footage on the best setting. Plenty for a trackday. The Hague clamps are awesome. I had it attatched to the outside of my car going at 70mph and it didn't budge

[RA Dunk]

I had it attatched to the outside of my car going at 70mph and it didn't budge

attached to what bonnet wing door roof? if there used by top gear i would think they would be quality kit, if its good enough for them.................

[thewelsho]

attached to what bonnet wing door roof?

All of the above

[RA Dunk]

will look more into this when im a bit more flush, cars needing a few more priority things first like brake discs and stuff just now