Chris Dodkin
West Coast Correspondent
I've been wanting to experiment with video and stills shot from a camera mounted on the outside of a vehicle, but the lack of cheap (ish) mounts has always been an issue.
Recently, local company (Delkin) came up with a couple of new suction cup mounts, specifically designed to hold stills and video cameras, so I thought it was time to give it a try.
I purchased two mounts, a single and a double cup mount - from their 'Fat Gecko' range. http://www.delkin.com/products/accessories/index.html
Here's the double cup mount:
As you can see, it's got a number of adjustment and locking points, allowing the cups to fit to the curves of a vehicle, and the camera to be positioned at the desired angle.
Initial tests have been done with a light weight HD camera made by FLIP - the Flip Mino HD.
This pocket sized camera records 720 HD into RAM memory, which you then download to your computer via it's flip-out USB connector.
It's very small and light, and so far has been extremely reliable.
I took the camera and mount on a road trip from California to Arizona - and in the attached clip, I mounted the suction cup on the rear side window of the car, and set up the camera angle, before heading up a very twisty mountain road that goes from the desert floor, up into the mountain-top town of Yarnell AZ.
Apart from the police speed trap on the first stage of the climb, the police SUV about 3/4 of the way up coming the other way, and the police SUV that pulls out in town, then passes me as I park, it was a great drive!
Video was exported into iMovie, where it was converted for time-lapse, and sped up.
Titles and music were also added in iMovie - and the HD clip uploaded to YouTube.
You can select 720 HD once you've pressed play, using the video resolution box in the bottom right of the movie.
Happy with the first real test, the next test will be to mount the 5D MKII to a car, and try that out with a selection of lenses and mounting locations.
[video=youtube;m6T8sUsE64Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6T8sUsE64Y&hd=1[/video]
iPad users click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6T8sUsE64Y&hd=1
Can't recommend the mounts highly enough, they really are solid.
The double cup is rated to take a full DSLR, the single is for lighter compacts and video cams like the flip.
Recently, local company (Delkin) came up with a couple of new suction cup mounts, specifically designed to hold stills and video cameras, so I thought it was time to give it a try.
I purchased two mounts, a single and a double cup mount - from their 'Fat Gecko' range. http://www.delkin.com/products/accessories/index.html
Here's the double cup mount:
As you can see, it's got a number of adjustment and locking points, allowing the cups to fit to the curves of a vehicle, and the camera to be positioned at the desired angle.
Initial tests have been done with a light weight HD camera made by FLIP - the Flip Mino HD.
This pocket sized camera records 720 HD into RAM memory, which you then download to your computer via it's flip-out USB connector.
It's very small and light, and so far has been extremely reliable.
I took the camera and mount on a road trip from California to Arizona - and in the attached clip, I mounted the suction cup on the rear side window of the car, and set up the camera angle, before heading up a very twisty mountain road that goes from the desert floor, up into the mountain-top town of Yarnell AZ.
Apart from the police speed trap on the first stage of the climb, the police SUV about 3/4 of the way up coming the other way, and the police SUV that pulls out in town, then passes me as I park, it was a great drive!
Video was exported into iMovie, where it was converted for time-lapse, and sped up.
Titles and music were also added in iMovie - and the HD clip uploaded to YouTube.
You can select 720 HD once you've pressed play, using the video resolution box in the bottom right of the movie.
Happy with the first real test, the next test will be to mount the 5D MKII to a car, and try that out with a selection of lenses and mounting locations.
[video=youtube;m6T8sUsE64Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6T8sUsE64Y&hd=1[/video]
iPad users click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6T8sUsE64Y&hd=1
Can't recommend the mounts highly enough, they really are solid.
The double cup is rated to take a full DSLR, the single is for lighter compacts and video cams like the flip.
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