An onboard camera or in-car camera is a camera placed upon a moving object, such as a vehicle. In

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of tw ...

, onboard cameras are often used to give a better perspective from the driver's point of view, whilst in films, these cameras are designed to increase the intensity and action of a specific scene. Onboard cameras were used in movies such as ''

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

'' and ''

The Fast and the Furious ''Fast & Furious'' (also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'') is a media franchise centered on a series of action films that are largely concerned with street racing, heists, spies, and family. The franchise also includes short films, a ...

'' series, for this purpose. Much of the original development work which led to the onboard cameras used today was performed by Australia's

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australi ...

, which introduced the technology at the

1979 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 The 1979 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 was the 20th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 30 September 1979, at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst. The race was open to cars eligible to the locally developed CAMS G ...

endurance race at Mount Panorama. The original, Channel Seven, development team of John Porter and Peter Larsson moved to the states and formed Broadcast Sports Technology Inc.. BST then proceeded to recruit other staff from Channel Seven, notably Michael Katzmann. American audiences were first introduced to RaceCam at

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and h ...

's 1979 Daytona 500 on CBS network, and later at the

1983 Indianapolis 500 The 67th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 29, 1983. After finishing second three times (1977, 1978, 1980), winning the pole position twice (1977–1978), and being the fastest qualifi ...

. BST also branched into

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one ...

and Olympic sailing onboards. The first time a live onboard camera was used in a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

race was at the

1985 German Grand Prix The 1985 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Nürburgring on 4 August 1985. It was the ninth race of the 1985 Formula One season. This was the first German Grand Prix that was held on the new GP-Strecke section of the tra ...

, where one was attached to

François Hesnault François Hesnault (born 30 December 1956) is a former racing driver from France. He participated in 21 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 25 March 1984. He scored no championship points. Hesnault enjoyed some success in the French Formula Th ...

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...

. Previously, cameras had only been mounted to F1 cars during testing, but since then, more and more cameras have been fitted. Since 1998, all Formula One cars have been fitted with at least three onboard cameras (usually more) and they form an integral part of the

television coverage Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began wi ...

. As with US onboard coverage, F1 used a helicopter as a local satellite to pick up the transmission from the cars and re-broadcast it to the truck / local production center. This was initially shifted to a ground-based analog system, with variable results, and more recently to a ground-based digital solution which is now the norm. Onboard cameras are now commonplace in other top motorsports including the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. There are separate championships ...

and

MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start of ...

Dashcams

The use of dashboard cameras in automobiles began with law-enforcement in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

in the 1980s and 1990s; then, as technology became cheaper, ubiquitous in civilian use in Russia as a form of

sousveillance Sousveillance ( ) is the recording of an activity by a member of the public, rather than a person or organisation in authority, typically by way of small wearable or portable personal technologies. The term, coined by Steve Mann, stems from th ...

, inasmuch as Russian courts prefer video evidence to

eyewitness testimony Eyewitness testimony is the account a bystander or victim gives in the courtroom, describing what that person observed that occurred during the specific incident under investigation. Ideally this recollection of events is detailed; however, this is ...

, but also as a guard against

police corruption Police corruption is a form of police misconduct in which law enforcement officers end up breaking their political contract and Abuse of power, abuse their power for personal gain. This type of corruption may involve one or a group of officers. I ...

and

insurance fraud Insurance fraud is any act committed to defraud an insurance process. It occurs when a claimant attempts to obtain some benefit or advantage they are not entitled to, or when an insurer knowingly denies some benefit that is due. According to th ...

.Why Russians are obsessed with Dashcams
/ref>

References

External links

A compilation of Russian dash cam footage
Cameras Photography equipment {{film-term-stub

Dashcams

See also

References

External links