Dash Cameras

Author
Discussion

thetapeworm

11,192 posts

238 months

Thursday 27th August 2015
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FoxtrotOscar1 said:
Afternoon all. Quick question. I am looking to buy a dash camera for my works van. Ideally I would like one that can be configured so that it can log real time and possibly journey times etc. Is this a possibility on any models?

Not wanting to spend hundreds but it would be useful feature to have. Any recommendations?
If you're happy to copy off the files and check the data yourself then any GPS enabled cam should be able to give you a start time, end time and plot the route taken on a map.

I have an old original Roadhawk that does this, I presume superior and cheaper options have come along since.

iacabu

1,348 posts

148 months

Friday 28th August 2015
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Can anyone help...there is a lot of noise when playing back my videos, like interference/crackling. Done it for a while and I have recently started using a different lead which hasn't helped.

rich888

2,610 posts

198 months

Friday 28th August 2015
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All that jazz said:
CoolHands said:
All that jazz said:
You press the middle button of 3 to save an event. Long 10 min clips are more prone to corruption than shorter ones and of course take longer to transfer, edit etc. I have mine set to the shortest clip length which iirc is 3 mins. The software is intelligent when you save an event and will also save the one before or the one after as well, depending on when you pressed the save button during the current clip.
by the way does it records numerous 3min clips and only record over the first ones when the card is getting full? If so how long does a card last ie in nor al daily use would you be able to download footage from yesterday if say my missus told me late something had occurred?
Yes it loops and will overwrite the oldest non-protected files in chronological order when the card is full. Whether you still have footage from the previous day will depend on

1. how big the SD card is.
2. what recording quality you have the camera set to.
3. what length of time it's been recording since yesterday.

I have a 16GB card in mine which is quite small by modern day comparisons now and I record in 1080p 30. If I recall correctly that usually gives me access to around the past 4 hours of footage.

Once the initial novelty has worn off from saving every clip of poor driving you witness, you won't bother about any of that stuff and just leave it to do its thing. I drive for a living and do about 1500 miles a week and I can't remember the last time I had the card out to download some footage. You see bad driving so often these days that it's just not noteworthy anymore.
Can I just add that if you're using a Mobius then I would suggest using a 64GB card not only because it saves the files for many hours longer, but more importantly because the card will last longer because SD cards have a finite number of write cycles before they fail, and obviously a 16GB card will be over-written many more times than a 64GB which doesn't really cost that much more. I always format mine FAT32 rather than exFAT and record in 3 minute segments which doesn't make the final file sizes too massive - note that a 3 min video file is still over 400MB. And to owners of other dash cams, make sure your dash cam is capable of recording onto 64GB and larger capacity cards because many of them only accept 32GB. And don't go and buy a cheap fake SD card or dash camera from fleabay!

rich888

2,610 posts

198 months

Friday 28th August 2015
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iacabu said:
Can anyone help...there is a lot of noise when playing back my videos, like interference/crackling. Done it for a while and I have recently started using a different lead which hasn't helped.
If it's only started doing this since you changed the cable then you might need a better shielded cable, incidentally, what brand of dash cam are you using?

TankRizzo

7,247 posts

192 months

Friday 28th August 2015
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iacabu said:
Can anyone help...there is a lot of noise when playing back my videos, like interference/crackling. Done it for a while and I have recently started using a different lead which hasn't helped.
Hi mate the exact same thing happened with my Mobius and it was the cigarette lighter charger I was using. Swapped it for one of these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00M8ZMM2Y?psc=...

and plugged it into the 1.0A port, no more buzzing. Before I did it, it sounded like this, is this what you're getting?

https://youtu.be/dAsgnTNAchs

iacabu

1,348 posts

148 months

Saturday 29th August 2015
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rich888 said:
iacabu said:
Can anyone help...there is a lot of noise when playing back my videos, like interference/crackling. Done it for a while and I have recently started using a different lead which hasn't helped.
If it's only started doing this since you changed the cable then you might need a better shielded cable, incidentally, what brand of dash cam are you using?
Mobius.
It did it with both cables. The first came with the camera, the second is from Joovuu. I originally had the short cable running straight down from the camera to the socket (not pretty!) so thought the movement of the cable was causing it, however having now run a longer cable and hidden it, it's still doing it.

TankRizzo said:
Hi mate the exact same thing happened with my Mobius and it was the cigarette lighter charger I was using. Swapped it for one of these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00M8ZMM2Y?psc=...

and plugged it into the 1.0A port, no more buzzing. Before I did it, it sounded like this, is this what you're getting?

https://youtu.be/dAsgnTNAchs
Yes, it does sound like that, although much more noticable on mine. I'm using a Belkin USB adapter so assumed it would be up to the job. Might need to try that one you linked as I was hoping to get a twin one anyway.

Thanks!

rich888

2,610 posts

198 months

Saturday 29th August 2015
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iacabu said:
rich888 said:
iacabu said:
Can anyone help...there is a lot of noise when playing back my videos, like interference/crackling. Done it for a while and I have recently started using a different lead which hasn't helped.
If it's only started doing this since you changed the cable then you might need a better shielded cable, incidentally, what brand of dash cam are you using?
Mobius.
It did it with both cables. The first came with the camera, the second is from Joovuu. I originally had the short cable running straight down from the camera to the socket (not pretty!) so thought the movement of the cable was causing it, however having now run a longer cable and hidden it, it's still doing it.
Have you tried manually recording just using the battery in the Mobius without connecting the cable/adapter to the cigarette lighter, if it's still buzzing then you might have a faulty camera. How long have you owned it?

Sir Bagalot

6,463 posts

180 months

Saturday 29th August 2015
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I have a 0806, and to be honest I could have bought it cheaper through eBay.

I bought it instead through Combi. Yes, it was a few quid more than the far east internet boys but they were UK based.

Well a month in there are problems. A phone call and the guys at Combi suggest various things to check. TBH I had my doubts, but as they were trying to help determine a problem, and they came across as being helpful, I played ball.

A couple of days later all is not well. The 0806, in technical terms, is fked.

Another phone call to Combi to describe issues and they ask for its return. This is done and they call me on a Saturday to confirm receipt, and yes to confirm it's fked (ok they didn't actually use those termslaugh).

A replacement unit is sent, including hardwire kit.

Have to say, excellent customer service yes

anonymous-user

53 months

Saturday 29th August 2015
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Nice to hear. smile

CoolHands

18,496 posts

194 months

Monday 31st August 2015
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HI peeps I want to buy a mobius is there a preferred supplier? Any particular source that comes with more mounting options or whatever? I intend to mount it permanently and hard wire it in

the techmoan link goes to a hongkong supplier eletoponline365 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151071891306?clk_rvr_id=...
Cheers

Edited by CoolHands on Monday 31st August 21:10

Snowdrop_

223 posts

104 months

Monday 31st August 2015
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I have just ordered a few of these from Amazon, I hope they'll be pretty decent. Has anyone got one?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00ZZBY31G?psc=...

rich888

2,610 posts

198 months

Monday 31st August 2015
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CoolHands said:
HI peeps I want to buy a mobius is there a preferred supplier? Any particular source that comes with more mounting options or whatever? I intend to mount it permanently and hard wire it in

the techmoan link goes to a hongkong supplier eletoponline365 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151071891306?clk_rvr_id=...
Cheers

Edited by CoolHands on Monday 31st August 21:10
Well spotted because eletoponline365 is actually the ebay shop for the manufacturer of the Mobius and they do have a very good reputation. I purchased my Mobius with 'A' lens from them back in April, along with several of the windscreen mounts (permanent and suction) plus a 3m length of charging cable and USB adapter for the cigarette lighter, if you look down the list of options you can also buy the Mobius camera with a 32GB SD card which is good to start with. Not sure whether they sell the hardwire kit because my Mobius is powered using an external battery power-pack so I didn't have a need to hard-wire it.

Delivery from Hong Kong to my UK address took just 7 days which I thought was very impressive. Highly recommended.

CoolHands

18,496 posts

194 months

Monday 31st August 2015
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thanks rich

All that jazz

7,632 posts

145 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
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rich888 said:
Well spotted because eletoponline365 is actually the ebay shop for the manufacturer of the Mobius and they do have a very good reputation. I purchased my Mobius with 'A' lens from them back in April, along with several of the windscreen mounts (permanent and suction) plus a 3m length of charging cable and USB adapter for the cigarette lighter, if you look down the list of options you can also buy the Mobius camera with a 32GB SD card which is good to start with. Not sure whether they sell the hardwire kit because my Mobius is powered using an external battery power-pack so I didn't have a need to hard-wire it.

Delivery from Hong Kong to my UK address took just 7 days which I thought was very impressive. Highly recommended.
I would avoid getting the SD card from him as it's a Chinese no-name and SD cards are very finicky in these dashcams. Get your SD card from Amazon direct where you know it's genuine and will be a good price. Mine are Sandisk UHS-1s 16GB and I got a twin pack for a tenner from Amazon a few years ago and they've been faultless. Go for the USB cig charger from eletop with the camera as they have the correct power output for it (the camera doesn't like working with generic USB cig chargers). His windscreen suction cup mount for it works great too (unlike others).

rich888

2,610 posts

198 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
quotequote all
All that jazz said:
rich888 said:
Well spotted because eletoponline365 is actually the ebay shop for the manufacturer of the Mobius and they do have a very good reputation. I purchased my Mobius with 'A' lens from them back in April, along with several of the windscreen mounts (permanent and suction) plus a 3m length of charging cable and USB adapter for the cigarette lighter, if you look down the list of options you can also buy the Mobius camera with a 32GB SD card which is good to start with. Not sure whether they sell the hardwire kit because my Mobius is powered using an external battery power-pack so I didn't have a need to hard-wire it.

Delivery from Hong Kong to my UK address took just 7 days which I thought was very impressive. Highly recommended.
I would avoid getting the SD card from him as it's a Chinese no-name and SD cards are very finicky in these dashcams. Get your SD card from Amazon direct where you know it's genuine and will be a good price. Mine are Sandisk UHS-1s 16GB and I got a twin pack for a tenner from Amazon a few years ago and they've been faultless. Go for the USB cig charger from eletop with the camera as they have the correct power output for it (the camera doesn't like working with generic USB cig chargers). His windscreen suction cup mount for it works great too (unlike others).
I disagree with what you have said about buying the Chinese no-name micro SD card as supplied with the Mobius by eletoponline365, who incidentally are the manufacturer of these Mobius cameras, surely they of all people ought to know what works reliably with their cameras.

I wouldn't recommend a 16GB card when it is being used in the Mobius as a dash cam only because it will only record for just over 2 hours at the highest video data rate before the oldest footage is over-written, I would suggest you use at least 32GB card, and bearing how cheap cards are nowadays, perhaps look at a 64GB card. Remember that SD cards have a finite number of write times before they stop working. I agree with you about buying SD cards from Amazon, though you need to ensure that it is dispatched from and sold by Amazon and not a reseller. For info I'm currently using Sandisk and Kingston micro SD cards.

All that jazz

7,632 posts

145 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
quotequote all
rich888 said:
I disagree with what you have said about buying the Chinese no-name micro SD card as supplied with the Mobius by eletoponline365, who incidentally are the manufacturer of these Mobius cameras, surely they of all people ought to know what works reliably with their cameras.

I wouldn't recommend a 16GB card when it is being used in the Mobius as a dash cam only because it will only record for just over 2 hours at the highest video data rate before the oldest footage is over-written, I would suggest you use at least 32GB card, and bearing how cheap cards are nowadays, perhaps look at a 64GB card. Remember that SD cards have a finite number of write times before they stop working. I agree with you about buying SD cards from Amazon, though you need to ensure that it is dispatched from and sold by Amazon and not a reseller. For info I'm currently using Sandisk and Kingston micro SD cards.
I didn't say I recommended the 16GB card I use, I only said that's what I use because back then 32GB - and especially 64GB - SD cards were rather expensive and given that the whole point of the camera for 99.9% of users is to save 'incidents' then a 16GB card is more than adequate storage. Unless you are some tarmac fetishist then I don't see why you would want to save several days worth of footage on a 64GB card. confused

I take on board your point about the no-name SD cards they sell themselves but I've had more than my fair share of losing data altogether and trying to recover corrupted data from no-name SD cards that the £:hassle ratio is just not worth the risk and it's safer to pay the extra for a well known brand (all imho of course smile ). YMMV.

rich888

2,610 posts

198 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
quotequote all
All that jazz said:
rich888 said:
I disagree with what you have said about buying the Chinese no-name micro SD card as supplied with the Mobius by eletoponline365, who incidentally are the manufacturer of these Mobius cameras, surely they of all people ought to know what works reliably with their cameras.

I wouldn't recommend a 16GB card when it is being used in the Mobius as a dash cam only because it will only record for just over 2 hours at the highest video data rate before the oldest footage is over-written, I would suggest you use at least 32GB card, and bearing how cheap cards are nowadays, perhaps look at a 64GB card. Remember that SD cards have a finite number of write times before they stop working. I agree with you about buying SD cards from Amazon, though you need to ensure that it is dispatched from and sold by Amazon and not a reseller. For info I'm currently using Sandisk and Kingston micro SD cards.
I didn't say I recommended the 16GB card I use, I only said that's what I use because back then 32GB - and especially 64GB - SD cards were rather expensive and given that the whole point of the camera for 99.9% of users is to save 'incidents' then a 16GB card is more than adequate storage. Unless you are some tarmac fetishist then I don't see why you would want to save several days worth of footage on a 64GB card. confused

I take on board your point about the no-name SD cards they sell themselves but I've had more than my fair share of losing data altogether and trying to recover corrupted data from no-name SD cards that the £:hassle ratio is just not worth the risk and it's safer to pay the extra for a well known brand (all imho of course smile ). YMMV.
Fair comment about the 99.9% of users only using them to record any 'incidents', but in the event something does happen, like your car dented in the car park and you only notice the day after, with a 16GB card the footage will have been over-written many times over, or perhaps you receiving a NIP for speeding or allegedly jumping a red light from a few days ago, without any video evidence to check back on what really happened you don't have a leg to stand on. How about the variable speed limit signs on the motorway, how can you prove it displayed 70mph or wasn't switched on as you drove past it?

And something else to consider, how many folks involved in an accident would actually remember which buttons to press on the dash cam to store the incident on the SD card?

I would ideally like to be able to save 14 days worth of driving before the older footage is over-written, that would give sufficient time to check back on any driving within the 14 day limit after receiving a speeding ticket through the post, I would then be able to check the speeds I was driving at compared to the speed limit signs on the road, and also take a look to see if the camera van was parked legally.

I just think the larger cards offer a little bit more time to clarify what actually happened, and now that the prices of the 32GB cards are so cheap is it really worth saving a few £££ for all the potential grief it could save you.

CoolHands

18,496 posts

194 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
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OK one last question before I order please - can the mobius actually use 64gb card (I know some gadgets can't use it for some reason and are limited to 32gb). If it does I will go for 64GB. Cheers

Klippie

3,096 posts

144 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
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Make sure you order the Mobius with the lastest C2 lens, it's very good.

Also if you want a high spec 64gb micro SD card check this one out - http://www.mymemory.co.uk/Micro-SDXC/Kingston/King... - I use them in my Mobius cameras with no issues, plus when using a USB 3 reader the files transfer very fast.


rich888

2,610 posts

198 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
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CoolHands said:
OK one last question before I order please - can the mobius actually use 64gb card (I know some gadgets can't use it for some reason and are limited to 32gb). If it does I will go for 64GB. Cheers
Yes you can use the larger capacity micro SD cards in the Mobius, I've used 64GB Kingston cards without any problems and am currently using a larger 128GB SanDisk Ultra card but only because it's recording continuously in the daytime whilst at work.

You will need to format the 64GB and 128GB cards in FAT32. I format the cards using the 'Disk Utility' app on my MacBook but I think Disk Utility is installed on all Macs, sorry but I can't help if you have a PC.

EDIT: just noticed Klippie's post and agree with what he has said.

Klippie how does the C2 lens compare to the 'A' lens? I bought the A lens because it had a narrower field of view than the newer lenses so figured it would be better for reading number plates and it does a remarkably good job compared to the more expensive 0806 which has a wider FOV, but [the 0806] tends to blur the number plates of approaching vehicles whenever the speed increases.

Edited by rich888 on Tuesday 1st September 19:38


Edited again at 23:27 to clarify that it is the 0806 that tends to blur the number-plates of oncoming vehicles at speed!

Edited by rich888 on Tuesday 1st September 23:28