Well, I did it.

[dreddd2000]

I used a surprisingly small portion of my refund to buy a Samsung SC-D372 MiniDV camcorder. It's TINY. Circuit City had it on sale for $150. 34x optical zoom and image stabilization. That makes it just 50% more expensive than the ATC2K.

So, my next step is to buy a dash shelf. I know I can get those from CASportTouring.com. I also need some sort of mount for the camera. I know Ram makes several mounts, but I don't want the camera sitting way up above the dash. Somewhere in this site or Pashnit, I had seen quick-release camera mounts but I'll be darned if I can find them again.

Anybody got any pointers on that one? Or on the project in general?

[BadgerMan]

Joe,

A dash shelf can be a very, bumpy place and may not work well with a video camera, but I have never tried it.

I say this because I used to have my Garmin 2730 mounted on my ST1100 dash shelf and when I hit a good sized bump, the Garmin would turn off and then back on again.

I have since moved the Ram mount to my handlebars and no longer have that problem.

Just somethng to think about.

[dreddd2000]

I hadn't considered that. I figured the shelves were a pretty stable point. Seems like a lot of guys were using them. I really don't want the camera handlebar mounted. I don't want it turning that much while I ride. :(

[Keith_UK]

Hi Joe - Does your new camcorder have an 'AV IN' facility? If so then you could consider hooking-in a bullet camera which can mountable almost anywhere, including your helmet. You could capture loads of cool angles and running perspectives with a little bullet cam taped on here & there (anywhere). Keep the main camcorder device in your tank-bag, or even inside one of your pockets.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/263371075_yhcxi-M.jpg

Hope you are keeping well over there.

Cheers

KEITH

[dreddd2000]

Just looked it up to be sure. No AV in option on this camera. :(

I WILL figure this out. <---determined. :p:

[dreddd2000]

AV input options on camcorders are becoming a real sore spot for me. I just tried to talk to Circuit City to see what the price difference would be to get a camcorder that would accept the analog input of a bullet camera. I was told "none of them will, they are all digital". Now, I KNOW that's total BS. I just don't have any way of determining which cameras will allow a bullet cam and which won't. :(

[skibo8341]

i found brake master cover made w/extra holes for ram mount ball,use it for my garmin quest and my camcorder,stable mount and cooool video when through the twisties