Dashcam Advice from Car Camera Shop

[carcamerashop]

Hi Guys,

http://www.carcamerashop.co.uk

We sell the largest range of dash cams in the UK from budget to top of the range including dual lens, GPS maps, parking protection, built-in sat nav, and all come with full HD quality. We offer plenty of advice and guidance to customers including lots of PistonHeads users and now offer a mobile installation service anywhere in the UK.

I was hoping we can use this thread to discuss any dash cam related questions and to even share any footage you've captured! Dashcams are the latest car gadget and new to most people so please ask us - we pride ourselves on service so fire away!

We're also offering a 5% discount to all PistonHeads users. Just enter the code PHEADFC on the checkout.

[Ollie_M]

This is an approved partner so feel free to ask any questions or discuss any queries you may have regarding Dashcams.

[jonboy-cheltenham]

Is there any sort of hidden camera to go inside a car, which would give a good field of vision to give any video evidence if my car was vandalised.?? My car was key'd recently and I'd like to catch them if it happens again.

[randlemarcus]

Ollie_M said:

This is an approved partner so feel free to ask any questions or discuss any queries you may have regarding Dashcams.

This is quite amusing. Someone the techies don't trust enough to stick a sarky job title in the poster info telling us it's OK to trust someone who pays Haymarket

[carcamerashop]

jonboy-cheltenham said:

Is there any sort of hidden camera to go inside a car, which would give a good field of vision to give any video evidence if my car was vandalised.?? My car was key'd recently and I'd like to catch them if it happens again.

We get asked that a lot! To be honest, dash cams aren't really designed for that purpose and do struggle to capture enough detail in low-light conditions. You would normally have a camera pointing forwards and maybe another in the rear window so they can capture what happens in front and behind but not necessarily to the side.

Where do you park your car? Is it well lit and are you able to see it from your house?

Many dash cams come with parking protection which will require permanent power so you will need to wire it to your electrics with a hardwire kit that also prevents the battery from draining. The camera can sense motion and changes in g-force and then automatically record for the period around the incident. The issue comes with whether the camera will pick up the incident, then capture the culprits in the video, and then in enough detail to make it watchable.

If this is your main reason for a dash cam I'd look at more sophisticated car CCTV systems but if this is just a nice to have, then a dash cam would probably be OK.

HTH

[boombastictiger]

With more and more viral videos coming out these days of accidents and things caught on dashcams I am highly considering getting these installed on all of my families cars in the next few months. It would be interesting to know if there are any laws around dashcam cameras, say for example if I have an accident, are the police allowed seize the video or force me to hand it over? Also in terms of recording videos in public, undoubtedly glances of private property will be caught etc, are there any laws around this? Do insurance companies take dashcam video content into consideration when accessing a claim?

[DervVW]

boombastictiger said:

With more and more viral videos coming out these days of accidents and things caught on dashcams I am highly considering getting these installed on all of my families cars in the next few months. It would be interesting to know if there are any laws around dashcam cameras, say for example if I have an accident, are the police allowed seize the video or force me to hand it over? Also in terms of recording videos in public, undoubtedly glances of private property will be caught etc, are there any laws around this? Do insurance companies take dashcam video content into consideration when accessing a claim?

I am also intrested to know this

[carcamerashop]

It's an interesting point. The footage you film is perfectly legal since road are in the public domain. You don't need to mask or hide anything you record when uploading the video online, although you may prefer to blur out number plates of anything that may cause you problems. It is perfectly legal though.

Whether the Police can seize the video is a tricky one though. Dashcams are still very new and not widely recognised. I've recorded things myself and just emailed the footage to the involved parties for them to use with their insurers to help argue their case. Video footage provides irrefutable evidence and is used a lot with insurance claims and with police investigations - this is the main reason our customers get a dash cam.

ITV did a good piece about dash cams and how they are helping the police at the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz3nRz_uyPE

[Pickled Piper]

carcamerashop said:

jonboy-cheltenham said:

Is there any sort of hidden camera to go inside a car, which would give a good field of vision to give any video evidence if my car was vandalised.?? My car was key'd recently and I'd like to catch them if it happens again.

We get asked that a lot! To be honest, dash cams aren't really designed for that purpose and do struggle to capture enough detail in low-light conditions. You would normally have a camera pointing forwards and maybe another in the rear window so they can capture what happens in front and behind but not necessarily to the side.

Where do you park your car? Is it well lit and are you able to see it from your house?

Many dash cams come with parking protection which will require permanent power so you will need to wire it to your electrics with a hardwire kit that also prevents the battery from draining. The camera can sense motion and changes in g-force and then automatically record for the period around the incident. The issue comes with whether the camera will pick up the incident, then capture the culprits in the video, and then in enough detail to make it watchable.

If this is your main reason for a dash cam I'd look at more sophisticated car CCTV systems but if this is just a nice to have, then a dash cam would probably be OK.

HTH

Hi carcamerashop,

can you advise what the current draw is with a typical camera? What would be the effect of leaving it running all the time? How long would it take to drain the battery and is there anything else to look out for if I intend leaving it on a permanent live feed and running even when the car is parked? Do any of the cameras have a low voltage cutoff whereby they would turn themselves off before the battery gets to a level where it will no longer start the car?

Cheers

pp

[carcamerashop]

Pickled Piper said:

Hi carcamerashop,

can you advise what the current draw is with a typical camera? What would be the effect of leaving it running all the time? How long would it take to drain the battery and is there anything else to look out for if I intend leaving it on a permanent live feed and running even when the car is parked? Do any of the cameras have a low voltage cutoff whereby they would turn themselves off before the battery gets to a level where it will no longer start the car?

Cheers

pp

Hey PP,

All dash cams work from 5v and draw between 1 and 2 amps. There is a hardwire kit called the BlackVue Power Magic Pro which cuts the power to the camera when the battery charge reaches a low level. You will need to wire this to a permanently live circuit so the camera is powered all the time. In terms of the time to reach this level, it's impossible to say really since it depends on the camera, battery level, the temperature, and the draw from the rest of the car.

You will also need a camera with a good parking protection feature, the BlackVue range are popular for this.

I hope this helps - let us know if you need anything else.

[HantsRat]

Prices seem overly inflated compared to the same product available on ebay?

[Pickled Piper]

carcamerashop said:

Pickled Piper said:

Hi carcamerashop,

can you advise what the current draw is with a typical camera? What would be the effect of leaving it running all the time? How long would it take to drain the battery and is there anything else to look out for if I intend leaving it on a permanent live feed and running even when the car is parked? Do any of the cameras have a low voltage cutoff whereby they would turn themselves off before the battery gets to a level where it will no longer start the car?

Cheers

pp

Hey PP,

All dash cams work from 5v and draw between 1 and 2 amps. There is a hardwire kit called the BlackVue Power Magic Pro which cuts the power to the camera when the battery charge reaches a low level. You will need to wire this to a permanently live circuit so the camera is powered all the time. In terms of the time to reach this level, it's impossible to say really since it depends on the camera, battery level, the temperature, and the draw from the rest of the car.

You will also need a camera with a good parking protection feature, the BlackVue range are popular for this.

I hope this helps - let us know if you need anything else.

Thank you.

It does look like there is a gap in the market for a system that will effectively monitor your car when it is not being driven. Most of the issues I have had have been car park dings and scratches to my vehicles when they have been left.