Car mount

Alastair

Alastair

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I'm looking for a recommendation for a car mount. I've done some searches and found several options for shooting forward through the windscreen, mounting outside the car or clamping to the passenger window when it's partially open. However for what I am planning I specifically want to hold a DSLR and lens inside a moving car and shot at 90-degrees to the side through the open passenger window whilst the car is in motion.

The camera to be used is a Canon 40D (822g) with a Sigma 30mm (430g) with the possibility of a heavier lens in the future.

I have available a couple of tripods including the Manfrotto 190Xprob and a Velbon Delta but I'm struggling to get them securely fixed around the passenger seat (Renault Clio).

I've come across the Mafrotto 241V and the Fat Gecko amongst others, but nothing I've seen suggests that any of these could suction mount to a sloping windscreen and have the reach to place the camera square on to the centre of the passenger window.

Am I missing a trick with my current tripods that would allow me to clamp them in the position I want?

Can anyone confirm if one of the suction mounts available will have enough reach for my purpose and take the moment of 1.5kg of camera over that reach?

What I want to be able to do is take more shots like this:



.. but as I want to take a series around the town I don't want to be taking them the way I took that one.. shooting hand-held whilst driving.
 
I've done this,

Suction mount on the inside of the drivers window with the camera pointing out towards the passenger window, used a 40D at the time.
 
Thanks, that gives me a couple of alternatives.
 
Does it have a sunroof? If so, a short suction mount dropped down from there would work.
 
Manfrotto magic arm and clamp would do it very easily.
 
jpw said:
Does it have a sunroof? If so, a short suction mount dropped down from there would work.
Click to expand...

Good thinking.. I hadn't even thought to look up for a mount location.

cowasaki said:
Manfrotto magic arm and clamp would do it very easily.
Click to expand...

If I can find somewhere to clamp it to. The head rest legs are too thin and everything else is too big, chunk and rounded to get a firm grip.


The headrest clamp shown in the link given earlier has given me an idea for really contorted tripod and boom arrangement pulled down hard by bungees to hold it steady. Because it's not for video I don't need the mount to be completely rock solid.
 
Alastair said:
If I can find somewhere to clamp it to. The head rest legs are too thin and everything else is too big, chunk and rounded to get a firm grip.
Click to expand...

The clamp will clamp onto something nearly 2 inches wide.
 
If you end up using a tripod, hang something heavy (bag of sugar etc) from the underside as this improves the centre of gravity and hence stability in the car.

Will be interested to see how you end up doing it.
 
If you don't mind paying for the best, i rate Delkin Fat Gecko mounts, You will not go wrong with them, and you can stick it anywhere you like, Few different models available aswell.

Crooked imaging have the single suction for £32.49
Hawks Photo Video have the double for £58.49

Regards,
Jon.S
 
I use a Manfrotto suction mount, expensive but worth it.
 
Used this for my camcorder, fairly heavy though, mounted it to the passenger grab rail in my Landrover Discovery.

Would easily take a dslr and quite well made for the price. Picked it up at my local Maplin store
 
Back to this project, some progress.. .

A while ago I picked up a couple of Studio Double C Clamps from Ebay. They've been kicking around the kit box for a while now, and today I took the opportunity for a test.

Using a Manfrotto 190xprob and ballhead I set-up two legs of the tripod in the passenger footwell with the third leg horizontal to one of the passenger seat headrest. This third leg was clamped to the headrest leg with a double c clamp. The pivoting centre column was then used to allow the camera to be positioned centrally to the passenger window.





I need to experiment more with camera settings.. and clean the window better, but initial results show promise.. I'm not aiming, in fact I'm deliberately not looking across, just guessing from the corner of my eye. Unfortunately the sun was tending to backlight the subjects for the early part of the run.


spotted by SaltGeorge, on Flickr


reflections by SaltGeorge, on Flickr
 
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