So I am attending the Skip Barber 3 Day Formula School in about 2 weeks and I was thinking about getting a Go Pro Camera. The only question I have is with regards to mounting the camera. Would it be recommended that I mount the camera to the top of my helmet or directly on the car? I have been searching on YouTube and it looks as if most people have their cameras mounted on the car behind the driver on top of the roll bar. I know if I wanted to mount the camera ontop of my helmet I would use the curved mount and adhesive that comes with the camera, but how would I go about mounting the camera to the roll bar? Basically the same way as mounting it to my helmet? Any advice?
Obtain the Go Pro roll bar mount if able. Mount it high enough to see over your helmet and into the cockpit. The footage will be helpful if your hands are visible on the steering wheel.
The adhesive mounts (and suction cups too) are very good if you use them.
Mounting the camera to the helmet is an option you may try during different sessions of the school as well.
Best is overhead on the roll bar.
Enjoy you school and "eyes up".
JP
That's very good advice from someone who knows even more about driving race cars than GoPro camera mounts... And he knows a lot about GoPro camera mounts. (Andrew, suggest you Google "Jim Pace race driver" to fully appreciate who's advising you. ;-)
The other thing you should know is there will be a Helix Video person at your 3-day, mounting a video camera on your car and taking still shots of you that, in my opinion, are worth the nominal fee for a framed montage of action pics and take home video of your track laps. I believe they only record video on the 3rd day of your school but there may not be many sessions you'd need or want to record before the third day anyway.
You'll be pretty busy processing your school activities, so letting someone else handle video and pics might be the best use of your time.
Having said that I agree with Jim that a roll bar mount is preferable to a helmet mount because the roll bar doesn't move around like your helmet does. The helmet mount can be an entertaining perspective as long as bringing the camera along doesn't distract you from your work.
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You draw 'em a picture and they eat the crayons... (Duck Waddle commenting on the creative ways some people interpret driving instruction.)
Andrew,
I use many different in car cameras. Go Pro is very good.
With Pat's information regarding Helix at the school I would suggest you take advantage of their expert work and you focus on the skills of driving. The 3 day school is a great experience and nothing should take your attention away from that. Plenty of time later to use a Go Pro.
Enjoy.
JP
Mid-Corner Speed Master / Advanced Member (1,000+ Posts)
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Location: Chatham, NY
Posts: 1,268
Re: Go Pro Mounting Advice
Two cents coming. The above advice is all correct. I'll just add that with Helix's cameras you also get track position, g loads, rpm and speed...I think. All that in the same frame with the video.
Full disclosure: Helix is owned by Mike M. We trade motorcycle information frequently and I work at Skippy. And I like Mike's video of my three-day.
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QUALIFICATIONS 1987: Davidson: "Sammy Swindell's car runs a normally aspirated stock-block engine with Pontiac heads. It was developed by John Buttera." Palmer: "Wow, yeah, he used to play the sax with Louis Prima." Davidson: "That was Sam Butera." Palmer: "Oh, yeah."
Agree with all that. If you do decide to use the GoPro with the suction cup, it's never a bad idea to ask a mechanic to safety wire it onto the car. The bodywork should be pretty smooth and make a good mounting surface, but sometimes the suction cup can come loose and earning the moniker "GoThro." It can be a real pain to go search for it and hope it's okay.
And actually, a lot of the cars have the sticky mounts on the bodywork in various places already.
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Peter
"Nothing good has ever been reported about the full rotation of a race car about either its pitch or roll axis." ~ Carroll Smith
Thanks for all the advice guys! When I talked to my Series Advisor on the phone about 3 weeks ago I asked him specifically about bringing a GoPro camera with me and he did mention about the professional photographers and videographers that would be at the track, but didn't go into much detail about it. So basically if I pay extra at the track they will give me various photographs of me during my 3 day school as well as a video of my lapping session? Sounds much easier than going through the trouble of buying a separate camera and mounting equipment.
Exactly,
Give 'em your credit card number, they'll have pics and video ready at the end of your 3-Day, and you can focus on your driving.
It's the high percentage choice starting out.
Have fun
Quote:
Originally Posted by AVP53
Thanks for all the advice guys! When I talked to my Series Advisor on the phone about 3 weeks ago I asked him specifically about bringing a GoPro camera with me and he did mention about the professional photographers and videographers that would be at the track, but didn't go into much detail about it. So basically if I pay extra at the track they will give me various photographs of me during my 3 day school as well as a video of my lapping session? Sounds much easier than going through the trouble of buying a separate camera and mounting equipment.
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You draw 'em a picture and they eat the crayons... (Duck Waddle commenting on the creative ways some people interpret driving instruction.)
Another aspect to not buying your own camera (and thus the cost and time savings already mentioned) is the fact that should you decide to participate in the Skip Barber Race Series (Formula or MX5), Skip Barber, through an arrangement with Helix, provides in car video of your Qualifying sessions and all races. You provide a chip after the race and Mike M. or his staff copy your sessions onto your card that day. No additional cost, and you might never need your own camera until/if you move on beyond Skip Barber.
Viz
FWIW - I spoke with my "adviser" at Skip Barber yesterday and asked the question.
I got back; "SB is no longer associated with HELIX."
Not having a power source n the Formula cars means I can't use my G-Tech RR. Maybe limited to GoPro (I have the SWAN version) video and a smart phone app. Now to arrange a mount for that. Any Ideas?
Note: GPS refresh rate is a problem with straight phone apps.
Well, that's a very recent development. Helix was doing the cameras for a 3-day school at Road America just three weeks ago. That's too bad; they did a great job.
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Peter
"Nothing good has ever been reported about the full rotation of a race car about either its pitch or roll axis." ~ Carroll Smith
Correct, no more Helix and the outstanding work they did for the series, schools, corporate and private events, awards banquets, celebrity shoots, etc, etc, etc. This is a big loss for SB. Thanks directly to Mike Marino for all his hard work over the years, and especially for all the help he graciously gave me with the in-car footage for banquet videos - a lot of work he always offered to me, a very generous, kind, fun guy. I know he was sorely missed by customers and especially instructors settling crash damage disputes at LRP this week.
Thanks Mike for all the help, hard work and good times you provided at tracks across North America the past 12 years.
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"Think very carefully, because if you ever start, you will never be able to leave it alone" Sir Donald Campbell, CBE
Mike Marino was a class act from the beginning. He was always willing to go the extra mile with requests. He took care of my Star Mazda program in 2006 and many Skip Barber events in the years prior. In more recent years, he and his staff were a big help to the drivers I coached. I hope he is on to better things.
Phantomjock, mounting the GoPro has been covered, I think, by the others. A roll-bar mount is good for light use. Once you start racing regularly, you'll want something stronger, like a RAM Mount setup http://www.rammount.com. I've simply stuck a GoPro flat mount to a RAM mounting plate intended for other devices, then conntected that to the RAM adjustable mounts. They also have mounts for some cell phones.
If you have a little money to burn, consider the AIM Solo for your GPS data acquisition http://www.aimsports.com. It's a single piece dashboard that will give you lap times, and can be customized to show running lap time, + - lap comparison as you drive, etc.
But honestly, the coach in me will always suggest its better to have fewer distractions, so if you must run GPS gear, better to cover it or mount it out of sight, then download and review it later.
Definitely a great idea to have the GoPro on there.