Discrete barrel / wedge, maybe 2 camera setup

[Locoblade]

Hi All

I've been thinking about getting a dashcam for a while but although a few have caught my eye over that time I've not really seen one single camera that's convinced me enough to spend my cash so I'm after some advice and suggestions please.

Other than the obvious good video quality and decent reliability my main requirements are:

• Small, black and preferably barrel shaped. I'd consider a wedge but not an upright screen type, needs to fit behind the interior mirror and be as discrete as possible.
• Good parking guard functionality
• If it has voice warnings etc, the ability to turn them off as I hate electronics talking to me!
• GPS isn't required
• I'd like a 2 camera system if possible although a good single channel camera is also an option.
• My budget is flexible but I need some convincing that a £300+ setup is really 3x better than a £100 camera to spend anything like that much!

I think my ideal camera looking at specs and design would be the Blackvue DR750S-2CH but its obviously a costly solution at over £300. Also despite the price it seems not without it's faults in terms of video quality and nuances which is a concern. Likewise the Thinkware F800 Pro looks good but I've read comments that say the audio alerts can't be turned off and get very annoying which if true is a non starter for me.

The Blackvue DR490-2CH seems like a DR750 without the Wi-Fi etc, but although a lot cheaper at £200 it still seems expensive for a camera that you can only configure and review footage by taking the SD card out and plugging it into a laptop! The Thinkware F770 looks like it might be an option at a similar price with a lot more features than the 490, but would that be the same as the F800 with the audio alerts that can't be turned off?

At the budget end I like the look of the Mini 0906 but I'm a bit worried about reliability given the Mini series track record and also if the parking guard is up to scratch? An A119 seems to be the standard recommendation at sub £100 prices and it may be the answer but there's no equivalent 2 camera version AFAIK which would potentially mean a second separate camera if I wanted rear footage, and there seems to be mixed opinions on the new firmware that's given parking guard?

So, as you can see I've answered quite a few questions myself but alternatives that I've missed and comments on the above would be much appreciated.

cheers

 

[SawMaster]

The 0906 isn't looking bad at this point, though a few people are experiencing some issues with it. For most folks it's working well enough. The parking mode is quirky, but TBH no cam has a perfect parking mode which is why my preference is to record continuously instead. Blackvue has the best parking mode but IMHO nearly everything else about it makes it a non-starter in the race. For a single channel cam with parking mode the A119 is a good choice as is the Goluk T3.

The perfect cam has never been built and never will be. Every choice will be a compromise of some kind so all you can do is try to choose what's going to be best for you overall and live with the rest

Phil

 

[Locoblade]

I've decided to concentrate on 2 channel systems as I want front/rear cover and don't want to have to keep an eye on two separate cameras to ensure they're working etc. I'm now torn between spending around £150 on a Mini 0906 (~£135 with parking guard hardwire kit from repuatble UK supplier + ~£20 for a decent SD card) or another £70 to get a Thinkware F770 which are currently £220 in UK for the 2 cam setup including 32Gb card.

I believe the 0906 uses the later generation Starvis optics so I'm guessing might shade the video quality competition but the Thinkware is obviously well proven for quality and reliability and has additional features like WiFi, camera/collision warnings etc (not fussed) and I believe a better buffered parking guard. I read you can turn off all the voice commands apart from the initial one informing about the number of parking guard triggers so can probably live with that. Being a year old model though is the F770 still worth the extra (the 800 Pro is another £100 on top so over budget)?

 

[jokiin]

if parking mode is your priority then the Thinkware is the better choice, if you want something with good video quality when driving etc you can do a lot better

 

[Locoblade]

Are there any 2 channel systems under £250 (~$300?) with parking guard and reasonable reliability that would give significantly better video quality? When I watch reviews of the F770 against the latest F800 Pro for example the video quality gains seem marginal so it's not that outdated is it?

 

[Nigel]

Are there any 2 channel systems under £250 (~$300?) with parking guard and reasonable reliability that would give significantly better video quality? When I watch reviews of the F770 against the latest F800 Pro for example the video quality gains seem marginal so it's not that outdated is it?

The 0906 has parking guard. It is a low framerate parking mode instead of a buffered parking mode, so it will catch things that the buffered mode never bothers writing to memory card, but not at full frame rate.

 

[jokiin]

it's not outdated, they just don't do great video, most Korean cameras are much the same, they concentrate on other stuff like parking mode, wifi access etc and have to make compromises to get those features functional

 

[Locoblade]

The 0906 has parking guard. It is a low framerate parking mode instead of a buffered parking mode, so it will catch things that the buffered mode never bothers writing to memory card, but not at full frame rate.

Yep that could be beneficial in some circumstances like very slight knocks but I don't think the 0906 indicates/tells you something has been recorded that may be of interest does it? If not I see scenarios on the flip side where a camera with buffered event recording and a notification when you get in the car would be better because although timelapse may also catch the event, you'd not necessarily know anything had happened. For example someone's reversed into my front bumper in the work car park but it's raining and dark in the winter when I get to my car so I just jump in and drive home without noticing any damage, not realising until perhaps the next day that the cars been hit by which time the incriminating footage has been overwritten.

 

[Locoblade]

it's not outdated, they just don't do great video, most Korean cameras are much the same, they concentrate on other stuff like parking mode, wifi access etc and have to make compromises to get those features functional

Are there any reasonably priced Chinese 2 channel systems that offer significantly better video quality though, the 0906 seems to be the best 2 channel camera at the budget end at least, but reviews suggest that also falls short of the best single channel cameras so would it be a gain over the F770?

 

[jokiin]

0906 does better video than the F770, as I said it really depends what you want from a camera, if parking mode is a priority then the Thinkware does that well and is worth considering

 

[Locoblade]

Do Street Guardian have a UK distributor as their 2 channel unit looks quite good, can't seem to find them for sale over here though?

 

[jokiin]

Do Street Guardian have a UK distributor as their 2 channel unit looks quite good, can't seem to find them for sale over here though?

@niko looks after the UK market

 

[Locoblade]

Thanks I'll have a look

 

[niko]

Do Street Guardian have a UK distributor as their 2 channel unit looks quite good, can't seem to find them for sale over here though?

It is listed on UK amazon and my online store as well.

Sent from my VKY-L29 using Tapatalk

 

[Nigel]

Yep that could be beneficial in some circumstances like very slight knocks but I don't think the 0906 indicates/tells you something has been recorded that may be of interest does it? If not I see scenarios on the flip side where a camera with buffered event recording and a notification when you get in the car would be better because although timelapse may also catch the event, you'd not necessarily know anything had happened. For example someone's reversed into my front bumper in the work car park but it's raining and dark in the winter when I get to my car so I just jump in and drive home without noticing any damage, not realising until perhaps the next day that the cars been hit by which time the incriminating footage has been overwritten.

It does have a G-Sensor and will lock the files (read only) when knocked. Not sure which files get locked during a parking guard knock, I don't use the parking guard myself since the car doesn't always do enough miles to keep the battery charged, but I think it switches to full frame rate for a while and will lock the full frame rate file.

I need some convincing that a £300+ setup is really 3x better than a £100 camera

I find it very hard to argue against the 0906, but of course if it misses something important then you wont be happy and it will then be hard to convince you that the £300+ camera would not have caught it either.


I think it will be a couple more years before we get a really good dual lens camera with good parking guard, given that you may want to upgrade in a couple of years the low price of the 0906 is more attractive. Also remember that your insurance is going to pay for the damage anyway, having a camera does not necessarily save a huge amount, you still need to inform your insurance company of accidents and they will increase your insurance as a result even if you have video showing that it was not your fault. Parking guard is probably of more use in catching the culprit so that you can try to ensure that it doesn't happen again than it is in saving money in the first incident.

 

[Locoblade]

It is listed on UK amazon and my online store as well.

Sent from my VKY-L29 using Tapatalk

Thanks yep I did actually find your site and Amazon items but I'll confess I thought you were Chinese based as on my phone at least ask the menu icons on your default to Chinese.

 

[Street Guardian USA]

I'd consider a wedge but not an upright screen type, needs to fit behind the interior mirror and be as discrete as possible

Do Street Guardian have a UK distributor as their 2 channel unit looks quite good,

The wedge shape of the SG9663DC fits behind the rearview mirror quite nicely. @niko will take care of you for sure. (as good as it gets with support)

 

[Locoblade]

Thanks @Nigel I agree nothing is perfect so there'll always be situations where one or other solution will be better. A video proving no fault and a numberplate should at least make the difference between a fault/no fault claim even though the insurers invariably use any claim as a chance to bump up the premium somewhat

Glad you've had good experiences with the 0906 though, as said above reliability is one of the concerns I've got so nice to hear.

 

[SawMaster]

Even continuous recording like I do so that nothing gets missed isn't without issues. I may not see the damage till it's been overwritten and even if I do there's going to be a lot of files to look over to find the right one. No guarantees in this world with too many things imperfect so just do the best you can It will likely be good enough.

Phil

 

[niko]

Thanks yep I did actually find your site and Amazon items but I'll confess I thought you were Chinese based as on my phone at least ask the menu icons on your default to Chinese.

It looks like after SSL Certificate update there are some icons missing if typing online store address without www.
I will try to look into this issue. Thanks or pointing this out.