Best Dash Cams?

[Mike Phillips]

Best Dash Cams?


Been thinking about getting a couple of Dash Cameras for our cars just to be pro-active in case we're ever in any unexpected accidents. In the last few weeks I've seen 3 cars blow-through 4-way stops, (no traffic lights just stop signs), including a Sheriff? (no lights or siren on when they blew-through the 4-way and no lights or siren on down the road). To avoid the he said, she said entanglement I'd like to simply be pro-active.



While driving to work this morning the car in front of me had a rear window cam.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/RearCam.JPG



I haven't looked at the back windows of our 2 SUVs yet to see where a person would locate such things but I"m sure there's a optimal location.


Before going to Skynet and doing the normal search I though I would tap into the collective BORG here on the forum to see if anyone has already been there, done that and figure out the best camera options on the market.


Anyone been down this road yet?


:)

[LSNAutoDetailing]

Mike, if you still have my number call me. I've put a lot of time and research into dash cams. Way too much info for a single thread and it would take me days to write something up. But I've gone through a few, and narrowed down the one that has been the most reliable. I have them running in both my vehicles. I can even walk you through the installation, as you don't want to use the cig lighter option. I even have a preferred vendor where they're whole business is retail dash-cams and radar detectors. They also have a great support staff. They're like the AGO of dash-cams.

[acuRAS82]

Would love to hear some if the top overall choices. Was just thinking about this last week. COVID-lifestyle is the only thing unprecedented... people’s driving seems as bad as I ever recall.

[Markymapo]

Same here would like to hear about best models out there. I recently got pushed to side of road by car in my lane and had to swerve and of course I caught a softball size rock which put a hole in my oil pan for my M4. Good thing only a few minutes from home. Now car stuck in Park and can’t get towed until the BMW tech tells me where the manual unlock is for the tranny {need to jack car up, put on supports, remove panels around tranny) so I can put in Neutral.

[oneheadlite]

...Now car stuck in Park and can’t get towed until the BMW tech tells me where the manual unlock is for the tranny {need to jack car up, put on supports, remove panels around tranny) so I can put in Neutral.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200810/99892f58e124045516b6acc293cc0223.jpg

Once you get the center panel off, you should be looking for this guy. Looks like it should be on the right side.

[LSNAutoDetailing]

So I wanted to do two dash cams, one for my Mustang and the other for my Honda fit. Just like auto care products, there are hundreds, and all are similarly priced and all have similar features. So I ended up in a sea of confusion. I started following Vortex Radar on You Tube: Vortex Radar - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/TravelCam1111)

He reviews hundreds of dashcams and radar detectors. What I learned is there are two camps in the higher end market. (not Garmin or what is sold at Best Buy or whatever). There is Korean and Chinese. The Korean makers were top notch, the Chinese were catching up in features and specifications.

Now there are different options with each camera, obviously you want something high quality, 780p, 1k, 2k and now 4k. Also each camera is going to have different nigh-vision optics and clarity. One thing I learned is there is going to be trade offs, if there are features you like about one camera that another doesn't have, the other may have slightly better features at night.

Next is the hardwiring. Parking mode was important to me. I wanted a sleek install, no wires all over the place, no lighter 12v plugs etc. Parking mode also has different modes, motion detection, fast speed with less frames per sec, and event detection. At the time I was looking some of the less expensive cameras only offered fast speed (which means it's always running, but at a fraction of the frames per second). I wanted motion with event detection.

Motion, means that for the most part the camera will be on while parked, slightest motion, lights, leaves in the trees blowing, shadows will have it run. Event detection means if the car gets bumped, it will snag that snippet and store it so it can't get overwritten.

Now there is buffering. Buffering allows event detection to grab about 30 seconds before the event and store it. Remember I said, for the most part the camera is always running, so if an event occurs, the camera can roll back, grab stuff leading up to the event and then store it in a separate folder.

Next is continuous recording - while you are driving. I also wanted "event detection" and buffering with that feature as well.

For parking mode, the camera is hard wired. It's really easy but you have to have patients. I've installed, and uninstalled cameras about 4 or 5 times now.

So once I got all my criteria, I chose between three brands BlackVue, (K), Thinkware (K) and Viofo (China). Viofo A129duo was much less in price, but had all the features except buffered event detection. However, the clarity was pretty darn good.

Oh, one other thing, you want to make sure it has stratus silicon and not lithium capacitors. The silicon can withstand extreme temps and lasts longer.

For the Honda Fit I went with the Viofo A129. For the Mustang I went with the Thinkware F800 Pro. The Thinkware was much more money than the Viofo, but I was really happy with both, and didn't care much about not having buffered recording on the Viofo.

After 6 months of testing and driving in AZ sun and heat, this is where things got flakey. The viofo had a series of issues that lead to an RMA. After much trouble shooting we RMA'd the Viofo. Then after about two weeks the same problems occurred. We did about one more RMA, and that still had issues, whereas no issues with the Thinkware.

Due to the incredible customer support at where I purchased the cameras, they went out of their way. Despite being outside their return policy, they returned the Viofo, and sold me a second Thinkware F800 at dealer cost. So far both Thinkware's have been running great.

The place I got the cameras from is out of Canada, Black Box My Car. All they do is cameras and radar detectors. They have a knowledgeable staff and provide live phone tech support and I highly recommend them.

If you opt to go that route, wiring is easy. You need to identify two fuses inside the car, one that is continuously sending power and one that is only on with AC power. For me I chose a dome light fuse and the radio. In the hardwire kit they send you a lighted tester and the appropriate adapters to "fit a fuse". The back camera is a little tricky but anyone who is a detailer on this forum knows how to pull some plastic trim, etc.. Make sure you get the plastic pullers too.

I'll try to provide some pics and some video footage later today... Hope all this helps!!!

[DMiglio]

Mike

Thanks for making this thread, been thinking about this myself!

LSNAutoDetailing-Paul G

Thanks for the informative post and giving us a good starting point! Something I think many of us here will benefit from.

[LSNAutoDetailing]

Some more info:

For power, the Thankware has settings that you can set, 24 hrs, 48 hrs, 72 hrs. If it hits those thresholds it will shut off as not to drain your battery.

If you want to run a separate battery pack, there is a battery called C-Link, which BBMC also sells. Essentially the battery powers the camera and the battery only uses your car to charge.

The Thinkware cameras have GPS for fleet, so you can add a number of cameras to the apps... However, in order for that to work the camera has to be connected to a hot-spot in the vehicle. Most connect via wifi to your phone, but Thinkware also provides a hotspot connection.

The files can be played on any computer using regular windows viewer or native mac, but if you want all the maps, gps, speed, Thinkware has a proprietary app you can download.

To to Black Box My Car, go to Vortex Radar, I think you'll learn a ton.

[LSNAutoDetailing]

This is from a trip I took last weekend in my 05 Mustang GT. I deleted the sound, as my wife and I were having a conversation over the V8 w/ Borla ATAK Catback's... LMAO. I also didn't include the rear camera. I have a funky setup in the ragtop, where I used my own rig to get the back camera facing towards the window. My camera is the older F800 Pro 1080P front and Rear. The newer ones are 4K.



https://youtu.be/Gb91egVELWc


https://youtu.be/_SSL8bssY6I


https://youtu.be/UfP6O94X9G8

[acuRAS82]

^^Nice! I like them.

[SixZee]

There is a dedicated forum (https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/) for dashcams. That is one of the best resource.

There is no shortage of dashcams and new are coming up daily, with newer features. All depends on which features you are looking for and how much are you willing to spend for that.

for consumer grade,
I have older Street Guardian. My goal was to get the license plate number. Any camera will record an incident but not all will capture license plate number.

Rexing also has some new good cameras. It is CT based and excellent customer service. I had an issue with my dashcam, out of warranty. I reached out to them and they shipped another before me sending mine back to them. Can't ask anything more than that.

I prefer to stay away from Chinese cameras, unless they have a representative here, primarily for customer service issues.

[General Toner]

I've had great luck with the Blackvue DR900S 2 channel dashcam.

I self installed running cables behind the few 'covers' that my 4C has.

Including several photos so you can see how the batteries fit under the passenger seat. The cable from the batteries to central tunnel and subsequent cigarette lighter is now tapped into the underside of that socket.

The camera in front is completely hidden when driving and not a visual obstruction to the passenger.

This shoots in 4K front with 1080 on the back.

Including a link to a couple of youtube videos that I put together to show others how this one's image quality holds-up.

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Longer sample with examples in storms, sunny and night weather. Old Oregonian her so i'm used to rain, I still try to avoid driving this car in inclement weather however I was caught off guard roughly 40 miles from the house when the storm occurred.
4C Sample Footage DR900S - YouTube (https://youtu.be/UXYKwYKr1ds)

https://youtu.be/UXYKwYKr1ds

Humor where you see people looking at car, however then have them lean on it which frustrates the heck out of me:
Dinner Pictures - YouTube (https://youtu.be/kfNbiO2nh5A)

https://youtu.be/kfNbiO2nh5A

Another car coming the wrong way in the wrong lane. With this one first is standard view, second play-through has been zoomed from 4K to 1080:
Alfa Romeo - Wrong Way - YouTube (https://youtu.be/groNdB-Yxok)

https://youtu.be/groNdB-Yxok

Bicyclist not bothering to check for cars. The 4C is by no means known for being quiet.
Idiot Bike on Rt 401 - YouTube (https://youtu.be/4xThTUxZyDI)

https://youtu.be/4xThTUxZyDI


Hope the pics and videos help with your decision.

[Markymapo]

Thanks oneheadlight. I have found the lever and will give it a try Wednesday also, thanks for dash cam information

[Mike Phillips]

There is a dedicated forum (https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/) for dashcams. That is one of the best resource.




Ha ha.... I thought forums were dead? :laughing:


I noticed they use the same forum software that our forum member AZpolisher15 recommended here (https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-to-articles-by-mike-phillips/123572-easy-way-share-picture-forum-tapatalk-app-your-cell-phone.html#post1637369).


Thanks for the resource. Like others, I find a well run forum to be both helpful and a powerful resource but before I went forum hunting - because I KNOW this forum has a lot of smart people with a wide spectrum of expertise - I chose to use this forum as my resource and by the posts made here already my decision is vindicated.

But - thank you for sharing the above resource.


:cheers:

[LSNAutoDetailing]

@ General Toner, great footage. Did you just bring that footage into a video editor to get the extra long clip with PinP? I don't have any video editing software.