I've been experimenting with mounting an "action camera" in my Vantage. I have a rather "robust" PanaVise suction cup mount which works well on glass surfaces, but the video is plagued with dash reflections-I've tried two different placements-both unsatisfactory .

In search of a solution, I have a second smaller vacuum mount, which I would like to attach to my piano black fascia - between the center speaker and the nav system door. Mounting the camera there I believe would have very little dash reflection, as the lens will be very close to the windscreen.

I am concerned that the suction cup will leave some permanent damage on the piano black surface: the visible ring left on the window glass after removal of a vacuum mount is easily removed with a suitable cleaner-I'm just not sure about the piano black results.

Does anyone have any experience with using a vacuum phone/camera/nav mount on a piano black fascia? Did anything catastrophic result?

Thanks in advance

Don

 

YOu could try putting on some of the 3m clear protective film on the spot where you're going to put it, that should protect it from suction cup damage, I did this with the nav on my motorcycle and worked well and nearly invisible.

 

Thanks Chris...

That's something I hadn't thought about, and would most likely work well.
My wife and I are leaving zero'dawn early Thursday for some of the Monterey events and I doubt I could my hands on some film in time.

I may wax the he.. out of the fascia and give that a try...unless I hear otherwise .

 

as a temp thing you could consider some clear packaging tape? Even if the adhesive stays on a little wd40 would take that off.

 

I'd recommend making the windshield work. I used a dash-mounted suction cup for a GoPro on my V12V piano black and the suction actually dented it. Don't think film would prevent this.

 

Thanks for relating your experience. A concise answer to my question...very much appreciated!
Do you happen to remember the diameter of the suction cup that you used?
Did you find a place on the windscreen for the camera where the dash reflections weren't objectionable? Or was that not a concern to you?

I wouldn't think of using the PanaVise on the dash, as it's diameter is 3-1/4+" - it would probably easily lift a bowling ball.
My alternate is a 2-1/2" diameter cup, which has significantly less holding/denting power.

Anyone else out there with valuable experience they would care to share?

 

you know it didn't occur to me that the suction would dent it, I was thinking more of scuff damage.

 

The OEM piano black waterfall fascia is made with a real wood veneer. Probably best to stay away from using a strong suction cup on it as RacerX mentioned.

 

I have a Delkin suction mount. The suction cup is 3.25 in. dia. It filled the space between the speaker and the nav perfectly (see pic). The dimple it left on the fascia was barely noticeable, but I stopped using the mount there as soon as I noticed the damage.

I now use the same mount on the windshield with the GoPro turned upside down. The GoPro has a setting where you can rotate the image so the video will turn out right side up. I use this setup on both my cars on the track and it works great -- no glare from the windshield.

 

That mount is similar in size to the PanaVise I have and which I don't want to use.
I may give the smaller one a trial on the dash...if I can't work something else out.

Thanks to all!

 

I also use a mount on the windshield, and I don't get any reflection off the fascia. I too was worried about the finish getting scratched up.

My setup differs in that I have a Contour +2 which is bullet shaped and sits a few inches forward as well. Then lens on it rotates (when I remember to) so I can hang it upside down. I use a Fat Gecko that I ordered online from Best Buy. It was about the lowest profile mount I could find and it is all but concealed from the drivers field of vision when mounted beside the rear view mirror on the passenger side of the car.

Cheers,
Kevin

 

I mounted a camera using the Sony action cam stand shown here (about 2.5" in diameter):



It did leave minor marks on the piano black waterfall but those came off with some mild window cleaner.

What's a 100x better is a permanent cam installation that produces just as good (if not better video). Here's a link to it on ebay and here are the post installation pictures...







It's almost invisible from outside the car and from the inside it's completely hidden (from the driver) behind the mirror. Records a loop of about 6 hours of 1080P on a 32GB chip. Still experimenting with getting rid of the reflections off the dash - but that's a problem no matter where the camera is mounted.

 

I've used an iphone suction mount on the piano black often. As long as everything is cleaned before, any small marks are easily removed with waterless Detailer and microfiber.

 

I use that camera in my Land Rovers. Where did you pull power from in your Aston?

 

I'm getting power from the USB connection in the center console. It switches on and off with the ignition (can't use the 12V connection because it's always on and the camera is designed to automatically record whenever there's power going to it). I'm not sure if older Vantage models have this connector.

The camera gets power from a mini-USB port built into its fixed base (the camera slides in and out). I used a 10' USB extension cable and ran it down the passenger side pillar and across to the transmission tunnel, etc. There are probably lots of other places to tap a 12V line and install a 5V convertor but I didn't have a wiring diagram and thought it most prudent to not experiment when a simple solution was available. Most earlier posts related to power taps seem to favor going all the way back to the rear fuse box where there are both switched and unswitched sources.