In car recording with a DVDR camera problem.

[Al Weyman]

I tried recording the events at Donington from the cockpit at the weekend but was most disappointed as the camera shut down as soon as the green flag went down. I was using a Sony Handycam DVD recorder machine and the only thing I can think of was the machine shut down with the vibration, has anyone else experienced similiar and/or can offer a solution. I thought about mounting the unit in a foam lined box and using a bullet cam, would this work as it has an AV in socket?

[AU N EGL]

Al

Same thing here. Finding that the DVRD do not work well. Too much motion or too quick for the DVR to recored. Or the vibrations shuts it down

Digital Video tape seams to work the best. Set the focus on infinity, not auto foucs and good to go.

[GORDON STREETER]

Al . DVD camcorders are really for baby on the lawn shots. They wont put up with any high pitched vibrations and aren't the best thing for editing. Even a cheap DV tape model is by far the best.

[Al Weyman]

I just paid a fortune for it, I thought it would be better!

[Tim Falce]

Originally Posted by Al Weyman

I just paid a fortune for it, I thought it would be better!

Can you take it back and exchange it for a mini DV recorder?

[Al Weyman]

I bought it unused from a mate who upgraded to a surround sound model, he may take it back, shame though as its a nice bit of kit.

[Al Weyman]

Yep just confirmed with Sony and they recon thats the problem, they said it may be worth trying the the foam box but could not make any guarantees either that or swap it for my daughters Panasonic tape one. I would like to sort this as its so convient to just take out the disc and play it on a conventional DVD so we can show them on the day at the track in future (hopefully). I will experiment with a bullet cam!

[Aysedasi]

My mini-DV cost me £70 s/h on eBay and has been worth its weight in gold. (Mind you, I've never fixed one to a car before........ )

[JimW]

Tape of any sort is an abomination. Mechanical and stretchy - eugh.

I would have a look for a machine recording on flash memory. No moving parts (in the recording process) so nothing to object to the vibration. Not sure if the duration on one card would be sufficient.

For example The Oregon Scientific ATC2K Action Cam boasts:

"Weighing in at half a pound (with batteries), this hands-free action cam delivers full color digital video in 640 X 480 VGA at 30 frames per second. ATC2K works seamlessly with most video editing software. Expandable up to 2GB, with a built-in SD card slot, ATC2K mounts easily on helmets, bikes, race cars, dirt bikes and more. Wipeouts in a white out or an unexpected barrel roll? No worries, ATC2K is waterproof up to 10 feet! Play hard, record everything, even under water!"

So that's an excursion into the lake at Mallory covered then.

Something recording on a hard disc might well be better than DVD.

Regards

Jim

[Aysedasi]

Good sales pitch Jim, but I dread to think how much one of those costs.........

[JimW]

£92.53 does not seem to me to be totally exorbitant.

And no; I've no connection either with Oregon or Dabs from where I got the details. (Except as a satisfied customer and user of their excellent search facility.)

http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx...00#description

Regards

Jim

[Al Weyman]

it does not appear to have a viewer though so how on earth would you set it up if mounted on the roll cage?

[JimW]

Guess, record, view, adjust (and repeat) I imagine.

Jim

[tristancliffe]

I think you can output directly to a TV, if you have a portable one lying around.

But I tried the ATC2k, and it didn't like the vibrations. It's predecessor the ATC1k had a lower frame rate, but coped well. The microphone is rubbish for open cars though.

I couldn't recommend one to a motorsport user.

[GORDON STREETER]

Having made films for the last 45 years on all formats from 16 mm to digi I would recommend a cheap new or secondhand mini dv camcorder. As they are pushing to make hard drive the "next thing" you can pick up some real bargain's with dv. Wait a couple of years when the hard drives are sorted out and you will pick up one for the same price of a dv now. The only problem that does happen with dv is they don't like sudden temperature changes and can clog the head.

[Al Weyman]

I have just been playing some of the footage shot at the weekend on the DVDR and its so convienant just pop the disc into a computer or CD player and play it, its a pity it looks like it wont work in car. Is mini DV a solid state or a tape machine Gordon?

[Tim Falce]

I can't remember if I posted this elsewhere on here but there are downsides with mini dv.


Edited: It is foam mounted in a box and uses a bullet cam.

[Al Weyman]

Oh Dear, not good!

[ChrisA]

Hi Al, I was flagging/observing at the ''cage'' on both days, and as you approached the esses your car, especially on Sunday, seemed to develop tremendous front wheel wobble under braking. I take it you were aware of this? It looked like it got worse the longer you ran. Maybe this caused your videocam not to work.

[Al Weyman]

A couple of the lads told me this I will have to look into it, I felt something but as I was stuck in top I thought it was the engine going off cam through the chicane, the camera stopped working the moment I gave it a bootful off the line and did the same in the first race and qually.

When you say the esses Chris do you mean the Chicane ?

[ChrisA]

Well at least you were told, I was going to come over and say hello, but time constraints made it impossible. Catch you next time. Yes the Chicane.

[GORDON STREETER]

Right AL yes it is a tape machine that takes small cassette tapes like Hi 8 but records it digitally. Falcmob that is a classic dirty head problem. It can be caused by winding the tape backwards and forwards trying to find a specific part of the tape, or as I said condensation caused by a sudden change in temperature. Taking it out of a warm room or car into a cold environment or vice versa is what does it, And you have to run a head cleaner through it.
I know that this is a pain in this modern "fast" world we live in, but until the picture quality of the hard drives can mach the DV tapes I wont change for a while.

[Al Weyman]

Have you seen the quality on the DVDR's Gordon, to my eye it is very good and definitely the machine I would choose for trackside stuff. Actually I only paid a hundred quid for it brand new unused (not knocked off either) so worth hanging on to even it it wont work in the car.

You should have done Chris, I had hours to kill :-( Yes something definitely felt looose at the chicane and was on my list to check, it felt more like a mounting broken than a wheel problem, I felt nothing down the straight it was solid and did not wander or anything.

[Tim Falce]

Last time I ran a tape cleaner through a camcorder it never worked again despite a £250 repair bill.

[GORDON STREETER]

Al you can still instantly playback a DV through the tele via the camcorder, also you can get twice as much footage on its best setting than a mini dvd.
I know you're not bothered about editing on the computer, but the MPEG-2 on the dvd is compressed a lot more than the miniDV (M-JPEG )so there is a significant loss of quality. Lets not forget that HI DEF will soon be taking over so maybe its worth waiting longer still. And yes I have seen the quality of the DVDRs and I am not impressed compared to a well set up MINI DV.
Tim sorry about your experience with the cleaner but it sounds like you were "taken" to the cleaners with that repair bill, especially if it never worked again !
I am lucky in that a member of my family runs a camera repair centre.