Anything small and Discrete?

[Bushman123]

Live in a big city and need something that works easy and is small. BUT, I don't want it to become a reason that someone breaks into my SUV.

I guess my options are either:

A. Small and dark and slightly hidden that is always there

or

B. A Cam that comes off each time I park overnight on the street (I only park on the street 2 nights a week)


I'd also like to have a second camera facing out the rear window. I don't think I need GPS data. I don't need wifi.

I have been rear-ended recently that cost me $1000 in deductible. (deemed 60% their fault and 40% mine). Even though it was not my fault.

I have had my eyes on the CDV300 "wedge camera" or the mini 0805. Mainly because of the size. Although money is not a real concern on this.

I have read tons of reviews on amazon about the 805 and many people are complaining about fakes. How do you know you are getting a quality camera?

 

[kamkar]

Seem your car design allow for just about everything, at least in the front.
For the front i would recomend the Street Guardian SG9665GC, its a wedge cam that you should be able to fit real high in front of your RVM.

But it do look as if your windscreen have a tint, so you might want to have the camera peek out below that, still it should fit nice and match the toll thingie you have on the Right side of your RVM.

The screen on the dashcam might be blocked by your RVM, but for setting up you should be able to tilt the RVM out of view, and anyway due to slope on windscreen and the wedge cam you will ot have problems seeing the screen proberly at least under sunny conditions.

Regarding your back you might want to mount the camera off the headliner, the way your back open up and the thing at the top of the opening seem to make it a little problematic mounting the rear camera to the hatch like i have on my little car.

Allso your rear window seem to be tinted, this is no big problem here as daytime footage is no problem, but at night the light on the car behind you will render much of the footage a little useless.
Never the less you should be able to get a good capture at night if some one plow into you, just dont expect to capture the licence plate or the person in the car.

Myself i use the cheap mobius action/dashcam with the capasitor mod, in daytime it do me fine and it should do the same for you even with the tinted window.
My mobius is mounted off the top of the hatch framing my window, and the lens is mm from hitting the glass which mean i have no heater elements in my footage.

I wish i could afford the Street Guardian SGZC12RC / panorama X1, that would do even better as it have a much better CMOS chip than the mobius, but they are both really stealthy small cameras.

All the cameras i have mentoned have plenty of reviews and test footage on youtube, and they are allso mentioned in here a lot, and have ther own sub forums.

What car is it you drive ?

 

[Bushman123]

Thanks Kamkar1. I like the mounting of the SG9665GC.

The car is a VW Touareg. So lots of room, but very tight interior moulding and I don't want to mess with too much for the install. Luckily, I have a 12v power source up by the mirror, just need to find a small step down converter to go from 12v to USB power. I'd imagine eBay has some of those.

The rear is still tough because of the dark tinted glass like you said, but I don't need a license plate at night. Just proof that they didn't stop and hit me if that should happen. If they take off I'll just follow them. As long as I can get the lens close to the glass I think it will work ok. Just need to look into mobius mounts and a way to power it. Will the Mobius start and stop recording when the power gets applied/turned off?

Another big purpose for the dash cam is protection with pedestrians. They love to run across the street at the light turns green for us. And many are on drugs and jump into the street without warning.

 

[Sunny]

SGZC12RC.

 

[Bushman123]

I like that SGZC12RC. But it looks like a pain to install that a long lead wire to the recording device. And the DVR device really looks like a break in and steal me kind of thing.

Question: why are the devices so big on having a playback screen? Can't you just download the footage after an incident and email it to your insurance company or the police? I'm not getting why you need instant feedback except for checking the view when installing.

 

[Gibson99]

dashcam market is still pretty new in the US and western europe. apparently in asia people WANT big bling bling cameras to let people know they're being recorded, and so manufacturers who want to come to the US just add English to the language choices and try to sell them here.

i like my A118 (same chassis as sg9665gc) because it's so stealthy from the outside. it's a little thick though, and because i mounted it to the left of the rearview mirror, it's sometimes hard to press the triangle button when i see something and i want to lock the file. your toll tag looks like it would be easier to remove and put on the left, or even above the mirror in the tinted area. mine's a thin sticker that's designed to self-destruct if you try to peel it (theft deterrent), so i can't really move it.

the a118/sg9665gc form factor would probably work for you in the rear as well, because you have factory tinted glass, so it would be basically invisible. also having the head liner be so low there means you could mount any rear facing camera on the inside ceiling. this means you won't have to deal with trying to conceal wiring on the movable glass, which looks like it would be very difficult on that glass. check out my install thread in my signature to see what i mean.

 

[Bushman123]

Thanks Gibson99. I have been eyeing the A118 as well. I like that it is compact system all in one. I plan to remove the toll tag and place elsewhere or just put it on the dash by hand. I don't use it daily, just a few times a month.

The rear will be a bit of challenge because the glass moves as one door and the entire hatch also moves as a door. So mounting to the headliner like you said seems to be the only option.

 

[Gibson99]

oh now i see... if you want one facing rear, you WILL have to figure a way to route the wires through the hinge like I did. the actual headliner is much higher than the window opening, and as a result, it blocks most of the video frame. i tried it that way to see if i could avoid routing it thru the hinge, but the resulting video was worthless. you couldn't see cars behind me until they were within about 30 feet of the rear of the car, and the top half of the video frame was just solid black. i'm sure it can be done - the factory had to run wires back there to run the various lights in the door, and you can likely use the same path they did, just like i did.

 

[Bushman123]

I guess you really only need to tap into the 12v power that is already in the hatch, hook-up a small step down converter to USB. that way I might be able to contain everything in the hatch not mess with wires that move. That way I can have a good field of view like you said.

 

[Gibson99]

I guess you really only need to tap into the 12v power that is already in the hatch, hook-up a small step down converter to USB. that way I might be able to contain everything in the hatch not mess with wires that move. That way I can have a good field of view like you said.

it's unlikely that there will be key-switched power in the hatch. chances are the only electrical in there is parking lights (including license plate lights), and possibly brake and reverse lights. and if your hatch has electric open/close, or a remote button to pop the glass portion, those latch electrics will be in there, but none of it will be useful for you since it won't be turned on or off with the ignition. Sorry, but just trying to keep it realistic for you.

your closest power source in the back will probably be a 12v accessory outlet in the cargo area. otherwise, you'll probably need to run wire all the way to the front and tap into the fusebox or existing lighter or radio circuit. in my car, i actually tapped into the power window/sunroof circuit. and yes, they do make hardwire kits - i have one for my a118.

 

[smithdean]

nice

 

[kamkar]

I have the USB wire for my mobius running along the floor in the right side and then up along the back rest of the rear seat and then into the ??? D pillar and then crossing over the headliner to the mittle of the window.

This summer i will splice into the rear light of my car and then have 3 outlets in the back, that way i can run the rear camera of that and the innovv C3 i have in the right side of my car and still have 3 outlet for somthing else.
In front i will prefer to have just the 1 for the front camera and then the 2 mini USB wires i have for powering / charging my smartphone and tablet i some times use for navigation.

You are right about the main unit for the SGZC12RC, it is larger than it need to be, but still its not that large, and if need be you could just store it below a seat or somthing.
Seem like Panorama plan to incorperate GPS antenna and a radar detector in that housing too, i am hoping Street Guardian might do a smaller housing if they dont go down the same route, or bet on other upcomming projekts they might have.
But i assume a lot of things have to come together for that to happen, but one can still hope

My little Suzuki Splash dont have much surplus room, but i am sure i could work somthing out if i got my hands on one of those cameras.

 

[smithdean]

I have the USB wire for my mobius running along the floor in the right side and then up along the back rest of the rear seat and then into the ??? D pillar and then crossing over the headliner to the mittle of the window.

This summer i will splice into the rear light of my car and then have 3 outlets in the back, that way i can run the rear camera of that and the innovv C3 i have in the right side of my car and still have 3 outlet for somthing else.
In front i will prefer to have just the 1 for the front camera and then the 2 mini USB wires i have for powering / charging my smartphone and tablet i some times use for navigation.

You are right about the main unit for the SGZC12RC, it is larger than it need to be, but still its not that large, and if need be you could just store it below a seat or somthing.
Seem like Panorama plan to incorperate GPS antenna and a radar detector in that housing too, i am hoping Street Guardian might do a smaller housing if they dont go down the same route.
But i assume a lot of things have to come together for that to happen, but one can still hope

My little Suzuki Splash dont have much surplus room, but i am sure i could work somthing out if i got my hands on one of those cameras.

I have similar need like the OP. My car is 2007 Camry. Have been looking for small & discreet cam and a reliable one. I might get one for the rear as well. Is the Mobius ok to install in the back? Where do you connect the cable since there is no car's lighter socket in the back? For the front, I might get GW1 C or Mini 0805.

 

[kamkar]

Yeah smithdean a lot of us have the mobius in the rear, and a fjew even use it for a front camera too.
There is quite a fjew creative mobius installs in the where did you mount your dashcam thread.
https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/where-did-you-mount-the-camera-post-your-pictures.502/

My own mobius rear camera is on page 14 in that thread, and my new SG9665GC install is on page 28

 

[Gibson99]

I have similar need like the OP. My car is 2007 Camry. Have been looking for small & discreet cam and a reliable one. I might get one for the rear as well. Is the Mobius ok to install in the back? Where do you connect the cable since there is no car's lighter socket in the back? For the front, I might get GW1 C or Mini 0805.

in my 98 camry (which is smaller than your 07) i have the power cord running from the front roof console round the edge of the headliner to the middle of the back window. however, if you have side curtain airbags you need to be careful when running cables along the edge of the headliner - you can do it, but you have to do it in a way that will not get in the way of the airbags if they ever go off.

and yes, mobius is great for rear since it's so small and discrete.

 

[Gibson99]

I plan to remove the toll tag and place elsewhere or just put it on the dash by hand. I don't use it daily, just a few times a month.

forgot to address this - i recommend putting it at the top edge of the windshield in the tinted area. not only will you never forget to put it on the dash for those few times you hit a toll road, it'll also work as a sun visor to block the gap between the two factory visors.

 

[Bushman123]

Good point about the side airbag and install. Def something to be considered. And the powered source in the hatch, Didn;t think about that.

I'd be happy to forgo a rear cam but the only accident I have been in was a rear end and it was deemed 60% their fault and 40% mine and thus I lost my deductible for $1,000. A rear camera would have saved me the troubles.

I'm reading the mobius threads and your install page.

 

[kamkar]

yeah. That toll thingie is white, it might be a good idea to pair it with the dashcam just use some black tape so you have 2 dark but symetrical things on the windscreen.
I assume that will look more like a factory thing then.
Sadly you cant place the camera right smack in the mittle like i have mine, i even have a nice large dotted area in front of my RVM at one time i had a full size cctv box camera sitting there 30 X optical zoom and all

I think a high quality dashcam like the Street Guardian i mentioned can cope with the moderate tint you have up high on the windscreen, but offcourse it will be optimal to have the cam peek out below that tint.

 

[Gibson99]

Good point about the side airbag and install. Def something to be considered. And the powered source in the hatch, Didn;t think about that.

I'd be happy to forgo a rear cam but the only accident I have been in was a rear end and it was deemed 60% their fault and 40% mine and thus I lost my deductible for $1,000. A rear camera would have saved me the troubles.

I'm reading the mobius threads and your install page.

even a front cam can sometimes be sufficient for a rear-ender. it can show things like... you being stopped at a red light for over a minute before you were hit (this happened to my wife before we had a dashcam but there was no dispute who was at fault), or that you didn't make a sudden lane change and stand on your brakes, or that you didn't put it in reverse and hit the guy behind you. plenty of stuff like that and more will be covered by just having a front cam. it'll also show that you had a safe distance between you and the guy in front of you, but the rear-ender pushed you into the car in front.

curious what they claim happened to place partial blame on you?

 

[Deleted member 46308]

Good point about the side airbag and install. Def something to be considered

If you Google for installation instructions for a Toyota Automatic rear view mirror you will get detailed instructions from Toyota on how to remove the A-Pillar trim and install your new wires in there. I know you are not installing the mirror, but the instructions for the wiring will be the same irregardless. Not a real difficult job, just go slowly and follow the directions.