Camera mounting points

[Ant]

Yes I realise that this is a well and truely thrashed, mutilated and 100% dead horse but I'm going to beat it some more

Where do people mount their lipstick cameras?
I'm not a fan of the idea of having my newly aquired camcorder bolted to the fuel tank or anything like that so lipstick cam mounting points are the way to go in my book.

I've identified a few areas that the camera could be mounted on and I'm just wondering whether anyone has tried it and got any opinions



Under the fairing nose: Good, far forwards view but maybe too low to get an "all around" image?

Side of the fairing: Higher than the nose but not going to get a left/right view, it'd be biased on the side that the camera is attached to... Is this a problem? Not sure...

Engine bars: pretty naff except if I want to do something artsy fartsy with my videoing and get a shot of my front wheel

Actually on my helmet: good view, little irratic if I'm looking around for anything and to be honest I think it'd make me look like a complete prat going around with a camera on my helmet Also I don't like being attached to my tankbag via wires.

Wing mirror mount: Not quite sure how I'd achieve this one but I've considered it as a possible if I can figure out a mounting solution.



I'd ideally like to avoid buying any RAM mounts as they're horrendously expensive over here in the UK but I guess I've spent all this cash on a camera so if I need to get a RAM setup then I'll have to. But keep my stinginess in mind when you're making suggestions  

Cheers!

[fasterbusa]

I hav seen some nice video where the rider has the camera mounted on the rear passenger peg, facing rearward.  Interesting angle, watching the bike fly through the mountains from that perspective.

I use a camera mounted on the gas tank (www.sportbikecam.com).  Works well and the lens is behind the windscreen.

I have looked into mounting a lipstick camera (www.helmetcamer.com) but I have no idea where I could put it so that I could get the best view.  Perhaps on top of the helmet, but I have not tried it yet.  My neck does not flex well, so I will have to play some more.

[JimWilliamson]

Anyplace that you can to get a "different" view from the regular forward / rearward / helmet.

RAM Mounts are your friend - so if they're too $$ see if some other sort of alternative exists.

I have a RAM ball on the front forks (forward photo with just a hint of front fender bobbing up and down), right front frame down tube (forward view with front wheel in view [see avatar], rearward with foot/leg in view, handlebars - 360 views (forward, side, rider face/helmet - not so much rearward), rear frame (forward views with lower bits of rider in the frame, clear rearward views). Helmet attachment - I'm not so much of a fan of the resulting video - too bouncy.

[Corbeau]

I like the avatar, Jim.

So what's the cost of a lipstick cam these days, and how do I explain to Ms. Corbeau that it's not for uses illegal in 14 southern US states?

[JimWilliamson]

I like the avatar, Jim.

So what's the cost of a lipstick cam these days, and how do I explain to Ms. Corbeau that it's not for uses illegal in 14 southern US states?

Thx.

As for cost - Check out the lipstick cameras thread - some models and companies mentioned.

As for uses illegal in 14 southern states - you have something we don't know about - video cameras, farm animals and...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2STN7onvrg

[Req]

I've done:

• helmet mounting.  Fun in twisties, kinda gut-wrenching to the average non-riding viewer as you shift side-to-side when cornering, easy to get the camera out of alignment and ruin your whole tape, cables running inside your jacket which is annoying as hell.  
• Engine bars, facing forward: nice field of view, you get the front wheel and suspension in the shot, which looks cool.  Some vibration on my B6 when mounted this way, I haven't tried it on the Strom because I know it'll be unworkable for this reason.
• Engine bars, facing rearward: cool image, gets the rider's foot in the shot.  Fun to watch the twisties unroll backwards.
• Windscreen/mirror mount, looking ahead: nothing in the way, nice stable mount.

I used a RAM-BALL on the bike, at all of these points.  Stuck some heavy-duty velcro on the camera and on a RAM-BASE which connected to the ball with a short RAM arm.

[DaveRT]

I have tried the helmet cam. Mounted on the helmet and on the bike.  Not happy with the overall performance, even after putting the footage thru a Screenplay Video Editor. No focus, exposure control, fixed focal length, running wires every where, separate batteries.  I used a ram mount but the rest is home made. A video camera works best, can be moved to many different positions on one mount.

[DavidLSI]

I have tried the helmet cam. Mounted on the helmet and on the bike.  Not happy with the overall performance, even after putting the footage thru a Screenplay Video Editor. No focus, exposure control, fixed focal length, running wires every where, separate batteries.  I used a ram mount but the rest is home made. A video camera works best, can be moved to many different positions on one mount.

Can you post a link with alink to a video example?

[DaveRT]

Can't post any video.  Video links don't produce very good video IMO. The video is as smooth as your bike and road are. Only tricks are to put your focus on infinity and be sure the steady shot is on.