Learn me grassroots camera options

I'm considering employing a camera at my next autox. I hate the idea of buying a Gopro since I have three compact digital cameras that shoot video, as well as a couple of phones, and I'd just mount it inside the car anyway.

Any experiences to share? I'm inclined to get whatever cheap suction cup mount with tripod threads that has good reviews on Amazon.

I'd look into buying a RAM mount. Their stuff is sturdy enough to handle DSLRs and you're one joint away from using it for a GoPro instead. It's interchangeable if you want to expand the "system" with future cameras.

I bought a go-pro recently after years of wanting one. The entry model priced at about $100 is what finally sold me. Lots of guys upgrade every time a new one comes out, so you can often find lightly used ones for about 30% less than retail.

The wide angle of the go-pro lens is pretty great for inside a car.

Also, I give mine to my daughter to play with (she's 2), and she has fun without me worrying about the camera.

This was my favorite use for a Gopro.. They're great for small children playing and stuff. This was my son at about 1yr old:

https://youtu.be/mmMLaMiZhso

https://youtu.be/MWMuEnkjt60

I like it for auto-x, but frankly a small camera that shoots good video would be nicer to use(battery life, able to see the screen without using your phone + WiFi). I'm pretty tempted to buy a nice windshield phone mount and use my phone since it videos really well.

One warning about go pro is they shoot like garbage at night. For autocross that's not a problem. For those of us that... Do other things, it is.

I was rigging up digital cameras to cars before it was cool (flips scarf, adjusts Warby Parkers) and let me tell you, that E36 M3 sucks compared to using a modern "action cam."

The wide FoV and sturdy mounts you can get on these things are a godsend. Before I always had to make a careful choice on what keyhole-sized area I wanted to film, and whether I wanted to ghetto-rig a camera mount from scrap that was certain to waggle around a bit, or build one from "proper hardware" that would either be a bulky PITA with little to no adjustment, or would suffer from a nasty adjustment slip on the first hard corner/stop.

Edit: Also about being able to see the screen, when the camera's mounted in the car that doesn't tend to be a useful feature at all and I haven't missed it one bit.

If I had to buy a new camera today I'd get an SJCAM SJ4000 and some GoPro mounts. The high price of the GoPro is supposed to buy you ruggedness, but after having one die on me for no reason I'm not so sure...and the cost of these knockoffs is so much cheaper that you could have 2/3 spares without exceeding the cost of the real deal.

I have wanted a go pro for a long time and bought one just before the challenge this year. I was looking at the cheap knock offs that are literally a third of the price but at the end of the day decided to get a real one.

I thought about it as a tool. I always try to buy the best quality I can afford, and it generally pays off in the long run. I will probably have this camera for a long time, and as long as I look after it should provide me years of trouble free service.

I paid extra for the wifi enabled one and I am glad I did. I can review and edit video from my phone. Watch what the camera sees live and best of all turn the camera on an off from my phone. At the challenge I mounted the camera to my car and simply hit record right before the car left the line. It was great!

The quality was good and it worked without a hitch. That was worth the extra $100 some odd dollars to me.

I had an older iPhone with a cracked screen that I figured I would dump on Gazelle or something. It was worth $3. This was a 5S IIRC, so the video quality was pretty darn good. I think you could tape that sucker behind the grille and shoot amazing video if you wanted to!

I have been wondering about this topic. I don't necessarily want a go pro or a knockoff, but maybe something in between. Although the thought of using a "retired" iPhone is interesting, as I have a 4S and 5S lying around.

If you're using iphone/itouch cameras in-car, this clip-on wide angle lens isn't life-altering, but it's worth the $15.99.

Aukey lens

I'm sure that the 2nd and 3rd best action cameras are worth passing up an expensive Gopro for. Then, like someone else mentioned, a used Gopro should also be of good value too (and eco friendly )

I have a Hero 3 black. I don't like it and seldom use it.

I have a Nikon AW120 that shoots great video. It and a RAM mount, get used a lot more often than the GoPro and box of mounts I have for it.

If you have a camera you like, that shoots good video, get a decent mount for it. The RAM stuff is available on Amazon and it works great.

This is the mount in the Jet Boat for the camera.

I also use one for the GPS.

I have a similar setup in my Kayak.

Thanks for comments. I found a ~$5 camera mount with 4 stars on Amazon. My camera will probably be a four year old Samsung that I sat on last year. The case looks fine, but the LCD is cracked below the plastic outsides. It still does good imaging, and has WiFi. I can pull down video from my phone, start and stop video from my phone, or just take the memory card out or plug it into my Mac. I think I paid $90.

If it doesn't work out, the mount is supposed to work with GoPros via some adapter, and I'm not too far in.

In reply to Mike:

If you have any doubts about the mount, tether the camera.