Mounting a GoPro on a vehicle with the Delkin Fat Gecko Suction Cup Mount

The Fat Gecko Mini is a single-cup suction camera mounting system. Fat Gecko also make a double cup setup, but for the GoPro and most standard compact cameras, the single suction cup is more than adequate – indeed, it is tested for up to 1.8 kg, so even a DSLR should be ok (though we probably wouldn’t advise this for mounting on a car or motorbike!)

The Gecko attaches to any flat, non porous surface – you press the suction cup down, then lift over the locking lever to lock it in position. The Fat Gecko Mini features three joints which rotate with various degrees of freedom to enable the business end of the mount to located in almost any position. The Gecko also comes with an extension arm – this needs to be assembled onto the unit with an allen key, which is fairly straightforward, but you probably won’t want to do it in the field. In any event, for use on a vehicle we find that the Gecko is high enough without the extension.

The camera mount is a standard tripod screw thread. This means that to mount a GoPro, you’ll need to also purchase the GoPro tripod adapter. While this is one of the most outrageously priced bits of GoPro kit (click here to be horrified!) it is actually very useful and it enables you to use the GoPro with a variety of standard camera mounts.

Once you’ve got the GoPro mounted and set it running, you can set off for a drive! Here are some of our tips for getting the best footage:

Great mounting locations include:

• on the front of the car looking forward – this gives uncluttered footage which looks fast and feels like a computer game
• on the front of the car looking back
• on the top of the windscreen looking forward and a bit down – so you can see the hood of the car
• on the back of a convertible car looking forward across the cabin
• on the front wing looking at the wheel arch – this is great when have some tight corners and can see the wheels working

You should also consider what shooting mode to run the GoPro in. Unless you really want a fisheye effect, we like the 127 degree 1080p option as it gives a more natural and less distorted view.  If you’re mounting the GoPro inside the vehicle looking out but with some of the interior framing the shot, you’ll also probably want to change to spot metering, to avoid the camera averaging out the scene and over-exposing the world outside (though this will likely lead to the interior parts of the shot coming out fairly dark).

Click here to see the latest price for the Delkin Fat Gecko!