motorsport. dash cam vs action cam.

[endura]

Debating between dash vs action cam for in-car footage. It will be uploaded to youtube so 1080 is more than adequate. Vehicle is ''open windows'' sides and rear, there's lots airflow so action cam overheating is not an issue. Location is Toronto, Canada. Below are the 2 questions I can't find the answer's for.

-are there any dash cam's made with a mounting screw (tripod style). ? I've looked at the pictures and they all seem to have either slide on clips for the suction cup or just mounting tape. There's no rear window, needs to be roll bar/cage mounted. Can't figure out a way to make the suction cup/tape work for my situation.

-some of the races are 3hrs, will an action cam keep working if it's plugged in with the usb cable to the car? it's not possible to change the batteries during an event, the camera absolutely has to be able to run non-stop for 3+ hours.

 

[Nigel]

You don't really want a tripod mount, they always result in some visible vibration of the camera due to resonations, especially for suction cup mounts, and especially for motorsport. A sticky mount on the windscreen of the type used by for example Viofo will give a vibration free mount. For the roll bar, use a roll bar clamp that the sticky mount can be stuck to, the more solid the clamp the better.

some of the races are 3hrs, will an action cam keep working if it's plugged in with the usb cable to the car?

Some such as the Gitup range are designed for that use, others such as GoPro don't, you can't even replace the battery on a GoPro these days, you have to stop and recharge!

Having more than 1080 can be useful during editing, you don't always want the wide angle view if you are making a movie, and being able to switch between wide and narrow during editing using only one camera can make the video more interesting. Dashcams tend to have a narrower view than action cameras, normally closer to what is wanted.

 

[kamkar]

You have to be careful using the build in USB in any car, they are often too weak to power a dashcam,,,,,,,,,, which is kind of strange cuz that mean they are very weak indeed and it must take forever to charge anything.
I would go for a action camera cuz a dashcam will have to work very hard at race speeds with their moderate bitrates, my action camera ( dji osmo action ) do 100 mbit where as my dashcams only do 20.
And my action camera can do 60 and even 120 FPS at 1080+ resolution, where as dashcams generally only do 30, at 120 FPS footage in post you could slow down the footage 4 X and still have nice smooth playback.
And it can of course also do higher resolutions but then you loose 120 FPS, it top out at 4K / 60 FPS

Buy you of course have to provide external power when you are going to make such long recordings, for this you could also use a USB power bank.
I think most action cameras support a external power source when recording, but in the case of mine and others this mean the lid over the memory card have to be removed and so it is not waterproof on its own, and that would be the same problem with all other action cameras and a waterproof housing ( that is not really meant to be used with external power )

 

[SawMaster]

Here's something I did with a Mobius: LINK
I'd suggest similar with the 'T" held to the roll bar with radiator hosse clamps and instead of being on a threaded post, use a shorter bolt to get the mount right against the bracket. The workvan shown has stiff suspension and this mount was always rock-solid. One modification I made later was to wrap a pony-tail elastic band over the lens to the back of the mount so the cam couldn't slide out of the mount (never had a problem, just being careful). TBH I'd suggest the using Mobius too, or if you want something better the Gitup F1. On the USB power cable, you can loop it back toward the cam mount to keep it from slipping out then tape it to the roll bar. Doesn't need to be 'tight', just a little tension is enough. The Mobius can be had with the "A" lens for a 90 degree FOV or the "C2" lens for 135 or 140 degrees FOV. Mine is a C2 lens and is distortion-free. The only real failing of the Mobius is it's old sensor which doesn't do well in darkness and that it's 1080p. It's the most adjustable cam ever made and it can be fine-tuned to give great vids. You might be OK with the battery version but mine has supercaps for better heat tolerance.

Phil

 

[Nigel]

A Motorcycle dashcam will solve both mounting and weather issues:

Viofo MT1 Motorcycle Dashcam, Dual 1080 waterproof: