Dash Cameras

[maniac886]

kiethton said:

Thanks for that - looks like it'll do pretty much everything - is there an equivalent without the BMW tax?

FYI My local BMW dealership fitted both the front and rear camera to my 1 series for £379 inc VAT.

[LocoBlade]

I'd suggest avoiding the BMW Advanced Eye, its not exactly subtle in size and a really dated design. I've not seen any particularly good review/comments about it and a friend has one in his 7 Series who says it's not a patch on his previous Blackview DR650 which in itself is a bit dated now, certainly not worth the money BMW charge for it IMHO.

There's a new version coming out though which has a lot of new features and hopefully newer camera tech which may be worth considering
https://shop.bmw.co.uk/bmw-uk/en_GB/p/genuine-bmw-...

If you decide on going 3rd party and installing yourself there's a really detailed Youtube video here of a Thinkware install on an M240, virtually all of that would be relevent to an M135i install and also for non Thinkware installs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuTs9oD64Dc

I was undecided on what to fit in my 240 for a month or two but last week bought the 2 channel Thinkware F770 for £229 (same as in the vid) although it's yet to be installed. It was recently superceded by the F800 Pro but that's another £100 which I didn't think was justified for the incremental improvements.

Edited by LocoBlade on Monday 4th December 19:10

[silver-surfer]

I have a Blackvue DR650S – GW HD – 2 CH for sale (just upgrade to the latest model so now surplus to requirements), comes with mounting kits, cables, manuals, 16gb memory card and also power magic parking mode power supply. these retail at £300+ but i am only looking for £175. Comes with the original box etc, easy to install.

Pm if interested

[kiethton]

Thanks, do like the look of that model, although being an Xmas present I may bit the bullet and go new - I am currently watching dashcam reviews between the two systems......the exciting life I lead!

[silver-surfer]

silver-surfer said:

I have a Blackvue DR650S – GW HD – 2 CH for sale (just upgrade to the latest model so now surplus to requirements), comes with mounting kits, cables, manuals, 16gb memory card and also power magic parking mode power supply. these retail at £300+ but i am only looking for £175. Comes with the original box etc, easy to install.

Pm if interested

Tue 7:51pm - now sold

[steveatesh]

Seems to be the page for all things dash cam!
My wife manta a dash cam for her Boxster, must be small as possible for the rest of the criteria, (not necessary to have a screen fitted if that reduces the size), must be HD, must be capable of being hard wired.

Can anybody give a recommendation please or name a good retailer that I can look at and compare models?

Thanks

[Silverbullet767]

LocoBlade said:

There's a new version coming out though which has a lot of new features and hopefully newer camera tech which may be worth considering
https://shop.bmw.co.uk/bmw-uk/en_GB/p/genuine-bmw-...

Just tried that with my VIN, how can that not fit my car? It's a camera that sticks to the windscreen FFS!

[LocoBlade]

Whats the budget and do you just want 1 forward facing camera or do you want rear camera as well (might be tricky on a Boxster)?

steveatesh said:

Seems to be the page for all things dash cam!
My wife manta a dash cam for her Boxster, must be small as possible for the rest of the criteria, (not necessary to have a screen fitted if that reduces the size), must be HD, must be capable of being hard wired.

Can anybody give a recommendation please or name a good retailer that I can look at and compare models?

Thanks

[LocoBlade]

A few of us have tried it at work with our combined 2,3,4,5 and 7 series VINs and it apparently doesn't fit any of them! I wonder given how new it is and the fact there's no price whether they've actually updated the back end database with a list of compatible models. The only other thing I can think is they insist it's hardwired centrally and it won't fit a lot of cars because it would sit in front of of one of the various cameras that are mounted there for high beam assist, lane departure etc etc.

Silverbullet767 said:

LocoBlade said:

There's a new version coming out though which has a lot of new features and hopefully newer camera tech which may be worth considering
https://shop.bmw.co.uk/bmw-uk/en_GB/p/genuine-bmw-...

Just tried that with my VIN, how can that not fit my car? It's a camera that sticks to the windscreen FFS!

[steveatesh]

LocoBlade said:

I need a forward facing camera only, the criteria is must be small and must record in HD and should be able to be hard wired in as my Mrs wants to switch the car on and drive away without thinking of other things. The other bells and whistles such as GPS, park protection etc would be nice but not a deal breaker. I have been suggested the Mobius from somebody on the Porsche forum but I can only find the mobius 1 for sale in the UK not the Mobius 2 (one supplier said the version 2 was not as reliable as version 1, its a good suggestion but would like to look at a choice of more than one if possible).

Budget, happy up to about £150 or so but would go higher for the right camera.

[saaby93]

steveatesh said:

I need a forward facing camera only, the criteria is must be small and must record in HD and should be able to be hard wired in as my Mrs wants to switch the car on and drive away without thinking of other things. The other bells and whistles such as GPS, park protection etc would be nice but not a deal breaker. I have been suggested the Mobius from somebody on the Porsche forum but I can only find the mobius 1 for sale in the UK not the Mobius 2 (one supplier said the version 2 was not as reliable as version 1, its a good suggestion but would like to look at a choice of more than one if possible).

Budget, happy up to about £150 or so but would go higher for the right camera.

Mobius 1 is great for squeezing in tight places and its small end on
However the lack of a screen can be a nuisance when setting it up
the mobius 2 did have a couple of issues
Do you want it to record when the car is parked up?

[steveatesh]

saaby93 said:

Mobius 1 is great for squeezing in tight places and its small end on
However the lack of a screen can be a nuisance when setting it up
the mobius 2 did have a couple of issues
Do you want it to record when the car is parked up?

recording when parked would be a bonus but not essential, a supplier has also told me this morning that mobius 2 has issues.

The size of the Mobius looks great, my wife wants it to be inconspicuous, she doesn't like the barrel shaped style.

I can manage the setting up side of things without a screen, so its not a requirement really thanks.

[J-ajvc3]

LocoBlade said:

A few of us have tried it at work with our combined 2,3,4,5 and 7 series VINs and it apparently doesn't fit any of them! I wonder given how new it is and the fact there's no price whether they've actually updated the back end database with a list of compatible models. The only other thing I can think is they insist it's hardwired centrally and it won't fit a lot of cars because it would sit in front of of one of the various cameras that are mounted there for high beam assist, lane departure etc etc.

Silverbullet767 said:

LocoBlade said:

There's a new version coming out though which has a lot of new features and hopefully newer camera tech which may be worth considering
https://shop.bmw.co.uk/bmw-uk/en_GB/p/genuine-bmw-...

Just tried that with my VIN, how can that not fit my car? It's a camera that sticks to the windscreen FFS!

We fit the BMW Advance Eye Car systems and have done a few. The problem is, to have the BMW Advance Eye kit work with the vehicle & shut off based on voltage or 6 hours, you require to wire them into the FEM module. For most BMW's, this module is tucked away in either the right hand side footwell or the passenger side footwell, with reverse orientation (i.e. the wires point out towards the engine bay).

The new kits either can't work with existing FEM modules, or will work, but require conventional hardwiring method from the fuse box. We have yet to fit one, so when we do, we will try and keep this thread updated with the exact procedure.

If going by the old kit, we agree with LocoBlade, it wasn't the best system value for money out there, but believe us when we say it still somehow managed to win over the 'BMW' fans, despite cheaper units packing more feature & being all rounded better.

[LocoBlade]

Hi Jay

Cheers for that, good info. I did find the old Advanced Eye install manual online and was wondering if it's viable and/or beneficial to use connections to the FEM module wires to power a 3rd party camera, primarily wondering if it's possible to avoid the battery drain warnings by using this connection rather than wiring to the fusebox/battery?

J-ajvc3 said:

We fit the BMW Advance Eye Car systems and have done a few. The problem is, to have the BMW Advance Eye kit work with the vehicle & shut off based on voltage or 6 hours, you require to wire them into the FEM module. For most BMW's, this module is tucked away in either the right hand side footwell or the passenger side footwell, with reverse orientation (i.e. the wires point out towards the engine bay).

[Dash-Cam Man]

LocoBlade said:

Hi Jay

Cheers for that, good info. I did find the old Advanced Eye install manual online and was wondering if it's viable and/or beneficial to use connections to the FEM module wires to power a 3rd party camera, primarily wondering if it's possible to avoid the battery drain warnings by using this connection rather than wiring to the fusebox/battery?

J-ajvc3 said:

We fit the BMW Advance Eye Car systems and have done a few. The problem is, to have the BMW Advance Eye kit work with the vehicle & shut off based on voltage or 6 hours, you require to wire them into the FEM module. For most BMW's, this module is tucked away in either the right hand side footwell or the passenger side footwell, with reverse orientation (i.e. the wires point out towards the engine bay).

Hi mate,

Apologies on the late response, hadn't noticed your reply.

In theory, yes you could use the FEM module to power a third party camera, I'm sure it can be done, however it's never easy accessing the FEM module location (far more complicated than accessing a fuse box in a BMW) and whether the extra time and effort and additional trim removal would justify this route is yet to outweigh any real benefit. The FEM module from memory does a 6 hour cut off on the camera, and indeed all battery warning messages are diverted due to the short space of time the camera is on.

In our experience, wiring in a Blackvue Power Magic Pro and setting the voltage cut off to 12V and the timer to 12 hours prevents the battery 'excess drainage' message you see on a BMW when starting your car. Should you set the timer to 48 hours for example, more than likely a message will appear however the message goes away when you start to drive the vehicle and/or can be cleared via the iDrive system.

We always give the customers the choice, as some customers do require for the camera to operate for as long as possible due to on street parking and the car not being used for example over the weekend, and the camera cutting off after 12 hours would inhabit any incidents to be caught for the remaining hours of a typical weekend.

Below, a BMW F80 M3 typical position for a power magic pro to sit once wired in.

Thanks, Jay

[LocoBlade]

Hi Jay

Many thanks and no problem, I got itchy feet and ended up wiring my Thinkware F770 into the battery / fuse box last weekend, the more I looked at using the FEM module the more it looked like additional faff! So far so good with the Thinkware and battery drain, I've set it to switch off at 12.0v and it seems to stay on overnight and powered down when the car was left over the weekend without any battery warnings as of yet so all good.

cheers

Edited by LocoBlade on Wednesday 20th December 21:54

[Dash-Cam Man]

LocoBlade said:

Hi Jay

Many thanks and no problem, I got itchy feet and ended up wiring my Thinkware F770 into the battery / fuse box last weekend, the more I looked at using the FEM module the more it looked like additional faff! So far so good with the Thinkware and battery drain, I've set it to switch off at 12.0v and it seems to stay on overnight and powered down when the car was left over the weekend without any battery warnings as of yet so all good.

cheers

Edited by LocoBlade on Wednesday 20th December 21:54

Fantastic matey - that's great news. F770 is a lovely unit, and due to the wire for the rear camera being so well insulted (you would have noticed how thick it was), so far we have found almost no interface from it with DAB radio, so you should be able to retain all your DAB stations.

Thanks, Jay

[LocoBlade]

Yep all good on the DAB front so far which was another concern, very pleased with it overall.

Dash-Cam Man said:

Fantastic matey - that's great news. F770 is a lovely unit, and due to the wire for the rear camera being so well insulted (you would have noticed how thick it was), so far we have found almost no interface from it with DAB radio, so you should be able to retain all your DAB stations.

Thanks, Jay

[baldy1926]

Hi i'm after a couple of cheap and cheerful dash cams for me and the other half.
I'm a cheapskate so dont want to spend much on them.
Wheres best to buy from and is it worth getting cheapo ones off the net
Thanks.

[IC3]

Could anyone please recommend me a dash cam up to £40-50, it would be good if it was fairly simplistic like blackvue. I would prefer it to not be really visible, I'm planing on having it in front of the rearview mirror. It doesn't have to have a screen, GPS or other inbuilt functions... just looking for the 'best bang for buck' dash cam.

Ideally, I would prefer to buy it in the UK... I can't really wait 2-3 weeks, it'll be a birthday gift. Thanks

Edited by IC3 on Saturday 30th December 05:49