Looking To Buy A Dash Cam, Pros and Cons

[timmac]

OK I want a dash cam for my motorhome just in case of a accident, what is the best cam out there, I know nothing about this market what so ever, what I want is one that continues to record for even hours of driving if available, and tips on how they work, I have a GoPro but I don't think it can record for that long of a time..

:C

[Houston_Remodel]

If this link works... this is the dash cam we have. Works very well

clicky

http://smile.amazon.com/2-5-inch-Vehicle-Recorder-Dashboard-Camcorder/dp/B0053DDNW6/ref=sr_1_2?s=car&ie=UTF8&qid=1435436631&sr=1-2&keywords=dash+cam&pebp=1435436643432&perid=0BX7SEMAK769XRA8BMJ3

[timmac]

boshog wrote:


He told the officer I pulled in to his lane, changed his story to he was avoiding a pothole after he was told I had a dashcam.

Here is the video link;
http://vid1028.photobucket.com/albums/y346/Bob_Walchli/20140617-053311_EVT_D_zpspjzh2jdb.mp4

That's why I am getting one, so many people pull out in front of my motorhome because they think I am going slow or just don't want to be behind me, even was cut off once when a person passed me, I hit my brakes hard to avoid a crash, its time to have a dash cam..

[Houston_Remodel]

We've agreed not to tell the other driver about the dash cam until they give their version of events to the police. Filing a false report isn't a good first step and usually puts them in deeper hot water.

[boshog]

I have the Cowon AW1 in my daily driver and the Cobra CDR840 in my tow vehicle. I got the Cobra from Costco, I think it is on sale this month for $85. Works very well, clear video, has all the features including a G sensor but comes with an 8GB micro sd card which is good for a couple hours of video. They also provide a PC app for playing back the videos and route mapping.

The Cowon offers excellent video and has WiFi and the GPS option is an additional $40. They also provide a PC app for video/route viewing.

There is no reason not to have a dash cam with prices below $100. Here is a video of a driver that lost control of his speeding vehicle, side swiped my rear and ricocheted off of me. Look close and you will see his car parts fly past my driver's window.

He told the officer I pulled in to his lane, changed his story to he was avoiding a pothole after he was told I had a dashcam.

Here is the video link;
http://vid1028.photobucket.com/albums/y346/Bob_Walchli/20140617-053311_EVT_D_zpspjzh2jdb.mp4

Don't judge the Cowon by the quality of this video, it was converted to a smaller byte size for the obvious reasons. The Cobra has a better video quality than the Cowon and both do very well at night. Youtube has video examples of both and more brands. Like what was said before, there isn't a best brand, there are many good quality brands that proved excellent video results.

[Houston_Remodel]

Dash cams have a built in feature - at impact they permanently save the last 3 minutes or so of video.

[mich800]

timmac wrote:

1775 wrote:
How large an SD card will your GoPro take? The only limit to how long it can record for is how much storage memory it has and what resolution you are recording at - and with a 32Gb SD card you should be able to record as long as any dedicated dash cam will - and you already own it. Some GoPros will accept 64Gb SD cards.

I don't think my GoPro can rewrite when card is full and it is meant to be mounted using on battery mode and the battery life is not all that great, GoPro is great in certain areas of use but I don't think it can do what dash cams do.

Thanks for all the replies I got some learning to do so I buy the right one the 1st time.

A Gopro is not a good option for a dashcam. Maybe the new ones but the version we use would be very limited in both battery life and available drive space.

[timmac]

1775 wrote:
How large an SD card will your GoPro take? The only limit to how long it can record for is how much storage memory it has and what resolution you are recording at - and with a 32Gb SD card you should be able to record as long as any dedicated dash cam will - and you already own it. Some GoPros will accept 64Gb SD cards.

I don't think my GoPro can rewrite when card is full and it is meant to be mounted using on battery mode and the battery life is not all that great, GoPro is great in certain areas of use but I don't think it can do what dash cams do.

Thanks for all the replies I got some learning to do so I buy the right one the 1st time.

[1775]

How large an SD card will your GoPro take? The only limit to how long it can record for is how much storage memory it has and what resolution you are recording at - and with a 32Gb SD card you should be able to record as long as any dedicated dash cam will - and you already own it. Some GoPros will accept 64Gb SD cards.

[Houston_Remodel]

The nice part of audio ;

1- You can use it to mathematically determine your speed / the speed of others.

2- You can start talking about dangerous drivers before they get into camera range

3- Normally its just the radio playing right before the screaming starts.

We have dash cams in every veehickle we own.

[NRALIFR]

GMandJM wrote:
Do they all record audio? I'd like to find one that doesn't or that can be turned off.

The audio on the DOD unit I have can be muted and easily un-muted when needed. I keep mine muted all the time, in fact.

I suspect most of them are like that, but haven't really checked.

:):)

[GMandJM]

Do they all record audio? I'd like to find one that doesn't or that can be turned off.

[overbrook]

timmac wrote:
OK I want a dash cam for my motorhome just in case of a accident ...
:C

Get the G1W-C DashCam with Novatek NT96650 Chipset from Amazon. $65.95.

We have one in each of our vehicles and the video quality is good and they can record about 16 hours on a 32gbyte SD card, before it starts writing over each 5 minute video clip.

Here are two videos it recently recorded.

Daytime: https://vimeo.com/111642670
Dusk: https://vimeo.com/113846350

Bill

[bfast54]

do it---- I have a top dawg----( and probably 32 card )
Mine will record for you know roughly about a week of my normal driving.

If someone tries to pull a fast one on you it is proof positive that you weren't at fault but then again if you do screw up then it is proof positive of your fault .

(so that's when you may want to hide it).. haha

[NRALIFR]

DOD LS460W It records video and sound onto a 64GB Micro SD card. It does a good job at night, too. I like the integrated GPS feature.

When using the DOD video viewer to view the files on your PC, it opens two windows, one with the video and all it's controls, and a second with your route overlayed on a Google Map.

Be careful where you buy your dashcam. There are a lot of fakes out there that will not be covered by warranty.



:):)