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dash cams

4K views 23 replies 18 participants last post by  lewisnewson 
#1 ·
How many of you have one of these and how much did you pay also what make as I am thinking of one and would like your opinions
Thanks John
 
#5 ·
The way I go about it is that I use my old decommissioned (as a phone) Blackberry Z10 as my satnav running Mireo Don't Panic with a 64GB micro SD card for extra storage. You might wonder why this is relevant. Well, at the same time I use an app to record real time video in 1080p (my dash cam) which also has an accelerometer and can send a text to predefined numbers if I crash (cool feature). With such a flexible device the sky is the limit, you can connect it via bluetooth to your headunit and play music, spotify etc. When you are done, it takes 2 seconds to unplug it and either take it with you or hide it in the glove box.

If you have an older iPhone etc you could consider it. At the end of the day it was a £500 device when new, you might as well squeeze as much out of it.
 
#7 ·
Tend to use an SJCam SJ4000 for longer journeys as I've got it set to record continuous for 4+ hour. Quality not too bad either, only annoying thing when I purchased it was it came with every conceivable extra for strapping to an helmet, handlebars, waterproof case, but no dash mount. Fortunately dash mounts for it are cheap enough so not that much of a problem :) link to cam quality
 
#8 · (Edited)
@dert for sure these SJ4000’s make good DVR’s, I bought mine to use as an action camera but thought I’t see how good they were used as a DVR and I was taken back by just how good the image capture was

when you say 4 hours continues do you mean its one long four hour file? myself I think its a bit risky if thats what you mean, not sure which version of the SJ4000 (or firmware) you have, I have the SJ4000 wifi and that has the facility to loop the recording and create files that last for something like 1, 3 10 and 15 minute recordings (not sure just now as I don’t have the camera near me), so should something go wrong, you only loose a few minutes recording not the whole 4 hours, also setting it to loop recording when it fills the card up it over writes the oldest file so you don’t have to keep taking the card out

when I bought mine it came with a windscreen cradle, not sure if you knew, it can record without the internal battery if its powered by a USB from the car, and can be set so it automatically comes on with ignition ON and switches of with ignition off

To the OP, there’s a very good DVR forum, dashcamtalk.com you’ll find 90% of any questions there and also some of the DVR manufacturers are on there too

I used to use a Blackvue DR500GW, but the image quality was very bad due to the low bit rate, once I installed a third party firmware it was better

I now have a mini 0806 for the front


this was from the mini 0806 driving through France last summer, the speed warning was from my sat nav not the DVR. the French police are hot on speeding, the on the spot fines for doing 31mph + above the speed limit is/was €1,500.00

these two clips are from my rear facing mini 0805



this one with sound recording OFF


no sound effects on any of the clips, what you hear was all recorded by the DVR (or not as in the last one)
 
#10 ·
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#9 ·
#12 ·
#13 ·
I have a Blackvue as well. Great picture quality and easy to use software. Mine just saved my bacon after an accident. I e-mailed the video to my insurance company and they immediately waived my deductible as it showed the other driver was clearly at fault.
One point, you may not want to get one with GPS as it shows your speed.
 
#14 ·
My son gave me one that he paid £6.00 for- Id seen the one in his car and said just get me one for the 'toy' (MG)
They are on Ebay- you just have to wait a few weeks for it to arrive. doesn't have speed or GPS but for 6 quid, so what?
I've got the big-end in my RRS and my wife as same in her AMG but apart from the lack of GPS, I can't fault them.

This is what Ive got but doubt it was this seller Car camera uk 2.7 inch screen. Dash cam. 1080p. New. G sensor. UK private seller | eBay
 
#15 ·
I read somewhere on a dash cam site, that if you want to use the camera for evidential reasons, it mus have GPS. In other words if you see something dangerous enough (road rage for example), it can not be used by the police (courts etc.) unless it has GPS information.

It seems most insurance companies will accept dash cam footage (not all though) to show blame, but unless the picture quality is good enough to catch reg plates (most of the cheap stuff on E-Bay is not good enough) then if your accident is caused by someone who fails to stop, then it will be of no use. Most decent cameras also record the GPS information separate to the video, so only send what you want to!

When you test the cheapo ones, make sure you can reliably read reg plates of cars coming towards you. You might be surprised how few you can read.

I use a MIO and a Cobra in my two cars, both with GPS (the cobra is quite cheap now at about £75) and both reliably record number plates of oncoming traffic at 60mph.The Mio is the better camera though!

As said, dont forget, with, or without GPS, the camera will record your driving also, and can be seized in the event of an accident (or other stop) if police are involved and think a motoring offense has occurred.

I got mine due to the increase in poor driving, and road rage I see almost every day. Rep-mobile and HGV drivers seem to be getting far worse recently!

Peter
 
#21 ·
I read somewhere on a dash cam site, that if you want to use the camera for evidential reasons, it mus have GPS. In other words if you see something dangerous enough (road rage for example), it can not be used by the police (courts etc.) unless it has GPS information.
That is probably a general rule but say it demonstrate an injury and both you and the driver are in the video it will prove you were both present at the scene.

A signpost in the video clearly showing the location would be the same as GPS.

It seems most insurance companies will accept dash cam footage (not all though) to show blame, but unless the picture quality is good enough to catch reg plates (most of the cheap stuff on E-Bay is not good enough) then if your accident is caused by someone who fails to stop, then it will be of no use.
Again there are exceptions if the car is identifiable from either the driver or condition of the car.

My "eBay" Chinese piece of crap happily does 1080p 30fps or 720p 60fps. Both of which are suitable to read at close range. 1080P is probably preferable if you want motorway driving clarity.

CCDs are cheap. You don't need a gopro unless you are going for good colour pickcup.

Actual resolution and noise reduction is about as ancient as it gets with CCD. You can buy a £10 1080p camera that will resolve an image if it has good light.
 
#16 ·
Peter- judge for yourself- registration plates can be read. I have expensive ones in my Range Rover and Wife's Merc- these do GPS/speed etc but as my son mentioned the magic words £6 and just got me one- silly not to try it out in the MG.

I shall be installing a DC/DC converter (as they all work on 5v, not 12v) and wiring it in permanently to free up the cigar lighter socket as thats where we plug the SATNAV into. I as cynical as you about the standard of driving and near-death experiences/downright couldn't-car-less attitude of road users and thats why I've gone down the dash cam route over the last few years.

Take a look-

 
#17 · (Edited)
I just had a look, and not one of the incoming cars regeneration's could be read!

The Taxi could only be read when it was very close and almost stationary!

Imagine you are driving down an A road and the oncoming car drifts into your lane. You swerve to avoid it and hit the kerb or wall causing damage to your car. The other car fails to stop. Footage is not very helpful without reg details.

I was making a right turn on fast A-Road using a separate right turning lane in middle of the road (you know the ones which are painted down the middle of the road).
I approached it with my right indicator on. As i was about to turn into the painted area, an oncoming car pulled out into it as he wanted to use the space to overtake. I had to swerve back out to the left, just as a car was undertaking me (my speed had dropped to about 15mph). Fortunately avoided a serious accident by inches. If I had hit the car undertaking me, I had captured the oncoming cars reg as the cause of the accident. He was traveling at about 40 to 50 mph and would have been oblivious to the carnage he might have caused!

To me its pointless having a dash cam unless the picture quality can see this kind of detail.

I did buy a cheap camera at first, to see if it was viable, but the lack of quality prompted more expensive cameras (£100) and I would not go back to one of the cheap ones.

Would not drive anywhere without it. Sometimes a good pointing to the camera will calm down a road rager!

Sample from the MiVue from MIO



Peter
 
#22 ·
I use a cheapo chinese one which has very good reviews G1W I think it was called. Install it high up on the screen and try not to capture too much sky to make the images of the road/cars/numberplates easier to read, i.e. horizon should be in the top third of the image typically so the camera pointed slightly downward.
 
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