off road camcorder

Anyone have experience using a camcorder in their vehicle on trails and back
roads to record a drivers perspective? I've had a new little Sony for a week
and so far I've clamped it to the roof of my truck and taken it on the
highway with nothing more than a UV filter to protect the lens. That won't
work in the dusty desert and is not what it was designed for by any stretch
of the imagination. I thought about using a marine enclosure but so far all
I've come up with are pro ones that cost $800.00+. Today I used the charging
dock as a base and sat it on the dash on a drive around the city. Except for
some minor reflection through the windshield, that I'm sure I can resolve,
it worked well and I'm thinking of ways to mount it solidly and shock mount
it for rough terrain. Before I drill holes and mount hardware to my dash I'd
like to hear about anyone's good, or bad, experience using a camcorder on
rough roads and hilly and rocky terrain. I'm looking to capture scenery and
not necessarily any extreme 4x4 action although that generally is part of
most trips that we take whether we like it or not. Thanks.

Bob Walker

In article <Re78d.13690$Hz.7729@fed1read04>, says...
> Subject: off road camcorder
> From: "Walker" >
> Newsgroups: rec.autos.4x4
>
> Anyone have experience using a camcorder in their vehicle on trails and back
> roads to record a drivers perspective? I've had a new little Sony for a week
> and so far I've clamped it to the roof of my truck and taken it on the
> highway with nothing more than a UV filter to protect the lens. That won't
> work in the dusty desert and is not what it was designed for by any stretch
> of the imagination. I thought about using a marine enclosure but so far all
> I've come up with are pro ones that cost $800.00+. Today I used the charging
> dock as a base and sat it on the dash on a drive around the city. Except for
> some minor reflection through the windshield, that I'm sure I can resolve,
> it worked well and I'm thinking of ways to mount it solidly and shock mount
> it for rough terrain. Before I drill holes and mount hardware to my dash I'd
> like to hear about anyone's good, or bad, experience using a camcorder on
> rough roads and hilly and rocky terrain. I'm looking to capture scenery and
> not necessarily any extreme 4x4 action although that generally is part of
> most trips that we take whether we like it or not. Thanks.
>
> Bob Walker
>
>
>

I took out my rear seats and mounted my tripod with the camera looking
between the front seats. That was a little shaky so later I built
something a little more solid out of 2x4s and used a 1/4" bolt on a
paice of MDF to grab the camera. I braced it to the floor with ratchet
straps. I did all this because I didn't want to drill holes in my dash
or floor.
--
____________________
Remove "X" from email address to reply.