I'm working on a problem with mine and before I waste weeks analyzing this from scratch, I thought I'd ask for tips from other users.

I have a Contour HD 1080P and a Panavise mount. I always put it on the rear window slightly right of center so I can see straight back in the rear-view mirror. Now the problem. Here's a video I just finished editing: Notice how much wind noise overlays everything. The sound of the engine is quieter, and my occasional comments are completely inaudible except near the end when the car is stoped. This is happening with all the windows closed. I noticed this same problem in track videos, but the windows are always open, so I just shrugged and ignored the audio.

What the devil is going on when a recording inside a closed car produces that much wind noise? I seriously doubt the engine's that quiet from the position the microphone is in. I think I'm automatically turning down the audio of the playback because the white noise is so annoying. I also doubt the wind's really that noisy in the back seat. I'm never going to fit back there long enough to check, but I just don't believe it.

My first intuition is that the problem is the Panavise being mounted so snugly against a piece of glass whose other side has a turbulent boundary layer. I suspect the wide-spectrum "white noise" vibration of that glass is too low in amplitude to create an noticeable wind noise for me and the passenger, but the Panavise with a light weight suspended on the end provides a lever that amplifies the vibration and delivers it to the built-in microphone of the Contour HD. (I haven't found a way to invert the image capture or the resulting video, so the Panavise legs are in an ell shape holding the camera sideways. Then I adjust the camera itself to capture images rotated 90 degrees from what the designer considered vertical to be. Thus the set-up isn't the most stable in the world. No problem with large vibrations, but I can see those mid-frequency vibrations being magnified by that arrangement.)

If that guess is right, then the use of an external microphone would solve the problem. So would mounting the camera itself on a bar or shelf clamped to the rear seats and using the internal microphone. I've consider mounting to other windows, just to test the first notion, but honestly no good position is available except the rear window. I could manage a passenger's window position if that seat is empty, now that I think of it, but it may not create a good sight line.

Never mind my speculation. How do others deal with this issue? Where do you mount the camera? And do you need to use an external microphone to get decent sound?

Gary

 

love the video...sorry I can't help with the audio....I would love to see some of your track videos.

 

Gary,

You could send a pm to 'pistolpete' on the planet-9 cayman site. I believe Pete has played with a few systems for in car video.

 

"Causes overheating"?! Great commentary. Hilarious.

 

I'm trying some things with the audio. Will report back.

Meanwhile, I've done the best I can with track videos. Basically, when all is said and done, I'm just an old man with a bad back. But it may be helpful seeing my progression in stages to cleaning off the rust of being away from tracks for a generation, so I've dug up what videos I could. Incidentally... this 'youtube' thing? Takes forever to upload, doesn't like anything longer than ten minutes and... well, I don't think it's likely to catch on. But that's where I've put these.

We have three. The first is just a pursuit run to catch and then follow a novice at his first track day. Rusty as I was, it still took only half a lap or so to make up 12 seconds, and then you get a decent view of the Streets of Willow along with indications of where a novice loses time. The comments were done for novices at track work, so experienced drivers need to make allowance:

On that same day, my first track day with a Porsche, they had an autocross run. A partial lap, which keeps it from graduating to a "time trial" under the rules. This edit was done for a friend who doesn't drive sports cars. She wanted to know what a "track day" is like, so the comments were tailored to people without the vocabulary to know such concepts as "axle tramp", let alone the phrase. Nevertheless, you can see me gaining confidence in the car:

The final video should be one of the car performing the way I now know it can. I didn't really figure out Porsche's 'splay' until a third track day where a fellow racer and I did some tire tests and I realized how little heat I was putting into the rear tires. I changed that and found a whole other mode of driving these great cars. Unfortunately, I was too caught up in testing to take videos apparently. I will correct that at an event coming up in March.

For now, here is one of a session at my second track day. This is the Porsche 997 running at something like 90% of what it's able to do in 'touring' mode if I can call it that. I'm still giving up some time in the esses at the Streets and after those tire tests I can manage the Waterfall and the chicane much better. Nevertheless, you can see that I've gotten confident in the car. Even being driven as just a very fast road car, it is eating up the other fast cars from earlier generations. I think it could have swallowed a race-prepared 914-6 as well, but we never get a clear track to test the proposition:
Hope you enjoy them,

Gary

 

gary...I about to watch your vids...I use vimeo.com instead of youtube...no issues with longer vides.

 

The rough 914 turn-in looked almost like a late apex motorcycle technique. Maybe old habits die hard.

Are you in SoCal? I want to do one of those. That looks fun!

 

Thank you, Alan. I don't think I can do that without becoming a regular member of Planet=9 and my favorite thing about the Cayman models is their taste when I eat them at the track.

Maybe after I finish some tests I'm doing now, I'll find a way to get hold of him and exchange notes.

Gary

 

AAYep. Just 45 minutes north of you (using the Angeles Forest road if they've re-opened that since the fires.). We live northwest of Lancaster. I used to commute to JPL from here.

That's interesting about that turn-in resembling a motorcycle technique. I never considered that. Actually, he does it at every corner. I just froze the video to comment on it at Fishbowl.

You would love these driver education events run by Grand Prix Region. Cindy doesn't travel far these days and she needs to know I'm in the valley within quick-return distance, so I never get anywhere but their events at Willow. But I do know they run these events down below. Pomona Fairgrounds is another venue I believe. Nice group of people.

[Here is the event calendar on their website: Grand Prix Region, PCA It looks like their next DE day is March 19 at Willow. I plan to be there. Come on up and we'll get together.]

Gary

 

I joined at the basic level, though that level only permits 500mb videos, which is about nine minutes it seems. That's what the third video ran, 500mb. I'll play with it for a while and then I can quit being sarcastic about YouTube at least. If there's an alternative readily available it is surly to complain, right?

Gary

 

I try to be caring. In many ways, motorcyclists are human too.

G

 

I joined at basic also and put alot more than 9 minutes vids there. You may need to lower resolution.

 

Ok...

Gary.. I watched all three videos. The comments are great.

I like your terrific soft hands on the wheel and shuffle steering on the last video when you got up to speed.

You have a tendency to hang on the shifter sometimes....one time you were driving for several seconds with one hand...you looked bored...LOL


thanks for posting them

mike

 

Well, sometimes I was! Briefly of course. It's a sure way to know you aren't taking the car or yourself to the limit.

I do shuffle steer, to my surprise. Never did that before. I was asked about it and my quick assumption was that it's related to the lack of proper upper body support, but then I tried not steering that way on public roads and realized it must be something else. Briefly, I considered that it might be because a road car has much slower steering fitted than a race car, but that's silly. I drove road cars for half a century without picking up that habit except on heavy trucks with no power steering.

Finally caught on. I'm a little dense sometimes. I had a couple of strokes several years ago and my left side is weak now. I've grown so used to it that I don't really take it into consideration. But when I tried steering without that method, it was uncomfortable. What I'm actually doing is not true shuffle steering as some people teach it. Behind that helmet, my left arm is braced against the door, and my left hand essentially stays fixed in one position. Only my right hand moves around.

What can I say. Getting old... uh, got old, while I wasn't paying attention. No more heavy trucks I guess...

Gary

 

age or not you still drive a mean 911...thanks for sharing here and all the other knowledge you provide