Car Camera Rig

[mikeschmeee]

I made a automotive rig a few months ago and I love it! I've only taken photos of my Prelude but I'm very paranoid that the suction cups will ruin my new paint job. When I first used the cups on my new paint after a 6 weeks of letting all the chemicals settle in, I noticed a ring that the cups left on my paint, I had a feeling this would happen so I prepared myself by bringing a spray bottle of water and Mequiars Ultimate Quick detailer and the ring went away after a while. Since then I'm not using the cups on paint unless the owner of the vehicle does not care at all.

I'm in the middle of customize mine so it mounts to the bottom of any car via a few bolts. I know I can do it with my car but not sure on any others but for the most parts I now mount the suction cups to glass and its solid as a rock. It's never fallen off. Just make sure you work with a clean area before mounting them.

My set up consists of the following...

2 x Manfrotto Avenger F1000 suction cups
3 x Manfrotto Super Clamps
Manfrotto Magic Arm with camera mount.
20 feet of 1 3/4 inch EMT piping. Cut into a few sections with EMT compression couplings (Screw type) (found it at Home Depot found in the electrical section)
Hoya ND4, ND8 and ND16 filters
Nikon D90 + 18-200mm VR (Only lens I have next to my Nikkor 300mm f4)
Saving money for a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X

I've taken a few photos to experiment with but here are my best ones. I'm itching to use it again as I'd like to do it with my fathers old Suzuki Aerio that he no longer uses but I'm waiting for some good weather.

What I do, is put the car in neutral and push from behind for a bit. I start to push a few seconds before the shutter opens via timer as I don't have pocket wizards or a wireless trigger. That way I have less vibration. I also put it on F22 and the shutter opens up for a while. I do this all myself as well. I know a few people who have a few friends tag a long to help out.
Also turn your steering wheel a bit as the vibration is reduced as well.

It's a lot of photoshop work depending on your angle and stuff but it really pays off in the end in my opinion. I love using the rig and can't wait to use it again!

Here are my two rig photos I took in October...
I don't think I used filters that day as it was getting dark fairly quickly.

I'll post some more when I get a chance to take a few.