after reading about them here and having seen the results of the I/O port mount in my old integra, I ordered one.

1- Vesa has made a minor redesign so that one mount can be used on many different tubing sizes. Makes sense, especially since now he only needs to carry one part number. As a result, the "old", tubing size-specific mounts are on sale for $70.

2- I ordered friday, received the mount monday. Damn that was quick.

3- The mount is a very nicely crafted piece of aluminium. I don't know yet how it perfroms, and likely won't know until 3/18 when I go to a FATT. But I will post an update.

from me for now.

 

Was there something wrong with the I/O Port one? I'm debating what to buy for my own car...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Civic44 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Was there something wrong with the I/O Port one?</TD></TR></TABLE>

IMO, the IO Port one is nicely adjustable, but the picture quality sucks. The urethane bushing in the center allows the arm for the camera, once adjusted to fit around a roll cage, to vibrate too much. Also not good for camera life.

JMO.

 

i bought on from some camera shop online....55 bucks shipped...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by krshultz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

IMO, the IO Port one is nicely adjustable, but the picture quality sucks. The urethane bushing in the center allows the arm for the camera, once adjusted to fit around a roll cage, to vibrate too much. Also not good for camera life.

JMO.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I thought the bushing was supposed to eliminate the vibration. My video with the io/port mount comes out pretty good when I stay of the rumble strips.

 

in my car, the i/o port resulted in a jumpy picture. no vibrations, but whenever i hit a bump (and there are a few at summit), the pic would jump. Maybe it was the installation.

Let me know.

EDIT: I/O Port mount is SOLD




Modified by SJR at 4:28 PM 3/11/2005

 

The same thing that is supposed to help with vibration and add adjustablility to the IO port is what causes the shakey video. I used to have one and I sold it. No matter how much I tightened everything down it still shook.

The SVTEK mount is solid aluminum and doesn't shake or vibrate AT ALL. It doesn't even bounce when two wheeling it over the curb at Road Atlanta turn 3. You lose some adjustability ability in comparison the the IO Port, but it still works in most applications.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by krshultz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
IMO, the IO Port one is nicely adjustable, but the picture quality sucks. The urethane bushing in the center allows the arm for the camera, once adjusted to fit around a roll cage, to vibrate too much. Also not good for camera life.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Yeah, what he said.

If you articulate the I/O Port (Bogen tripod head) out to its full length, you can see how much leverage there is on the main pivot. Its a tidy and flexible solution, but not really optimum for the forces and vibrations we see in a race or track car.

The Bogen head that I/O Port uses is one of the cheapest that Bogen makes: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bn...s=REG There are a lot of other tripod heads on the market that would do a better job if properly mounted. I welded a gusseted mount to my cage and just bolted one of Bogen's more heavy duty heads to it. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bn...s=REG It is super stout and has the added benefit of the quick release mount that doesn't need adjustment every time I take the camera in and out. I'll try and post a photo later on...

 

Do these generic tripod heads just bolt down to something or what?

 

My I/O Port mounted video was hit or miss this last weekend. If I got the strap right, it was impeccable. But if it wasn't tight, the camera bounced up and down a bit.

For me, the problem is not the poly mount, but the rubber seat that the camera sits on. That rubber mount causes a bad seat, and when I push on the camera in the mount it can move up/down on that point. I'm going to cut that down before my next event.

 

Maybe our tracks are smoother or something, but I don't have any problems with the IO Port mount.

$.02

 

well, it is true that my experience was at Summit Point which is not exactly the smoothest track out there. &lt;rather large understatement&gt;

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sscguy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Do these generic tripod heads just bolt down to something or what?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Yes. They all use the same 3/8" or 5/16" threads (I forget which) to mount to the lower (legs) section of the tripod. We're talking standard course thread stuff, here. Like you get at Home Depot... Just drill the correct sized hole through ANYTHING, get the right length bolt for the material thru which you drilled your hole, and you can mount a tripod head to just about anything, anywhere.

Tripod heads are fun that way.

 

Excellent.

 

quick update:
the mount is great. the video I got out of it was solid as a rock. I love it.

And, it is featured in this month's SportsCar magazine.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SJR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">quick update:
the mount is great. the video I got out of it was solid as a rock. I love it.

And, it is featured in this month's SportsCar magazine.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

website?

s

 

http://svtek.com

Mine works great too.
I much prefer it to my old I/O port.

 

Semi-related question. Has anyone found a camera that is solid state - i.e., no moving parts, all digital? I know they exist, but I've not spotted one yet that has a tripod fitting on the underside. This, to me, seems like the best solution. No moving parts to get screwed up by a rough track or turbulence in the car...and the media plugs right into your PC. Easier to post pictures of me going off to honda-tech

 

http://www.chasecam.com/pdr/

 

Does this mount have some sort of vibration or shock damping - i.e bump rubber or urethane. The IO mount has a high durometer urethane which may or may not be effective for the mass of the camera. I've heard people complain that the IO mount may transmit quite a bit of shock to the camera. Would anyone care to comment on this?

 

there is a small rubber pad where the camera attaches to the mount. That, coupled with the camera's anti-shake technology is sufficient to eliminate vibrations from the picture.

What I had found with the I/O port was not that the vibrations came through, but that bumps in the road would cause the camera to move excessively, resulting in quite a jerk in the picture. In my street suspended Integra (380 fr, 350 rear springs), it made the video near un-watchable.
I believe that was due to the total length of the arms of the I/o port mount. Creates quite a bit of leverage.

in contrast the sv mount is very short and simple. May results in slightly less flexibility of installation, but the picture is rock solid. no vibration, no jerks, no bumps.

IMO, YMMV, etc.

 

I have the I/O mount in mine. I had it in the car for several years mounted to a 4-point bolt in roll bar. I would shake with the bumps. Pretty smooth at VIR but terrible at Summit. I was shopping for a lipstick camera in hopes of a better picture and versatility in mounting locations. It had never made it high enough on the spending priority list to buy.

When I built my cage (8-point welded in) I used the same mount the first time out with the car. It just so happend that Summit was the first track that I went to. Much to my amazement the picture was rock solid. I did nothing to the mount but unbolt it from the roll bar and mount it in the same location on the cage. The camera that I use is a plain jane model Sony digital 8.

All I can figure is that the car was a flexi-flyer before the cage...now the chassis is so stiff that the suspension is doing all the work (good right? ) and I guess that the vibrations getting transmitted back to the camera mount/camera are not bad enough to screw up my picture.