Dash Cameras?

[STEELE]

Looking to buy front and rear without hocking my gold watch. Recommendations much appreciated.

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[Alexx1401]

We have been using them in our vehicles for a couple decades now. Normally run about $30 for one that will take a 32G card. When one quits working I just buy a couple more so I always keep a spare. The low end ones seem to all be basically the same thing with different names slapped on them since they have long all worked the same way. All of mine will run for a few minutes with no power so for most vehicles plug them into the cigarette lighter. Turn the car on, they come on. Shut it off they shut down. One exception is one of our Jeeps the lighter is on all the time. So on that one we bougth one of those plug in multiple outlet deals that just has a power button on the front of it. Push it when we get in and again when we get out. If we forget the camera will just keep loop recording but uses so little power it would take a hell of a long time to effect anything. Since I try to not use Amazon any more I checked Wally on line and they of course have a bunch of them too. Starting at less than $20. The cheapo one seem to work great. While back I posted some stills from the time two clowns passed my Wife going down a winding hill and one of them rolled his vehicle multiple times. All caught on tape. When she got home we watched it, I called the PD who had responded to the wreck. Asked them if they wanted a copy. They sent an LEO over to the house to get a copy and thanked us for the help

 

[Deerhurst]

So, make a model?

 

[Alexx1401]

" So, make a model? "

For me, its different every time I buy one. This is the title of the last one I bought 2 of from Amazon. I run two in each vehicle to I keep a spare or two all the time. No two orders are ever the same. They all seem to work exactly the same. Any more when I open a new one the set up is the same as they have been for a long time. Probably all coming from the same factories in China

There is some "higher end" ones at any place that sells these. Never tried one, not sure what they do that the ones I buy don't do. When one of mine dies I just buy another 1 or two and it's whatever they have that is cheap.

Dash Cam, Crosstour 1080P Dash Camera for Cars 3" LCD Screen Car Camera 170° Wide

 

[Deerhurst]

Was hoping you had a favorite.

I have a cheap one that I don't trust. Sometimes it hates the SD card, sometimes it doesn't boot, sometimes it doesn't record and doesn't tell you.

 

[Flopsweat]

I did a lot of research and found that it's very difficult to find one that's not made in China. There were a few made in Korea but I couldn't find them for sale in the US. I usually buy a $40 to $50 one that has good reviews.

I like to keep the wiring hidden so I run twin lead (speaker wire or lamp cord) from the back of a switched cigarette lighter in the dash, up the A pillar to the center of the top of the windshield, where there is almost always room to hide a buck or USB converter and a terminal block. Now I can put anything up there that runs on 12 or 5 volts and it's very easy to get power to it. I haven't put a camera in the back of a vehicle yet but I'll probably power that from DRL if I can, or look for some other switched 12 volt source. It's a pain to run wire that far but I've done it for stereo systems before. Or I can pay the Car Toys guys an arm and a leg to run wires. Nah.

EDIT: Forgot to add that I've had mine for some time now and they come and go quickly. My own personal experience has been that the ones that use a Sony detector cost a little more but have a much better picture. Since I started using SanDisc SD cards I've had far less problems with them failing or needing to be reinserted.

 

[Alexx1401]

Was hoping you had a favorite.

I have a cheap one that I don't trust. Sometimes it hates the SD card, sometimes it doesn't boot, sometimes it doesn't record and doesn't tell you.

How old is it? Sounds like time to either change out the card, or the entire unit. My last order was from 7 months ago when I looked at Amazon, so can't remember how long the one it replaced lasted. All of mine will show me when I start and stop that they are recording. So far any time I have wanted to look at something its been there. Now and then one will give some kind of error message. Normally seems to be card error. I keep a few spare cards and will pop a new one in when it does. The cards are of course very cheap these days. I have noticed there are cards that "claim" they are better for this use. Class 10 or such I think they say. They claim they are best for video use. Cost is normally like a buck more so I buy those. It's long enough between them that the name on the outside of the new ones is always different by the time I buy replacements.
There are a lot of simple cheap mounts to just use a cell phone for this now too. So if you have a phone that will take video you could just pop your phone on that. Never paid attention to the camera's on my phones but have to assume if they do not have a loop function that there is probably and app to make that happen like the dash cams have. Maybe someone who has some of the higher end ones can chime in on what they do better?

 

[Alexx1401]

I did a lot of research and found that it's very difficult to find one that's not made in China. There were a few made in Korea but I couldn't find them for sale in the US. I usually buy a $40 to $50 one that has good reviews.

I like to keep the wiring hidden so I run twin lead (speaker wire or lamp cord) from the back of a switched cigarette lighter in the dash, up the A pillar to the center of the top of the windshield, where there is almost always room to hide a buck or USB converter and a terminal block. Now I can put anything up there that runs on 12 or 5 volts and it's very easy to get power to it. I haven't put a camera in the back of a vehicle yet but I'll probably power that from DRL if I can, or look for some other switched 12 volt source. It's a pain to run wire that far but I've done it for stereo systems before. Or I can pay the Car Toys guys an arm and a leg to run wires. Nah.

I have long toyed with putting in one in the rear window. After that road rage thing where those two clowns passed wife and one did a few rolls I would have loved to see what was going on behind her. She said she did not see them but I suspect they were doing the same stuff and she just was not paying attention. Figure I could just run a wire from the front to the back under the floor mats out of sight. So far all of the cams have used the old Mini style plug so the wire would work for all of them. Every time I "think about" doing this I of course get lazy and just do not bother.

 

[Flopsweat]

I have long toyed with putting in one in the rear window. After that road rage thing where those two clowns passed wife and one did a few rolls I would have loved to see what was going on behind her. She said she did not see them but I suspect they were doing the same stuff and she just was not paying attention. Figure I could just run a wire from the front to the back under the floor mats out of sight. So far all of the cams have used the old Mini style plug so the wire would work for all of them. Every time I "think about" doing this I of course get lazy and just do not bother.

If you're going to run it down the floor make sure you know which fuse goes to the lighter.

 

[Alexx1401]

If you're going to run it down the floor make sure you know which fuse goes to the lighter.

Yea if I get around to it I will have to pop the cover off the box and take a snap shot of which one it is since I will never remember if it blow that one. I had my car towed from work to the shop one time over a blown fuse. Talk about embarrassing
Got in, would not start. Power seemed on to all. Hooked up the jump box just to make sure, nada. I thought starter must have died. So mechanic calls, it was just a fuse. He checked around, could not see any short so said it if happened again he would have to do some more looking to see why.It never did blow again. I felt like an idiot for not thinking to even check that. AAA so tow was free. mechanic no charge to look it over so all is cost me was some embarrassment that I never even thought to look at the damn fuses

 

[Deerhurst]

How old is it? Sounds like time to either change out the card, or the entire unit. My last order was from 7 months ago when I looked at Amazon, so can't remember how long the one it replaced lasted. All of mine will show me when I start and stop that they are recording. So far any time I have wanted to look at something its been there. Now and then one will give some kind of error message. Normally seems to be card error. I keep a few spare cards and will pop a new one in when it does. The cards are of course very cheap these days. I have noticed there are cards that "claim" they are better for this use. Class 10 or such I think they say. They claim they are best for video use. Cost is normally like a buck more so I buy those. It's long enough between them that the name on the outside of the new ones is always different by the time I buy replacements.
There are a lot of simple cheap mounts to just use a cell phone for this now too. So if you have a phone that will take video you could just pop your phone on that. Never paid attention to the camera's on my phones but have to assume if they do not have a loop function that there is probably and app to make that happen like the dash cams have. Maybe someone who has some of the higher end ones can chime in on what they do better?

It's less than 2 years old.

Class 10 is pretty slow these days. I usually go for U3 or faster. I spec SD cards as if I were putting them in my DSLR which has outrun even U3 pretty easy.

Good idea on the phone. I have a couple spare.

Ive got a GoPro stuck on the windshield of my truck as a dash cam now. And to record my stupid stuff off-road.

 

[Alexx1401]

It's less than 2 years old.



Ive got a GoPro stuck on the windshield of my truck as a dash cam now. And to record my stupid stuff off-road.

Well that is an excellent way to go. When I mention "higher end" models those are one of them. Back when I first got interested in putting in a camera everything was much higher of course. Some were using the early GoPro's but they were of course a hell of a lot more expensive. For the ones I am paying 30$ and less for if one starts to act strange after even a year I just toss it and put in a new one. Long ago we had a couple mounts that would let us use the Body Cams we use when walking the dogs in the vehicles. Those camera's were pricey back then so did not want to leave them in the cars. So had to take them in when we were home or work. The damn mounts alone cost about what I pay for an entire camera now back them
Like everything those GoPro and copies have come way down in price and would still make a great "higher end" way to have a dash cam.

 

[Flopsweat]

Yea if I get around to it I will have to pop the cover off the box and take a snap shot of which one it is since I will never remember if it blow that one. I had my car towed from work to the shop one time over a blown fuse. Talk about embarrassing
Got in, would not start. Power seemed on to all. Hooked up the jump box just to make sure, nada. I thought starter must have died. So mechanic calls, it was just a fuse. He checked around, could not see any short so said it if happened again he would have to do some more looking to see why.It never did blow again. I felt like an idiot for not thinking to even check that. AAA so tow was free. mechanic no charge to look it over so all is cost me was some embarrassment that I never even thought to look at the damn fuses

I have three projects going right now. One of them I haven't touched in almost a year.

Well that is an excellent way to go. When I mention "higher end" models those are one of them. Back when I first got interested in putting in a camera everything was much higher of course. Some were using the early GoPro's but they were of course a hell of a lot more expensive. For the ones I am paying 30$ and less for if one starts to act strange after even a year I just toss it and put in a new one. Long ago we had a couple mounts that would let us use the Body Cams we use when walking the dogs in the vehicles. Those camera's were pricey back then so did not want to leave them in the cars. So had to take them in when we were home or work. The damn mounts alone cost about what I pay for an entire camera now back them
Like everything those GoPro and copies have come way down in price and would still make a great "higher end" way to have a dash cam.

I use one on my quad. There is a mode where it turns on when you apply external power. It may even be called dashcam mode, I forget. I cut a hole in the case for the power cable and gasketed it with RTV. The camera has never been wet even when I've driven through a foot or more of water at unadvisable speeds.

 

[Deerhurst]

Well that is an excellent way to go. When I mention "higher end" models those are one of them. Back when I first got interested in putting in a camera everything was much higher of course. Some were using the early GoPro's but they were of course a hell of a lot more expensive. For the ones I am paying 30$ and less for if one starts to act strange after even a year I just toss it and put in a new one. Long ago we had a couple mounts that would let us use the Body Cams we use when walking the dogs in the vehicles. Those camera's were pricey back then so did not want to leave them in the cars. So had to take them in when we were home or work. The damn mounts alone cost about what I pay for an entire camera now back them
Like everything those GoPro and copies have come way down in price and would still make a great "higher end" way to have a dash cam.

I would like to find a replacement for the one I had to take off the windshield of my car since I just got the windshield replaced. Maybe I just need to put a GoPro mount on the car. I've got one of those little square ones because it doesn't hurt the neck nearly as bad on a helmet mount.

Those little gopros are crazy tough. I've taken so great wrecks with them and been ripped off a bicycle by a GoPro and it never really even care. Battery life kinda sucks though.

 

[Flopsweat]

I would like to find a replacement for the one I had to take off the windshield of my car since I just got the windshield replaced. Maybe I just need to put a GoPro mount on the car. I've got one of those little square ones because it doesn't hurt the neck nearly as bad on a helmet mount.

Those little gopros are crazy tough. I've taken so great wrecks with them and been ripped off a bicycle by a GoPro and it never really even care. Battery life kinda sucks though.

I have a small phone charger battery mounted to my helmet with a USB cable running to the helmet cam. The smallest battery I could find runs the camera for over 12 hours! I never ride that long. I made a waterproof cover for the battery by cutting down and sealing a quart ziplock bag. If you don't have a plastic sealer, you can straighten out half a paperclip, clamp it in vice grips or hemostats and heat it with a lighter or soldering iron. Hold the heated paperclip almost parallel to the bag and it will cut and seal it at the same time. Works great, no leaks so far.

 

[Member 5605]

I use Nexar.
Many reasons why but the storing of video on my phone, SD car on the camera and auto on is a big plus. Free and unlimited cloud storage is nice. Can easily make a clip from the app, ties into Siri to make a 30 second clip at the time of triggering. Records/stores clips automatically with hard braking. Can easily send insurance report out via the app which includes location, data from phone or cameras accelerometer and video.

Allows family groups so if an impact is devoted while driving it can auto alert members of the family with your location etc.

I have the $75 one in our cars. There are other models with from and rear video and audio.

 

[SrMachoSolo]

I run this one on my track car (also street "legal"):

https://www.amazon.com/Black-Box-320mAh-Battery-Model/dp/B00J2OVN74/

I tried a few different ones out, and found this to be the most reliable and have good quality video/sound and features I needed. I opted not to go for GPS speed, because just in case insurance/the law need to see video, I don't want to reveal my lead foot.

It's been many years since, so there are likely ones with more bells and whistles, but if you're looking for something straightforward, this does the job.

-Robert

 

[Alexx1401]

I run this one on my track car (also street "legal"):

https://www.amazon.com/Black-Box-320mAh-Battery-Model/dp/B00J2OVN74/

I tried a few different ones out, and found this to be the most reliable and have good quality video/sound and features I needed. I opted not to go for GPS speed, because just in case insurance/the law need to see video, I don't want to reveal my lead foot.

-Robert

LOL, I had seen some of the higher end ones that said they would also log your speed. That they could be used if you got tagged for speeding and were not. first thing I thought of is what if you were? Also the audio even on my cheapo's works sometimes too well. Many times when Wife has had some "close call" and we go to watch it she gets all red faces hearing herself singing to what ever is on the radio and then dropping some F bombs when someone almost hit her. The best was one day in a parking lot with her sister. She is yaking away while backing out of a space. Another gal was backing out of a space and they "met in the middle". You could hear my Wife say "what the F&%&K ?" then her sister saying " you hit that gal!".
No damage to Wife's car, some to the other. They exchanged info and our insurance judged the other driver at fault, so nothing on us. I told her she may want to be more careful what they blurt out in the future though since the tape may have to go to court. That tape I gave the Police of the guy who rolled his car a couple times on that hill I suspect they were all playing for each other at the office. Her singing away, then those two pass her and the one rolls a couple times, her singing changes to a couple F bombs.

 

[Flopsweat]

I run this one on my track car (also street "legal"):

https://www.amazon.com/Black-Box-320mAh-Battery-Model/dp/B00J2OVN74/

I tried a few different ones out, and found this to be the most reliable and have good quality video/sound and features I needed. I opted not to go for GPS speed, because just in case insurance/the law need to see video, I don't want to reveal my lead foot.

It's been many years since, so there are likely ones with more bells and whistles, but if you're looking for something straightforward, this does the job.

-Robert

Can they still calculate your speed based on the time it takes you to pass between two landmarks given the distance between them? I don't know if it's practical but the math seems simple enough.

 

[Alexx1401]

Can they still calculate your speed based on the time it takes you to pass between two landmarks given the distance between them? I don't know if it's practical but the math seems simple enough.

I have often wondered about that and I have to "guess" that they would be able to in something like a wreck. If they wanted to prove the person recording was speeding seems like some "expert" could view the tape and at least make a good guess at the speed by known things going by. Have no idea how it would hold up in court though not being a lawyer. When Wife and I watched the tape of those two clowns who passed her I did mention that. She was wondering if the one who had the bad wreck would try to claim she was going so slow he "had to pass". Told her since the posted was 35, cautions of the curves were 15-20, and it was double yellow, I doubt the guy would even try that defense. That if he did I would "guess" some Judge watching the video would see Wife was going plenty fast that they would toss that excuse. I suppose if the car taking video's was in something bad, and it looked like they were going well over posted?? May well just work to hang them??
Not sure if they could use "your video" against you though? Another one only a Lawyer would be able to give a good answer on. I know a lot of cars now have some kind of GPS built in. One buddy I used to work with who had a VERY heavy foot said often his Wife would tell him their car would notify them that at a certain time it was going well over the posted. Makes me wonder if the courts could access that and use it against you??