How much do I need to spend on a dash cam?

[Benengo]

I currently reside in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where frankly the traffic is as bad as anywhere I've ever driven! I'd like to be able to record the carnage, if only to prove to the angry Saudi policeman who's threatening to arrest me, that it was actually the fault of the fellow driving on the wrong side of the road whilst on the phone and steering with his feet.

I don't need anything too high tech but having a little look on line there are some very cheap units and some very pricy ones too. Can something reasonable be had for less than £60?

[Mr2Mike]

If you don't need integrated GPS, then the Mini 0801 is (just) within budget and gives excellent picture quality in a very compact size.

If it is important to you, you can get the same device with GPS integrated but you'll need to add another £8 to your budget.

[V8RX7]

Yes, there's a BIG thread on it.

[redstu]

I am going to get one of the ones above. It gets a good review on the techmoan YouTube channel.

[eltax91]

I have a mini 0801 with gps on its way from eBay as we speak. It was £68 new.

From all the reviews I've read it's the best you can get without spending over £200

[NiceCupOfTea]

Anybody any idea how to tell which model is which? Some have GPS, built in ram, come with an SD card, couldn't work out what was what last time I looked...

[garycat]

It is bloody confusing so I just went for the simple one.

I think (correct me if wrong) that the camera needs to have the GPS logger feature AND you need the GPS mount which is about £17 extra ( http://www.amazon.co.uk/E-PRANCE-Mini-Recorder-Mou... )

[V8RX7]

Mr2Mike said:

If it is important to you, you can get the same device with GPS integrated but you'll need to add another £8 to your budget.

The reviews suggest (like all other cheap, Chinese stuff) the quality is very variable.

[vikingaero]

Techmoan recommends this for a cheap (£32) dashcam:

http://www.techmoan.com/blog/2013/12/16/g1w-the-ch...

[Mr2Mike]

NiceCupOfTea said:

Anybody any idea how to tell which model is which? Some have GPS, built in ram, come with an SD card, couldn't work out what was what last time I looked...

The seller on Amazon (E-Prance) lists the Amazon ID number (ASIN) for each different variant. It's not completely obvious, but the ASIN is present in the URL so you can work back to see which features the device you are looking at has, and you can also work out the URL for the device that has the features you require. Not sure why it's been done like this rather than putting descriptions in the title.

No GPS Logger,No 8G internal memory,No 32G Memory

With GPS Logger,No 8G internal memory,No 32G Memory

No GPS Logger,With 8G internal memory,No 32G Memory

With GPS Logger,With 8G internal memory,No 32G Memory

No GPS Logger,No 8G internal memory,With 32G Memory

With GPS Logger,No 8G internal memory,With 32G Memory

No GPS Logger,With 8G internal memory,With 32G Memory

With GPS Logger,With 8G internal memory,With 32G Memory

[GoneAnon]

From a brief time in the UAE, I understand that if you have a crash with a local it will automatically be your fault, regardless of what a camera might show them doing. Something to do with "God's Will" ?

[Benengo]

the rational for any accident involving a Saudi national and an expat (be they European, US or a third party national) it that it cannot be the fault of the local, even if you are stationary at lights and they run into you, because if you had not been in their country you wouldn't have been there for them the crash into!

[lewisf182]

Benengo said:

the rational for any accident involving a Saudi national and an expat (be they European, US or a third party national) it that it cannot be the fault of the local, even if you are stationary at lights and they run into you, because if you had not been in their country you wouldn't have been there for them the crash into!

Wow.

If only we employed that in the UK. Certain parts of the UK would see a dramatic decline in insurance premiums due to scam claims!

[George7]

I have the Mobius, it's excellent for the price.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mobius-ActionCam-Full-HD...

Here's some footage from it (put it into 1080p).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE5EtEZ4r5I
[/quote]

[Mr2Mike]

George7 said:

I have the Mobius, it's excellent for the price.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mobius-ActionCam-Full-HD...

Here's some footage from it (put it into 1080p).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE5EtEZ4r5I

Have the issues with them getting very hot and melting the casing been resolved now?

[Bungleaio]

I'm looking at buying a camera, there seems to be a lot of different ones on the market with wide ranging reviews and costs.

I think I'm going to go for the Roadhawk HD. It's not cheap at around £220 but it seems to do what I want it to do reliably and in a small enough package.

[George7]

Mr2Mike said:

Have the issues with them getting very hot and melting the casing been resolved now?

I'm not sure; I bought mine in the height of summer last year. It did get rather hot, especially as my AC wasn't working and the outside temperatures got to 30+, but it never melted.

[NiceCupOfTea]

Mr2Mike said:

NiceCupOfTea said:

Anybody any idea how to tell which model is which? Some have GPS, built in ram, come with an SD card, couldn't work out what was what last time I looked...

The seller on Amazon (E-Prance) lists the Amazon ID number (ASIN) for each different variant. It's not completely obvious, but the ASIN is present in the URL so you can work back to see which features the device you are looking at has, and you can also work out the URL for the device that has the features you require. Not sure why it's been done like this rather than putting descriptions in the title.

No GPS Logger,No 8G internal memory,No 32G Memory

With GPS Logger,No 8G internal memory,No 32G Memory

No GPS Logger,With 8G internal memory,No 32G Memory

With GPS Logger,With 8G internal memory,No 32G Memory

No GPS Logger,No 8G internal memory,With 32G Memory

With GPS Logger,No 8G internal memory,With 32G Memory

No GPS Logger,With 8G internal memory,With 32G Memory

With GPS Logger,With 8G internal memory,With 32G Memory

You absolute star,thank you!

Next question - what's the point in the 8gb built in memory? If you have a 32gb card there's plenty of room!

[Mr2Mike]

NiceCupOfTea said:

You absolute star,thank you!

Next question - what's the point in the 8gb built in memory? If you have a 32gb card there's plenty of room!

Pretty much none at all, given an 8GB SD card is significantly cheaper than the price difference.

I would either get the first or second options in that list depending on of you want GPS or not, and buy your own (branded) class 6 SD card from a reputable memory seller. Judging from the comments the 32GB card supplied by E-Prance is of dubious quality.