Trackday cameras

[Smitters]

I've been thinking more and more about getting a camera on the car, for studying my driving and for making self-indulgent, poorly produced and (correctly) under-viewed youtube videos.

What do people use/recommend? I had a look at the top end cameras - the new GoPro Hero5 and the Garmin VIRB Ultra 30. Both seriously impressive bits of kit and whilst not cheap, they do an incredible amount in the mind of someone who remembers camcorders in the early 90s...

The Garmin records various data on acceleration, g-force etc, which has appeal from a car point of view, but does anyone have any experience with it?

What other options are there out there that allow you to overlay some stats and understand where you could gain some time?

TIA

[loggyboy]

I originally went down the budget route, mainly using Chinese dash cams and similar but have had problems with reliability so recently bought a Gear 360 as its a little different to the normal GoPro footage, even when you have a couple of cameras. But also use a better dash cam now and a cheap Gopro rip off (from gearbest for about £40).

For overlays, I have an old android phone built in to my dash which links to a Bluetooth OBD2 and a 10hz GPS receiver (a must if you want accurate timing and mapping).
All these are then merged using Racerender software, which isn't too expensive for the deluxe/ultimate editions.

360 footage with overlay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts4uBuHBVtE

360 using 'passenger eye view' location

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPm4t_XiTk8

and dual 2 lens dash camera (Blacksys CF100)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK68hPpfCH8

and a cheap Go pro rip off

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dpz-5pu-dWw

Edited by loggyboy on Thursday 11th May 11:53

[chandler99]

Great topic.. Would be interested to know too

[SonicShadow]

I use a Sony AS30 (old now) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Md1ZG0AbnE

I'd like to try one of their new ones.

[binnerboy]

I had a chinese gopro copy, it was fine at first but within a few months the battery life was rubbish and it was dropping frames which made the vids look like I was on fast forward.

I ended up with a "B" grade gopro hero+ from Amazon warehouse for £130 (the packaging had some scratches on it).

it works really well and can be controlled by a mobile/tablet

A mate had a sony which also works well.

[Lov31l]

i brought a hero 4, did a lot of research and after looking for the money seemed the best, it connects to a phone has their own free editing software can do 15 fps 4k and 60fps 1080p-(what i use in the car as its pretty stiff so removes the joulting from the clips) £250 and a 64gb memory card is ample, 2 batteries does a full trackday for me. I tend not to scrimp as i'm a believer in you get what you pay for, you can get a gopro for £150 with the hero session but remember this has a fitted battery meaning the battery life could be an issue. And here's a link to an under viewed badly produced youtube video so you can see the quality https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5WiO1Wa6Wg&t=...

[hkp57]

I use the Garmin VIRB and find it a good camera, downside as with all of them is sound.

So I now use a powered externally mounted mic placed under the bonnet to keep away the wind noise.

Here is a short clip testing the mic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U8M5JBBT1g

And a run in the car at Knockhill earlier this year

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL3-cWUYKNA

[Lagerlout]

Hero 5 black is good, it has an accurate GPS unlike the VIRB and now supports overlays. However if you're serious about improving you'll need something like a VBOX and circuit tools which is c. £1800.

[Jimbo NW]

I used my old hero on a sticky mount. However interested to hear about the gps of the Garmin / hero 5? Can they be used to track laptimes post day?

[hkp57]

Jimbo

For the Garmin yes it has built if function to do your lap times, what you see here is standard overlays built into their own editing software.

you can customise the layout using different dials, G meter, altitude, gradient etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqvXvBe7XzM&t=...

[BullyB]

I have been using an ion camera for a few years but was thinking I will just use my Nextbase Dash Cam from now on. The picture quality is just as good.

[Smitters]

hkp57 said:

Jimbo

For the Garmin yes it has built if function to do your lap times, what you see here is standard overlays built into their own editing software.

you can customise the layout using different dials, G meter, altitude, gradient etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqvXvBe7XzM&t=...

Is that footage, sound etc all shot with the new VIRB Ultra 30, then the standard software used? If so, that's very appealing.

ETA - catching sight of your chinguard in the mirror is equal parts amusing and terrifying.

[hkp57]

Smitters said:

Is that footage, sound etc all shot with the new VIRB Ultra 30, then the standard software used? If so, that's very appealing.

ETA - catching sight of your chinguard in the mirror is equal parts amusing and terrifying.

Smitters, the video and overlay was captured using the Garmin VIRB Elite and standard free software, as the elite has such good quality and is 100% waterproof I have never upgraded to the new ones. Only change I made was to add an external microphone as the integral one is only good for wind noise. I added a Rode powered mic and placed it under the bonnet.

http://www.inta-audio.com/microphones-c58/dslr-vid...

Not the cheapest but great sound, no point having razor sharp images and rubish sounds as that's part of the experience

Edited by hkp57 on Friday 19th May 10:25

[motco]

I have a Qumox SJ4000 from Amazon and the footage is indistinguishable from my son's Hero2. The only criticism is the lack of a microphone jack.

[Smitters]

hkp57 said:

Smitters, the video and overlay was captured using the Garmin VIRB Elite and standard free software, as the elite has such good quality and is 100% waterproof I have never upgraded to the new ones. Only change I made was to add an external microphone as the integral one is only good for wind noise. I added a Rode powered mic and placed it under the bonnet.

http://www.inta-audio.com/microphones-c58/dslr-vid...

Not the cheapest but great sound, no point having razor sharp images and rubish sounds as that's part of the experience

Edited by hkp57 on Friday 19th May 10:25

Sweet - that's really helpful. I was looking more at the new GoPro Hero5 because it's waterproof out of the box, whereas the new Garmin isn't and requires a case. On the one hand, it'd be cool to have a car-cam, but I'd like to think we can take it down the beach, or into the pool on holiday and have my little boy use it without worrying it'll get killed with water, etc. To know the Elite is like that too, has a screen and does good footage is awesome, given the price of the brand new kit.

That said, it seems GoPro were hiding some features up their sleeve - if a new camera is the way to go, this makes interesting reading/watching:

https://www.theverge.com/2016/11/20/13680300/gopro...

[1781cc]

I have two GoPro Hero 3 Blacks synod to a remote that starts and stops them both at the same time, excellent for syncing up footage between two different views.

I always run one at the front, either low on the front bumper or at the top of the windscreen with a microphone usb adaptor and a cheap 3.5mm chinese eBay microphone, this is taped up near the air filter so I can hear when I am on/off the throttle and helps me judge my driving.

The second camera alternates between in-car footage and rear facing top mounted footage so I can cut to shots of an chasing car if you get into a good little game with someone, like this new RS6 estate at Bedford last month:

https://youtu.be/hNwc37c60co?t=2m3s

The setup looks like this:

[e21Mark]

Good topic.

I've been messing with a couple of cheap eBay GoPro rip offs and they're more hassle than they're worth. (keep having data lost or inexplicable 'memory full)

I just need something with remote start / stop and external mic jack, as I don't record lap times etc. I'm guessing a genuine GoPro would be best?

[Wh00sher]

I use a couple of Mobius ActionCams for the driver cam and rear cam and a Gitup2 for the front facing one.

They are all powered from a couple of 12V to 5B USB adapters that are both powered by a single switch on the dashboard. Flick the switch and they all power on and start recording, turn off the switch and they all stop. Quality isn`t as good as the GoPro 3 Black I had but it`s perfectly acceptable for posting to Youtube and watching back on my TV.

To me it`s all about ease of use, I know a lot of friends who arrive at a trackday with the best intentions of mounting and using their GoPro but start lapping thinking `I`ll do it after this session` and then never get round to it, I used to do esactly the same. At least with a hard-wired solution it`s just a case of flicking a switch and as it`s so easy you tend to record every session with all the cameras rather than strapping yourself in and realising you forgot the rear camera and doing a session without it, which usually ends up being one where a friend is following for a few laps.

[e21Mark]

That's been my experience most of the time. Your set-up sounds to be exactly what I need myself.

[Wh00sher]

e21Mark said:

That's been my experience most of the time. Your set-up sounds to be exactly what I need myself.

I`ve been asked loads of times to detail my setup with photos, diagrams of how to wire it, how to overlay speed and combine the videos.

I really must get it done