In car video camera question

[vipergts1960]

I bought a video camera with a hard drive and apparently they have some sort of sensor that shuts the camera off after about 45 seconds of vibration while mounted in my car. It happened several times. Cameras with hard drives seem to be the latest and greatest, but they don't appear to work when mounted in a car. What kind of cameras are being used successfully? Thanks for any input.

[kcobean]

Originally Posted by vipergts1960

I bought a video camera with a hard drive and apparently they have some sort of sensor that shuts the camera off after about 45 seconds of vibration while mounted in my car. It happened several times. Cameras with hard drives seem to be the latest and greatest, but they don't appear to work when mounted in a car. What kind of cameras are being used successfully? Thanks for any input.

Yep, the HDD cameras have a shock sensor that locks the heads off the platter if it picks up sufficient force. It's trying to save the platters from a head-strike that ruins portions of the drive.

A camera that uses digital tape is probably best, disc second.

[Boxer12]

Tape drive is best. I use a Sony HDV and it rarely skips a frame.

[dave6666]

Hmm.

Older is better?

Opening bid on my Betamax will be $1000.00.

Stop.

Slow down.

One bidder at a time please.

[Warfang]

I would think flash based cams would be the best for this application. No moving parts, nothing to shake up.

Consumer Camcorders - High Definition Camcorders - DVD Camcorders - Single Chip CCD Digital Camcorders - Digital Camcorder - HF100 - Canon USA Consumer Products

[02 Graphite GTS]

ViperGTS,
May I ask what video camera you bought?
I've been looking into different ones as well. I was hoping to stay away from tapes, so I started looking at the alternatives.

The first one that I considerd is the Chase Cam PDR100. For $875.00 you get the personal digital recorder, bullet camera and mount. It writes directly to a compact flash card and has no moving parts....so vibration should be no issue. I haven't been able to figure out if it has a monitor built into it to watch the playback or monitor what the bullet camera is aimed at. I know a bunch of guys use their bullet camera, but haven't gotten any direct feedback yet on the PDR100.
Their website is ChaseCam, Your Source for Video at Speed

Another one that I came across the other day and have been trying to get more info on is the RO-800SD/HD DVR. This one has a 30 gb hard drive and also a 4gb SD card slot. The website says it is not ideal for Harsh Vibration Environments and switching to the SD card changes it to solid state and thus vibration is no longer an issue.
I wonder what is considered "harsh vibration" . My assumption is that this DVR device would not necessarily be hard mounted like a camcorder (only the bullet cam would be hard mounted) and the vibration would be minimal. You would think in this situation the hard drive system would function with out too much of an issue....
The big plus to the RO-800SD/HD DVR is the built in 3.5" screen
It has a starting price of $819.95.
The only place I found it was here HCV-R Camera System

I'm still looking and really don't know what I will buy.
Any advice others may have would be great.

Lance

[Early93Viper]

My $130 Panasonic PV-GS39 works fine for me.
2007 early93viper Track days - Video

Viper VS C6 Z06 - Video

[vipergts1960]

I bought a JVC 30 GB drive and it also has a 4 GB card as well. It shut off about every 45 seconds or so. I took my wifes camera which has a tape and it worked fine. I was hoping to be able to use something a little more modern with faster transfer speeds though.

[wastntim]

I had same problem. Ended up buying a Canon tape camera. Works fine but it is aggravating having to deal with two cameras, two chargers, etc.

[Dave's Big Brakes]

This thread is perfect timing
I have a new camera mount that should be done in the next 2-3 weeks max Just finishing the final mounting postion.

Stay Tuned

Big Brake Dave

[Andrew2KRT10]

Tape here also.

[TSR6]

I race roundy-rounds on the local short track. We use a Kodak EasyShare digital camera with a large memory card to film our in-car footage. Works decent, and it's not as expensive as some of the in-car systems.

If I had the cash for it, I'd probably look into a nice bullet cam system though.

[Boxer12]

Wide Angle, Hi Def, 16:9 format, polaroid filter.... great video! You spend a thousand bucks for a weekend of track time....why skimp on your cam?

[DJ_BONEZ]

If you are willing to take the chance of lossing a days memory and possibly the harddrive you could turn off the hardrive locking setting. Also I am assuming that your camera has this capability. I have a Sony HDR-SR7 which is capable of the setting. Another option is to create a shock protection mount or create one.

Good luck on a solution.

[VPR RACR]

Originally Posted by Dave's Big Brakes

This thread is perfect timing
I have a new camera mount that should be done in the next 2-3 weeks max Just finishing the final mounting postion.

Stay Tuned

Big Brake Dave

Ever get it maded?