Today we mounted a SJCAM SJ4000 Action Camera on our old
friend the Traxxas Slash 2WD for the first time to get something of a FPV (first person view) feeling. I have a couple of GoPro Hero 3 Black
cameras, but those are much more expensive and I didn't want to bash the rc
into anything and especially not roll it over.
The camera was simply clipped on to the large plastic plate that GoPro
cameras are attached to in their packaging.
That plate was then attached to the Lexan body of the slash with duct
tape, which is visible in the rearward-facing shots. The simple attachment method worked well even
through water. I attempted to not roll
the truck over during this test, but I still did about four times. The camera and its waterproof case both came
out fine. The camera did come loose of
its clip mount and go flying when I hit a stationary object. I’ll have to come up with a tether so it
won’t leave the car and get lost in the grass.
I was pleased with the results and they were pretty much
like I expected. I’ve seen plenty of
videos with cameras mounted on short course, monster trucks and other
rc’s. I ran my setup down a couple of
wide walking trails, which gave it a somewhat scale racetrack feel. I also blasted the completely stock Traxxas
Slash 2-WD through puddles, leaves grass, down a large black pipe and across
parking lots. All of this was done on one 7-cell NiMH battery which got pretty
tired by the time I was driving through the water. Speaking of water I drove the poor vehicle
into a pond, it didn’t turn, lost traction and got sand in the motor. The motor was jammed, but I got it fixed and
was able to shoot the rest of the video.
I have a lot more experimenting to do with this set up. In the future I plan on trying some different
mounting methods to get different perspectives on both the external and
internal parts of the rc car. It should be interesting, and I’ll share the
results with you hear and on YouTube. I
hope you enjoy the video.
