Dash Cams

[niky]

Not the battery. (although battery life ain't great) Ten minutes continuous is the maximum vid time.

With a bespoke dashcam, the camera automatically starts taking the next segment when you reach the buffer limit and it has to save. Not sure about the rest of them, but once memory is used up, some will automatically overwrite older files.

 

[Murcie_LP640]

Not the battery. (although battery life ain't great) Ten minutes continuous is the maximum vid time.

...for one block. It will continuously record until it runs out of memory or the battery dies; it just separates them into 10 minute blocks. Which is incredibly simple to rectify.

Not sure about the rest of them, but once memory is used up, some will automatically overwrite older files.

Which is the rollover I mentioned.

 

[nobuffalo]

Not the battery. (although battery life ain't great) Ten minutes continuous is the maximum vid time.

With a bespoke dashcam, the camera automatically starts taking the next segment when you reach the buffer limit and it has to save. Not sure about the rest of them, but once memory is used up, some will automatically overwrite older files.

Are you talking about the first GoPro? Or just all GoPros in general? I've recorded a 17 minute or so video on one. I'm not sure of the specific model but it was a little over 2 years ago. It may have been 2 "blocks" of video as Murcie_LP640 mentions, but when I got the video from the guy it was one seamless video.

 

[niky]

Are you talking about the first GoPro? Or just all GoPros in general? I've recorded a 17 minute or so video on one. I'm not sure of the specific model but it was a little over 2 years ago. It may have been 2 "blocks" of video as Murcie_LP640 mentions, but when I got the video from the guy it was one seamless video.

Per block.

I guess it also depends on the resolution. 10 minutes is the hard limit for HD.

-

Hunh. Didn't know it rolled over. I've never had to record anything longer than several minutes. Might have to check the manual again.

 

[Bopop4]

A GoPro has severely limited run time. About ten minutes a pop.

Great for action shots. Not great for taking a whole trip. Not unless you have it on time lapse.

I've had a Gopro recording for over 20 minutes, and it still had a lot of charge left. 32 gig SD card and you have hours of HD ability.

 

[ExigeEvan]

Ten minutes? I took a ten minute video on my GoPro 3 Silver and there wasn't even a bar gone on the battery meter.

I use it + a USB 12V lighter plug and a longer cable as a dash cam. It doesn't have rollover but my trips are much shorter than the 4-5 hours of 1080p video available and I put all my videos straight onto my computer when I get home anyway; backed up on two external hard drives as well.

Why? The video looping is a key part of a dashcam so you're not wasting time clearing it. That also sounds like lots and lots of data being kept unnecessarily.

 

[niky]

I've had a Gopro recording for over 20 minutes, and it still had a lot of charge left. 32 gig SD card and you have hours of HD ability.

Again, that's ten minutes per block on HD. Not ten minutes of battery!

 

[Murcie_LP640]

Why? The video looping is a key part of a dashcam so you're not wasting time clearing it. That also sounds like lots and lots of data being kept unnecessarily.

I should have been more specific. I keep the videos that actually have something happen in them other than me revving the WRX for S&Gs.

 

[BuddhaRock]

The speed of the SD card could also be a factor. Make sure you're getting something that's Class 10 or UHS for best results.

 

[ExigeEvan]

I've gone and bought the Winycam V300HD from IPixi, I'll get back to you guys when it turns up, though it'll probably be a few weeks until I have it hard wired in as "my" electrical engineer is off on holidays soon.

 

[Bopop4]

Again, that's ten minutes per block on HD. Not ten minutes of battery!

Wait what?

With a decent sized card it'll run seamlessly till the battery goes out.

 

[alex09]

kikie is right, I had tried my 5s with apps, but having watched many car accident videos on YouTube, I decided that it's best if I had a dedicated dash cam installed in my car. The main reason being that if I get into an accident which I didn't create, and the other party(s) don't admit to it (which is something that has happened within my family, twice), I can always use footage from the cam as evidence.
http://www.szswill.com
What do we think to this? Seems smart

 

[Grayfox]

These are the things you want

* Do you want to have a dashcam with a GPS receiver?
* Yes, it can confirm the location of the accident that happened.

* Do you want a dashcam which records speed?
* Units with GPS inthem normally record speed

* What kind of resolution do you want?
* 1920x1080 @30fps and 11mbps bitrate

* Do you want to have a little video screen?
* No, they waste power, are more expensive and are distracting

* Do you want parking mode?
* Only get it if it can be hardwired in with a device than can shutdown if the cars battery level gets too low

* With 1 or 2 lenses in the camera
* 1 is good, 2 is better, with 2 one faces forward, the other faces you, so if a cop said you were using your phone when you weren't you have proof

* Do you want a 3-axis acceleration sensor?
* Most things that are called dashcams have these as they use these to record the "event" and some lock the event file so it cant be deleted.

You will want a 32GB or larger Class 10 Micro SD card.

You also do not want to broadcast that you have a dashcam which means dont get one that stands out, get one that blends in with the car or can be hidden and dont tell anyone if you get into a crash, if they lie to their insurer and your video says otherwise, let them deal with it.

 

[kikie]

Revivng this thread because I think the I finally made up my mind and get myself a dash cam.

Only thing is, which brand should I get. And with a GPS or not. GPS can show your speed, which can work against you in case of an accident or it also can work in your favour in case of an accident.

I like the CR-2000 serie of FineVu. There are less expensive dash cams which are very good like the "Mini 0830"

See:

 

[TenEightyOne]

GPS can show your speed, which can work against you in case of an accident or it also can work in your favour in case of an accident.

That's irrelevant, video footage itself can show your speed if you're on a road marked according to local legislation - the observer simply needs to do some frame-to-frame timing. So get the GPS

 

[kikie]

That's irrelevant, video footage itself can show your speed if you're on a road marked according to local legislation - the observer simply needs to do some frame-to-frame timing. So get the GPS

Yes. In case of an accident, when necessary, an expert can calculate the speed. Even I can calculate speed and I'm having the lowest IQ on GTP.

 

[kikie]

I think I'm going to get a Lukas instead of the FineVu.

 

[kikie]

I got the Blackvue DR3500 instead. Installed it in the Fiat. The video quality is not as good as I expected, it's down right bad. The videos are a little bit jerky and the video sometimes goes darker to go lighter again.

I want one for the Mondeo as well and I think I'm getting a Lukas this time. ( ^déja vu)


EDIT: I have a third party micro SD-card from Kingston 16GB intalled. The jerkyness can be caused by the not so compatibility of third party SD-cards.

Have to revise my opinion about the video quality. Compared it with youtube clips of different dash cam brands and the quality of the DR3500 is the same as all the other video clips I just saw.

 

[kikie]

Yesterday evening I got a replacement camera. After testing this camera I have to say that I'm not pleased with Blacvue. I also got a 32GB Pittasoft micro SD-card. The DR3500 is, IMHO, for this amount of money, not a good camera. AFAIK, the much cheaper mini 0803 from E-prance is a beter camera.

 

[MedigoFlame]

Reviving this thread.... Figured I'd ask as I am feeling pretty lost in the market of dash cams at the moment. But, I've got $80 left on my Amazon gift card and was wondering what options would be available. Can't help but think it'd come into use this winter with people still not knowing how to drive in the snow...

 

[Robin]

I'm about to mount a dash cam and have an usual question which I'm hoping someone could answer.

Do suction cups do permanent damage to your windscreen? I have read that because windscreens are laminated and have coating films the constant use of a cup with it's sucking action coupled with the weight of a camera/sat nav can leave an irremovable ring or bubble in the area.

I don't want this to happen, any advice or alternatives?

 

[niky]

I'm about to mount a dash cam and have an usual question which I'm hoping someone could answer.

Do suction cups do permanent damage to your windscreen? I have read that because windscreens are laminated and have coating films the constant use of a cup with it's sucking action coupled with the weight of a camera/sat nav can leave an irremovable ring or bubble in the area.

I don't want this to happen, any advice or alternatives?

Worst I've ever seen is a ring caused by the dirt and moisture from the cup... sometimes hard to remove... but I have not seen the lamination itself damaged.

 

[1241Penguin]

I'm about to mount a dash cam and have an usual question which I'm hoping someone could answer.

Do suction cups do permanent damage to your windscreen? I have read that because windscreens are laminated and have coating films the constant use of a cup with it's sucking action coupled with the weight of a camera/sat nav can leave an irremovable ring or bubble in the area.

I don't want this to happen, any advice or alternatives?

As niky said, I haven't seen any suction cup damage either to the windshield. The most there was was a bit of dirt. If you're worried though, I know there are some cams out there that replaces the rear view mirror completely, so you don't have anything sucking onto the windshield.

 

[Robin]

Thanks for the replies 👍. There is a small cup mark on my windscreen left from the sale sign over 10 years ago. You only really see it when the windscreen fogs up but whatever I have used to clean it it won't go away, this is why I was concerned. I have read some classic car owners worry about this because of rare windscreens.

I have looked at some of the other stuff out there like those cam's built into a mirror and also mirror mounts which hook round the stem. Also there are some dash mounted ones which use tape to secure them, that might be an option.

But it's good to hear that others haven't had any issues, might just use a cup in the end and maybe move it around occasionally or something.

Thanks again

 

[Crash]

As others have mentioned, cups shouldn't leave permanent marks.

Thanks for the replies 👍. There is a small cup mark on my windscreen left from the sale sign over 10 years ago. You only really see it when the windscreen fogs up but whatever I have used to clean it it won't go away, this is why I was concerned. I have read some classic car owners worry about this because of rare windscreens.

Have you tried cleaning it with something like acetone or MEK?

 

[SPhilli911]

I was in an accident a few years back when some jerk cut me off and I rammed into him. I got screwed by the accident, my car totaled and I had no way to prove my own innocence even though it was the other driver who turned in front of me, the insurance people claimed I had to be speeding to hit the other driver the way I did and it was an avoidable accident. This was all determined by an insurance adjuster on the phone in Texas! I was livid, but I couldn't do anything about it that didn't involve courts and more money. I took the loss and as a college student at the time it was devastating.

Anyways, I had a dashcam in my cars for a while after that, but it got a little annoying to use after a while, I had to keep plugging it in and erasing footage. Maybe I will get a better one that doesn't require much thought to use. But I am also wondering how effective they really are if you get into an accident. Sure they can most certainly be used against other drivers, but also yourself, so you really have to be a by the books driver at all times. Stupid drivers are all over the roads, but be mindful and drive carefully and even stupid accidents are avoidable.

 

[ExigeEvan]

@SPhilli911 - A good dash cam has a looping video facility, and archive for events and should be hard wired. All that can be done for less than £100 easily, even £50 if you have the know-how.

 

[MedigoFlame]

Something that might be of interest. Autoblog just advertised that there's a dash came for 71% off. Might buy it... Anyone know about this?

https://www.citizengoods.com/sales/...-res-car-video-recorder-camera-with-2-options

 

[Robin]

Edit - I solved the problem.

 

[Joey D]

So I'm going to resurrect this thread because I'm currently looking at dash cams. Utah drivers are impossibly bad and I've had numerous close calls and I want to be able to protect myself in case something happens. I know nothing about dash cams though other than the few I've looked at on Crutchfield. Is there anything I should look out for? I'm in the market for one that's around $200 or less and can be hardwired to the car. I'd also like it to be able to record in the dark/low light since my commute to work is typically in the dark.

It's also illegal in Utah to have something plastered in the middle of your windshield, so the camera needs to be compact enough that I can tuck it up behind my rearview mirror and out of the way. I'm still not 100% sure that's legal, but I don't think I'd get hassled if it's mostly hidden. Utah also gets stupid temperature swings that range from -10 in the winter to 120 in the summer. I'm not sure how well the average camera withstands various temps, but I assume they're at least made for it.