Dash Cameras

[rich888]

GC8 said:

Thanks Rich. I fancy the Mobius, but it is always interesting to hear from someone with actual experience of them all.

I have what I believed to be an 801 based camera integrated into a mirror, but I now suspect that the hardware differs, even if the firmware appears similar.

There are loads of fake SD cards and dash cams on Amazon and Ebay to the point where it is actually reducing sales on these sites, which may make Amazon and Ebay pay attention and perhaps reduce fraudulent activities.

Edited by rich888 on Friday 26th June 15:22

[TankRizzo]

rich888 said:

Am sure I read another user complaining of the same problem, apparently he found that the noise only occurred when the unit was upside down when stuck to the windscreen and the buttons were pointing downwards and he noticed that the buttons were wobbling, solution was a bit of sticky foam tape to stop them from moving.

It's easy enough to split the casing and take a look. When I stripped down my Mobius for interest I discovered that the battery had come unstuck, so stuck it down again with another piece of double sided foam tape that I had purchased from Amazon.

Top man. There is a bit of play in the buttons when upside down, it could be that. I've stuck some sellotape over the top of them now so we'll see what difference, if any, that makes.

Thanks.

[Howard-]

Has anyone bought a Mini 080x from Gearbest.com? The 0805 is only about £45 from them, versus £78 from Amazon UK...!

I realise it'll take about a month to arrive from China and that seems a reasonable compromise for not far off half the cost, but is there any reason I shouldn't?


Edit: Sod it I just ordered an 0805 from Amazon.

Has anyone bought this? http://www.carcamerashop.co.uk/hardwire-kit.html Looks ideal.

Edited by Howard- on Tuesday 23 June 15:49

[Nicko_12345]

Hi,

Anyone any experience with one of these - http://www.novusauto.com/Single-Camera-c82.html

Thanks

Nick

[TankRizzo]

TankRizzo said:

Top man. There is a bit of play in the buttons when upside down, it could be that. I've stuck some sellotape over the top of them now so we'll see what difference, if any, that makes.

Thanks.

No joy. Exactly the same. I'll contact the seller and send it back.

[rich888]

Howard- said:

Has anyone bought a Mini 080x from Gearbest.com? The 0805 is only about £45 from them, versus £78 from Amazon UK...!

I realise it'll take about a month to arrive from China and that seems a reasonable compromise for not far off half the cost, but is there any reason I shouldn't?


Edit: Sod it I just ordered an 0805 from Amazon.

Has anyone bought this? http://www.carcamerashop.co.uk/hardwire-kit.html Looks ideal.

Edited by Howard- on Tuesday 23 June 15:49

The www.carcamerashop.co.uk seem to have a good reputation, and the hardware kit on offer is very similar to what I purchased from www.combi.org.uk whom also have an excellent reputation - the only thing you need to double check with them is what size the USB connector is that plugs into the camera because I know the 0801 has the larger mini connector whilst my 0806 has the smaller micro connector (I think that's the right way round). Perhaps give them a call to clarify which fitting you need.

[Al U]

Added from a thread I just started before knowing this thread existed, help appreciated -

It was my birthday last week and I couldn't think of anything particular I needed when the mrs asked me what I wanted, then I thought of dash cams. With the possibility of becoming a youtube phenomenon overnight it is simply a must have.

In all seriousness I do a fair amount of mileage and wanted to get one for the obvious reasons. So with very little research I got a Mio Mivue 508 from Curry's.
Things I don't like about it are -

- it needs a constant power supply
- it's not very stealthy, it is too big to go behind the rear view mirror and positioning it as close as possible to the rear view mirror makes adjusting the rear view mirror difficult
- the picture quality although claimed to be 1080p doesn't allow you to see other vehicles number plates very well when you watch the footage back
- worst of all, today it stopped recording a 10 minute segment of my journey. I noticed the light had stopped flashing on the cam for no apparent reason.

So I am going to take the camera back and try to get a refund, if I had an accident when the camera decided to stop recording I would of been fuming!

The question is, which one should I replace it with? My priorities are -

- Doesn't stop recording for no apparent reason when it has the cable plugged in or
- Doesn't need a constant power supply i.e can be charged the night before or on the go and then used without a cable
- Has a screen
- Has very good picture quality that easily allows passing vehicles number plates to be easily read when watching footage back on PC
- Is small enough to either fit behind the mirror, clip to the mirror or sit near to it in close proximity while being quite stealth (that last one is obviously subjective)

[rich888]

Al U said:

Added from a thread I just started before knowing this thread existed, help appreciated -

It was my birthday last week and I couldn't think of anything particular I needed when the mrs asked me what I wanted, then I thought of dash cams. With the possibility of becoming a youtube phenomenon overnight it is simply a must have.

In all seriousness I do a fair amount of mileage and wanted to get one for the obvious reasons. So with very little research I got a Mio Mivue 508 from Curry's.
Things I don't like about it are -

- it needs a constant power supply
- it's not very stealthy, it is too big to go behind the rear view mirror and positioning it as close as possible to the rear view mirror makes adjusting the rear view mirror difficult
- the picture quality although claimed to be 1080p doesn't allow you to see other vehicles number plates very well when you watch the footage back
- worst of all, today it stopped recording a 10 minute segment of my journey. I noticed the light had stopped flashing on the cam for no apparent reason.

So I am going to take the camera back and try to get a refund, if I had an accident when the camera decided to stop recording I would of been fuming!

The question is, which one should I replace it with? My priorities are -

- Doesn't stop recording for no apparent reason when it has the cable plugged in or
- Doesn't need a constant power supply i.e can be charged the night before or on the go and then used without a cable
- Has a screen
- Has very good picture quality that easily allows passing vehicles number plates to be easily read when watching footage back on PC
- Is small enough to either fit behind the mirror, clip to the mirror or sit near to it in close proximity while being quite stealth (that last one is obviously subjective)

I would have suggested the Mobius which offers pretty much everything you are asking, but then I noticed you wanted an LCD screen which it doesn't have, or indeed need! ~ Perhaps an 0805 from a reputable seller or 0806 from same if you're willing to take a risk on the reliability, though hasten to add the 0806 tends to blur number-plates of oncoming vehicles when driving quickly.

[Al U]

I guess that I could just point it where I think it will be good and then check the footage. Will take a look at getting a mobius. Any highstreet places sell them? What should I be paying?

EDIT - I have just had a look and these do not seem to mount with a conventional sucker mount. Is the velcro pad able to be removed easily from the windscreen when you change vehicle or decide you don't want to use it anymore etc?

Also the USB cable appears to go to the back of the camera, which would make a tidy installation difficult.

Edited by Al U on Wednesday 24th June 11:08

[eltawater]

The mobius itself has no mounting as such, but it does come with a little clip on half case and a screw mount which presses into the middle of it.

You then use the screw mount to attach it to whatever fixing you purchase separately, be it a sucker mount, sticker mount, helmet mount, visor mount etc.

The mini usb coming straight out of the back is a bit of a pain. You can get right angled mini usb cables but annoyingly these go in the wrong direction and end up covering the SD card slot itself. You can also buy lens extension ribbon cables which allow you to mount the lens where you want it and then tuck the main box away, but I've yet to find a way of getting the lens stuck permanently to a surface without it falling off in the heat. I've disconnected my extension now and will probably just go back to finding somewhere useful to attach the box.

[Howard-]

Just got my 0805 and Samsung Evo 16GB MicroSD card, and had a little play with it at my desk. Seems like a really nice little bit of kit - will install it in the car this evening. It's a shame that the mount isn't on the right hand side of the unit so that you can neatly install it to the left of the rear-view mirror. So I'll install it to the right to make the cables more invisible. Are there any downsides to doing this? I never see pictures of it mounted on the right!

[rich888]

Al U said:

I guess that I could just point it where I think it will be good and then check the footage. Will take a look at getting a mobius. Any highstreet places sell them? What should I be paying?

EDIT - I have just had a look and these do not seem to mount with a conventional sucker mount. Is the velcro pad able to be removed easily from the windscreen when you change vehicle or decide you don't want to use it anymore etc?

Also the USB cable appears to go to the back of the camera, which would make a tidy installation difficult.

Edited by Al U on Wednesday 24th June 11:08

I bought mine direct from the Mobius Manufacturer in China who has a shop on ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/eletoponline365/m.html?_...

They have a load of additional fittings on offer because this is an action cam not a dedicated dash cam.

The listing for the Mobius camera inc 32GB micro SD card that I purchased is: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/32GB-HD-Mobius-Action-Ca...

On top of that you will need to order a suction or permanent mount which they sell and a 3metre power cable plus USB cigarette adapter if you're going to plug it into your cigarette lighter in the car.

In addition to the suction mount I also purchased a bike mount and chopped the sides off it because it makes for a very compact permanent windscreen mount, link is: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bike-Bicycle-Helmet-Moun...

On top of that you will need to order a suction or permanent mount which they sell and a 3metre power cable plus USB cigarette adapter if you're going to plug it into your cigarette lighter in the car.

It is possible to buy a cable with a 90 degree connector to fit into the back of the camera, but for some strange reason they don't seem to be available in 3 metre lengths, the longest I have found so far is 2 metre which isn't quite long enough if you trail the cable along the roof lining and down the sides to the cigarette lighter.

Alternatively consider the 0805 or 0806 dash cameras which are very compact. Have to say that the 2nd generation 0806 that I'm using has been 100% reliable to date and I believe the 3rd generation are proving to be even more reliable, I would be inclined to buy one of these from Combi http://www.combi.org.uk/categories/6/Mini-0801-DVR because they have an excellent reputation and after-sales service and you can phone them up and talk to them which is very important to me.

[rich888]

Howard- said:

Just got my 0805 and Samsung Evo 16GB MicroSD card, and had a little play with it at my desk. Seems like a really nice little bit of kit - will install it in the car this evening. It's a shame that the mount isn't on the right hand side of the unit so that you can neatly install it to the left of the rear-view mirror. So I'll install it to the right to make the cables more invisible. Are there any downsides to doing this? I never see pictures of it mounted on the right!

If you fit it to the left of the mirror and close to the mirror mount you will find that you can't slide the camera body sideways to remove the camera body from the mount - guess how I found that out mine is now mounted so that the lens is probably in the middle of the windscreen just in front of the mirror. Having said all of that, it does depend a lot upon the rake of the windscreen of the car and the design of the rear view mirror.

Ought to mention that It was then that I discovered that the mounts stick to the glass like the proverbial to the blanket, and I could not shift the damn thing, I ended up watching the Techmoan video on YouTube again, and used a length of that cheap and nasty dental floss to cut through the adhesive between the windscreen and the mount, then peeled the remaining pad off using my fingers before cleaning the remaining adhesive off with a bit of white spirits or similar, which probably came off quicker than I've typed this paragraph. Amazon sell replacement 3M pads if you need new ones, just make sure you use the high strength variants or the dash cam may fall off in hot weather.

[Al U]

Hi Rich,

I ordered the mobius earlier from hobby king. I got the suction mount and hardware to fix it to the cam, also went for a tripod as it was very cheap and I may use it for some drive by recordings at some point. Hopefully it will arrive soon, I have read some bad reviews about hobby king but was willing to take a punt.

[TankRizzo]

I've identified the source of the buzzing problem on my Mobius. It's not a vibration.

I am using an Anker USB cigarette lighter charger to power the camera. When I unplug the charger and run the camera on battery power, the noise goes completely.
So the problem is either the charger itself, or feedback through the car's electrical system.

The Anker is 4.8A across two ports (so 2.4A going to the camera). Is there a minimum amount of power which the camera requires?

Edited by TankRizzo on Wednesday 24th June 21:17

[Daaaveee]

Just received a Mobius after reading good things about it in this thread. Less than £60 on eBay for the Wide angle C lens version with mount and longer mini USB cable, arrived in just over a week from China.

Seems like a good quality piece of kit. Easy to use setup with software on PC, no issues there. Install went reasonably easy in the wife's E90 330i. Wanted to take power from the centre armrest console but the longer cable was a few inches short running it to where I wanted to mount! Luckily I found an old FM transmitter which had a female USB socket and short length of cable which was just long enough to extend it! The console lid shuts no problem with the cable running out of it. It came with quite a few handy clips for keeping the cable up out of sight when running on the underside of the passenger footwell.

Quality seems good, just taken it for a test drive. In the dusk light around 9pm I couldn't make out oncoming numberplates, no problem reading ones infront up to about 20ft. Hopefully in better light it will catch them coming the other way? Apart from that the quality is great, handles light/dark contrast well, and a really nice wide angle with the C lens, better than on most dash cam clips I've watched.

I took a few quick photos on my phone of the install, see here: http://imgur.com/a/D4LCO

It could have been neater but for a quick job its fine and not too obvious. I'm happy with the position and size of the Mobius too tucked up behind the rear view mirror. No problems removing it from the mount either. Overall for less than £60 I'm happy, fingers crossed we won't need its services but good to know its always watching if required

[Al U]

Yeah from the outside that looks pretty stealthy Daaaaave. Looking forward to getting mine if it turns up!

[Klippie]

Guys,

If your looking for genuine Mobius C lens camera's check out here for the best price...Bangood UK Warehouse and deliverd in around four days.

[All that jazz]

Daaaveee said:

Just received a Mobius after reading good things about it in this thread. Less than £60 on eBay for the Wide angle C lens version with mount and longer mini USB cable, arrived in just over a week from China.

Seems like a good quality piece of kit. Easy to use setup with software on PC, no issues there. Install went reasonably easy in the wife's E90 330i. Wanted to take power from the centre armrest console but the longer cable was a few inches short running it to where I wanted to mount! Luckily I found an old FM transmitter which had a female USB socket and short length of cable which was just long enough to extend it! The console lid shuts no problem with the cable running out of it. It came with quite a few handy clips for keeping the cable up out of sight when running on the underside of the passenger footwell.

Quality seems good, just taken it for a test drive. In the dusk light around 9pm I couldn't make out oncoming numberplates, no problem reading ones infront up to about 20ft. Hopefully in better light it will catch them coming the other way? Apart from that the quality is great, handles light/dark contrast well, and a really nice wide angle with the C lens, better than on most dash cam clips I've watched.

I took a few quick photos on my phone of the install, see here: http://imgur.com/a/D4LCO

It could have been neater but for a quick job its fine and not too obvious. I'm happy with the position and size of the Mobius too tucked up behind the rear view mirror. No problems removing it from the mount either. Overall for less than £60 I'm happy, fingers crossed we won't need its services but good to know its always watching if required

Using a wide angle lens will make stuff like car reg plates much harder to read. I use the standard lens on mine and it covers more than enough angle either side and it picks out reg plates no problem at all.

[Daaaveee]

All that jazz said:

Using a wide angle lens will make stuff like car reg plates much harder to read. I use the standard lens on mine and it covers more than enough angle either side and it picks out reg plates no problem at all.

Ahh of course, didn't consider that. I guess its just a toss up between a few more degrees FOV or more magnification to make out reg plates etc. I think the Wide angle Lens C is removable so I will give it a try without and see how it compares.

Edited by Daaaveee on Thursday 25th June 09:41