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Thread: Dash Cam. What do you have?

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    Dash Cam. What do you have?

    I'm starting to shop around for a designated dash cam on my G4 and idk too much about it. Thought it make sense to get one for my protection given the inconsiderate high speed drivers nowadays. Plus, I don't want my G4 to be totaled or collided.

    Anyone has one to share their experience? I'm open to any.



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    I own a Toguard mirror dash cam that records front and back. Ive also got a Garmin mini 2 siting in my glove box that i have been too lazy to install. The garmin app seems kinda ****ty. The big issue with the mirror dash cam is the first 3 sd cards i had in it, apparently they were bad sd cards and it was only recording like 10-60 second video clips then nothing for about 2 minutes. Apparently according to manufacturer i was suppose to be able to tell because the red light on screen in corner of mirror would stop flashing for two of every 3 ish minutes.

    Im suppose to make a youtube video of me installing it but im lazy. Ive also got footage of a minor collision to share.

    The biggest features in my opinion:

    1. Being able to share footage, having the ability to immediately review footage means that it can be included in the police report immediately instead of you having to go home, remove sd card email footage to insurance/police and wait forever
    2. being able to see the street light. signs (camera not too high)
    3. being able to see painted lines, this is something Tesla does very well with side cameras. Ive got footage of someone who tries to intimidate me because i honk at him by driving his camry like 2 inches away from the side of my car like he was going to side swipe me. Ive got both front and rear cameras and the entire camry basically fit in the blind spot. So either side cameras or at least being able to confidently claim you were within your painted lines is important.
    4. Having a wide enough field of view that you can tell who arrived at a stop sign first.
    5.Lots of optional luxury's are available

    - immediate cloud upload, so if you go to hospital you will still have immediate cloud access to the footage via phone app from anywhere in world and your loved ones will be notified of the collision and can immediately determine severity
    - remote live view like tesla allows
    - stupid expensive batteries to allow for constant recording
    - parking mode where you record with impact
    - interior camera(for police stops and driving for uber)
    - some dash cameras do collision and lane keep audio warnings


    Warnings:
    -Given camera footage there exists free computer software that would be able to determine your speed, not saying that other computers such as the mirage EDR that records speed among other things in a collision.
    -People may break your window because camera=money
    - anyone who steals the camera will know where you live/work/eat.
    - Combined with a garage door opener they may go to your home and clean out your garage


    If money was not a big concern I would definitely go for a cloud uploading camera than rely on some sd card thats been overwritten a thousand times to record that crucial minute of footage.
    please consider checking out my Mirage related youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6c...IEViRFw/videos

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    I have a vantrue n2 pro dual camera unit with mic and GPS. I got it used on ebay over two years ago and it has caught some pretty amazing almost accidents, some litter bugs, and a few stunning accidents I witnessed, so I would highly recommend getting some dash cam. The three issues I have had with this unit is 4k only works if you disable the rear facing camera otherwise its dual 1080p, the suction cup has issues adhering in the summer heat, and I had to replace an internal battery with one from ebay (not easy if you aren't into electronics and I am not sure if other brands use more easily replaceable batteries but my life was probably short due to buying used). I also have the optional GPS accessory which shows the speed you are going (I suppose this could be a good or bad thing, but I wouldn't volunteer the footage unless it helped ).

    Obviously get a big quality SD card you can rely on like a legit Samsung 250GB or so. I wouldn't get less than 128GB. Important to me was a rear facing camera and while the second camera does face rear it's in the cabin so a restricted view of cars behind. The ultimate setup would have three cameras, one for forward, one for backwards behind the car, and one for in the cabin ( with a microphone/gps) especially important for Uber drivers.

    Since there is no real zoom on these I highly recommend 4k or anything above 1080p for at least the front camera, and a good night vision because you need to be able to read plates for when people take off.

    I have never used the VanTrue N4 pro, but it seems to check off most of my requirements of being three cameras, night vision mode, 1440p for the front when in triple camera mode(not quite 4k but beats 1080p), compatible with their GPS unit, and vantrue quality has worked for me. I am sure the battery would last a good time if you got it new.

    The one other thing I would note is the hardwire kit I see is available. I think this is a great idea! These cameras normally turn off when the car turns off so you don't see parking related problems or it tries to rely on some not so amazing detection function. I had a lot of issues never recorded including someone bumping into my Mirage in Newark. This could have solved that problem.

    Ultimate setup I think would be Vantrue N4 Pro + GPS Unit + 256GB quality brand SD card + hardwire kit. The only thing this doesn't do is wifi/bluetooth to a phone. I am not sure how great that would be anyways, having to rely on having phone signal, having a beefy data plan, etc etc....
    Last edited by Mirageman38; 08-19-2022 at 04:21 AM.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2019 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 38.8 mpg (US) ... 16.5 km/L ... 6.1 L/100 km ... 46.5 mpg (Imp)


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    DT - I have 2 VanTrues, the smallest / least expensive one they offer (as far as I know). It's just under $100. I did a search for best dash cams (some time ago), and they segmented the results out by features & cost.

    In the low cost segment, the little VanTrue I bought had the best rated picture. I considered that important in the case I needed to catch a license plate. The good picture gave me the best chance to read a license plate. And it really does have an outstandingly clear picture, day and night.

    The small size keeps it very unobtrusive, I forget it's there. The drawbacks: It has a little screen on it for viewing. But it's so small, I'm not certain a LEO would be able to see things on it in such a way to make a definitive ruling ... you know like on the spot of the accident. No BT connection (so far I don't care about that). And it tends to lose battery charge after sitting a couple days, so I have to reset the date when that happens. And, perhaps it is from moving it frequently from one car to another, but the suction cup will let go if the windows are all up and the sun is glaring down on the windshield where it is mounted.

    I do have a new cheap one that I'm evaluating. So far it seems to have a better battery and stays on the windshield better than the little VanTrues, but I forget its brand. However, I don't think it has any better picture quality than the VanTrues. And it was more like $140. I'm not sure one is better than the other. The new one has BT connection, but one has to press a button or couple buttons to make it connect to my phone. I'm never going to remember that button sequence if I'm involved in a crash and need to.

    I felt the most important things were a) picture quality (for plate reading), b) to stick to the inexpensive genre of the vehicle itself, and c) not to make it overly complex with multi-cameras or any other complexity.

    If I were forced to buy another one RIGHT NOW, I'd probably buy another of the VanTrue cheapies. Because it has such a good picture and gets the job done. I will be buying another dashcam soon, for a son.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2020 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.4 mpg (US) ... 18.0 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.9 mpg (Imp)


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    Interesting. I'm shopping for one at Best Buy and do have gift cards to burn. Too bad they don't sell MPG scanguage.

    Below are the links that I have thought considering:

    1) https://www.bestbuy.com/site/kenwood...ef=app_android

    2)
    https://www.bestbuy.com/site/insigni...ef=app_android

    3)
    https://www.bestbuy.com/site/insigni...ef=app_android

    Thought?

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    I think any dash camera with a screen is just annoying. Just like the garmin mini or vantrue or blackvue, they should be designed to sit behind the rear view mirror. Not be in the field of view so i can look at a screen that shows me the view out the windshield while driving.
    please consider checking out my Mirage related youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6c...IEViRFw/videos

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    Quote Originally Posted by mohammad View Post
    I think any dash camera with a screen is just annoying. Just like the garmin mini or vantrue or blackvue, they should be designed to sit behind the rear view mirror. Not be in the field of view so i can look at a screen that shows me the view out the windshield while driving.
    My cheapy $29.99 BluVolt 1080P Dashcam has a setting where you can set the screen to shut off after a period of time. I have mine set to 30 seconds.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 40.5 mpg (US) ... 17.2 km/L ... 5.8 L/100 km ... 48.6 mpg (Imp)


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    I saw the complaint about having a screen on the camera, and can understand that complaint.

    Inuvik, you're a deep thinker. I didn't think to mention what you did. But yes, both my cameras have a screen. You can run them, or you can have them turn off. I do the same as inuvik, my turn off after maybe 2 minutes. Although the newer one, I have the screen go black after 2 minutes, but it displays my gps speed, date and time on the black screen. I kind of like that.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2020 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.4 mpg (US) ... 18.0 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.9 mpg (Imp)


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    Quote Originally Posted by inuvik View Post
    My cheapy $29.99 BluVolt 1080P Dashcam has a setting where you can set the screen to shut off after a period of time. I have mine set to 30 seconds.
    That is true, But it forces/encourages you to install the dash camera somewhere that is in your field of view. I just installed my Garmin mini 2 dash cam, and it is 100% hidden behind the rearview mirror, i see absolutely none of it and would not be able to tell it was there from the driver seat if not for the few inches of cable sticking out the top into the headliner.

    Without a screen and hidden behind the rearview mirror is how most dealer/oem dash cams like Toyota's are. So its probably the right way to go.
    please consider checking out my Mirage related youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6c...IEViRFw/videos

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    I can understand hiding it out of view. I do that with any window stickers like the toll transponder I have on a couple vehicles. I don't want to see that worthless sticker. But, my VanTrue little dashcam keeps loosing the date when its battery dies.

    Not only do I think its battery is not great, but I don't drive the car all that frequent at times. So I check the screen / date when I do fire it up, and reset the date as necessary. So I want to be able to see that screen. Otherwise it chooses a date in 2018 (I don't know why) and just overwrites that date a Brazillian times.

    I quickly forget the camera is there when driving. If I ever do have to show my dash cam video to law enforcement to prove it was not my fault, they'll have to wade through all my burping, coughing, farting, coentree catterwallin', actin' a fool, and my screaming & cussing at other drivers. If my dash cam videos ever got out, hollywood might want to point a camera at me full time.


        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2020 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.4 mpg (US) ... 18.0 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.9 mpg (Imp)


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    mohammad (08-24-2022)

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