Everybody likes to have in-car video. It might have been one spot-on autocross run, or a very first time trial victory, but there comes a point when a driver wants to review and reminisce. In-car video is good for timing laps, pointing out new driving lines or mistakes, contesting body contact or passes after a race, and for overlaying techno music for annoying YouTube uploads.
We've had experience with various in-car video systems over the years, check out sportcompactcarweb.com for some examples, and the Motorsports Hero system from Go Pro has many solid advantages. The biggest is price. The Motorsports Hero system is priced at $180, around the price of a good quality, used, tape-based camcorder. Go Pro includes a variety of clamps, mounts, and a suction cup for secure on-track automotive use. Helmet and wrist mounting options are also available separately, which will then allow you to use the same Go Pro video camera on bikes, ATVs, kayaks, and anything else lying around in your garage.
But the big advantage of the Motorsports Hero over a tape-based camcorder is shock and vibration. We've had multiple frustrated moments in the past where our camcorder, mounted on to a harness bar or roll cage tube with a clamp, shut off once subjected to the vibration of on track driving. The Motorsports Hero system records directly to solid state SD memory cards and can fit 56-minutes of video on to a 2GB SD card (which costs about $15). We tested the Motorsports Hero system on a coilover-equipped 240SX and could not get the camera to throw in the towel, even over the biggest of bumps and ruts.
With no motors or other mechanical parts on board, the Go Pro video camera can be built smaller and lighter than a camcorder. Go Pro touts it as the world's smallest wireless on-board video camera. At 2.4 x 1.6 x 1.2-inches and just a few ounces in weight, it's the smallest self-enclosed camera we've ever seen. Feel free to stick the Motorsports Hero camera on your fender, door, roof, hood, or windows, the camera is sealed and waterproof to 100-feet. If you're creative with your use of mounting options, you can even record video of your pedal area, tire clearance, or suspension movement.
The Go Pro camera takes JPEG still pictures and records video directly into digital AVI files, which makes it easy to upload videos online or to play on a computer. There is no tape-to-computer transferring required, like with a camcorder. The only trade-off is video quality. All of the videos that we shot looked great in a window on a computer screen, but you can't expect a camera in this price range to shoot high-definition video. We connected the camera to a 27-inch TV using the included output cable, and the video wasn't as clear as we would have liked. We also would have liked to have seen an external microphone input on the GO Pro camera, which would allow us to localize a microphone in order to pick up clearer exhaust noise.
Other solid-state in-car video options exist, some with features such as data acquisition overlay and higher quality lenses, but they come with a much higher price tag. For the average enthusiast, who just wants to easily record on-track videos and then share them with friends, the Motorsports Hero system is hard to beat.
MSRP: $179.99
Pros: Lightweight, no vibration/shock issues, multiple mounting options, direct to digital recording
Cons: No external microphone input