Budget camera under $80 with video quality as priority.

[saynotopistons]

I am looking into my first dash cam and with so many to choose from, I have no idea where to start. So I turn to you guys for help.

I want to spend no more than $80 on my first cam. The budget is low, but I hope I can get something for the interim. I do plan on purchasing higher quality cam in the future and use this as a secondary or give it away. Here is a list of what I want (importance order top-bottom):

- Quality in day and night to read plates
- Wide angle
- Intuitive software interface (quick simple access to videos)
- GPS (speed)
- Wifi or screen (live viewing)

 

[russ331]

Look at Mobius B ($69) & Shadow GT680W ($89).

You won't get Wi-Fi or GPS within your budget.

 

[RockThinking]

With the limited budget, the better focus on the priority.

Some products are doing simple, but doing professional.
Other are opposite, they are doing all, but nothing is good.

 

[CheckYourLights]

I do plan on purchasing higher quality cam in the future and use this as a secondary or give it away

If money is tight I can understand that, but if you are looking purely to try this DashCam thing out with a cheap one and intend now to down the road purchase something nicer if at all possible I would jump ahead one step and just buy something higher end.

I did the whole accidentally bought a knock off then bought a real version. Then wanted GPS bought something cheap with GPS it failed, and finally sat down read up and bought something nice.

If you plan on having a budget of 80 dollars max for a year or two or are looking for a camera to hold you over until the GuardTrak is released then the G1W, Mobius B, and GT680W are good choices, but to spend 60-90 dollars and then next month want to buy a Marcus 3 or Panorama camera and have to drop another 200 plus dollars it really adds up.

Also as russ331 mentions you won't find Wifi or GPS for that price. You also won't find both in one camera for that price. (I can't think of any good cameras that include both. I think it is something coming along with the A7 chip)

 

[niko]

I would also join @russ331 regarding GT680W ( if not WiFi then LCD will do ).

Regarding GPS, - ???,. - if it's needed only for speed data recording, - then it's useless, in "emergency" situation speed can be calculated by simple formula of distance travelled within certain period of time.

If I did convince about GPS not being so useful, then I would recommend to try new generation G90 which uses A7 CPU + new Gen OV4689 CMOS sensor, from @FoxOffer. G90 looks very tempting.

 

[twitchyzero]

niko, is the IQ on the G90 much better than G1W? Does the A7 + OV CMOS allow better license plate reading, in motion and at night? It looks good but no 1080p/60 for the new A7 chip and no capacitor is a dealbreaker.

Is it actual 170 degrees FoV or more like 140-150 like how the G2W is marketed?

 

[jokiin]

I don't think a lot is known about the G90 yet, maybe if @billknow could arrange a sample for someone to test would be helpful, I don't know who makes this one but it looks like there might be good potential for this model

 

[niko]

niko, is the IQ on the G90 much better than G1W? Does the A7 + OV CMOS allow better license plate reading, in motion and at night? It looks good but no 1080p/60 for the new A7 chip and no capacitor is a dealbreaker.

Is it actual 170 degrees FoV or more like 140-150 like how the G2W is marketed?

You can not compare those dashcams, they are from different categories. G90 is going to beat G1W from any point ( except price and supercaps ).
If you are good in DIY, then you can add Supercaps to G90 yourself