Dash cams, what to get and where to get it (Q&A only)

Mousewar

cormie wrote: »

It's free shipping, you might be looking at the "you save" amount?

Free shipping to Ireland?
Shipping and postage definitely says £20

Mousewar

Mousewar wrote: »

Free shipping to Ireland?
Shipping and postage definitely says £20

Since posting that, I've discovered ParcelMotel.
Ordered!

cormie

Mousewar wrote: »

Free shipping to Ireland?
Shipping and postage definitely says £20

Sorry, my mistake, I read it as "Free Super Saver" shipping which with Amazon is always free on orders over £25 to Ireland, but as this isn't sold by Amazon, it is indeed £20, or €3.50 with parcel motel

scoobydoobie

I have been looking at a camera made by a crowd called tiotech, they have a couple of models, the are Dod ls300, and the 330, also they have a newer model called the ls400 and 430, they seem to have a very good image and night time is very good also, the newer model has built in gps, anyone here have one, would be interested to hear how it is working out.

gman2k

This is what I bought - so I can 'hard wire' in a usb power cable - to avoid clogging up the dash cigarette power point.
I hope to connect this into the radio ignition feed circuit, which is only live when the ignition is on!
Of course, I have to replace the supplied usb power cord with a USB - usb micro cable of sufficient length, and position it under the trim. All in an afternoons work if the weather ever improves!

cormie

gman reading the reviews on the one on amazon you bought, somebody else mentions the GPS mount too. This is a little confusing if you and them are saying it has GPS logging but the information page doesn't and you can get the GPS version from the same seller on another link for a higher price, or buy it separate

Axel Lamp

Deleted User wrote: »

I've been flicking through the thread here (although i wont lie, i haven't read it all) and people seem to be discussing the cams themselves a bit, which is good, but Im not seeing many people talking about installing them that much (maybe I just read the wrong pages?!).

Is there much work involved in installing one of these (so that there aren't wires hanging all over the place)?

I've been wanting a dash cam for a while now, but the installation is putting me off getting one. I've no idea about the electronics of cars at all. Most i've done so far is fit a head unit for a radio, and that was only yesterday, and im still waiting for that to catch fire (and I was also given loads of help from ColmMCM and youtube on how to fit it).

I'd imagine installation is the same, regardless of which camera you opt for?

I could have written that post. I also want a dash cam but have no confidence in wiring anything in a car and obviously don't want a mesh of wires either

gman2k

cormie wrote: »

gman reading the reviews on the one on amazon you bought, somebody else mentions the GPS mount too. This is a little confusing if you and them are saying it has GPS logging but the information page doesn't and you can get the GPS version from the same seller on another link for a higher price, or buy it separate

What can I say? Mine has the gps mount. I don't know if that was meant to be what was advertised or not!

cormie

Thanks gman, might be worth a gamble and go for it, especially since you can just buy the mount separate

Has anyone tried hook up two (front and rear facing for example) cameras?

Also, I see a lot of cameras advertising a "format card from camera unit itself" feature, where you don't need to hook the card up to a pc to format it, I never got this, why would you ever want to format it?

gman2k

I don't know the technical reasons, but virtually every device recommends formatting in device.

macshadow

This one looks the biz http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQg0D_dX_ag
Anyone here have this one?

gman2k

macshadow wrote: »

This one looks the biz http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQg0D_dX_ag
Anyone here have this one?

The internal view camera could not handle bright/dark very well, and the ext one had some occasionally brightness jumps.

cormie

gman2k wrote: »

The internal view camera could not handle bright/dark very well, and the ext one had some occasionally brightness jumps.

Saw that myself, also, I can't see any mention of 1080, it only states "HD" on the site so it might just be 720? Quality doesn't look too great on the external. Also having to switch the "night vision" for the internal at night is a bit of a pain, I think having to manually do ANYTHING with a dash cam is a bad thing, it should just work and work well once the ignition is turned without you having to do anything.. This is why I'm curious about the "format" feature too, why would anyone need it worries me

cormie

cormie wrote: »

Sorry, my mistake, I read it as "Free Super Saver" shipping which with Amazon is always free on orders over £25 to Ireland, but as this isn't sold by Amazon, it is indeed £20, or €3.50 with parcel motel

I don't know if this listing keeps changing or what, but now it's showing up as "Price: £58.98 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery." so that means free to Ireland too as it's over £25 and not £20 like it was last time I checked (or free to UK/€3.50 with parcel motel).

It also says this on the listing, so it makes me think the one for £58.98 DOESN'T have the GPS mount.

ASIN:B00F5WP990--New Mini 0801 Original, No GPS Logger,No 8G internal memory,With G-Sensor,No 32G Memory;
ASIN:B00F5WP7H4--New Mini 0801 Original, With GPS Logger,No 8G internal memory,With G-Sensor,No 32G Memory
ASIN:B00F5WPCW4--New Mini 0801 Original, No GPS Logger,With 8G internal memory,With G-Sensor,No 32G Memory;
ASIN:B00F5WPB2K--New Mini 0801 Original, With GPS Logger,With 8G internal memory,With G-Sensor,No 32G Memory
ASIN:B00F5WPHDS--New Mini 0801 Original, No GPS Logger,No 8G internal memory,With G-Sensor,With 32G Memory;
ASIN:B00F5WPF6M--New Mini 0801 Original, With GPS Logger,No 8G internal memory,With G-Sensor,With 32G Memory
ASIN:B00F5WPOQ8--New Mini 0801 Original, No GPS Logger,With 8G internal memory,With G-Sensor,With 32G Memory;
ASIN:B00F5WPMB0--New Mini 0801 Original, With GPS Logger,With 8G internal memory,With G-Sensor,With 32G Memory


The ASIN "B00F5WP990" is the only one for £58.98.

cormie

Ok, so I took the gamble and ordered the one for £58.98 with free super saver delivery (direct to my address in Ireland for £58.98 total).

It appears that it won't include the GPS mount/logger, internal memory or a card, but I'm hoping, going by what gman said, that it may include the GPS mount if that's what gman paid and got

fitzcoff

Hi

My brother's 21st is coming up and I am considering getting him a dash cam, main reason is that he is big into his drifting and I think he'd appreciate one.

I have no notion on dash cam's and I am looking for a recommendation, as it's for a drift car he wouldn't have a cigarette charger and would have to wire it direct from wherever (as I said I've not a clue)

Also if someone has experience of drifting would a dash cam be a waste because of the smoke and would I be better off getting something else.

Thanks in advance

Nino Brown

fitzcoff wrote: »

Hi

My brother's 21st is coming up and I am considering getting him a dash cam, main reason is that he is big into his drifting and I think he'd appreciate one.

I have no notion on dash cam's and I am looking for a recommendation, as it's for a drift car he wouldn't have a cigarette charger and would have to wire it direct from wherever (as I said I've not a clue)

Also if someone has experience of drifting would a dash cam be a waste because of the smoke and would I be better off getting something else.

Thanks in advance

What kind or price range were you looking at?

Nino Brown

This might be a decent dashcam, I like Garmin stuff

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/01/06/garmin-dash-cam-nuvi-gps-ces/

fitzcoff

Nino Brown wrote: »

This might be a decent dashcam, I like Garmin stuff

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/01/06/garmin-dash-cam-nuvi-gps-ces/

Don't think I could stretch to that.

I would be thinking €50-70. Mainly as I don't know if he'd actually use it.

Damien360

cormie wrote: »

Ok, so I took the gamble and ordered the one for £58.98 with free super saver delivery (direct to my address in Ireland for £58.98 total).

It appears that it won't include the GPS mount/logger, internal memory or a card, but I'm hoping, going by what gman said, that it may include the GPS mount if that's what gman paid and got

I bought the 0801 without GPS.

Make sure you use a class 6 sd card as I tried a class 10 and it would not record after a few hours. Since switching to Samsung class 6 it works a treat.

The manual is English Chinese translation and it is cat.

Camera is good but it is not upgradeable to gps version even with the gps mount.

Daytime is very good, nighttime is ok. The cable to connect to socket is bit shorter than I would like. I could not mount mine centrally and had to go to drivers side. Lens is wide angle so check before securing mount. I ran cable down
the door seal, under the steering wheel through a cubby hole, and across to socket.

cormie

Damien360 wrote: »

I bought the 0801 without GPS.

Make sure you use a class 6 sd card as I tried a class 10 and it would not record after a few hours. Since switching to Samsung class 6 it works a treat.

The manual is English Chinese translation and it is cat.

Camera is good but it is not upgradeable to gps version even with the gps mount.

Daytime is very good, nighttime is ok. The cable to connect to socket is bit shorter than I would like. I could not mount mine centrally and had to go to drivers side. Lens is wide angle so check before securing mount. I ran cable down
the door seal, under the steering wheel through a cubby hole, and across to socket.

That seems very odd, I thought class 10 was meant to be the best? What brand class 10 were you using? Where did you buy yours? From what I read up, all you need is the GPS mount and it will enable the GPS straight away?

Kenny Logins

Damien360 wrote: »

I bought the 0801 without GPS.

Make sure you use a class 6 sd card as I tried a class 10 and it would not record after a few hours. Since switching to Samsung class 6 it works a treat.

The manual is English Chinese translation and it is cat.

Camera is good but it is not upgradeable to gps version even with the gps mount.

Daytime is very good, nighttime is ok. The cable to connect to socket is bit shorter than I would like. I could not mount mine centrally and had to go to drivers side. Lens is wide angle so check before securing mount. I ran cable down
the door seal, under the steering wheel through a cubby hole, and across to socket.

What brand was the class 10? There are loads of dodgy cards out there.

Damien360

cormie wrote: »

That seems very odd, I thought class 10 was meant to be the best? What brand class 10 were you using? Where did you buy yours? From what I read up, all you need is the GPS mount and it will enable the GPS straight away?

Kenny Logins wrote: »

What brand was the class 10? There are loads of dodgy cards out there.

The recommended card is a Samsung Class 6.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Standard-Memory-without-Adapter/dp/B009HPFV3U/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1389649569&sr=8-2&keywords=samsung+class+6+32gb+micro+sd

I was using a genuine Sandisk 32GB class 10 bought from amazon and it kept failing to write at random times and every subsequent file would fail until formatted.

As for the GPS, that is what I read also and I bought the GPS adapter thinking it would work but alas no. The translation is awful but a note accompanying the GPS adapter from E-prance confirmed it is not upgradeable. It is explained in the link below.

Excellent info here

http://dashcamtalk.com/mini-0801/

It is still very good and I would recommend it. Saves each file as .mov format in 340MB 5 minute blocks. So 7 hours 50 minutes with 32GB card.

Manual for it here

http://www.combi.org.uk/ebay/0801%20User%20Manual%20V1.0%2010_%202013.pdf

JohnCleary

Folks I am just joining in here. Sorry to ask the question, but I'm not going through all the posts

Can anyone recommend a dash-cam in around the €100 mark?

I'm not too bothered about GPS (but it would be nice), generally I just want a basic dash cam with decent recording quality (doesn't need to be 1080, 720 would be fine tbh).

I would hope to mount it next to the rear-view mirror and run a cable up to the interior lining of the roof to pick up a 12v source

cormie

Damien360 wrote: »

The recommended card is a Samsung Class 6.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Standard-Memory-without-Adapter/dp/B009HPFV3U/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1389649569&sr=8-2&keywords=samsung+class+6+32gb+micro+sd

I was using a genuine Sandisk 32GB class 10 bought from amazon and it kept failing to write at random times and every subsequent file would fail until formatted.

As for the GPS, that is what I read also and I bought the GPS adapter thinking it would work but alas no. The translation is awful but a note accompanying the GPS adapter from E-prance confirmed it is not upgradeable. It is explained in the link below.

Excellent info here

http://dashcamtalk.com/mini-0801/

It is still very good and I would recommend it. Saves each file as .mov format in 340MB 5 minute blocks. So 7 hours 50 minutes with 32GB card.

Manual for it here

http://www.combi.org.uk/ebay/0801%20User%20Manual%20V1.0%2010_%202013.pdf

That all sounds very dodgy. Surprised I've only heard about this now, looked into it a good bit. I did see a few write fail card issue reviews on amazon but just assumed they were using dodgy cards. I think techmoans review just mentioned about having to get the GPS mount to get it to work, too?

This again would bring me back to wondering how gman is getting GPS logging on his if he bought from the cheapest amazon link by eprance?

Damien360

cormie wrote: »

This again would bring me back to wondering how gman is getting GPS logging on his if he bought from the cheapest amazon link by eprance?

The gps adapter is just a few grams heavier than the supplied mount. It is definitely not in the firmware as I thought it would work also. He could'nt have got the cheapest option. The side of the box has a tick box option for stocking purposes and it says option 1 without gps, option 2 with gps. So they are different cameras.

My research was mainly this thread and I picked the cheapest one thinking it was a simple option to add. Likely gman's post.

gman2k

The box on mine came with gps ticked!
What can I say? Maybe the seller made a mistake.

cormie

Aha, hmm, mine is on the way, will see what the box says. I thought you could just buy the mount separate for any of them and it would enable the GPS logging

ustari

Any taxi drivers here able to recommend an interior camera that is good at picking up images inside the car at night?

Thanks.

rocky

JohnCleary wrote: »

Folks I am just joining in here. Sorry to ask the question, but I'm not going through all the posts

Can anyone recommend a dash-cam in around the €100 mark?

I'm not too bothered about GPS (but it would be nice), generally I just want a basic dash cam with decent recording quality (doesn't need to be 1080, 720 would be fine tbh).

I would hope to mount it next to the rear-view mirror and run a cable up to the interior lining of the roof to pick up a 12v source

I've the Mobius dash cam and it's great, around 55-60 euro when I bought it. http://dashcamtalk.com/mobius/

cormie

Quick question here for anyone who may be able to help. I'm getting a new dash cam delivered soon and I believe it's powered via usb male. I've a dash cam already set up in the car which it will be replacing which is powered from a cable like this:



Does anyone know the easiest way to go about using the same cable as it's hard wired into the radio and I had to pay an auto electrician to do that so don't want to have to get an auto spark every time I need to change the connection type. Is there anything the existing cable could plug into and then give power another way I wonder?

sentient_6

An adapter? 3.5mm(although check that) to mini usb(check that)

Nino Brown

Just leave the old cable where it is, or cut it off, and wire the new cable into the fuse box, plenty of guides only, it's a 15-20 min job.

use one of these:
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/2-Add-A-Circuit-Fuse-Tap-Piggy-Back-MINI-Blade-Fuse-Holder-ATM-APM-12v-24v-volt-/180735824927?pt=UK_Cars_Parts_Vehicles_Terminals_Cabling_ET&hash=item2a14b1d41f

Voodoomelon

Thought i'd post, I got a new Micro SD card for the Ambarella dashcam, the 32GB Sandisk microSDHC CL10 UHS-1 Mobile Ultra memory card for Android phones and tablets seen here.

The camera won't accept it, comes up with a "not a high speed card" error and shuts down. Bummer.

cormie

sentient_6 wrote: »

An adapter? 3.5mm(although check that) to mini usb(check that)

Nino Brown wrote: »

Just leave the old cable where it is, or cut it off, and wire the new cable into the fuse box, plenty of guides only, it's a 15-20 min job.

use one of these:
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/2-Add-A-Circuit-Fuse-Tap-Piggy-Back-MINI-Blade-Fuse-Holder-ATM-APM-12v-24v-volt-/180735824927?pt=UK_Cars_Parts_Vehicles_Terminals_Cabling_ET&hash=item2a14b1d41f

Thanks a lot for the replies, Nino, I'm not really comfortable with doing anything like that so would opt for the adapter above if it works.

sentient_6, I searched the website where that image is from but couldn't find it?

Nino Brown

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Thought i'd post, I got a new Micro SD card for the Ambarella dashcam, the 32GB Sandisk microSDHC CL10 UHS-1 Mobile Ultra memory card for Android phones and tablets seen here.

The camera won't accept it, comes up with a "not a high speed card" error and shuts down. Bummer.

Does it work in your phone?

RandomAccess

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Thought i'd post, I got a new Micro SD card for the Ambarella dashcam, the 32GB Sandisk microSDHC CL10 UHS-1 Mobile Ultra memory card for Android phones and tablets seen here.

The camera won't accept it, comes up with a "not a high speed card" error and shuts down. Bummer.

Seems to be a known issue, the camera isn't compatible with class ten cards.
http://dashcamtalk.com/mini-0801/#Low_Speed_Card_Error

I just ordered mine from Micks Garage and hopefully when it arrives its got a compatible card (but I wouldn't bet on it).
Still if theres a problem it should be easy to return it (main reason I ordered from them).

cormie

I think that type of power adapter might work actually

The male on the right is the power cable for my current cams:

(that's a regular 3.5 audio jack on the left)

Then this is the usb female for the mini cam:


so it looks like a mini female and not micro.. sooo, I think this should work?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DC-Power-plug-adapter-3-5mm-1-35-female-socket-to-mini-USB-5v-NOT-AUDIO-/251403531593?pt=UK_CE_GPS_Accessories_Software_ET&hash=item3a88d17549


Do I need to worry about any type of power rating differences I wonder?

sentient_6

cormie wrote: »

Thanks a lot for the replies, Nino, I'm not really comfortable with doing anything like that so would opt for the adapter above if it works.

sentient_6, I searched the website where that image is from but couldn't find it?

Sorry the pic was just a demonstration. Have you a access to a multimeter and check the voltage currently on the 3.5mm jack? Or give us a link to your current cam and we can check the spec.

cormie

Thanks for that, I'm not even sure if the cable is regulated by the initial cigarette socket thingy it came with anymore as I think it was snipped and just hooked up to the back of the radio?

These are the two cams I've had, both seem to work fine off the same connection:

http://www.driverecorder.co.uk/files/XDriven_User_Manual.pdf
http://dashcamtalk.com/itronics-itb-100hd/

I don't have access to a multimeter, what way would I test it with that?

sentient_6

Ya looks like the two of them are 12V. So i wouldn't go plugging it straight into your new one if its 5V.

BMJD

I ordered an E-PRANCE New 1080P Novatek CPU from Amazon the other day, £26stg from Amazon via Parcel Motel. I wanted something small and simple, I don't want GPS, just a basic high-quality recording. Will keep yiz updated on it when it arrives.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00FKTQ3NE/ref=pe_385721_37038051_TE_dp_1

cormie

sentient_6 wrote: »

Ya looks like the two of them are 12V. So i wouldn't go plugging it straight into your new one if its 5V.

ah ****e, I thought I was all good to go how would I know for sure and would you have any idea how I could connect the new cam up then without going chopping wires and everything?

sentient_6

cormie wrote: »

ah ****e, I thought I was all good to go how would I know for sure and would you have any idea how I could connect the new cam up then without going chopping wires and everything?

I'm not sure how it could be avoided tbh. You either splice something like this into the existing wiring:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-DC-Waterproof-Converter-Regulator-12V-to-5V-15W-3A-Step-down-with-Mini-USB-/151168171455

Or just run the new cable around & down to the fuse box and wire the cigarette adapter charger(which converts 12 to 5) straight into a fuse with 12V on it. This is what i did: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=88352472

cormie

Thanks again, hmm, doesn't seem too complicated, just don't want to mess anything up

Bluefoam

Bluefoam wrote: »

I'm thinking of getting a Dash Cam & the following was recommended:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Camera-Recorder-Vision-1280x960-Resolution/dp/B005Q6NC2G/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
Anyone have experience of this baby?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpJu5uwGlmE

Hey All, Just an update. I've been using this for a few days now & it works exactly how its supposed to. In fact I hardly pay attention to it now, as it just does its job. The image quality is okay - reading lisense plates can be difficult at times. But overall it is good quality.

cormie

So I got my mini 0801 today, first impressions are that it's a great little camera for what it is and to be honest, there's not a whole lot of reason to spend any more on a higher quality camera for the regular user. My box was ticked "non gps" versions and that's what it is unfortunately. I would have gone for the GPS version had I known for the little extra.

It's very nice and compact, the lcd screen is a nice addition and what's good also is the fact it's micro SD card and you could copy/view files on the phone if anything important happened. This is the case with most now I guess, but a nice new thing compared to my other regular SD card cameras, even if it means I'll have to probably buy a larger one.

One thing I would have liked is it to not switch itself off automatically once the ignition is off, it does last a few seconds but I'd prefer it to keep recording until its battery dies. Does anyone know if this is possible?

Also, there's a slight whir/buzzing noise coming from it when plugged in too

Mousewar

I ordered mine before you and i'm still waiting
No fairs!

Damien360

cormie wrote: »

So I got my mini 0801 today, first impressions are that it's a great little camera for what it is and to be honest, there's not a whole lot of reason to spend any more on a higher quality camera for the regular user. My box was ticked "non gps" versions and that's what it is unfortunately. I would have gone for the GPS version had I known for the little extra.

It's very nice and compact, the lcd screen is a nice addition and what's good also is the fact it's micro SD card and you could copy/view files on the phone if anything important happened. This is the case with most now I guess, but a nice new thing compared to my other regular SD card cameras, even if it means I'll have to probably buy a larger one.

One thing I would have liked is it to not switch itself off automatically once the ignition is off, it does last a few seconds but I'd prefer it to keep recording until its battery dies. Does anyone know if this is possible?

Also, there's a slight whir/buzzing noise coming from it when plugged in too

Nice one.

The battery life is cat. It will not last anyway. I also set mine to auto screen off or it just proves a distraction. The blue LED flashing tells me it is working. Max card size according to manual is 32GB

I have no noise coming from mine.

cormie

Mousewar wrote: »

I ordered mine before you and i'm still waiting
No fairs!

I think we ordered through different options though? You ordered the one that would have been £20 delivered to Ireland so you used Parcel Motel, yeah? I ordered the one with free super saver delivery and because the total was over £25, it was delivered free direct to my door. I get a lot of parcel motel notifications late at night, you may still have it by the end of the day yet

Damien360 wrote: »

Nice one.

The battery life is cat. It will not last anyway. I also set mine to auto screen off or it just proves a distraction. The blue LED flashing tells me it is working. Max card size according to manual is 32GB

I have no noise coming from mine.

Yeah, battery life seems bad anyway but if you turn it on again after it auto powers off, it lasts a little bit. It would even be good to have 2-3 minutes recorded while you might be doing a quick drop off while parked for example better to have it on and it die then have nothing at all :P

I've a 4gb card in mine now, not even sure I'll bother upgrading actually, 4gb is maybe 1 hours footage so if anything happens, guess I've an hour to back it up, which is a lot easier since in most cases there'll be a phone in the vehicle that can take the card