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Dash cam advice!


Benlavelle
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Morning all,

 

Ive been looking in to buying a decent dash cam for my car, I travel a lot for work and have had some near misses with some idiot drivers. That being said I’m a perfectionist and want a dashcam that’s pretty well hidden, I’m not a big fan of the big lcd screen below my rear mirror. Ideally I was hoping for a discreet cam that hides behind my rear mirror out of sight. 

Do dash cams require a screen or can you buy ones without a screen? Reducing the size.

 

anyways I’m open to any suggestions / advise. 

 

Ben

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you can get ones without the screen

you wanting just a front camera or both front and rear?

I have a thinkware F750 front and rear camera, both 1080p 30 fps I couldn't be happier with it.

well, that's not completely true but within the confines of technology, I couldn't be happier. The little gem has caught a couple of hit and runs

such as 

Yes ive named and Shamed and I don't care, the stupidity of this should be an example to everyone driving large cars they cant see out the back of

 

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I have a Yi 1080p60 dashcam for the front, and it's really nice. The quality is excellent, really clear even at night. Unfortunately it's silver so it's not inconspicuous, but it's not an eyesore either. I bought a suction pad for it instead of the sticky mount as I didn't want something permanently attached. The screen sticks out maybe 5mm below the rearview mirror the way I've put it in, so it's barely a distraction. Here's a clip at night (it looks better straight from the camera, YouTube does some compression on it:

 

 

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On 16/01/2018 at 11:43 AM, Dee_82 said:

you can get ones without the screen

you wanting just a front camera or both front and rear?

I have a thinkware F750 front and rear camera, both 1080p 30 fps I couldn't be happier with it.

well, that's not completely true but within the confines of technology, I couldn't be happier. The little gem has caught a couple of hit and runs

such as 

Yes ive named and Shamed and I don't care, the stupidity of this should be an example to everyone driving large cars they cant see out the back of

 

How the hell do you reverse into the same car twice in less than 3 minutes?!?!?  Someone REALLY wants a good SLAP! :angry: The 2nd one sounds like a heavier impact I really don't see how the driver wouldn't have known they had hit another car, so I assume they just drove off!...and we all know what 4 letter word starting with "C" describes people like that :tongue:

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well, all you need to do to get out of a situation like that is find some random person who has parked else where in the carpark say to them "I think I hit your car, can you go check" they come back and  says its fine.

Job done. You have done everything reasonably possible in contacting the owner.

absolute joke of a Court.

The police officers were gobsmacked. quote "How many more times does someone have to run in to a car before its a crime"

the second impact was the bigy, it actually pushed the car back a few inches. New NS wing and Bumper.

Some other bottom hole did it again the other day. got him charged as well, damage was a small scratch but that's not the point, you don't back in to a car and bugger off. Incidentally, its ALWAYS these big bottom SUV / fake 4x4 cars that do this. they should be given a different driving licence for them or something because clearly folk cant drive them properly.

 

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* Admins, @alexp999 @Stoney871 etc can for the love of all things good in the world, can you please take a look at the censor rules. the other word for Bottom that starts with A and almost got me banned when I circumvented it with the use of a $ sign (ban squashed after appeal!)  really isn't a bad word! :)

 

ok so bottom hole might be, bit Big A isn't

lol

 

 

 

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On 16/01/2018 at 10:18 AM, Benlavelle said:

Morning all,

 

Ive been looking in to buying a decent dash cam for my car, I travel a lot for work and have had some near misses with some idiot drivers. That being said I’m a perfectionist and want a dashcam that’s pretty well hidden, I’m not a big fan of the big lcd screen below my rear mirror. Ideally I was hoping for a discreet cam that hides behind my rear mirror out of sight. 

Do dash cams require a screen or can you buy ones without a screen? Reducing the size.

 

anyways I’m open to any suggestions / advise. 

 

Ben

Hi Ben

 

I haven't been on here in a while but I recommend the Mobius dash cam, I have had it for many years now with no issues at all. The software is great and simple to use and regularly gets updates to add new features ect but the cam itself is so small and Deseret , I have it hardwired to my focus and position behind the rear view mirror, cant be seen at all from inside of car and its very hidden from outside as well. Its also got a motion sense recording (Parked mode as some call it) which is very handy indeed, At some point  i will get another for the rear window,  There have been many models since I bought mine and since dash cams have become more popular but I just anted a basic cam, good quality, reliable, very discret and that does hat it supposed to do and I found that with the mobius, I highly recommend.

 

 

Here is a but do shot around as it has many deals and packages ect.

http://www.carcamerashop.co.uk/mobius-action-camera-dash-cam-version.html

 

 

 

 

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Aye, they have a good reputation, a little less user friendly to install and perhaps a little less "polished" but very good cameras.  The bitrate on those things is really high which is what is lacking on all dual camera setups.

Only word of warning on them is that it is a Chinese camera!

Generally you get S-Korean / Japanese Cameras, or Chinese. The former tend to be more expensive, they tend to have a better build quality and vastly better Quality control, basically you know what you get will be good and if its not the companies are behind you to help you.

With Chinese Cameras its more of a lottery. lol

Different batches can be better than other batches. Many are just ripped off other poor unsuspecting companies only with more dubious QC and components.

Ive seen devices that can only have been put together with the components they used because they either couldn't find the correct ones or ran out, so just shoved anything in it to make it "work"

I'm sure the vast majority of them will be ok, but when buying do consider that you may need to return it, so don't buy from abroad or from sellers that have sketchy returns policies. 

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I got one of these for Christmas:

http://Upgraded AUTO-VOX WiFi Dash Cam D6 Pro FHD 1080P Dashboard Camera Recorder Car Dash Cam with Super Night Vision,G-Sensor,WDR,Loop Recording,300°Rotate Angle https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071ZKVD4S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_7dkyAb7R18C19

Works really well.

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4 hours ago, Dee_82 said:

Aye, they have a good reputation, a little less user friendly to install and perhaps a little less "polished" but very good cameras.  The bitrate on those things is really high which is what is lacking on all dual camera setups.

Only word of warning on them is that it is a Chinese camera!

Generally you get S-Korean / Japanese Cameras, or Chinese. The former tend to be more expensive, they tend to have a better build quality and vastly better Quality control, basically you know what you get will be good and if its not the companies are behind you to help you.

With Chinese Cameras its more of a lottery. lol

Different batches can be better than other batches. Many are just ripped off other poor unsuspecting companies only with more dubious QC and components.

Ive seen devices that can only have been put together with the components they used because they either couldn't find the correct ones or ran out, so just shoved anything in it to make it "work"

I'm sure the vast majority of them will be ok, but when buying do consider that you may need to return it, so don't buy from abroad or from sellers that have sketchy returns policies. 

I know what you mean, if you stick with uk sellers its half the battle but seriously its a great little camera easy to get installed, there is a guide on here somewhere for hard wiring it into car which I would recommend for any cam as it a lots better that using up the power sockets and having wires trailing every where.

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I have THIS ONE aswell as the MOUNT

 

Works excellently and i've used the footage in an insurance claim already.

 

I hard wired it into passenger footwell fuse box so only turns on with ignition.

 

Footage during the day and night is superb.

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Worth a look on the Dashcamtalk forum https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/  for information, but it will probably make your decision harder. In my experience, anything with an internal battery wont last too long so go for one with a capacitor fitted.

I was going to to replace my Mini 0806 for a Thinkware F770, but  decided on a Mini 0906 in the end (just got it, not fitted yet). My preference was not to have to use an app to set up the camera and for it to be small and discrete. I leave my camera on the screen all the time and periodically take it out to check the recordings. It's barely visible from the outside unlike some which have far too many shiny bits.

This is the 0806 in my MK4 Mondeo, the screen is set to turn off after 30 secs.

 

Dashcam front1.jpg

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The mini Series is a prime example of a camera that might or might not be any good. also, not all Mini XXXX cameras are the same, some are official, some a clones, some batches are crap, some are not. it requires a lot of research to make that decision!

I'm quite active on that forum above as well and there are lot of examples of the cameras being out of focus, dying, flaky recording, stuttering.  All sorts

BUT, if you get a good one, then as David said, its a great camera, I personally don't like the screen on them but the record quality (if it works) is outstanding.

Id strongly recommend a capacitor based camera.  There have been a couple of examples of batteries exploding in the summer heat and some of the Mini series had serious heat dissipation issues meaning they kept turning off.

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Hi,

Just to let you know that a number of our insurance schemes do offer a discount for the fitment of a HD dash cam.

Regards,

Dan.

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Hi Dan

Can you give a "Ball Park" figure for the level of discount people could expect?

Thanks.

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4 hours ago, DAN@ADRIAN FLUX said:

Hi,

Just to let you know that a number of our insurance schemes do offer a discount for the fitment of a HD dash cam.

Regards,

Dan.

ive asked for break down of the discounts for firstly being a member and secondly the camera and they couldn't tell me, it was "just included in the price" 

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It all comes down to how much you want to spend. Personally, I was new to dashcams in April of last year, I decided to go for the budget Next Base 112 for my work van for my own peace of mind. The cam cost £39, 32GB card was £12, so I was setup for just over 50 quid. Quality is 720p HD, playback is good so no complaints, used it everyday since then.

At Christmas I was surprised to find that my Dad had bought me a dashcam, it was the Reka unit which goes on sale from time to time at Aldi stores. It even comes complete with a 32GB memory card, 1080p HD. Works a treat and playback is excellent. It is widescreen though so isn't exactly small. 

The screens on both can be set to off when recording so it isn't a distraction and can't be seen from behind. So in summary, am I happy with them, do they do the job well? Yes they do, and they don't break the bank. I don't feel the need for GPS units, I wanted a dashcam for simply recording any potential insurance disputes. They do the job and are cheaply replaced if necessary.

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depending on how you roll, the GPS can be useful to help prove to the insurance folk you were not taking the pee. but other than that, almost all "features" are just gimmicks

you want high resolution with high bitrates, if you go low on res you will find it hard to read, if you go low on bitrate you will find it contains lots of artifacts, especaially in darker conditions or when theres lots going on. driving past trees can really show the weakness.  something else to look for it FPS, 30 is fine but in an ideal world you want 60, when two cars are moving at high speed, often at 30FPS you can totally miss a reg plate.

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I get your points Darren. I was just after basic cover. These budget cams provide that. Speed isn't hard to judge either if you are lacking GPS.

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On 18/01/2018 at 1:29 PM, kpg said:

I got one of these for Christmas:

http://Upgraded AUTO-VOX WiFi Dash Cam D6 Pro FHD 1080P Dashboard Camera Recorder Car Dash Cam with Super Night Vision,G-Sensor,WDR,Loop Recording,300°Rotate Angle https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071ZKVD4S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_7dkyAb7R18C19

Works really well.

Kpg I was looking into one similar to this, goluk t2. I like the look and descretness they provide. I only have two queries that I’m hoping you can answer:

1. Have you managed to put it into your fuse box with a piggyback fuse?

2. I think you have a focus titanium like myself? If so where did you put the camera? There’s a lot of sensors etc on our windscreens and I wanted it as hidden as possible. 

 

Ben

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On 16/01/2018 at 11:43 AM, Dee_82 said:

you can get ones without the screen

you wanting just a front camera or both front and rear?

I have a thinkware F750 front and rear camera, both 1080p 30 fps I couldn't be happier with it.

well, that's not completely true but within the confines of technology, I couldn't be happier. The little gem has caught a couple of hit and runs

such as 

Yes ive named and Shamed and I don't care, the stupidity of this should be an example to everyone driving large cars they cant see out the back of

 

Hmm, if that 3 was a T it would sum up the driving of this idiot!

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Kpg I was looking into one similar to this, goluk t2. I like the look and descretness they provide. I only have two queries that I’m hoping you can answer:
1. Have you managed to put it into your fuse box with a piggyback fuse?
2. I think you have a focus titanium like myself? If so where did you put the camera? There’s a lot of sensors etc on our windscreens and I wanted it as hidden as possible. 
 
Ben
I haven't hardwired it in yet although I will be doing this very soon.

I've positioned the cam to the left of the rear view mirror, tucked right in behind it so it's not visible at all from the driver side. When I get my car back I'll post a few pics.

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

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+1 for the YI. Less than £30 on amazon the other day, excellent quality especially in the dark. Sadly no good for me, mine needs to be quite descrete as I'm not supposed to record the site I work at. I'm not taking it out every morning when I get to work and then putting it back in as I leave. Fiddly enough to do as it is.

I'd say try to avoid one with batteries unless it's specifically designed for 24 hour recording for when you're parked. The lithium-Ion batteries just fail in the summer heat in the car. If it's too hot for you to comfortably sit in or a dog, it's too hot for a chinese battery dash cam.

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@Benlavelle Hi mate, heres where I have my camera fitted:

1517061959830.jpg

1517061982724.jpg

It's pretty discreet and bit very visible from outside.

1517062047501.jpg (Crap picture)

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