Where to mount my hoon cam?

[Z4 Coupe]

I've got myself one of those cheap key ring spy cams from eBay to get some driving videos but I can't find a good way of mounting it.

I created a test video by blu-tacking it to the top of the binnacle which gave fairly good results but it was a bit of a guess where it was pointing and not that secure.

I was thinking of Velcro but I'm not keen on having Velcro permanently on show.

Can any of you guys think of a more creative solution for mounting this in my coupe?

 

[mmm-five]

How about mounting it externally, with heavy duty velcro, under the bumper & level with the number plate maybe?

Alternatively you could mount it behind your mirror, or on your sun-visor so that you can raise/lower it as needed?

 

[Z4 Coupe]

I like the sound of it being low down closer to the road but I'd be worried it would fall off.

I'd not thought about the sun-visor as the video would be upside down but I'm sure I could rotate it using software?

 

[mmm-five]

Why would the video be upside-down? Can't the fob be mounted upside-down instead?

I've had an iphone attached to the car with standard velcro and it didn't come off, so I'd guess heavy duty velcro would have no problem with a very light fob camera!

 

[ranski]

The rollbar/hoops is a good place if you have a roadster, I have mounted my GoPro there in the past

I found there was too much flex at speed when mounted to the front bumper

 

[Z4 Coupe]

Why would the video be upside-down? Can't the fob be mounted upside-down instead?

I've had an iphone attached to the car with standard velcro and it didn't come off, so I'd guess heavy duty velcro would have no problem with a very light fob camera!

The buttons are on the top so I couldn't switch the camera on and off if I mounted it the right way up.

You're a brave man attaching your iPhone to the car with Velcro but fair play. I need to get some Velcro to test some of these locations out.

 

[Z4 Coupe]

The rollbar/hoops is a good place if you have a roadster, I have mounted my GoPro there in the past

I found there was too much flex at speed when mounted to the front bumper

It's a coupe but Velcro'd on the bit between the seats would be a good shout. I don't really want to be in the videos so I'd have to see how much of me you'd see.

The bottom line is I need some Velcro

 

[mmm-five]

The rollbar/hoops is a good place if you have a roadster, I have mounted my GoPro there in the past

I found there was too much flex at speed when mounted to the front bumper

It's a coupe but Velcro'd on the bit between the seats would be a good shout. I don't really want to be in the videos so I'd have to see how much of me you'd see.

The bottom line is I need some Velcro

HEAVY DUTY velcro just to be safe (has more loops & hooks than standard).

I had both, but had the iphone in a case anyway, so it would have just bounced around a little. Ultimately bought a proper Ram-Mount for internal use as I was more concerned with getting it wet & dirty than it falling off.

 

[Z4 Coupe]

That looks like some pretty beefy Velcro!

I'll post some videos of the different mount points when I get the Velcro.

 

[srhutch]

That camera weighs nothing (I have one)

I mounted mine to my front bumper just using some masking tape and a small section of foam to stop it moving. It's didn't fall off.

 

[Jembo]

The rollbar/hoops is a good place if you have a roadster, I have mounted my GoPro there in the past

I found there was too much flex at speed when mounted to the front bumper

A suction mount works well on the bar between the boot lid & canvas roof for capturing your followers, though am likely to attach a backup piece of string next time just in case it gets dislodged.

 

[mmm-five]

In the coupe, I've tried putting the iphone & suction mount on the underside of the hatch glass.

Unfortunately it keeps focusing on the mirror/bonnet/driver's arm/etc. and you end up with an out of focus video showing about 2" of road

My audio clips I did - for the external comparison between the OEM exhaust and the Rogue Diablo - had the iphone mounted to the ram mount, suction-mounted to the number plate and it stayed on very well.

Otherwise I tend to put the suction-mount near the interior mirror - so that it's in the centre of the car and not impeding vision.

This is the original (and not very exciting) test I did - and it still looks like the iPhone is trying to refocus all the time. Might have to invest in a GoPro3.
[youtube]sIdff1C3BPw[/youtube]

 

[scorcher]

In the coupe, I've tried putting the iphone & suction mount on the underside of the hatch glass.

Unfortunately it keeps focusing on the mirror/bonnet/driver's arm/etc. and you end up with an out of focus video showing about 2" of road

My audio clips I did - for the external comparison between the OEM exhaust and the Rogue Diablo - had the iphone mounted to the ram mount, suction-mounted to the number plate and it stayed on very well.

Otherwise I tend to put the suction-mount near the interior mirror - so that it's in the centre of the car and not impeding vision.

This is the original (and not very exciting) test I did - and it still looks like the iPhone is trying to refocus all the time. Might have to invest in a GoPro3.
[youtube]sIdff1C3BPw[/youtube]

Great quality for phone, but a little vomit inducing!

 

[domsz4]

i like the way it showed up the porka LED lights pulsing.

 

[NeilP]

Is there a camera screw thread?

you could get a suction mount...problem solved

 

[mmm-five]

Great quality for phone, but a little vomit inducing!

I don't think it was wise letting youtube 'auto-adjust' it for me either, as I think it just exacerbated the rolling shutter & seasickness effects :thumbsdown:

I did a slightly longer one on the way home from the 'Ring last year, but I thought I'd have a look at it after about 20 miles, only to find the camera had focused on a lump of bird poo on the windscreen

 

[NeilP]

Great quality for phone, but a little vomit inducing!

I don't think it was wise letting youtube 'auto-adjust' it for me either, as I think it just exacerbated the rolling shutter & seasickness effects :thumbsdown:

I did a slightly longer one on the way home from the 'Ring last year, but I thought I'd have a look at it after about 20 miles, only to find the camera had focused on a lump of bird poo on the windscreen

unless getting a camera+lens set up with some form of image stabilisation.

thought being much larger, it lacks the flexibility with mounting options such as the gopro

 

[Z4 Coupe]

I think I'll get a suction mount, some Velcro, cable ties and see what I can do this weekend. To be honest I hadn't even thought about using my iPhone so I might use that inside the car and try and mount the spy cam outside.

 

[mmm-five]

The good thing about using the velcro, is that you could put (hidden) pieces all over the place and take shots from multiple angles. Or you could buy a few more of the keyfob cams and run them all at the same time and edit the resulting clips together.

But if you're going to do that, you might as well save up for GoPro3 (or cheaper, older, equally-capable version) with some motorsport kit as then you can have it clamped to the rear wing looking forward so you get some crazy-looking angles.

 

[Z4 Coupe]

I'm struggling to find an iPhone sucker mount that won't get in the way of the video.

Anyone got a link to one?