$100 or less, little to no maintenance, good quality cam?

I

iamgregror

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I'm really new to this stuff so I've been reading a lot of the great material around here, but I just don't have time to research all the options and stuff that some of you already have. I'd like to at least start by getting some recommendations so I can know what to look for.

For example, what is the advantage of a screen versus no screen? Just being able to preview on the spot?

Is a tape mount a pain since you can't move the cam easily and can you get a suction mount for cameras that don't normally use it?

Batteries seem to be a huge pain so can I just run it off car power? Do they use USB so I can use my external usb battery charger (the one I use to charge my phone when I forgot to charge it before leaving the house)?

I could go a little more than $100 if it meant I get what I want, but I'm not entirely certain what I want yet I guess :)

Use of the camera is just evidence in case of trouble. Accidents, recording while parked in case of vandalism and so on. I suppose that means I'd want it on a continuous loop where I can just stop the "tape" if there was a problem in the last 24 hours or so.

I hear there's a dual camera option too, but is that problematic or is that awesome? Is the point being able to record what's going on in the car too?
 
Screen will allow you to aim the camera quickly, and allows for playback via the camera itself. You can always get a OTG microSD/SD card reader though if you happen to have an Android phone/phablet/tablet. Some of our products come with one.

3M VHB adhesive tape mount is the best long term installation method. You can saw through it with a piece of string when it's time to remove the tape from the window.

All dashcam products are designed to use your own car power. Supercapacitor is the most reliable especially since the car gets very hot parked int he sun. Many are powered via micro/mini USB and you can use a direct USB power source instead of the included cigarette power adapter. For example, the SG9665GC has an optional miniUSB hard wire power kit: CPUSB01

When you go above $100, the night performance will be significantly better. (Sony Exmor sensor etc) You'll also get pre-buffered motion detection for true parking mode.

If you want to catch vandalism, you should get a pre-buffered model. (Check the Panorama series)

There are not any perfect dual channel camera options at this time. You are better off getting two single channels at this time. Start with one up front, see how it goes and add a second when you are experienced. I'm not aware of many people recording inside the cabin/car itself other than taxi drivers etc. You would aim the second camera facing the rear out the back window.
 
Ah, I see. Ok so dual is not what I thought.

Front is enough for me at this time and the reason I like suction cups is because then I can take it with me when I drive my wife's car or a rental on a trip. I like the idea of a USB plug because of versitility. A screen sounds good too. Does that mean the B40 / A118 is the better bet for me? Or is there another I should be looking at? Note that I want a fairly long loop in case it takes me almost a day to discover any damage or problems. Is that only a factor of memory card size? Do they all loop as a natural function?
 
How long is the loop? I was concerned when I read a review that said something tiny like 3 minutes. If it doesn't last for several hours, it wouldn't make a very good camera if you got into a wreck and couldn't check the camera until much later. Also, is GPS really that good? What would it be good for? I read something that suggested you needed a special viewer for the cameras... that's not right is it? Don't these just record to a standard format?
 
the loop setting will keep recording continuously and creating segments at the allocated setting, eg 3 min, a 32gb card will hold 4 hours or so until it fills up and deletes the oldest 3 minute segment and continues recording, first in, first out, means you'll always have the most recent 4 hours worth of recordings

no special viewer needed to watch video with 99% of cameras, to view GPS details along with video there is software for that
 
iamgregror said:
Is a tape mount a pain since you can't move the cam easily and can you get a suction mount for cameras that don't normally use it?
Click to expand...
3M tape mounts are not bad if you want a 3M tape style mount with a little bit of move ability try replacing the 3M double sided stick with 3M Dual Lock Tape.

I have done this with many cameras.
Here it is with a Mini 0803 in the back of my car.
ZSXvpVR.jpg

1LOnFcH.jpg

133GPnW.jpg


iamgregror said:
can you get a suction mount for cameras that don't normally use it?
Click to expand...
You can depending on the cameras mount style and ball joint. I have hacked together a few mounts from different cameras.
PbhZgsO.jpg

Here is one example.
This G95A only came with the suction cup mount. I was able to hack together the 3M stick mount from a VicoVation camera and replaced the stick with dual lock for a lower profile and easlly removeable mount so I could put my Mini camera up front with a click if I wanted to.
QL17dGL.jpg

G95A
QyA7MvF.jpg

Mini 0806 literally in just a snap.
 
jokiin said:
the loop setting will keep recording continuously and creating segments at the allocated setting, eg 3 min, a 32gb card will hold 4 hours or so until it fills up and deletes the oldest 3 minute segment and continues recording, first in, first out, means you'll always have the most recent 4 hours worth of recordings

no special viewer needed to watch video with 99% of cameras, to view GPS details along with video there is software for that
Click to expand...
That makes way more sense, thanks!
 
For the most i just use the media player that come with win 7 to watch my footage.
 
iamgregror said:
That was super helpful thanks!
Click to expand...
Note that the black dual lock tape actually has a white adhesive backing - very visible when mounted on glass. Clear is the better choice (don't ask me how I know).
 
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