Dash Cameras

[Craphouserat]

FreeLitres said:

I just ordered my first dash cam - a Xuanpad S3 Mini Dash Cam
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B074QQD5BW/ref...

Now showing as £29.99 but I grabbed it for £21.24 delivered on the "Today's deals" part of Amazon.

Random Chinese manufacturer, seemingly decent spec, cheap as chips - what could go wrong?

thanks for that

[lexi 1]

Do any of the dash cams record all the time even when the car is left ?

I know one of the next base ones records if the car gets knocked

[Jamesgt]

Well it’s finally happened. Some ass hole has whacked my car and driven off so I’m looking for a dash cam with a parking mode. What are the opinions on this?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01LZGM9X7/ref=mp...

[J-ajvc3]

Most dash cameras will having 'Parking Security Mode' - this means that when motion or a knock/impact is triggered when parked, the camera usually uses buffer memory to wind back around 5-8 seconds and give you some footage before the motion sensor was triggered, and then anything up to a minute thereafter. Each manufacture differs on the amount of time they give you in memory buffer before and after an incident, but the Blackvue parking security mode is probably currently the best on the market with 5 seconds memory buffer and 1 minute thereafter.

Once you have selected a camera with parking security mode, you have then chosen the route of leaving your camera on when the vehicle is off, which means you must have something in place which resides between your camera and the vehicles battery so you then require to purchase either a fixed low cut of regulator at 11.8V or greater or purchase something like a Blackvue Power Magic Pro, which is a fully configurable regulator, to allow the power to your camera to be cut should the car not be driven for a few days, as without this, a front camera in parking mode would drain a healthy battery in around 3/4 days past the threshold for a cold crank start in winter.

Then of course, last but not least, you either require to do some searches online on how to hardwire this all in or get someone to do it for you.

Hope this helps for those asking about parking security mode, thanks, J

[J-ajvc3]

lexi 1 said:

Do any of the dash cams record all the time even when the car is left ?

I know one of the next base ones records if the car gets knocked

Any dash camera can record 'all the time' - it just requires you hardwiring the camera into a constant live fuse. There are a number of devices in your car which remain on (have power to them) even when your car is off. You require to determine what fuses protect said devices, pick something that isn't a major component of the car (check manual) and use a fuse adopter to piggy back of this fuse. Once done so, your camera will always have power (even when the car is off) and thus, the camera can stay on and record 'all the time'.

Worthwhile seeing the above post from me in regards to the effects this has on your battery and how one should purchase the additional devices needed to allow this method of wiring to be done safely with minimum impact to your vehicles battery.

Thanks, J

[Jamesgt]

J-ajvc3 said:

Most dash cameras will having 'Parking Security Mode' - this means that when motion or a knock/impact is triggered when parked, the camera usually uses buffer memory to wind back around 5-8 seconds and give you some footage before the motion sensor was triggered, and then anything up to a minute thereafter. Each manufacture differs on the amount of time they give you in memory buffer before and after an incident, but the Blackvue parking security mode is probably currently the best on the market with 5 seconds memory buffer and 1 minute thereafter.

Once you have selected a camera with parking security mode, you have then chosen the route of leaving your camera on when the vehicle is off, which means you must have something in place which resides between your camera and the vehicles battery so you then require to purchase either a fixed low cut of regulator at 11.8V or greater or purchase something like a Blackvue Power Magic Pro, which is a fully configurable regulator, to allow the power to your camera to be cut should the car not be driven for a few days, as without this, a front camera in parking mode would drain a healthy battery in around 3/4 days past the threshold for a cold crank start in winter.

Then of course, last but not least, you either require to do some searches online on how to hardwire this all in or get someone to do it for you.

Hope this helps for those asking about parking security mode, thanks, J

Thanks for taking time to post that. I think i’ll order the f50. It should do a fine job of recording if someone else wants to drive off after damaging my car.

[ncjones]

garreth64 said:

FreeLitres said:

I just ordered my first dash cam - a Xuanpad S3 Mini Dash Cam
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B074QQD5BW/ref...

Now showing as £29.99 but I grabbed it for £21.24 delivered on the "Today's deals" part of Amazon.

Random Chinese manufacturer, seemingly decent spec, cheap as chips - what could go wrong?

I need a new dash cam as my mobius has been unreliable and has stopped working now. Let us know how you get on. It seems to get a lot of good reviews but not sure how genuine they all are

I bought one of these on the same flash sale deal. Have hard wired it into my car and it seems to work a treat, clear picture etc. Doesn’t have sound or positioning data, but I’d prefer that anyway.

[FreeLitres]

ncjones said:

garreth64 said:

FreeLitres said:

I just ordered my first dash cam - a Xuanpad S3 Mini Dash Cam
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B074QQD5BW/ref...

Now showing as £29.99 but I grabbed it for £21.24 delivered on the "Today's deals" part of Amazon.

Random Chinese manufacturer, seemingly decent spec, cheap as chips - what could go wrong?

I need a new dash cam as my mobius has been unreliable and has stopped working now. Let us know how you get on. It seems to get a lot of good reviews but not sure how genuine they all are

I bought one of these on the same flash sale deal. Have hard wired it into my car and it seems to work a treat, clear picture etc. Doesn’t have sound or positioning data, but I’d prefer that anyway.

No sound? Didn't spot that.

Damn, I have been practicing my best "Yooooorrrr on caimrahhhhh" in true DCW style.

[FreeLitres]

Regarding SD cards - this budget cam "supports up to 32 Gb class 10"

Now, I have an old Sandisk 16 Gb class 4 - Will this work at all, or should I go ahead and order a new class 10?

[defblade]

J-ajvc3 said:

lexi 1 said:

Do any of the dash cams record all the time even when the car is left ?

I know one of the next base ones records if the car gets knocked

Any dash camera can record 'all the time' - it just requires you hardwiring the camera into a constant live fuse. There are a number of devices in your car which remain on (have power to them) even when your car is off. You require to determine what fuses protect said devices, pick something that isn't a major component of the car (check manual) and use a fuse adopter to piggy back of this fuse. Once done so, your camera will always have power (even when the car is off) and thus, the camera can stay on and record 'all the time'.

Worthwhile seeing the above post from me in regards to the effects this has on your battery and how one should purchase the additional devices needed to allow this method of wiring to be done safely with minimum impact to your vehicles battery.

Thanks, J

However, without a parking mode (which is timelapse on the DDPai, for example), you will be overwriting files the whole time if you just leave the camera switched on. So unless you've got a huge SD card, if your car gets hit in the evening you may find the file has been overwritten by the time you notice the dent in the morning...

[FreeLitres]

FreeLitres said:

I just ordered my first dash cam - a Xuanpad S3 Mini Dash Cam
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B074QQD5BW/ref...

Now showing as £29.99 but I grabbed it for £21.24 delivered on the "Today's deals" part of Amazon.

Random Chinese manufacturer, seemingly decent spec, cheap as chips - what could go wrong?

I unboxed this today and installed it in the car.

First impressions:

Positives
Decent quality and much smaller than I imagined
The "install" looks neat with the power cable easily sliding down the side of the roof and pillar trim
The image quality looks good so far
Lots of options in the menus
Handy options like auto file locking if the G-sensor feels an impact plus parking mode which also feels for impacts when parked

Negatives
Instructions are minimal and vague
The rubber sucker arrived a little squashed/creased but seems to hold OK
Still trying to figure out when it's recording and how to save files, etc
Capture angle is a little more narrow than expected, but not overly so.
My car seems to have a large console which the rear view mirror attaches to, making it difficult to place the camera

I have noticed that the LED on the power cable remains lit when the car is parked and locked. Is this going to drain my car battery?

[thebigmacmoomin]

As my front & rear interior light has power all the time, I was just going to have it wired into that for the power for the parking mode. As they use so little power, it should be fine, I assume.

Not sure what to buy
Maisi M85
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01DDK3RZ8/ref=psdc_13...

or Aukey DR01
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01LWN99YA?ref_=ams_ad...

or Supereye
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B075D8TX9G?psc=1#Custo...

Edited by thebigmacmoomin on Sunday 29th October 16:40

[ncjones]

FreeLitres said:

ncjones said:

garreth64 said:

FreeLitres said:

I just ordered my first dash cam - a Xuanpad S3 Mini Dash Cam
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B074QQD5BW/ref...

Now showing as £29.99 but I grabbed it for £21.24 delivered on the "Today's deals" part of Amazon.

Random Chinese manufacturer, seemingly decent spec, cheap as chips - what could go wrong?

I need a new dash cam as my mobius has been unreliable and has stopped working now. Let us know how you get on. It seems to get a lot of good reviews but not sure how genuine they all are

I bought one of these on the same flash sale deal. Have hard wired it into my car and it seems to work a treat, clear picture etc. Doesn’t have sound or positioning data, but I’d prefer that anyway.

No sound? Didn't spot that.

Damn, I have been practicing my best "Yooooorrrr on caimrahhhhh" in true DCW style.

My mistake... it does have sound. Can't believe the st I listen to / how much I talk to myself when alone in the car!

[garreth64]

thebigmacmoomin said:

As my front & rear interior light has power all the time, I was just going to have it wired into that for the power for the parking mode. As they use so little power, it should be fine, I assume.

Not sure what to buy
Maisi M85
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01DDK3RZ8/ref=psdc_13...

or Aukey DR01
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01LWN99YA?ref_=ams_ad...

or Supereye
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B075D8TX9G?psc=1#Custo...

Edited by thebigmacmoomin on Sunday 29th October 16:40

I picked up a couple of Aukey DR01's from Amazon last week in a lightning sale. Fitted one for me and one for the wife on the weekend.

Initial impression of the picture quality seems pretty good, but possibly not quite as good as my mobius was when it worked.

Camera set up is straightforward and got them connected to a permanent live in motion sensor mode so still records when the vehicle is parked.

Pleased with them so far, very good for the price.

[thebigmacmoomin]

garreth64 said:

I picked up a couple of Aukey DR01's from Amazon last week in a lightning sale. Fitted one for me and one for the wife on the weekend.

Initial impression of the picture quality seems pretty good, but possibly not quite as good as my mobius was when it worked.

Camera set up is straightforward and got them connected to a permanent live in motion sensor mode so still records when the vehicle is parked.

Pleased with them so far, very good for the price.

That one was my 1st choice but its sounds ok from what you have said.

Is the power cable on the top? That is better I think as it looks tidier in the car.

[JulianHJ]

After years of plugging in my 0801 on my old Focus, I decided to get a decent hardwired 2 camera system professionally fitted on my new Focus in June. I’d been keen on the BlackVue 650 but the installers recommended the Qvia AR790. I went with there suggestion and almost immediately regretted it. It’s been a PITA from the start. Really temperamental, get worse as time went on. After a number of trips back the installers decided to replace it under warranty. I mentioned my regret and they offered to put a BlackVue 750 in instead. They then messed up by forgetting to order the voltage monitor and putting a 650 in rather than the 750 as agreed. Hopefully I’ll have a properly fitted 750 by the end of the week.

[J-ajvc3]

JulianHJ said:

After years of plugging in my 0801 on my old Focus, I decided to get a decent hardwired 2 camera system professionally fitted on my new Focus in June. I’d been keen on the BlackVue 650 but the installers recommended the Qvia AR790. I went with there suggestion and almost immediately regretted it. It’s been a PITA from the start. Really temperamental, get worse as time went on. After a number of trips back the installers decided to replace it under warranty. I mentioned my regret and they offered to put a BlackVue 750 in instead. They then messed up by forgetting to order the voltage monitor and putting a 650 in rather than the 750 as agreed. Hopefully I’ll have a properly fitted 750 by the end of the week.

The reason the Qvia would have been recommended is that the Blackvue's almost have little or no margin in them for independent retailers. You are restricted by Blackvue and struggle to get the units cheaper than their 'verified' one or two retailers in the whole region, and are competing against the likes of Amazon on unit cost. It makes sense for a small business not to favour the better product when their margin is restricted on it - we see it all the time.

The Blackvue Power Magic pro they have forgot is a rookie error. I would keep a watchful eye on the full install personally, sounds all a bit fishy.

[garreth64]

thebigmacmoomin said:

That one was my 1st choice but its sounds ok from what you have said.

Is the power cable on the top? That is better I think as it looks tidier in the car.

Yes power outlet is on top as is Sim slot. I've used the suction mount at the moment, but may change to the adhesive one as smaller.

I'll try and take a pic of the install if I remember.

In motion sensor mode it seems to record minimum one minute clips when car is stationary regardless of loop recording setting of 3,5 or 10.

Another oddity is when my wife unlocks her car (1 series) the screen comes on, but in mine (S3) it doesn't. Both are in permanent live sockets with the screen powered off.

[RZ1]

Just ordered a dashcam for the wife car, wanted to get another DDPAI 6+ as that whats i have in my car but they have been discontinued. Ended up going for the Yi 2.7k camera from Amazon, at 86 quid

[J-ajvc3]

garreth64 said:

Yes power outlet is on top as is Sim slot. I've used the suction mount at the moment, but may change to the adhesive one as smaller.

I'll try and take a pic of the install if I remember.

In motion sensor mode it seems to record minimum one minute clips when car is stationary regardless of loop recording setting of 3,5 or 10.

Another oddity is when my wife unlocks her car (1 series) the screen comes on, but in mine (S3) it doesn't. Both are in permanent live sockets with the screen powered off.

Hi Garreth,

In the BMW, the fuse you have tapped into will power down after 30 minutes - so initially when testing, it will look live, but if you were to return to your car after 30 minutes, I suspect you would find your camera off. The reason the screen is coming back on when you unlock the vehicle is that certain fuses come alive as soon as the vehicle is unlocked, and your fuse is one of them. In simple terms, your dash camera is receiving power when you unlock your vehicle, thus the screen is coming on, which indicates the camera was not on prior to unlock.

Best way to test a fuse box in any BMW within the last 5 years is to open up the doors you require (passengers door and boot possibly), trip the lock (flat head screwdriver into the lock mechanism), move your key out of range (put it inside the house for example) and then make a note of the live fuses (usually complete rows). Come back to your vehicle after 30 minutes, and see which fuses are still live, these are the fuses which are REAL lives. If you compare to your list, you will note now that a whole bunch of what seemed Live, is now dead.

Use the fuse diagram provided to mark what was initially Live, against what stayed live after the 30 minute shut off.

Hope this helps.

Thanks, J

Edited by J-ajvc3 on Friday 10th November 10:12

Edited by J-ajvc3 on Friday 10th November 10:14

Edited by J-ajvc3 on Friday 10th November 10:15