As an "old timer" here on the forum and a dash cam owner since 2010 I believe I may have been the first member on DCT to begin experimenting with side facing and rear facing cameras. Back then (around 2012) with dash cam technology being what it was whenever I updated to a newer and better performing camera I would repurpose the older camera for use as a side facing one mounted on the fixed glass rear side window of my Toyota pick-up truck. I was amazed by the results! Eventually, after experimenting with different cameras, I added a cam to both side windows and then the rear window and have been enjoying full 360º coverage ever since, refining my set-up as time went on. Now, I feel "naked" without all 5 of my cameras not up and running which happened just last week when I had to do a modification/repair/adjustment on my rear camera mount and so had no rear cam for 24 hours waiting for some epoxy to set up and cure.
For some, a lot of the interest in multiple camera views began with this interesting old thread- "
Is there such thing as a side view dashcam?" Of course, this was back before multi-channel dash cams existed.
I bring all this up because I find the discussion of FOV - AOV very interesting. A small group of us on the forum have regularly spent a lot of time and effort modifying certain cameras (especially the Mobius platform but not exclusively) with aftermarket lenses that allow one to optimize the desired angle of view and other lens parameters for a dedicated purpose. It's one of the advantages of using separate cameras for 360º coverage.
One of the issues that became apparent was achieving full coverage around one's vehicle. (
@Vortex Radar speaks to this in his video). For me, I discovered that it was important to achieve
more than full 360 degree coverage around my vehicle and I managed to create a set-up where I had significant overlap between each camera in the system (490º total lens coverage) . Over time I have concluded that this is the optimal way to have a four camera system if you can. Having each lens capture an overlapped transition between the next adjacent lens eliminates blind spots and this really helps to tell the story!
So, some of you guys may
find this old post of mine interesting. It shows views from each camera with a green line marking the exact spot where the coverage overlaps between each adjacent lens.
The choice of which side camera to use in accordance with its angle-of-view is the key to achieving proper coverage in a four camera system.
Since that 5 1/2 year old post I now have different cameras performing the same duty but the result is the same. I wouldn't be without full coverage. Even if you can't get complete 360 º coverage around your vehicle it is well worth having cameras facing in every direction if your vehicle will accommodate it.
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