Dash cam

[amboy49]

I’ve been thinking about buying a dash cam for my car. Would like to hear pros and cons from those who have one. What make,model, or brand at a reasonable price ?

Thanks in advance

 

[actaeon277]

I use a blackvue. I forget the model #.
It costs more than some out there. But the instructions are in real English, not pigden English.
Good video

 

[actaeon277]

I'd post a video, but there are already a bunch on YouTube

 

[danimal]

Also a BlackVue user here, I have the DR590W-2CH. Comes with a 16GB chip, but I ordered a 64GB Samsung Pro-Endurance to use with mine. The Samsung card had to be formatted correctly to work in the BlackVue, the out of the package formatting didn't work (at least on this model/combination). I also added on the GPS module so I have the location tracking in the video. Higher end models include the GPS I think, this one though has a little add-on antenna that plugs in with a 2.5/3.5MM headphone jack. There is also another add-on they sell called the Power Magic Pro that you wire up to the fuse box that will cut the camera off so it won't drain the battery too far.

https://www.amazon.com/Blackvue-DR5...ds=dr590w-2ch&qid=1562006855&s=gateway&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Endu...pro+endurance&qid=1562006890&s=gateway&sr=8-2

https://www.amazon.com/HDVD-BlackVu...=blackvue+gps&qid=1562006936&s=gateway&sr=8-4

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Magic-...gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&smid=A6YXFBHA5HGWK


Best feature I like is that I can save clips w/o having to pull the memory card by using WiFi between the camera and phone.

 

[actaeon277]

my blackvue instructions say not to use cards from SanDisk I think it was sandisk.
I bought a card from Cabelas, has their name on it, don't know who made it.
the cam didn't like it.
I bought a PNY, and it worked fine.

 

[danimal]

I want to say my Samsung card came formatted as exFAT, but the camera would only work with FAT32; or vice versa. Same thing happened as you said, turn it on with the card in, wouldn't work, you get a voice recording telling you there is a problem with the SD card. After I changed the format of the card, now it's been working great. Reading the reviews of some of the models on Amazon, some work fine with either format, others are a bit pickier. Personally, I use Samsung flash cards in every device, I haven't had anything with a compatibility or reliability issue myself, but that doesn't mean you won't. Also, this goes for any make and model of SD card you choose, beware of forgeries/counterfeit SD cards online, it's unfortunate that it exists, but it does, even some sellers on Amazon are peddling fakes.


Now, if you really want to nerd up your dash cam install, you can build a 16 cell 26650 16.8v lithium battery pack with buck/boost, charger, and low battery cutout circuitry like me. I've worked many a 30+ hour day and my car stays parked outside in not so friendly neighborhoods. I find that the 4yr old 600 cranking amps lead-acid car battery only keeps the camera going for about 10-12 hours before the power saver unit kicks in. Of course, it's stopping early enough to make sure there is enough juice to still crank the engine over. I haven't done a proper run-time test of my custom battery yet, but it definitely lasts longer.

 

[NKBJ]

For family back in Texas, been threatening to do a speeded up video compilation of back roads as the corn gets higher and higher. Throw in a sun rise, old churches, little towns' cross roads, this and that. Use the old BBC series theme music and title it Doctor Hoosier. It'd be fun and they'd get a kick out of it.

 

[Hoosierdood]

I have a Rexing V1 dash cam with the optional rear camera as well. I had a Uniden before that. Dont get Uniden. They suck. I really like the Rexing.

 

[Hop]

I have a simple but inexpensive Anker Roav C1. I'm very happy with it. It has caught video from accidents & near misses.
https://goroav.com/collections/desktop-cam

 

[Hoosierdood]

Here is a video from my Rexing V1 dash cam. I made it split screen so you could see the front and rear cameras. The front camera is 1080p and the rear is 720p. The rear camera isnt all that great, but it at least gives video evidence if you were ever in a situation. The front camera is pretty good IMO.

[video=youtube_share;RbsR7ZIJRac]https://youtu.be/RbsR7ZIJRac[/video]

ETA: I also have a night time video so you can see what it looks like in the dark.

[video=youtube_share;VjzsUyA6IiQ]https://youtu.be/VjzsUyA6IiQ[/video]

 

[actaeon277]

Took me a while to figure it out, but my dash cam was draining my battery.
Normally, not a problem.
But, leave the car off for 5 days or so, and dead battery.
I thought I had battery problems, I thought I had a problem with a short.
Finally figured out it was the dash cam. After all, it melts the snow on the windshield above the cam, that indicates more power being used than I thought.

So, after investigating, I bought me a battery. My dash cam is a blackvue, so I bought one of theirs.
Actually, I bought 2.

The top one is the main battery, and the bottom one is an add-on.
You can daisy chain them together.


You can either plug them into the cigarette lighter/acc pwr, or you can hard wire it to the fuse box (it comes with "add on" fuse taps).

Listed features:
*Approx 25 hours 35 minutes of power from 40 minutes of charging (based on dashcam that uses 3 watts and a hardwire installation)
*Cigarette lighter install, 5 amp charging
or hardwire install, 9 amp charging.
*Easily double usage time by plugging in expansion battery.
*configure settings via Bluetooth on the smartphone app.
*power output automatically switches to draw power from the battery when the engine is off.



Some notes.
Adding the second battery lengthens the time your dashcam will be powered when the car is off.
BUT.. it also means it will take longer to recharge.


With the hardwire option..
You should find a fuse that's powered off the key switch. That way, the battery will charge when the car is on, and when the car is off the blackvue battery will not drain the car battery.


With the cigarette lighter option..
You charge slower.
I don't use this option. So I don't know if it will drain the car battery, or if the switch causes it to only charge when the higher alternator voltage is present.
Like I said, I don't use this option, and the directions don't seem to be clear on it.

 

[actaeon277]

I'm going into my second week using it.
I had a 48 hour weekend, and now I'm on my 2nd shift.
The battery is still not fully recharged.
I only drive 15 to 20 minutes each way to work.
Which is enough to charge from day to day.
But not enough to recharge after 48 hours off.
It charges more each day, I just need to see if it charges enough before the next weekend.

 

[woowoo2]

I have Aukey cams in two cars, and a Blueskysea B2W in the wife's car, she drives for Uber and I wanted something that would cover passengers.

https://www.amazon.com/AUKEY-Dashboard-Supercapacitor-Nighttime-Recording/dp/B072FGL63X

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SPYG59C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[darkkevin]

I use a ROVE R2-4K. I have no complaints about it, video quality is amazing and there’s virtually no battery drain, I’ve left the truck sit over a week and no slow cranking. Amazon has them for about $100. I use a Samsung 128g card in it, like the others it says use a Hd card, no sandisk

 

[MCgrease08]

This seems to be the most recent dash cam thread I could find. I'm considering a dash cam after a few recent crashes, including getting hit from behind in a hit and run, and getting t-boned at an intersection where a guy ran a red light and totaled my car.

I'm averaging about 2,500 miles a month these days and I almost got put into the wall on 65 this week heading through the north split by an idiot that cut me off, so it's time for a front and rear camera.

Does anyone have experience with the RedTiger line? I am looking at the F7NP model. It seems to have a lot of features for a decent price.

Redtiger F7N Series & F17 4K Dash Cam

Enjoyable trip with Redtiger 4K Front Rear dash cam , featuring with Full HD Car Dashboard Recorder with 3.16” IPS Screen, Wi-Fi, GPS, Night Vision, WDR, and Parking Monitor!

www.redtigercam.com

 

[darkkevin]

This seems to be the most recent dash cam thread I could find. I'm considering a dash cam after a few recent crashes, including getting hit from behind in a hit and run, and getting t-boned at an intersection where a guy ran a red light and totaled my car.

I'm averaging about 2,500 miles a month these days and I almost got put into the wall on 65 this week heading through the north split by an idiot that cut me off, so it's time for a front and rear camera.

Does anyone have experience with the RedTiger line? I am looking at the F7NP model. It seems to have a lot of features for a decent price.

Redtiger F7N Series & F17 4K Dash Cam

Enjoyable trip with Redtiger 4K Front Rear dash cam , featuring with Full HD Car Dashboard Recorder with 3.16” IPS Screen, Wi-Fi, GPS, Night Vision, WDR, and Parking Monitor!

www.redtigercam.com

I’ve had this one for 4-5 months now, highly recommend. Easy to setup and use, mount has been perfect even in the cold of winter. Suggest adding a 256gb card, it comes with a 32gb but that loops pretty quickly at 4k and two cameras. I was worried the parking monitor might be a drain on the battery but I left my truck sit over a week recently and it had no drain at all.

 

[MCgrease08]

I’ve had this one for 4-5 months now, highly recommend. Easy to setup and use, mount has been perfect even in the cold of winter. Suggest adding a 256gb card, it comes with a 32gb but that loops pretty quickly at 4k and two cameras. I was worried the parking monitor might be a drain on the battery but I left my truck sit over a week recently and it had no drain at all.

Thanks. I don't park on the street much, but would likely hard wire it in anyway for the 24/7 parking monitoring.

I would definitely add the 256gb memory card. I've heard some brands work better than others, or need to be reformatted to work. What brand are you using? Was it plug and play?

 

[darkkevin]

Thanks. I don't park on the street much, but would likely hard wire it in anyway for the 24/7 parking monitoring.

I would definitely add the 256gb memory card. I've heard some brands work better than others, or need to be reformatted to work. What brand are you using? Was it plug and play?

I used samsung per redtiger recommendation, it was plug n play

 

[firecadet613]

I run this cam hard wired in my current truck (and my last one). Zero issues and being able to connect to my cell phone via its wifi is huge.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08DV51H2X?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

With this SD card, I get many days (maybe a week or more) of recording. The truck rarely leaves the garage so I don't recall anymore.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07P4HBRMV?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

 

[Hoosierdood]

I will add- if your camera has the ability to change how long each clip is, set it to 1 minute clips. This helps a lot when downloading clips from the camera, especially if you are using direct WiFi to connect to the camera.