mafpolo

I believe a dash cam is a good idea. I would appreciate some guidance. Pros and cons for each rec please.

Norge911

I got one of these. Tucked wire under headliner and down a pillar. Plugged in on passenger foot well outlet. works great. There is a little trick to set up for video on phone but not hard.

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/731428

cathalferris

The one I have is a Nextbase 622GW with the rear window cam with the front camera just to the right of the rear view mirror (so as much out of my view as possible but still with a good view forwards and through the wiper arc). The rear camera is mounted roughly in line with the driver's head on the rear windscreen, avoiding any rear heater/antenna element lines, and unfortunately outside of the rear wiper arc. It's a nice wide angle view though, quite happy with that.
I do not yet have it hard-wired, as I figure I'll be able to do a better job of cable routing than I currently have set up; but for the moment it's tucked into the top of the windscreen, with power going down the A-pillar and getting powered by the 12v socket in the armrest, and the rear camera feed along the top of the doors to the rear hatch. I will hard-wire to the right-hand side fuseboard, and I will feed the rear wiring along the headlining and through the flexible tubes to the rear hatch.

I've not had a dashcam before, but I'm happy with this one.

I would recommend getting the Nextbase-branded SD card, as it is actually specced correctly for the job (many many re-writes) and I couldn't find a larger card at all with the same stated write cycle capability. I currently have a 512Gb Samsung SDCard that I had spare in the camera, and it'll record some 12-15 hours of footage from both cameras before having to start overwriting the loop.
One disadvantage is that simple cornering or spirited acceleration will activate the auto-save function (the crash detection) even when that sensitivity is low. This amuses me, and isn't that big a deal. The saved files are always the 15 sec before the button-press or the auto-sense, and a 30 seconds period afterwards, so 45 sec of footage specifically protected. Files can be manually marked for protection, and I find that I have 3-min lengths of looping files to minimise the number of files recorded.

Here's an example of footage from the cam:
and .
I didn't set the date correctly, so that can be ignored, and I've fixed this after I saw these clips. The location and speed is correct. In this clip, there's a slight deformation in the surface at 0:15 that triggered the G-force sensor to save this recording. Sport mode and 275/45/20 tyres. It's 2160p front camera and 1080p rear, image stabilisation is switched *off* as this should give clearer text, given how this camera does stabilisation of 4k (record at 1440p and upscale to 2160p afterwards). This clip is on a short stretch of unrestricted Autobahn from about three weeks ago, and I'm still on the winter tyres, so no speeds greater than 240kph until the summers get swapped in.. All legal and above board in the clip. I apologise for the music, it was easier to clear the car internal audio and conversations with this, and is a bit better than pure silence. Note that the front cam is using a suction mount to the windscreen, so shows a bit more vibration than is actually present in the car - compare and contrast with the rear camera that is more firmly attached to the rear glass.

Nhirsch

see attached

wkearney99

Which ever card you use be sure to have a plan to rotate out the cards in a regular basis.

Flash is a wear-susceptible media. They don't last forever, even higher quality cards. I typically rotate mine out quarterly, usually 64gb cards.

I use the decommissioned cards to store the saved 'read-only' clips. Many (most) dashcams have a read-only folder where 'event' clips are saved. Either from automatic detection (like lurching from sudden braking or impact or motion detection) or from manually saved button-press triggered clips (aka, snap that asshat's license plate clip in the event a call to the police becomes necessary). Most do this for a configurable 'x-number-of-seconds/minutes that just passed' interval. Everything else just rotates, with oldest clips getting over-written. The RO folder gets ignored by the regular recording loop. It's not permanently set as 'read only', just a place that the camera itself doesn't overwrite.

I also find it useful to have a plug-in card reader for a phone. This way you can pop-out the card from the dashcam and use your phone to view the clips. Handy if it becomes necessary to show the clip to someone and not have to use the tiny screen on the dashcam. That and be able to send it to someone, or save a copy if you're handing the card over. Be sure to check you understand how the card reader works with your phone apps (some apps/phones are better/worse at this than others).

Thus my center console has the card reader with they next card already loaded in it for rotation.

Stand-alone dashcams are sometimes less trouble than ones with wifi or that depend on cloud services and apps. Sure, you have to swap out the card yourself, but it's a simple process and not dependent on any sort of app, network or cloud service availability.

wkearney99

That's how I have mine wired. Note the A-pillar and the areas above the doors have airbags in them. Be sure whatever wiring you install gets placed BEHIND any of the airbag systems. You don't want to have the airbag be unable to deploy because a wire was laid in front of it. This also includes wires just 'tucked under' the edges, as when the bags deploy they rapidly push those covers loose and you don't want loose wires being in the way.

The driver-side tube from the body to the liftgate has slightly more room inside of it than the one on the right. The right side has the washer fluid hose in it and pretty much NO room for adding wire (I tried). I found the best way to feed the wire through was to use a 12-18" piece of coathanger wire with the cable taped TIGHTLY with a single wrap along about 6" of length. The added length of tape on both the cable and the wire helps keep it from sliding back off the coathanger wire as you're muscling it through the conduit. Be mindful not to have the end of the coathanger wire cut too sharply or press enough to tear the insulation on anything already in the conduit. Kind of helps to use clippers to nibble the end of the wire round a bit (or sand it) not just a ragged angled break. And use only as much tape as necessary as the thickness of added layers will make it harder to jam through the conduit.

wkearney99

I'd welcome an update on dashcams and interfaces. When I was searching back in 2017 I wasn't thrilled with the price points and app quality of fancier systems. I gather things have evolved since then and wouldn't be averse to upgrading mine.

dassArse

i think ive done pretty extensive research.

for me most important is ease of interface via cellphone.

most reliable apps for iOS seem to be via Garmin or Nexar based on the reviews. I'm waiting on the nexar one, but who knows with the pandemic delays.

currently running thinkware q800. decent features, but the app is god awful

lacibaci

I've been using a Garmin (DC55/56/57/mini 2) for several years. No complaints.
Install here:
https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/thread...6/#post-468299

ElSpoon958

I was looking at Blackvue and almost pulled the trigger. I've been watching lots of YouTube dashcam review videos, especially from guys like BlackBoxMyCar and the VortexRadar guy or whatever. I settled on the Viofo T130 (below). It's a 3 channel, even though I didn't really want or need an interior-facing cam. It's nice to know it's there on a swivel though if need be (pulled over, recording the cops at your window lol). I have no other dashcam experience to compare this to, and in fact, I haven't even received my order yet. Once I can get it all hardwired up, I'll report back here or on my build thread.

For the price, compared to Blackvue comparable products, there was no comparison. Big $ savings. Only downside might be the whole "who knows when I'lll get it" cuz I think it's coming from China (cringe).... lol

Viofo T130 3 CHANNEL DASH CAM FRONT 1440P + INTERIOR 1080P + REAR 1080P

MountainStone

Does a dashcam exist that has front-, rear- and side-facing cameras with microphone?

I’m thinking of a situation where a driver wishes to record interactions at the front windows of the car, such as a traffic stop by law enforcement.

Edit: I see elspoon posted a cam that features what I was asking about, though I would prefer a model that doesn’t depend upon me swiveling the camera by hand.

Dr. G7

About an year ago when I looked there wasn't one which does front an back simultaneously. I opted for a front facing attached to my Escort.

Dr. G7

I agree. Lot of peace of mind. Also, I am more carful with my own driving...full stop at stop signs, running yellow lights etc.

ElSpoon958

Well even though it's 2022, I don't think we've fully entered The Matrix or some RoboTimeCop futuristic world where the dash cams have evolved to the point of an almost independent AI operating system that can read your mind and know exactly where you want the video to be focused. The dashcam I posted is probably the best option for what you describe at this current time.

Happy hunting

z3mcoupe

I had the Blackvue on my GTS, and I have have one installed on my E450. I'll be putting a cam in my new-to-me Cayenne GTS also and glad to see there is an alternative to the blackvue . I like it, but it's pricey. Curious to hear your thoughts on the quality of this one.

Price aside, the blackvue is great. Doesn't rob the battery of power, and offers great image clarity especially at night (front camera is 4k). The rear camera isn't as good a resolution but still does the job. I also like the led lights which shine to the outside of the glass at night....it alerts people that there are cameras recording.