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DIY in-car videocam mount for $20

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Old Dec 6, 2006 | 04:21 PM
  #1  
belosic's Avatar
belosic
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From: Reno, NV
DIY in-car videocam mount for $20

Hi guys-

I made a headrest-mount camera holder for recording laps at the track. It was pretty easy and I thought I would pass along the idea.

1. Buy a crappy tripod from ebay or walmart.



2. Take it apart and keep the vertical post only, with the camera mount.

3. Drill a couple hole through the post, use the distance between the headrest supports as a guide.

4. go to Home Depot and buy some electrical wire clamps (with the rubber) and grap some thumbscrews and wingnusts.



5. assemble and enjoy!





I mounted it to the driver's seat to reduce vibration, works pretty well!

Jim
 
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Old Dec 6, 2006 | 04:24 PM
  #2  
MNEEME's Avatar
MNEEME
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From: Manassas, Virginia
Looks Awesome! Good work! If my current mount breaks some how I'll keep this in mind!
 
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Old Dec 6, 2006 | 04:40 PM
  #3  
rustysteel's Avatar
rustysteel
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From: Port Hope, ON
That is a great idea! I used a piece of plywood and cut out the shape of the camera with a jigsaw and drilled two holes for the head rest posts. It works but looks like hell.
 
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Old Dec 6, 2006 | 04:43 PM
  #4  
Motor On's Avatar
Motor On
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Looks good I've made one similar with 1ft of 1/4 in. Aluminum tubing and a table pod head. I've got another head I'm going to weld on to some of the spare tubing and make another mount soon hopefully simething a little more flexiab;e and usable. Hats off to the engineering of a mount, most places want to charge us well over 100 for such items
 
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Old Dec 6, 2006 | 04:56 PM
  #5  
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draggonmann
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From: Cincinnati Ohio
Great idea, I have been thinking of a way to mount a tripode in my MINI.
 
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Old Dec 6, 2006 | 04:56 PM
  #6  
belosic's Avatar
belosic
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From: Reno, NV
My original plan called for wood...but I didn't think that it would pass tech inspection at the track! I used a tripod I had laying around in the garage, but I think you can get a similar one on ebay for about $9! The home depot hardware was $3.18
 
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Old Dec 6, 2006 | 10:13 PM
  #7  
abuzavi's Avatar
abuzavi
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From: Oahu, Hawai'i
Oh, that looks too easy!
 
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Old Dec 7, 2006 | 02:56 AM
  #8  
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blalor
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From: RVA
Nice work, belosic!

Not to diminish the DIY spirit here, but CruiseCam has a $45 mount that does exactly the same thing. It's a nice piece of kit; well made, rugged, and makes a nice platform for still and video cameras. I'm hoping Santa leaves one under my tree this year. The price is so reasonable that I can't see spending a lot of time on making my own.

 
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Old Dec 7, 2006 | 05:41 AM
  #9  
Winchm60's Avatar
Winchm60
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From: Cary, NC
Looks nice and easy!
 
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Old Dec 7, 2006 | 10:21 AM
  #10  
RED FURY's Avatar
RED FURY
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From: oHIo
Originally Posted by blalor
Nice work, belosic!

Not to diminish the DIY spirit here, but CruiseCam has a $45 mount that does exactly the same thing. It's a nice piece of kit; well made, rugged, and makes a nice platform for still and video cameras. I'm hoping Santa leaves one under my tree this year. The price is so reasonable that I can't see spending a lot of time on making my own.

That is what I use, as well ...GREAT PIECE, Lightweight and Black --- See my video link below
 
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Old Dec 12, 2006 | 06:21 AM
  #11  
Good-Karma's Avatar
Good-Karma
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From: Spring City, PA/Williamsport, PA/Benton, PA/Devon, PA
Yeah, but this is about half to quarter the cost... and that link/site doest work
 
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Old Dec 12, 2006 | 06:27 AM
  #12  
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mbcoops
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From: NJerz
Yea, linky no worky. Would like to check it out.

mb
 
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Old Dec 12, 2006 | 06:33 AM
  #13  
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blalor
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From: RVA
Looks like their site went offline. Weird. Google "CruiseCam" and you'll find another site selling it for the same price. Hopefully these guys come back soon and it's just a DNS glitch.
 
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Old Dec 30, 2006 | 04:04 PM
  #14  
TrippleBeem
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Joined: Aug 2005
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From: Portland MAINE!
Does anyone know if the Cruise Cam will work in the rear seat headrest??? I'm looking to capture whats going on inside as well as outside...


Thanks in Advance


Ryan
 
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Old Dec 31, 2006 | 06:51 AM
  #15  
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blalor
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From: RVA
Yes, it does; we did that at the Dragon this year.
 
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Old Aug 25, 2009 | 12:30 PM
  #16  
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PowerPig
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Awesome job and first of all idea! Beside. 20$ is 20 and not 44+/-$ for CruiseCam. Good job and I've alredy done it! Works superb!
 
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Old Aug 30, 2009 | 09:19 PM
  #17  
ThomasW's Avatar
ThomasW
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From: Greenville, SC
I made one after seeing a ton of auto-x people using the same design, 1" aluminum tubing with holes drilled for the headrests, then a hole for a nut to screw up unto the bottom of your camera. It is extremely simple and works great.


(d40 shot at 18mm mounted on the back seat which had to be propped up straight)
 
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Old Oct 19, 2009 | 06:15 PM
  #18  
Minut's Avatar
Minut
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From: Los Angeles, CA
Originally Posted by PowerPig
Awesome job and first of all idea! Beside. 20$ is 20 and not 44+/-$ for CruiseCam. Good job and I've alredy done it! Works superb!
How much do you make an hour? Not to get down on the DIY spirit, but come on!

1) locate tripod source
2) pay for tripod
3) trip to Home Depot, including finding all hardware required
4) deconstruct tripod and construct custom device

No matter how you slice it, you are looking at two hours of time, some quantity of gas, and the materials cost, and you wind up with something that doesn't look as finished, and hasn't been safety tested, and may not pass track inspection. If you make $10+/hour, buying the pre-made one is the right choice.
 
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Old Dec 24, 2010 | 10:10 PM
  #19  
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KnightG1
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Superb idea! I have an old tripod that will do the trick. As far as the whole hourly wage thing... you can get an old tripod on craigs list. for less than $10.

And this is better than the cruise cam. The tripod arm's range of motion is much better. With a little modification to the design you can make the arm move laterally as well. Not to mention the gratification of making your own solution to a need.
 
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