Is there such thing as a side view dashcam? (For your car doors)

This might be a crazy idea, but has anyone experimented with using small mirrors to give a forward-facing camera additional side views? It would be better use of the frame area than recording sky.
 
There was talk a while back of a scam they were calling 'flash for cash'. You're sat waiting to pull out of a side road, the guy coming down the main road flashes his lights to let you out - but instead of slowing, he carries on, straight into you. You pulled out on him therefore you are at fault. A front cam wouldn't capture the flash and a rear cam might show just how close the other guy was as you pulled out on him.
Since then, I've been determined to have a 4 cam setup - just can't get around to sorting myself out.

Yes, it was that scam, along with cars on narrow country road bends straying over the white line yet slipping past the front cam, which persuaded me to fit one experimentally a few months ago.

The cam peeps through the A-pillar window and records 720p/60fps because of it being mostly needed for close range, but also objects on country bends can sometimes pass across its field of view too quickly for 1080p/30fps to get sharp images.

My post near the bottom of page one of this topic gives several screenshot pictures as an example.
 
There was talk a while back of a scam they were calling 'flash for cash'. You're sat waiting to pull out of a side road, the guy coming down the main road flashes his lights to let you out - but instead of slowing, he carries on, straight into you. You pulled out on him therefore you are at fault. A front cam wouldn't capture the flash and a rear cam might show just how close the other guy was as you pulled out on him.
Since then, I've been determined to have a 4 cam setup - just can't get around to sorting myself out.

Yes, it was that scam, along with cars on narrow country road bends straying over the white line yet slipping past the front cam, which persuaded me to fit one experimentally a few months ago.

The cam peeps through the A-pillar window and records 720p/60fps because of it being mostly needed for close range, but also objects on country bends can sometimes pass across its field of view too quickly for 1080p/30fps to get sharp images.

My post near the bottom of page one of this topic gives several screenshot pictures as an example.

If find that the lateral facing cameras are excellent for recording what is coming at my vehicle from either side of a perpendicular street as I approach an intersection or drive past a side street. Anyone attempting to pull off the sort of scam you guys describe would get caught in the act.

Here are a couple of older examples of side cam captures of a car a full length over line on a side street stop sign and the entire right side road view of an intersection captured as I am at a stop sign.

side-street copy.jpg

lateral3b.jpg
 
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sigh.... as if it wasn't hard enough this time of year in terms of money... now you guys are making me want to add side cams. my wife's highlander has large fixed side windows in the rear with thick "windowsills" which would give a convenient place to mount a mobius, but no such luck in the camry. could probably do something like @kamkar1 and mount it to the B pillar, peeking around the edge. in the highlander, a plain mobius would be perfect on each side, and in the camry, maybe a couple mobius w/ remote lens peeking around the pillar would do the job. just have to have it somewhere the kids won't mess with it.
 
sigh.... as if it wasn't hard enough this time of year in terms of money... now you guys are making me want to add side cams.....
I can relate. A couple months ago I put a 'spare' G1W-H on the left side just to see what it would show me. Keep intending to take it out but think I would now feel kind of 'naked' without it. ;)
 
sigh.... as if it wasn't hard enough this time of year in terms of money... now you guys are making me want to add side cams. my wife's highlander has large fixed side windows in the rear with thick "windowsills" which would give a convenient place to mount a mobius, but no such luck in the camry. could probably do something like @kamkar1 and mount it to the B pillar, peeking around the edge. in the highlander, a plain mobius would be perfect on each side, and in the camry, maybe a couple mobius w/ remote lens peeking around the pillar would do the job. just have to have it somewhere the kids won't mess with it.

Yes, my Toyota Tacoma has the same recessed thick "windowsills" all around that make mounting side cameras much easier as they don't need to be attached to the glass. The thick design of the door make it look like it could be on an armored car. :D

Here is what the door looks like:

When I first tried this it was with a modified GT680W, my installation was a bit crude and unsightly, especially with the GPS but it worked well. My current Mobius and 0806 installations are far more discreet and stealthy, except that they do need the strain relief loop so you can fully open the door. From outside with the tinted glass, the cameras are virtually invisible except in certain lighting when they can be seen in silhouette.

interior680w.jpg

tint2.jpg
 
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I can relate. A couple months ago I put a 'spare' G1W-H on the left side just to see what it would show me. Keep intending to take it out but think I would now feel kind of 'naked' without it. ;)

"Naked", that's what I said earlier in this thread. It's funny how that happens after you've owned dash cams for awhile. :)
 
● Front - SG9665GC
● Rear - Mobius - with super-capacitors and "B" lens
● Left - Mobius - with super-capacitors and "B" lens mounted in a "C" module base
● Right - currently the mini-0806 featured in my last posts as part of an ongoing experimental rotation of different cameras and lens configurations. All summer I ran a G1W-H fitted with a Mobius "C" lens. (examples HERE)

Some other examples from a GT680W and others above in post #5.
This is a very unique setup. I think I might do the same when I get my new sport car. I hate to see idiots park next to me and make some marks when I'm not there. Especially when I choose to park far as hell away from the crowds at the shopping parking lot.
 
This is a very unique setup. I think I might do the same when I get my new sport car. I hate to see idiots park next to me and make some marks when I'm not there. Especially when I choose to park far as hell away from the crowds at the shopping parking lot.

It might be harder to do in a sports car than in a double cab pick-up truck but it is definitely worth trying. I hope you can make it work! Ultimately, I think the Mobius makes for the best side facing, stealthiest dash cam and may work better in a sport car than other types.
 
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It might be harder to do in a sports car than in a double cab pick-up truck but it is definitely worth trying. I hope you can make it work! Ultimately, I think the Mobius makes for the best side facing, stealthiest dash cam and may work better in a sport car than other types.

could maybe mount at the top of the B pillar facing back out the side windows
 
could maybe mount at the top of the B pillar facing back out the side windows

Yes, there are a number of possible schemes. I have a partially worked out idea for an innovative method to mount a Mobius with a remote lens. (involves a tripod thread nut attached to the lens module and 3/4 inch heat shrink tubing which is apparently exactly the correct size to cover a Mobius lens module and cable.) Something like this could have a lot of flexibility as to where in the vehicle it gets mounted.
 
yeah every car is different so there's no one size fits all solution, I guess side cameras are always going to need some amount of DIY
 
"Naked", that's what I said earlier in this thread. It's funny how that happens after you've owned dash cams for awhile. :)
Yeah. We rent a car when when visiting my parents so our family car does NOT go over its insurance amount. Better option than taking the train. I complained to my wife that I feel "naked" without a dash cam

We have a car that my step daughter drives mostly and it does NOt have a dash cam. I don't like driving and it did get into an accident and thus I feel naked with my cam.
 
My dash cam does not have as wide an angle lens as others here. Its not catching that I am at a stop sign first and the car to my left is rolling the stop sign as I come to a full stop. Its not catching things I see at the angles with my eyes. I would like to have a 90 or 130 degree camera at the front corners of my cars.
 
Yeah. We rent a car when when visiting my parents so our family car does NOT go over its insurance amount. Better option than taking the train. I complained to my wife that I feel "naked" without a dash cam

We have a car that my step daughter drives mostly and it does NOt have a dash cam. I don't like driving and it did get into an accident and thus I feel naked with my cam.

It's really pretty easy to temporarily mount a dash cam in a rental vehicle. Many of us do that often. The Mobius is a good, very portable and inexpensive candidate for an easy to install temporary dash cam using a suction cup type mount, a USB-A to mini-B cable and a small cigarette lighter USB 12V adapter. You can even just stick a camera like the Mobius to the dashboard using a wad of Blu-tack

There is a thread here on DCT you might like to peruse...."Portable Dashcam for Car Rentals/Courtesy Cars?".
 
Thanks. I will consider that. In addition to that, may come in handy if I ever need to drive my step daughters car.
 
Mobius is a good, very portable and inexpensive candidate for an easy to install temporary dash cam using a suction cup type mount, a USB-A to mini-B cable and a small cigarette lighter USB 12V adapter. You can even just stick a camera like the Mobius to the dashboard using a wad of Blu-tack

Also the sunvisor mount...

image.jpg
 
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