Hello! Buying my first dash cam.

shaxs

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Hello Everyone!

I am in the market for a dash cam and have done a lot of research. 5 years ago my wife was involved in an accident. A motorcycle that was doing twice the speed limit cam around a bend. When she looked it wasn't there so she turned left across traffic. Since he was speeding, he t-boned her car. She was at fault and he sued our insurance company for $100k. They took care of it as that is what insurance is for. Recently I got a ticket for not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign which was bogus. And now as more and more idiots are texting and driving and just being more dangerous over all, I want some since of security. So my goal is to find a cam for legal purposes, not necessarily for theft prevention or beating a speeding ticket, but for accidents or disagreements with law enforcement over non speeding.

I am a techie and LOVE gadgets. I am hard core Android fan and I am building an in-car 7" touch screen interface that connects to my phone in my dash. Anyways, I am trying to rein myself in and buy what I need, not what I WANT per sae.

I looked seriously into 4 models:

1) Hdvr-150 - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005GTKY24/. They are sending the free upgrade to 1080p with g-sensor: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A1ZXKP6

Cost: $149.

Pros:
  • Amazon Prime so it ships from the US and can be easily returned if needed.
  • Seller has great support on Amazon and I am impressed with how well they communicate with buyers.
  • Camera is a lot more hidden and hard to see over a dash cam. Less apt to be stolen possibly.
  • 1080 p or 720p recording at 30 fps.
  • Video samples look good.
  • 6 months interest free financing for certain buyers :)

Cons:
  • Might be a little clunky and ruin the lines of my car. But I can return if needed!
  • No H.264 encoding so rather large file sizes.
  • Video Samples are good, but not great. So average.
  • It is pretty wide. Could be smaller.
  • Doesnt auto dim like my current mirror.
  • No motion activation. Not needed for me I dont think.
  • No GPS. Not needed for me.
  • Only supports up to 32gb. Would have liked 64 gb.

Videos:

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7arKYdm7-As
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8hWt20bQ-w
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccA7BJcttCc

2) Itronics ITB-100HD - http://www.ebay.com/itm/ITRONICS-ITB-10 ... 0966350659

Cost: $170.99

This has been widely covered so I wont go over it. Great camera, a little pricey. Have to buy it over seas and will be hard to return if needed. Small and unobtrusive.

3) Navicam AB-1000WHD - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Navicam-Car-Bla ... 0994946295

Cost: $188.90

This is a very interesting camera as it has built in wifi! Supposedly you can access it via a smart phone.

Pros:

  • 1280x720 HD. Not sure of FPS.
  • GPS.
  • Wifi!
  • Small and compact.
  • G-Sensor
  • Wide Lens.

Cons:

  • Very little is known about this and everything is in Korean.
  • Only supports 16 GB max card.
  • No motion sensor. For this price I would expect it.
  • Only 720p.

Lots of unknowns with this one. I emailed the following over to the seller:

"
I have a few questions on this unit.

1) Is the desktop pc software available in English?
2) What is the name of the Android app you mention in the ad that works with this?
3) What processor does this us (i.e. Ambarella HD Processor, ect).
4) Does the unit encode files in H.264 format?
5) Can you connect to the wifi on this unit from a computer program and record video to the computer using wifi?
6) Should GPS work properly in the US?
7) On the video overlay, can the KMPH be set to MPH?

Thanks"

Still waiting to hear back. I DID go through their feedback history, find people who ordered it, and sent them a message asking what they thought. One guy from Russia got back to me and said:

"HI
I would advise to look for fullHD, takes very bad, it is better to pay extra and buy Blackvue DR400G,
not satisfied with the purchase of expensive .."

I had grand illusions of being able to connect my Android phone via wifi and use an android app to record from the camera. I am not sure why this appealed to me soo much.

This might be an interesting device for this site to buy and review.

4) GS5000 - Various Prices but around $100.

Lots of fakes out there. Have to order from over seas. Has been heavily reviewed on this site.

====================================================

In the end I decided to try out the Hdvr-150. Since it is shipped from Amazon and I can return if I dont like it (or put in my wife's car). My second choice was the Itronics ITB-100HD. If I send the other back, I will buy this.

GS5000 might be a good choice, but for $60-70 more I would rather have the superior Itronics ITB-100HD.

The Navicam is interesting but such an unknown. I'm waiting to see if the seller gets back to me or any of the other people I emailed.

I will update everyone on my findings.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
GS5000 is not so good, go straight to higher price range camera.
It is known fact that once you have one dashcam, you soon want a better one.
 
Hi shaxs,

Very interesting analysis. The Hdvr-150 looks like a decent camera, it just isn't too popular yet. There is another thread on this dash cam as well. Reviews appear positive, videos aren't bad and the mirror style is pretty good. Let us know how it performs when you get it.

The ITB-100HD is fine, but I would avoid the GS5000. First time I have seen the Navicam AB-1000WH. The 720p resolution is the major drawback and if a Russian is telling you the video is bad, I would believe. They know dash cams well.

The only other option I would consider is the BlackVue DR500GW-HD since it has an Android App and WiFi. But I would wait to see if reviews are positive over the next few months.

Let us know how the HDVR-150 is.
 
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Well I got the cam and tested it out. The SD card they ship with it is Class 4 and stutters very bad when recording. I used a class 10 and it was better, but I wasnt happy with the FPS. The videos are WAY to large. And the mirror doesnt clip on well to my Kia Optima mirror. With that said, I decided to return it and get the ITB-100HD.

It is a decent camera, just not up to what I am looking for.
 
Hi shaxs,

Thanks for the feedback. These rearview mirror cams are great in theory but the execution they may not be there yet.

As for the Cowan AC-1, I posted my thoughts in this thread. Night quality seems poor, no GPS and it might overheat appear to be the negatives.
 
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Ah good feedback.

Well it looks like the ITB-100HD has been pulled from eBay?? No sellers are offering it anymore. I wonder if the manufacturer cracked down?
 
Hi shaxs,

The manufacturer cracked down on them. The only way to order is direct from some of the eBay sellers who used to sell it. A bit more risky than eBay but it really is the only option now.
 
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