Camera mount?

[ShirleySerious]

I was wondering if there's a way to mount a camera somewhere on the bike so you can take video or pictures while riding. I'm sure there's a way to do it and it seems interesting to me, and I bet to a lot of other GSers. I've always wanted to tape my rides but there's really nowhere to put a camera.

I'm guessing the best place to fabricate a mount would be on top of the gauges. Any ideas?

[tkent02]

Put a bolt into each mirror mount, an aluminum bar across the two, and use the tripod mount on the camera to mount it to the bar.
Bend the aluminum to the right angle to aim the camera, done.

[ShirleySerious]

Sounds cumbersome and unsafe, considering I'd be riding without mirrors. Plus, it'd look like the bike had braces or something.

[distraction628]

Look at this link and scroll down the page. is that what you want?

http://motorcyclelarry.com/RAM202A.aspx

[Dexx]

check out RAM mounts. I think they have a website, but I bought mine through cyclegadgets.com.

they have a few options on how to mount thins to the bike and parts are interchangeable, so the possibilities are near endless. I mounted an old Yachica Samurai half frame to mine for a rally a few years ago and got some interesting stuff.

[ShirleySerious]

The Ram site's product finder only goes back to bikes made after 1991. That one example looks cool, except there's nowhere to put it. It's not a big camera, just a small camcorder.

[bcrowther]

I think the best would be a helmet camera. You can keep your head steadier than you can the bike. That way you can take video of what your looking at and not just what the bike is looking at.

[bcrowther]

http://www.toygroove.com/pics-vids/hcam.html?gclid=CO7PhYKjj4sCFRoDhgoddUdVRw

http://www.hoyttech.com/

two good places to look. The first one is cheep but can get a vid good for the web. the other is one if your more serious.

Anyway you can Google it.

[Planecrazy]

My concern would be twofold. First, is mounting to the front fork (or handlebars) going to be stable enough to prevent camera shake? Second, will the vibration kill the camcorder prematurely?

My opinion is that unless you're using a camera with optical image stabilization you're going to be disappointed with the result, AND your camera WON'T like the vibration at all...

A much safer and more stable option would be to stash the camcorder in your jacket away from the vibration, and use a "lipstick" camera mounted to your helmet to do the video work. Advantages are not only a more stable picture, but also the ability to "see" what the rider is seeing - it also makes for a much more interesting video!

Good luck with it!

[jm_foote]

Duct tape.

[JTsGS650]

Here's an example of a mount that another forum member made including some videos shot using it.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=103463&highlight=camera

[Jethro]

Since someone noted RAM mounts above, I thought I'd share my experience with them.

I've been working on a setup to mount my little Canon SD450 on the bike. It takes pretty decent video, decent enough to enjoy on the computer. If I wanted to watch it on the big TV, I'd definitely need something more high end, but this is compact and convenient. Anyway, over the winter I got a really neat waterproof case for my digital camera. I don't know if anyone is familiar with these cases, but you can take this thing swimming. I'm looking forward to fishing and rafting/kayaking with this case:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=5237&A=details&Q=&sku=397845&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

I basically wanted to use the case so my camera lens didn't get all fouled up with bug guts or other debris. I've had a few of these Canon compact digi-cams, and if they fail it's almost always because the motor mechanism for the lens gets fouled up with debris.

So I already had a mount for my GPS made by RAM mounts (noted above) and I bought a camera mount and a longer arm for the mount. It attaches to my handlebars. Sounds like it's cumbersome, but it's really not. The whole setup is really light and doesn't inhibit my view of the gauges at all. I was worried about vibration from the motor, but it's not too bad:



Here is a view from the front:



And from the side:



It works great, is really stable, and since the buttons are made for using underwater, I can use all functions of the camera with my gloves on. The case is really an unbelievable piece of craftsmanship. I don't doubt for a second that my digi-cam would be safe if I went swimming with it. And you can access every single button and setting. Unreal.

I'll try and post a video I made with it, but I'm not having much luck with getting videos up on my website. MS FrontPage sucks. If it works, this is a fun video of me the other day, on a real fun backroad in NH. It was a little sandy, and very bumpy. At 35 seconds you can hear me get airborne for a split second. Lets see if this works (it's about 10MB, compressed for downloading- the quality is much better full size.) The sound stinks, part of that is the camera, part of that is the case it's in.http://geoffreysworld.com/147 Video 4.1.07.wmv

Right click and choose save as.

[louisciccoli]

I saw several people talking about being "safe". Even yourself, commenting about the initial response of the camera mount being unsafe. So, on that note, as far as I am concerned, it is not worth the safety, or the risk involved of trying to operate a camera, while in motion. With all of the other distractions there are to try & watch out for (ie traffic, things in the road, or even what you are trying to take the picture of), it isn't worth the trouble. If it is worth taking a picture of, then may I recommend to just stop & take the picture or video. Just my thoughts.

[Jethro]

It's not unsafe at all becasue you can push the shutter button while you are stopped on the side of the road and just let it run. Even my tiny camera can take an hour of video on the medium resolution. Then simply pull over again to turn it off- no operation nessecary while driving. I just find it fun to take some on board video and relive some of the twisties. An added bonus is that the camera is mounted right there on the bars. I can remove it from the mount faster than I could take the camera out of my bag, so I tend to take more pictures with it.