While at the track or after posting a Quicktime video clip, some people have asked me more about how I take my in-car video. Here, in a nutshell is what I used.
A while back, I had bought a second-hand, really small, color CCD video camera (picture #1). It's powered by 12VDC power (ie, can be connected directly to the car's battery), and outputs both composite video, and mono audio via RCA connectors. The camera is really small, about the size of a box of Tic Tacs, and since it weighs very little, it can be mounted pretty much anywhere, and has almost no vibration problems sometimes associated with regular camcorders mounted on rollbars.
I mounted the camera on a really small folding tripod (picture #2) allowing me to swivel it around to adjust the viewing angle precisely. The whole thing is attached to the top of my rollbar. The camera has a sensitive built-in microphone and I had to encase it completely in foam to help reduce the wind noise. (picture #3)
In the past, I used an old Hi-8 camcorder to record the audio/video from the CCD camera. I had the camcorder sitting on the passenger footwell, encased in foam, but after some uses, the camcorder died, I think due to the vibration and/or heat problems. I decided to search for a more rugged recording device. After some looking I found that some companies made 12VDC powered VHS recorders (not just players) for car applications. The JVC KZ-V10 was one of these. You can pick it up mail-order, but I was lucky enough to get one from Ebay at a very good price.
I made a wooden platform that sits on top of where the spare tire goes in the trunk. The platform is held down by the same retaining bolt used to hold down the spare tire. (picture #4). The VCR then gets mounted on the platform and secured by some quick release wing-nuts. (picture #5)
The lens that came with my camera produced an image with a nice field of view (picture #6), but I wanted to get a slightly wider shot. I picked up a wide angle lens from Savon Electronics.
When I was at their store, they attached the lens to my camera, plugged it in their power supply, and ended up shorting out my camera and smoking it. They apologized profusely and gave me a brand new, CCD camera. You can find a collection of their CCD cameras at their web page. These things are pretty common, so I'm sure you can find these at any good electronics store.
To see the system in action, click on the image below to download a 3.8 Mb QuickTime movie of me spinning out at the Streets of Willow Springs during a driving school held by our local Miata club in association with Fast Lane Racing. The video was taken with the normal lens - not the wide angle lens.
Questions? Comments? Send them to me at jaimev@panix.com