Conecam Review

This is a surprisingly flexible mounting device. It can pivot in many directions and is easy to adjust. I used this clamp to get the shots seen in the 09/22/01 Texas World Speedway video.

This optional AC adapter is available for $11.00 but I don't see a need for it if you'll be using it solely in your car. You could use it at home to turn the Cone Cam into a webcam when used with your video capture card.

The camera body is extremely light weight. It comes with a lens cap (not shown) and has a threaded hole to mount the camera to the suction cup mount or another standard tripod mount.

This is the back of the camera and shows the RJ-45 connection which carries the video, audio, and power. Also, this orientation indicates that the camera is right side up.

This suction cup holds the lightweight Cone Cam quite well. Adding a little moisture to the lip of the suction cup will enable an even better hold.

Here is how I hooked up the camera to my video recorder.

So what are some of the drawbacks of the Cone Cam? The early morning sun or late afternoon sun can shine directly into the lens of the Cone Cam causing the exposure to become too dark. Similarly, when their a bright glare reflecting into the Cone Cam, a bright vertical line appears stretching across the entire view. Finally, the built-in microphone on the Cone Cam will be rendered worthless because of wind noise. Due to the nature of the Cone Cam, you'll want to position it outside of the car. However, this puts the Cone Cam directly into the wind which will drown out all other noise. The final issue I have with the Cone Cam is that when using the single suction cup to mount the camera on the side of your car, there is no way to position the camera right side up. Therefore the video recorded will be turned 90 degrees.

Update: After writing this review I've noticed that Chase Engineering has tried to address some of the issues I've had. They now offer a remote microphone for $25 which can be placed somewhere protected from the wind so that you can hear those perfect heal-toe downshifts you want to show off.

There is now a different suction cup mount offered which allows an extension bracket to be mounted. Using this extension bracket and the universal mount included in the Cone Cam system, you can attach the camera to the side of your car and get the video right side up! This comes at a price though as the triple suction cup mount costs $35 and the extension bracket costs $15.

Another use of the extension bracket could be to mount some sort of camera hood to shield it from reflections and sun glare.

The Cone Cam package starts at $185. It includes everything you'll need to get started capturing great video footage (except for the recording device). Racers who want to analyze and improve their track performance will find the video footage very valuable. If you autocross or attend track events regularly, then this camera is highly recommended.