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08-24-2019, 06:58 PM   #1
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A better Car window mount ?

Im looking for a camera mount to go inside my car for shooting out the window with a large telephoto Lens , but all I can find is the standard clamp on Car window mount ?
They are small and weak looking and all my gear perched on a piece of Tempered Glass does nothing to instill a sense of confidence or safety.
Im looking for something a bit different that mounts inside the car so I can still roll my window up and down.....Im finding Zilch , Zero , Nothing ?
There must be a solution somewhere.....anyone know about something different ?
Thanks.


Last edited by Ronald Oakes; 08-24-2019 at 07:05 PM.
08-24-2019, 07:25 PM - 2 Likes   #2
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Have you looked at the Eckla Eagle Car Door Lens Support? (Product Page) One of the members posting in the 300mm Plus Lens Club (@Ducatigaz) always captions his photos “shot with the Eckla Window Mount”. Apparently a flange slides into the window channel and you attach your ballhead or gimbal to the device; the OP at the link has modified the mount so it is outside the window anchored to the car door with a glass mover. Eckla has taken this idea and now sells an external suction cup device to mount the entire support outside the car window. You can drive with your lens mounted this way but I don’t know about moving your window with this mounted.

There is a tray to set up on the passenger seat though (on the same product page) and several other solutions. There should be something there that will work for you..

Used by professional drive-safari shooters.

Link for the brochure in German and English.

A Bean Bag is another solution.

[Edited adding links]

Last edited by monochrome; 08-24-2019 at 09:30 PM.
08-24-2019, 07:27 PM - 2 Likes   #3
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A bean bag and gimbal head seem to be the best way to shoot from a car.
08-24-2019, 07:29 PM - 4 Likes   #4
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Ron, I've purchased a few of the commercial window mounts. All of them left me with the same concerns that you have.

These days, when I shoot my adapted Leica 350mm lens on my Pentax K-1 camera out of a car window I use either a small/firm pillow (about the size of a shoe box); or one of those floating pool "noodles" that I cut to fit the width of the window and I cut a slit lengthwise on the bottom that is just deep enough to almost reach the center of the noodle. You then just slide the noodle over the top of the window. Both work for me.


Last edited by Fenwoodian; 08-24-2019 at 07:35 PM.
08-24-2019, 07:31 PM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by monochrome Quote
Have you looked at the Eckla Eagle Mount? One of the members posting in the 300mm Plus lens club always captions his photos “with the Eckla Car Mount”. Apparently a flange slides into the window channel; the OP at the link has modified the mount so it is outside the window anchored to the car door with a glass mover. Used by professional safari shooters.

Link for the brochure in German and English.
Interesting....Thanks !
08-24-2019, 07:32 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by KiloHotelphoto Quote
A bean bag and gimbal head seem to be the best way to shoot from a car.
Yeah, I would think so, especially when you need to keep the car running to absorb vibrations. Also the cheapest! Win-win!
08-24-2019, 07:59 PM - 1 Like   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by Ronald Oakes Quote
Interesting....Thanks !
I added links to the actual Eckla product pages.

08-24-2019, 08:01 PM - 1 Like   #8
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https://www.adorama.com/kirwm2.html?
08-24-2019, 09:31 PM - 1 Like   #9
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Well.....These things are quite pricey !!! And they are much more "fidgety" than I like.
Let me see what I can do tomorrow at the Metal Shop.....sheet metal and Powder coating are cheap ! …...Thinking......Thinking......Thinking....

---------- Post added 08-24-19 at 21:41 ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by UncleVanya Quote
The Kirk looks solid and Technical......but waaaay too much "Monkey'n Around" for me.
Thinking about bending some 16ga steel and making a nice solid DIY project.
I have access to welders , brakes , benders , and shears at the Metal Shop...….Just an elongated ledge that can support a Ball head and long lens rest is all I need.
08-25-2019, 06:05 AM - 1 Like   #10
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You have received all the right advice = Eckla for something solid, bean bag for inexpensive (get the bag from B&H, purchase lentils or rice locally to fill it, or use Styrofoam peanuts). Some caveats: the door mounted blind-spot mirror can get in the way, more of a problem with an Eckla than a bean bag (the latter can be shifted along the length of a car door quickly); bean bags make you feel safer moving place-to-place (=put camera + lens and bean bag onto the passenger seat) than having a big lens protruding through the window as you drive; gimbal heads are a natural on an Eckla, but they may bump against the car door when you swing the rig (Manfotto's heavy lens mount, a double-U design, is especially troublesome); if you get a bean bag, get one that's shaped like an inverted "U" designed to drape down both inside & outside a car door - simple bags may drop onto the pavement when you lift your lens or just shift the camera/lens (annoying); bean bags can be a little low when placed directly on the door sill, window fully closed, forcing you to hunch down when using the viewfinder, an Eckla can be adjusted vertically to place the camera at convenient eye level; if you suddenly have a bird high up in a nearby tree, you can raise the window to get a bean bag higher, more bothersome with an Eckla if you want to use the viewfinder rather than a tiltable rear screen.
08-25-2019, 06:08 AM - 1 Like   #11
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If you're making your own it can be custom fitted to your car. I'd suggest a design that braces off the interior hand rest and the window.
08-25-2019, 06:19 AM - 1 Like   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by Ronald Oakes Quote
Well.....These things are quite pricey !!! And they are much more "fidgety" than I like.
Let me see what I can do tomorrow at the Metal Shop.....sheet metal and Powder coating are cheap ! …...Thinking......Thinking......Thinking....

---------- Post added 08-24-19 at 21:41 ----------

The Kirk looks solid and Technical......but waaaay too much "Monkey'n Around" for me.
Thinking about bending some 16ga steel and making a nice solid DIY project.
I have access to welders , brakes , benders , and shears at the Metal Shop...….Just an elongated ledge that can support a Ball head and long lens rest is all I need.

I have a DIY car window mount for a gimbal head. 90 degree steel plate attached to one end of a short 1X4 board such that one side of the plate protrudes out from the board. The latter is slipped into the window slot between the glass & seal. A 1X2 board is attached by a hinge at the other end of the 1X4, the length of the 1X2 such that it rests against the door arm rest when the 1X4 is horizontal. Easy to drill holes through the 1X4 to bolt on the gimbal or a ball head. I purchased a knob-with-bolt (1/4 X 20) so the gimbal or ball head can be attached or removed without a wrench (spanner).
08-25-2019, 06:31 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by WPRESTO Quote
You have received all the right advice = Eckla for something solid, bean bag for inexpensive (get the bag from B&H, purchase lentils or rice locally to fill it, or use Styrofoam peanuts). Some caveats: the door mounted blind-spot mirror can get in the way, more of a problem with an Eckla than a bean bag (the latter can be shifted along the length of a car door quickly); bean bags make you feel safer moving place-to-place (=put camera + lens and bean bag onto the passenger seat) than having a big lens protruding through the window as you drive; gimbal heads are a natural on an Eckla, but they may bump against the car door when you swing the rig (Manfotto's heavy lens mount, a double-U design, is especially troublesome); if you get a bean bag, get one that's shaped like an inverted "U" designed to drape down both inside & outside a car door - simple bags may drop onto the pavement when you lift your lens or just shift the camera/lens (annoying); bean bags can be a little low when placed directly on the door sill, window fully closed, forcing you to hunch down when using the viewfinder, an Eckla can be adjusted vertically to place the camera at convenient eye level; if you suddenly have a bird high up in a nearby tree, you can raise the window to get a bean bag higher, more bothersome with an Eckla if you want to use the viewfinder rather than a tiltable rear screen.
The Eckla looked very nice , but for now I cant justify the expense. My main concern/need was for a rest that could be entirely inside the Car that the allowed the window to be raised and lowered quickly after the camera was rotated out of the way.

---------- Post added 08-25-19 at 06:32 ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by UncleVanya Quote
If you're making your own it can be custom fitted to your car. I'd suggest a design that braces off the interior hand rest and the window.
Right.....thank goodness I have a older car.....lol

---------- Post added 08-25-19 at 06:34 ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by WPRESTO Quote
I have a DIY car window mount for a gimbal head. 90 degree steel plate attached to one end of a short 1X4 board such that one side of the plate protrudes out from the board. The latter is slipped into the window slot between the glass & seal. A 1X2 board is attached by a hinge at the other end of the 1X4, the length of the 1X2 such that it rests against the door arm rest when the 1X4 is horizontal. Easy to drill holes through the 1X4 to bolt on the gimbal or a ball head. I purchased a knob-with-bolt (1/4 X 20) so the gimbal or ball head can be attached or removed without a wrench (spanner).
I plan on using a steel insert to go appx 4" deep into the window slot , and a brace down to the armrest or below. I spent about an hour last night cutting and bending some sheet metal to fit. Welded it up a few minutes ago and its in the Oven right now baking the powder coating.
I think I made it too big , but this is my first attempt. My total cost ….$8

Last edited by Ronald Oakes; 08-25-2019 at 06:45 AM.
08-25-2019, 09:02 AM   #14
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Have you looked at the clamp on this lens support?
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/554349-REG/Manfrotto_359_359_Long_Len...D_BwE&pcur=CAD

You bcan attach anything to the clamp that goes around the tripod leg
08-25-2019, 09:19 AM   #15
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I find the pool noodle trick works OK. Of course you must get your passengers to stop jumping around trying to get a better view. This post got me thinking. What about a monopod down to the floorboard, between the seat and door. Have not tried it but it might work.
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