Three Camera Mounting Failures... Help?

[Jiggles]

So I'm trying to find a way to mount my Kodak Zx3 HD Camcorder. Its about the size of a cell phone. Here's what I've tried but without acceptable quality.

#1 Ram Mount borrowed from Brian (setasai) that attaches to the handle bars. It works great at low speeds but then the vibration makes the video get all wavy and gross. Possible fixes, Cushion under camera?

#2 Mounted to Helmet in front of my face. This works great! (almost) Picture is smooth no matter how fast I am going and the camera is not really in my way. Unfortunately the camera is aimed too low and all I get is a great picture of the road 10 feet in front of my bike. Possible fixes, Cut into the front of the helmet in order to adjust the angle that the camera sits at.

#3 I cut a hole in my jacket and stitched in a pocket. The video quality is pretty good but not great. It still gets pretty shaky but not wavy like option #1. Possible fixes, I have no idea?

#4 I have not yet tried. Basically it would be a suction cup ram mount to the gas tank (stuck on with rubber cement/neodymium magnets). The gas tank seems to have the least vibration and I would think that the suction cup would be a nice air cushion.

Please help, I'd like to get this mounted for the bay area ride on August 14th.

If I cant figure something else out I'll have to go with the jacket mount and hope for the best

[setasai]

Now you are exactly at the same location in this project as I am. I've tried several of those methods without success. I also have a tank mount that we could try. It bolts onto the gas cap ring bolts and attaches using RAM mounts.

I am beginning to suspect that the kodak is just not shaped for this. I am also considering using the keychain camera from ebay instead.

[Jiggles]

Alright I suppose we can try it out when we meet up on Sunday. I'm thinking the suction cup mount will offer more resistance to the vibration and I'm sure I can take measures to make sure it won't fail. If you want to try out the bolt on mount tomorrow I'm off work at 5:30p and should be home by 7:00p.

There has to be something I can do to my jacket to make the camera steady though. I just don't know what

[Jiggles]

If I can't figure out something useful for this camera I may end up taking it apart and integrating it into the bike or helmet.

[setasai]

Haha, I'm busy tomorrow. I've tried the mount on the tank before. It's just so so when it comes to vibrations. Go ahead and try out your suction cup method and see how that turns out. Goodluck. If i come up with something on my end i'll let you know.

[Kurgan]

If you're going to use a suction cup mount, make sure you tether the camera to something on the bike to avoid this.....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtYCSavC3kM

That way if it comes off the tether will keep it from hitting the ground and getting crushed by a following car.

[azimmer11]

use the suction cup method. i made a suction cup camera mount for my bike. ill post some pictures later when i get off work showing you how to make it. cost like $5 total. the suction cup is literally amazing. ive made videos with it on top of the gas tank, on the side fairings, and even on the side of my front fender. hasn't fallen off yet

[YORCHI]

which mount did you use from RAM on the handlebars?

The one I have is the u-bolt mount and I put it on the piece of metal directly infront of the handlebars and before the gauges. It's like part of the frame I think. Check out my video and you can see if the shake is the same, better, or worse. I'm using a Sony PM5 Bloggie camera which is great! I tried mounting the same mount on the handlebar and I noticed a bit more shake than where I have it mounted at now plus it keeeps the camera in a position where it's directly centered on the bike and behind the windscreen to cut all the noise.

Link to original page on YouTube.

Link to original page on YouTube.

Link to original page on YouTube.