A dash cam with a lens facing forward and rearward?

[johnr9q]

I see information where this is not advisable. If you have a camera that only faces forward you won't get video of things that occur on the sides and rear of the vehicle. Seems to me if you have a rear facing lens, on the dash cam, it could help to resolve this issue.

 

[DT MI]

Where have you heard that it's not advisable?... what were the reasons given? Many cameras have a rear facing lens of some kind. Some have a separate camera mounted in the rear window, others ('taxi cams') have a rear facing lens in the primary camera to record the interior of the vehicle.

 

[kamkar]

The front camera can help a lot even with things it dont see, cuz what it alone do is document you driving.
So say someone plow into your rear end or side swipe you coming up from behind, they would probably claim you was driving erratic or changing lane without looking or what even to get out of the mess they made.
But your front camera have recoded you being rock stable in your lane right up until the crash.
Pretty much all i pull from my cameras are from the front camera, even in the later years where i have had cameras on all 4 sides of my car.
So my conclusion are simple.
The front camera you must have.
A rear camera are a nice addition.
Side cameras, and really you are in a grey zone where it probably are more of a addiction to dashcameras.
A camera recording the cabin of the car ( most often on the front window facing out back ) are nice to have if you are a taxi driver or something like that.

You dont have to get the guy in glorious HD hitting you, you just need to be able to proof you was not to blame, and if you cant be blamed some one else must be.

 

[johnr9q]

If the "taxi cam" records events in the interior of the car, it should also be able to record events that occur at the rear and side of the vehicle? Maybe not with a lot of clarity but at least you would have something? I would think everyone would want a taxi cam for this reason. I don't want a dash cam with all the bells and whistles (LCD screen, motion trigger etc) but want one that is reliable and good quality and is a "Taxi Cam" so what would you recommend. Under $100 would be nice.

 

[Mtz]

This post is not about recommending some camera model, but about an idea how to have all angles covered.
Right now maybe the best solution is to have a 360 degrees camera with the lens pointed down. At some moment on this forum was posted a camera which was looking like A118C but with the lens pointed down because it was recording as 360 degrees. The biggest disadvantage of such camera is that the front image will not have so many details compared to a normal camera.
So what do to right now? Buy a 360 degrees camera and mount it. Buy a normal camera and mount it.
Someday both cameras will be in one singled body but this day will come only if some manufacturers will understand that some people will want a specific coverage. Until that day we will have same dashcam idea in different cases and with a little difference between video quality. In latest 1 year I was imagined such camera. Right now it cannot exists the idea is too advanced.

enjoy,
Mtz

 

[Dashmellow]

If the "taxi cam" records events in the interior of the car, it should also be able to record events that occur at the rear and side of the vehicle? Maybe not with a lot of clarity but at least you would have something? I would think everyone would want a taxi cam for this reason. I don't want a dash cam with all the bells and whistles (LCD screen, motion trigger etc) but want one that is reliable and good quality and is a "Taxi Cam" so what would you recommend. Under $100 would be nice.

Those of us who are serious about capturing "events that occur at the rear and side of the vehicle" use four separate or two, two channel dash cams. Trying to capture the sides and rear from an interior facing camera is sub optimal. Imagine something significant happening in the rear or to the side of your car and discovering only after the fact that you didn't record it because of some obstruction such as a passenger inside your car, or you as the driver blocking the view.

For 360 degree coverage, this is more of what is required until some more integrated solution comes along. https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...-dashcam-for-your-car-doors.12675/post-310270

 

[SawMaster]

If the "taxi cam" records events in the interior of the car, it should also be able to record events that occur at the rear and side of the vehicle? Maybe not with a lot of clarity but at least you would have something? I would think everyone would want a taxi cam for this reason. I don't want a dash cam with all the bells and whistles (LCD screen, motion trigger etc) but want one that is reliable and good quality and is a "Taxi Cam" so what would you recommend. Under $100 would be nice.

First is that $100 isn't going to get you any decent 2ch cam of any kind. There are a few good single-channel cams in this price range. I'm currently testing a "Taxi cam" in my workvan, and in the vids I've posted my dirty back windows almost entirely destroy the view, while my normal rear cam sees through the muck fairly well. Others have noted this with similar set-ups. And in many cars, a lot of the rearward view will be blocked by roof pillars, headrests, passenger's bodies, and the body of the car with the rear cam mounted in the front. If you want adequate rear coverage you need a cam mounted in the rear close to the rear window- no other method even comes close to what that gives you. My "Taxi cam" does add something to my side coverage, which has allowed me to aim my side cams more rearward giving me increased side coverage. But the close-mounted side cams still see alot more and in more detail too.

If all you're going to spend is $100, get a good front cam and a good larger SD card. That's going to get you the best value and protection you can for that price. Later on you can add a seperate rear cam, and maybe side cams too. That's how I did things and it's worked out OK for me.

Phil

 

[johnr9q]

Thanks Phil, How about under $200? My problem with a single lens camera mounted in the front and the same mounted in the rear is, I have a pickup truck and much of the time I drive it just like a pickup. But I also have a cabover camper that I use a lot. I guess I could mount a rear camera at the back window of the camper but would only capture what happens behind me and if someone rear ends me, they are usually to blame. Maybe I should just forget the rear and side views and just get a single lens dash cam?

 

[DT MI]

...Maybe I should just forget the rear and side views and just get a single lens dash cam?

Unless you need side and rear parking mode a single front facing camera will probably meet 95+% of the needs of most drivers. Those of us that have (multiple?) side and rear cams aren't 'normal'.