drift King demo

[NSXDreamer2]

I hope this is not a repost.

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

http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=EtrplYYxqhA&feature=channel

 

[stuntman]

Too much grip, not enough power and not large enough radius -speed to have too much fun...

Cool though

 

[KooLaid]

Hey Billy, when are you gonna do some sort of video???? Lots of good pics, but I'd like to see some action! :biggrin:

 

[stuntman]

Hey Billy, when are you gonna do some sort of video???? Lots of good pics, but I'd like to see some action! :biggrin:

Haha, I know, I even have these really good Go-Pro (www.goprocamera.com) that I can mount anywhere (on the fender, out side the car, inside the car, etc...)

I should and while that's cool and all, nothing is quite as good as a good camera man with a video camera in a prime location. -Still havn't found anyone to tag along with a nice video camera and skills

 

[CL65 Captain]

Haha, I know, I even have these really good Go-Pro (www.goprocamera.com) that I can mount anywhere (on the fender, out side the car, inside the car, etc...)

I should and while that's cool and all, nothing is quite as good as a good camera man with a video camera in a prime location. -Still havn't found anyone to tag along with a nice video camera and skills

I have a Go-Pro camera. It is absolute JUNK! Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. It eats batteries (the good lithIon ones) like crazy. The picture isn't too bad, but the sound is absolutely worthless! Yes, I tried both HI & LOW settings. Any vibration at all makes the sound worthless. I tried spraying the camera case with a sound deadiner (QuietKote), I tried Dynomating the mount, etc, etc. The sound on those things are junk. If anyone wants mine I will gladdly part with it make an offer. They are $180 new.

For $150 you can get one of the many new cheap HD (yes, Hi Def 720p or 1080p Jazz or Aiptek) cameras that is more than adequate for track stuff. And I am not SPONSORED by any of them!

The only advantage the GO Pro has is that you can mount it in all kinds of places easily. But like I said, sometimes it records and sometimes it doesn't and the batteries don't last more than a 20 min session or two.

Here is a sample mounted in the front bumper. The sound vibration isn't too bad here, however it only pics up sounds from the car in front of you. In the cabin with the suction mount on the NSX is worthless as the rear glass transmits all the vibration from the engine.

<object width="441" height="333"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2381306&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2381306&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="441" height="333"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://vimeo.com/2381306">Go Pro sample</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user590863">CL65 Captain</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.

 

[stuntman]

I have a Go-Pro camera. It is absolute JUNK! Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. It eats batteries (the good lithIon ones) like crazy. The picture isn't too bad, but the sound is absolutely worthless! Yes, I tried both HI & LOW settings. Any vibration at all makes the sound worthless. I tried spraying the camera case with a sound deadiner (QuietKote), I tried Dynomating the mount, etc, etc. The sound on those things are junk. If anyone wants mine I will gladdly part with it make an offer. They are $180 new.

For $150 you can get one of the many new cheap HD (yes Hi Def 720p or 1080p) cameras that is more than adequate for track stuff.

The only advantage the GO Pro has is that you can mount it in all kinds of places easily. But like I said, sometimes it records and sometimes it doesn't and the batteries don't last more than a 20 min session or two.

Here is a sample mounted in the front bumper (will post the link in 15 min). The sound vibration isn't too bad here, however it only pics up sounds from the car in front of you. In the cabin with the suction mount on the NSX is worthless as the rear glass transmits all the vibration from the engine.

How old is it?

The Lithium Ion Batteries will last the length of a 2GB SD card (45-50 minutes) then should be replaced. Re-chargable batteries havn't worked well at all. In sub 40*F weather, i've seen some (rare) problems as well.

You always want the sound on LO, if you are inside the car (no air directly hitting the camera) then keep the volume on LO and remove the white rubber seal that makes the unit water tight, you will pick up sound MUCH better when inside the car.

I don't see how spraying sound deadening material or using dynomat on the mount will help anything. They work great if you know those two simple little details.

A problem that I have run into with many cameras is that they skip due to vibrations, and often wont even record.

I use the GoPros as an instructing tool whether inside the car to see the steering inputs, outside to see the line, or looking at the suspension when hanging off the side of the car for setup/diagnosis purposes. They fit my need very well, but if i'm going to make a movie that i'm going to watch ona 52" TV, I probably won't use the GoPro for that application.

I was at the track a few weekends ago and used teh suction mount on the rear glass, never had an issue with vibrations, sound, or picture... There were also at least 5 other people using them and all of them gave great reviews/feedback. Of course you can't please all customers with 1 product...

0.02

 

[CL65 Captain]

How old is it?

The Lithium Ion Batteries will last the length of a 2GB SD card (45-50 minutes) then should be replaced.

Billy, a four pack of AAA litium Ion batteries runs $14. So if that lasts one session and I do 4 a day, I am spending $28 a day - $56 a weekend for batteries? And yes the niMH and lithium recharge don't do any better. Tried that.

They need to 1. find a rechargeable battery solution (this thing eats batteries at 5x the rate of my Aiptek video camera which has a LCD screen that is powered while recording) and 2. add an external mic jack and then maybe it would be decent for motorsports use.

 

[stuntman]

Billy, is there a GoPro decal/sponsorship on any of the cars you run?

No i'm not sponsored by them nor do we have a GoPro decal on the car...

Your footage with the HD turned on is very impressive. Do you have a link where I could find that camera?

For mounting the camera externally, in a durable waterproof case, the gopro camera is hard to beat. It serves a lot of my purposes but I would agree that their are higher quality camera options for similar prices. Ideally i'd use the GoPros for the higher risk of damage, external mounting right behind tires that might kick up and destroy a nicer camera.

The cameras were also designed to be used on motocross riders, surfers, mountainbikers, etc... You just need to search for a product that will fit your needs. If it's just an in-cabin mounted camera, sure their's better options out there, but if you want to also mount the camera on the rear hatch to see how a wing's mounting brackets are moving, or how far a wheel/tire is traveling, it's hard to beat.

 

[CL65 Captain]

The main website is http://www.aiptek.com/

You can buy them almost anywhere from Walmart to Best Buy to Ebay, or direct from the above website.

Now... the one downside is the internal mic is junk and any video camera in the car with the windows down on the track will clip from wind noise. No external mic jack either. I opened mine up and solderied in some wires to a radioshack external mic jack and then used a cheap ($20) lapel mic with a long cord that runs to the inside of the trunk. I tried external down by the license plate, etc but too much wind noise.

Here is a whole sh-- load of sample videos in HD
http://www.vimeo.com/videos/search:Aiptek Action HD

The hard part I am having is finding a decent way to mount a video camera in the NSX without putting a $750 harness bar in the car. I will update all I have tried when I get home tomorrow. I am flying up and down the East Coast the last few days taking all the people home after Thanksgiving. Wish people will stop flying the early morning flights. Today we started at DCA at 6am to BOS to PHL back to BOS to BWI. Tomorrow we report at 5:20 for a 6:20 flight from BWI to BOS then BOS to CMH and then back to CVG. Folks there is nothing wrong with 8 or 9am flights - you don't need 6am flights!!!! :biggrin: