Discovered "DashcamTalk".... Wow... Wanting a dual cam - SIMPLEST to "plug & play" ??

[mountie]

So much information..... Now, I am REALLY confused!! I looked in the site for the newest / "glitch-free" dual cam for my Yukon XL.

Living in Florida.... 2 things...... Heat & Hit & Runs. So a dash cam seems like the best defense. I noted 2 choices... "Street Guardian" SG9663DC, and the "Megtech" Mini 0906. It would be nice if it's less than $200 bucks, unless a higher price dual cam is worth the investment. When I find the best cam, then I'll get a second one for my Infiniti.
I am not interested in any of the "fancy stuff" like WiFi, GPS, and it doesn't have to talk to me.... Just a clear image & reasonable night lens.

 

[SawMaster]

The SG cam is definitely superior to the Mini, of the two that would be my choice. The A129 Duo might be worth considering though it seems to still have a growing pain or two to deal with. If protection while parked is of major importance, the Blackvue DR750 might be a good choice as it pre-buffers it's parking mode but really has few other virtues to justify it's very high price. These are the only 2-channel cams I'd consider worth buying as all the rest have significant problems of one kind or another. Of all these I feel the SG is the best one all-around, offering very good or better performance in every area with unbeatable customer support. Not cheap, just worth it's price and more.

I can certainly understand wanting a low price, but you can't get what you don't pay for and these days $200 is the bottom of where good 2-channel cams start at. All of these are as 'plug and play' as dashcams get, but you will want to adjust some settings to your liking which is easily done. And all dash cams do need to be checked for proper functioning at least every couple months. That's as easy as pulling the sd card with the camera off, popping it into your laptop or tablet, and viewing some random files. Once that's done, pop it back into the cam, power it up, and do a reformat there (again a simple process), then you're good to go. SG and Blackvue come with SD cards; with all the others you'll need to buy that separately or as part of a package deal.

And welcome to DCT
Phil

 

[jokiin]

Of all these I feel the SG is the best one all-around, offering very good or better performance in every area with unbeatable customer support. Not cheap, just worth it's price and more.

our cost base is higher unfortunately, that said though for any Amazon customers keep an eye out for some special pricing for the black Friday weekend

 

[LordHenry]

I've recently purchased and had fitted a Street Guardian SG9663 DC and I'm really glad I purchsed it. The recorded images are very clear (even at the mid quality setting) although I have yet to see how it performs at night. I like the wedge shaped body unit as it provides a better dimension for mounting if, as my car, it has a big electronic gizmo housing up behind the rear view mirror. I see you live in the States mountie, but I live in the UK which makes it a bit more problematic fitting a barrel shaped camera as most seem to have their lens on the left side of the barrel (looking from inside the car). Our vehicle legislation dictates that we mustn't obscure the swept wiper blade area immediately in front of the driver, so a dashcam mounting position has to be on the left of the rear view mirror (not a problem for you of course) so with a barrel dashcam the camera lens is well to the left side of the centre-line of the car. Not a deal-breaker, but not ideal.

I had the camera fitted by a qualified vehicle electrician because I don't know enough about avoiding problems with camera cabling interfering with air-bag deployment should I get involved in an accident (I investigated running the rear camera cable from front to back on top of the head-lining, but could find no unobstructed way through, so the cable had to run elsewhere).

There are several very good dual dashcams on the market (going by forum posts) but what decided me on the Street Guardian was the good repuation of the Customer Support (I'm a pensioner so didn't grow up in the IT age, I've just landed in it !!!). I have now experienced the Customer Support personally and I cannot rate it highly enough. It is beyond excellent (I had no fault issues, just some IT ignorance). Don't know how hot it gets in Florida, but the Street Guardian has a wide temperature operating range too, which may suit your needs. (In my fitting I've included the relatively cheap SG DC HW hard wiring kit which allows me to use the parking mode which is of the variable frame-rate recording type, which I prefer. The hw kit has a controller which allows the unit to cut out if the car battery drops below a selected voltage so you can still start your car !). When my car is tucked up in my garage or at a safe location, I just turn the camera off once it's automatically clicked into it's parking recording mode. As soon as the ignition is turned on again, the camera auto starts back in driving recording. Brilliant ! Good luck.

 

[Cardinal Biggles]

our cost base is higher unfortunately, that said though for any Amazon customers keep an eye out for some special pricing for the black Friday weekend

Im almost ready!

When is Black Friday btw?

And does Street Guardian do a reversing camera? I'd like to get one for my mother in law.

(now *that's* what I would call a great swap....! )

 

[mountie]

Ah..... thanks, all !! All this reminds me when I got my 1st computer..... " the more you play with it - the more you learn how to use it"....

It looks like the SG may be the way to go.... ( & I don't mind paying over $200 if that what it takes )....

Uh, 'Lord Henry'......THANKS for your thoughts !! My roots are in GB..... google : Sir Thomas Howell , Lord Harris , Lord Castlemain, & BBC actor Peter Howell... My family... I was born in Canada. ,,, as for driving on the "wrong side".. .... maybe 'lean' the cam mount & aim to your desired target.

 

[mountie]

our cost base is higher unfortunately, that said though for any Amazon customers keep an eye out for some special pricing for the black Friday weekend

No need to say " unfortunately" if the quality is equal to the price. Uh, when is the black Friday - weekend?? ( You have us all asking )

 

[DashOto]

Black Friday should be Friday, Nov. 23rd with Cyber Monday following on Monday.

 

[jokiin]

And does Street Guardian do a reversing camera? I'd like to get one for my mother in law.

(now *that's* what I would call a great swap....! )

yes we do reversing cameras, you'll have to keep your mother in law though