Dash Cams

[Romer1]

Anybody using dash cams? Which ones are good and how do you have them mounted- at top of windshield or on dash?

[stugpanzer]

I have no worries about the data (such as speed, etc) being shown and possibly being used against me which I suppose is true that it could be. My thoughts are that I will only produce the dashcam video if I need to and under my own criteria. I will hold off on even mentioning that I have one equipped and present it if needed at a later date should something happen. I will keep the speed, date and time, and telemetry data on my recordings.

[Kemahsabe]

Dale.Traveling wrote:
I use a GoPro camera. The more multitasking stuff the better. Will do several hours before it starts over writing.

Sped up drive from Escanaba MI to North Chicago. Chicago In My Windshield

Great music!! :B

[Kemahsabe]

Bumpyroad wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:

The images are fine from your dash cam but personally I would remove the speedometer reading. There has to be a delay for the speed since it is GPS based so it is not accurate for the time of impact and it could be used against you in court. I would just give the image and let it speak for itself.

an excellent point.
bumpy

X2 The 'Windshield Witness' dashcam does not include a gps for that very reason.

[NorthOrSouth]

I got this one
http://www.amazon.com/2-5-inch-Vehicle-Recorder-Dashboard-Camcorder/dp/B0053DDNW6/ref=sr_1_2?s=car&ie=UTF8&qid=1408724288&sr=1-2&keywords=Dash+cam

However I paid 60 CDN at a local electronics store, London Drugs, just another example of our ridiculously high Canadian prices.

Works ok. The movies are not very high resolution so you can easily see what's happening but you couldn't read a license plate which might be very important. Turns on when it gets power from the cig lighter or runs about 4 hours on its internal battery.

I DO like the built in monitor so you can see what you have and I'd leave it visible (can be folded closed) so I could tell what it's recording. Would suck to really want the video and realize it was off or the lens was too dirty to focus.

Also it has a motion detection mode so it can be used like a security cam. But it's not terribly sensitive.

Captures amazingly good video in very low light but fairly useless after dark in the headlights.

Oh yeah and the menu controls are terribly confusing and the manual was written by a three year old Chinese kid. Then it was translated into Thai then Korean, then Russian and THEN into English.

Would probably get a better quality one next time.

Interestingly the first week I had it I seemed to catch a LOT of crappy driving in front of me. Guess I was just more tuned in to it.

[Dale_Traveling]

I use a GoPro camera. The more multitasking stuff the better. Will do several hours before it starts over writing.

Sped up drive from Escanaba MI to North Chicago. Chicago In My Windshield

[rgatijnet1]

stugpanzer wrote:
I have been using dash cams for a couple years now. the current one I use in my car is a GT680W. I have been very happy with it so far. It has GPS so it logs the location and it also has a 'screen saver' which is a compass and shows your speed as calculated by the GPS. I bring my Mobius Action Cam for the coach.

I did take some really nice scenery video of crossing the Mackinac Bridge and driving over the top of lake Michigan with the Mobius but haven't done anything with that video yet.

The following are a couple videos I put up on YouTube taken from my dash cam in my car.

This first one is an idiot who decided to pull out in front of me - caught with my first dashcam. If you look closely, you will see I am going 55mph and did lay on the brakes and horn: idiot driver!

These next three are a series of videos from last year while I was driving home when a bad storm was hitting my area. My family was in the basement as a tornado was spotted very near to my house. Before someone mentions it, yes I rolled some stop signs as I was in a hurry to get home: Storm Clip 1, Storm Clip 2 & Storm Clip 3.

this one is a test clip I made using the Mobius: Mobius Action Cam Clip

Finally, while driving home last week, I was really enjoying this flat farm land where I live so I used some dashcam video and made this clip: Tribute to My Neck of the Woods

But the real reason for my ever getting one is because both my father and son were involved in seperate scam type accidents. Both of them were never held responsible but it really got me thinking so I now have one in the car at all times. For the RV, its great to capture some of the beautiful scenery as you move along the highway from one destination to another! of course, you will catch people doing stupid things which is kind of part of the fun of having one.

The images are fine from your dash cam but personally I would remove the speedometer reading. There has to be a delay for the speed since it is GPS based so it is not accurate for the time of impact and it could be used against you in court. I would just give the image and let it speak for itself.

[stugpanzer]

@1492, I found out the hard way that my Samsung Galaxy S4 phone which is enveloped in an Otter Box is not too fond of being up in the window area. Mine overheated once and shutdown. It took about an hour for it to cool down enough to come back on. It doesn't seem damaged but something to think about if using a smartphone as your dashcam.

[stugpanzer]

I have been using dash cams for a couple years now. the current one I use in my car is a GT680W. I have been very happy with it so far. It has GPS so it logs the location and it also has a 'screen saver' which is a compass and shows your speed as calculated by the GPS. I bring my Mobius Action Cam for the coach.

I did take some really nice scenery video of crossing the Mackinac Bridge and driving over the top of lake Michigan with the Mobius but haven't done anything with that video yet.

The following are a couple videos I put up on YouTube taken from my dash cam in my car.

This first one is an idiot who decided to pull out in front of me - caught with my first dashcam. If you look closely, you will see I am going 55mph and did lay on the brakes and horn: idiot driver!

These next three are a series of videos from last year while I was driving home when a bad storm was hitting my area. My family was in the basement as a tornado was spotted very near to my house. Before someone mentions it, yes I rolled some stop signs as I was in a hurry to get home: Storm Clip 1, Storm Clip 2 & Storm Clip 3.

this one is a test clip I made using the Mobius: Mobius Action Cam Clip

Finally, while driving home last week, I was really enjoying this flat farm land where I live so I used some dashcam video and made this clip: Tribute to My Neck of the Woods

But the real reason for my ever getting one is because both my father and son were involved in seperate scam type accidents. Both of them were never held responsible but it really got me thinking so I now have one in the car at all times. For the RV, its great to capture some of the beautiful scenery as you move along the highway from one destination to another! of course, you will catch people doing stupid things which is kind of part of the fun of having one.

[1492]

I haven't had much luck with dedicated dashcams, specifically the video quality. In fact, the last one I bought from a U.S. seller was so bad as to be completely unusable. So need to be careful that you are actually getting the genuine package, and not a counterfeit.

I'd stick with major brands like Garmin, but expensive nonetheless.

Instead, I've been experimenting with using Android smartphone based dashcams, many of which are available for free. Along with some unique advantages, but just as many downsides.

Some things I like is that the video quality is as good as your smartphone. Which tends to be heads over heals better than most mid to low end dashcams. Plus, the software can utilize the phone's built-in gps to add location data to the video, along with mph and the usual date/time. Not to mention that many Android based dashcams apps are available for free. And you can still use Bluetooth and charge the smartphone while in use. So can receive/make calls from a stereo receiver w/Bluetooth for instance.

But there are also some downsides including finding a suitable mount for your smartphone. The ones I've tried so far result in too much shake in the recorded video when in motion. So still looking in my case.

Another downside is that Android does not overlay data to recorded video, so you can only view these from the smartphone. Unless the dashcam app generates a separate sub-title(.srt) text file that can be read by a media player/converter to view this data when using a computer. But not all apps offer this capability.

The Free Android based dashcam/dvr apps I've had the best luck with so far using a Samsung Galaxy S include:





AutoBoy DashCam - Black Box



AutoGuard Blackbox - Dash Cam




Both apps can use the smartphones HQ video - 1080P HD. And both can generate .srt files to overlay data when using a media player such as VLC, or when burning the data over the video using a converter.

A few other dashcam apps I've tried were just too buggy, or didn't provide good enough video quality. In any case, you need to test a dashcam app to make sure its stable with your specific mobile device.

[Kemahsabe]

Garmin Dash Cam 20 - $250.

[J-Rooster]

I don't have one yet, but I will install one when I get a insurance break for having one!

[C_B_]

Put a Garmin Dash Cam 20 with optional 32GB card on my windshield in July Works great.


C.B.

[BobGed]

+2 on the Mobius. Available here Mobius on eBay for $69.00.

I have a Windshield Witness in my motor home, but have a Mobius in each of my other vehicles. Here's an example of why:
Close call

There's no question the Go Pro is a quality camera, but IMHO it is overkill for this function. My cameras stay in each vehicle and are activated any time the ignition is on.

[Kemahsabe]

My son uses a Mobius Action Cam. It's an HD camera that makes an excellent dash-cam. It's $100 on Amazon.

He had a cheap dash-cam, then found out that it saves the video and writes it to the memory card only every 15 seconds or so. In a severe accident where power is lost to the dash-cam, the last few seconds of video (the most important part) is lost.

[DougE]

I'm happy with my Windshield Witness. Easy to use. Good picture.