Dash Cameras

[Tonsko]

mybrainhurts said:

smarty156 said:

The F770 looks like it's top of my list now.
I like that the rear camera is HD and that it only connects to the front camera via a usb cable. No separate power needed. A smaller front camera would be nice but I think it will hide well enough.

It was on mine too, until I watched a video review. Seems too big to hide, really needs to be removable, but can't see how you could that.

Unless someone makes self adhesive magnets...

It has a sticky pad, but is detatchable from it, kind of like an M6 toll tag.

[mybrainhurts]

Tonsko said:

mybrainhurts said:

smarty156 said:

The F770 looks like it's top of my list now.
I like that the rear camera is HD and that it only connects to the front camera via a usb cable. No separate power needed. A smaller front camera would be nice but I think it will hide well enough.

It was on mine too, until I watched a video review. Seems too big to hide, really needs to be removable, but can't see how you could that.

Unless someone makes self adhesive magnets...

It has a sticky pad, but is detatchable from it, kind of like an M6 toll tag.

Problem solved, thanks...

[Alex L]

Alex L said:

Both of my Transcend DP220s have now packed up. Transcend have asked for them to be posted to them to investigate..

Can't fault Transcend's customer services. Both cameras were over a year old, they couldn't repair the faults so replaced them both with brand new ones.

[EazyDuz]

Good dash cam for £50?
Looking at getting a G1W probably and hard wire.
If I buy this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dash-Camera-Vehicle-Hard...

Can I just get one of those things that piggyback off a fuse in the fuse box and find an earth point somewhere? Would rather do that than run off the factory wires

[superlightr]

Alex L said:

Alex L said:

Both of my Transcend DP220s have now packed up. Transcend have asked for them to be posted to them to investigate..

Can't fault Transcend's customer services. Both cameras were over a year old, they couldn't repair the faults so replaced them both with brand new ones.

Ive had my transcend 220 for just over a year now and its going well. Bought a 200 for the wifes car last week. Will report any issues but so far been impressed.

[EazyDuz]

Looking more at them, the A118-C looks ideal and more discreet than the G1W so going to order that today, hopefully in time for my 240 mile trip down to Plymouth next weekend.

[Crafty_]

If You like the form factor get the a119s instead, far better video quality.

[Cupramax]

Crafty_ said:

If You like the form factor get the a119s instead, far better video quality.

Not surprising as its nearly twice the price...

[EazyDuz]

Cupramax said:

Not surprising as its nearly twice the price...

Yer and not expecting it to last more than a year anyway, they're all chinese crap

[Avidfanofstuff]

gmaz said:

I wanted to find something as small and unobtrusive as possible so I've bought this to replace my ePrance Mini0801

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01H6J915C/ref=pe_3857...



It looks OK from the reviews, so I'll report back once its fitted and working.

Looks good... how's it working out?

[gmaz]

Avidfanofstuff said:

gmaz said:

I wanted to find something as small and unobtrusive as possible so I've bought this to replace my ePrance Mini0801

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01H6J915C/ref=pe_3857...



It looks OK from the reviews, so I'll report back once its fitted and working.

Looks good... how's it working out?

I've returned it. The camera was absolutely fine and looks good quality, but my car (Merc C class) has a large mounting for the mirror containing rain sensor etc so I couldn't find a good position behind the mirror for the camera that didn't have part of the rain sensor cover obscuring the top right of the picture. Moving the camera more to the left meant that it was in the passenger's eye line.

So, if you can put it right behind the mirror it would be ideal, but not for my car. I've now ordered one of these which is built into the rain sensor cover.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Hidden-Car-DVR-for...

[AndyDubbya]

gmaz said:

Avidfanofstuff said:

gmaz said:

I wanted to find something as small and unobtrusive as possible so I've bought this to replace my ePrance Mini0801

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01H6J915C/ref=pe_3857...



It looks OK from the reviews, so I'll report back once its fitted and working.

Looks good... how's it working out?

I've returned it. The camera was absolutely fine and looks good quality, but my car (Merc C class) has a large mounting for the mirror containing rain sensor etc so I couldn't find a good position behind the mirror for the camera that didn't have part of the rain sensor cover obscuring the top right of the picture. Moving the camera more to the left meant that it was in the passenger's eye line.

So, if you can put it right behind the mirror it would be ideal, but not for my car. I've now ordered one of these which is built into the rain sensor cover.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Hidden-Car-DVR-for...

Looks like the lens needs to be nearer to the windscreen, so it doesn't pick up so much peripheral stuff like your rain sensor. That design doesn't allow that though...

[gmaz]

mizx said:

If I want great video quality (to record drives in interesting places/roads) and I'm not necessarily bothered about 'dashcam' functions, am I probably best going with an 'action' cam over a dashcam?

I'm thinking a cheaper action cam will still better the best regarded dashcams for quality, only problem is at 170 deg fov they are too wide.

Are there any dashcams at a sweetspot of video quality and not too expensive, if I don't care about how good their other functions are? If there's a dashcam with good enough video for my use, I may end up using it every day anyway.

Edited by mizx on Tuesday 14th March 13:47

Mobius 2 will do 1080p at 60fps, its a action camera that also works as a dash cam

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spy-Tec-Mobius-Sports-Cam...

Techmoan review - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfFBCuzoG-U

[JumboBeef]

I posted a couple of months ago how I was having problems with my 0806. It kept rebooting. This is down to the internal battery failing.

Also, I had a fatal accident happen right in front of it and the damn thing didn't record. I found out later that it did record but didn't save it when the power was shut off. This was because of the internal battery failure.

Found this page here:

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/replacing-ba...

which explains how to replace the battery. Bought a battery from ebay and set about doing this. When I opened the unit to get the old battery out, it was under a lot of pressure and popped open really easily.

I'm not surprised when you look what has happened to the old battery, it has swollen up! The photo shows the new battery and the old battery side by side.

Fitted the new battery, put it all back to together and now it works fine again!

[EazyDuz]

Ordered the A118C with 32gig card and good quality hard wire kit, 67 quid all in not bad.
Make sure you order from Spytec on amazon, the other sellers sell cheap knock offs.

[vikingaero]

JumboBeef said:

I posted a couple of months ago how I was having problems with my 0806. It kept rebooting. This is down to the internal battery failing.

Also, I had a fatal accident happen right in front of it and the damn thing didn't record. I found out later that it did record but didn't save it when the power was shut off. This was because of the internal battery failure.

Found this page here:

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/replacing-ba...

which explains how to replace the battery. Bought a battery from ebay and set about doing this. When I opened the unit to get the old battery out, it was under a lot of pressure and popped open really easily.

I'm not surprised when you look what has happened to the old battery, it has swollen up! The photo shows the new battery and the old battery side by side.

Fitted the new battery, put it all back to together and now it works fine again!

I think that's a problem a lot of people will be facing. Batteries will slowly fail with use and the cold and hot internal temperatures in a car. Rather than replacing the battery you should look to installing a capacitor in place of the battery similar to this:

https://www.joovuu.com/gb/other/95-mobius-super-ca...

[JumboBeef]

vikingaero said:

JumboBeef said:

I posted a couple of months ago how I was having problems with my 0806. It kept rebooting. This is down to the internal battery failing.

Also, I had a fatal accident happen right in front of it and the damn thing didn't record. I found out later that it did record but didn't save it when the power was shut off. This was because of the internal battery failure.

Found this page here:

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/replacing-ba...

which explains how to replace the battery. Bought a battery from ebay and set about doing this. When I opened the unit to get the old battery out, it was under a lot of pressure and popped open really easily.

I'm not surprised when you look what has happened to the old battery, it has swollen up! The photo shows the new battery and the old battery side by side.

Fitted the new battery, put it all back to together and now it works fine again!

I think that's a problem a lot of people will be facing. Batteries will slowly fail with use and the cold and hot internal temperatures in a car. Rather than replacing the battery you should look to installing a capacitor in place of the battery similar to this:

https://www.joovuu.com/gb/other/95-mobius-super-ca...

How long would that allow the camera to run on for after the power is switched off?

Now I know what to do, I could change the battery in <20 minutes so I'm not too concerned if I have to change the battery again in 6-12 months (anyway, it'll be time for a new dash cam then )

[Crafty_]

gmaz said:

mizx said:

If I want great video quality (to record drives in interesting places/roads) and I'm not necessarily bothered about 'dashcam' functions, am I probably best going with an 'action' cam over a dashcam?

I'm thinking a cheaper action cam will still better the best regarded dashcams for quality, only problem is at 170 deg fov they are too wide.

Are there any dashcams at a sweetspot of video quality and not too expensive, if I don't care about how good their other functions are? If there's a dashcam with good enough video for my use, I may end up using it every day anyway.

Edited by mizx on Tuesday 14th March 13:47

Mobius 2 will do 1080p at 60fps, its a action camera that also works as a dash cam

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spy-Tec-Mobius-Sports-Cam...

Techmoan review - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfFBCuzoG-U

Agree on looking at the mobius cameras, but I'd suggest checking carefully, the mobius 2 is still quite a new product and the firmware is still improving, it needs to as image quality isn't that great to be honest. It might be better to go for the mobius 1.

Look at the samples over on dashcamtalk before taking the plunge.

Edited by Crafty_ on Tuesday 14th March 19:12

[LocoBlade]

gmaz said:

I've now ordered one of these which is built into the rain sensor cover.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Hidden-Car-DVR-for...

I bought the equivalent BMW one a month or two back as mentioned a few pages back which I strongly suspect is the same hardware as that, and unfortunately it was rubbish so hopefully mine was just a duffer rather than the norm. The video quality when it recorded was reasonable but in about 2 hours of driving split into about 5 return journeys it managed to record only a few minutes of footage. Connecting to it via WiFi was also extremeley hit and miss so I sent it back
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Edited by LocoBlade on Tuesday 14th March 19:09

[gmaz]

LocoBlade said:

I bought the equivalent BMW one a month or two back as mentioned a few pages back which I strongly suspect is the same hardware as that, and unfortunately it was rubbish so hopefully mine was just a duffer rather than the norm. The video quality when it recorded was reasonable but in about 2 hours of driving split into about 5 return journeys it managed to record only a few minutes of footage. Connecting to it via WiFi was also extremeley hit and miss so I sent it back
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Edited by LocoBlade on Tuesday 14th March 19:09

Damn, thanks for the info. Could be £60 down the drain for me