Are there any examples of hidden in-cab cameras?

USDashCamera

USDashCamera

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What i mean is a hidden camera that records people in your car without them knowing. i recently got the dr550gw-2ch and so far so good. coincidentally a few hours after i ordered it from amazon my phone was stolen out of my car, long story short i never leave my phone in my car while its running unattended, i thought id be gone for 20 seconds at most, ended up being away from it for 5 min and just like that someone stole my phone in my work parking lot.

i feel like the blackvue is too obvious, it would easily get stolen if it was still in my car and the person really was looking through the car, even tho all the wires are hidden. the blackvue i purchased primarily for car accidents or just for hobby, i am a graduate traffic engineer too so road cam footage always interests me.

there has been a lot of theft from cars in this area and often times the police have a suspect but never have damning proof. there are also no security cameras in this strip mall which is stupid. sometimes i am parked in worse parts of town and having someone break into my car is not completely out of the question.

i was thinking of of using smething like the mobius hidden somewhere in my car. my cab lights always turn on when the door opens potentially lighting up a thief's face. would using both a blackvue on a power magic pro AND a mobius be too demanding on a car battery? i just drive a 2012 civic.

im curious to see any examples of hidden cameras meant for recording occupants IN the car.
 
While I am not an expert on camera's yet I do know cars pretty well..

I would say as far as power do you need them to be on all the time? If not you could have them tied into the door switches/overhead light. Door opens camera turns on and start recording but I am unsure how long it takes to start recording but that would be how I do it. As far as placement it depends on the type of car just like a dash cam you are only going to be looking in one direction so you might miss something unless you have multiple camera's.

But I would install the camera in an HVAC vent like the police do on bait cars. Cant see it will not interrupt air flow too much doubt anyone would look there. But you might miss something if they come in the back doors. It kinda depends on your car and the layout of it.

Maybe one camera in drivers vent looking towards the passenger side and one on the passenger side looking at the driver side. Should cover it.

As far as power if it just turns on when the car is opened I would not worry, unless they leave the lights on.
 
do you mean actually wiring it directly to the wires going to the door switches or lights etc? so like my cab light turns on when the door opens, so it would also power up the camera? i dont know much about cars or experience with wiring.

wiring the power magic pro was alien to me haha. i made assumptions about which fuses got power all the time or only when the car was running and i just couldnt get it to work until i watched a video where a guy used a voltage reader so i finally went out and bought a cheap one of those tools to finally figure it out.

i probably wont end up doing this as i dont think i want to do the work to hide the camera in the dash but was curious to see if others have done it. in the HVAC was my first thought too thinking of bait cars.
 
It really depends on the car as far as putting it in HVAC vents I have a Toyota Matrix, same thing as a corolla I would maybe 30 minutes to install in each HVAC vent as they are super easy to open and gain access to.

As far as the wiring goes, you want want it done by someone who knows what they are doing as I imagine (depending on the car) it would need to be wired in with whenever the dome light comes on which is usually routed through the headlight switch. Definitely something you do not want tackle if your not certified/very experienced. Doing the add a fuse is one thing tying into a vehicle subsystem is another.

Are other peoples cars getting broken into? Just wondering might be easier to change habits/tint to keep thieves away. Also depends on the car you drive some people love breaking into certain types of vehicles, trucks are a big target here always a good way to get tools/guns.
 
dbu8554 said:
It really depends on the car as far as putting it in HVAC vents I have a Toyota Matrix, same thing as a corolla I would maybe 30 minutes to install in each HVAC vent as they are super easy to open and gain access to.

As far as the wiring goes, you want want it done by someone who knows what they are doing as I imagine (depending on the car) it would need to be wired in with whenever the dome light comes on which is usually routed through the headlight switch. Definitely something you do not want tackle if your not certified/very experienced. Doing the add a fuse is one thing tying into a vehicle subsystem is another.

Are other peoples cars getting broken into? Just wondering might be easier to change habits/tint to keep thieves away. Also depends on the car you drive some people love breaking into certain types of vehicles, trucks are a big target here always a good way to get tools/guns.
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well in my stupid case i left my car running unlocked, like i said i thought id be back in 20 seconds without letting my car out of sight. this was at night. a co worker also had the same thing happen when he was at the gas station, left his car unlocked as he went into the gas station to pay, some car drove up, someone jumped out, grabbed his back pack out of his car and they drove off. it was in broad day light.... the store employees saw the person do it. he did get his stuff back.

the city im in now is decent, actual break ins arent THAT common but not ruled out either. i moved here last summer, the city i left of 80,000 people had over 300 cars broken into in two weeks the month i left.

i dont think its super likely my car will be broken into, and i sure try to always lock my car evcn if im going to be gone for a minute, but **** happens.
 
I actually live in a terrible neighborhood and leave my car unlocked at all times... Why you ask? So they do not break my windows trying to get in I just do not keep valuables in my car..

I had a mustang a few years back with an alarm on it. It had been in an accident and so opening the doors made the loud popping noise (made noise on the fender rubbing) anyways I am eating breakfast and hear the door to my car open. There is a dude breaking in at like 10AM I go out there and yell at him, and wonder how he got past my alarm(automatic) So yeah stuff happens sorry it happened to you. That is a lot of break ins in one month.
 
dbu8554 said:
I actually live in a terrible neighborhood and leave my car unlocked at all times... Why you ask? So they do not break my windows trying to get in I just do not keep valuables in my car..

I had a mustang a few years back with an alarm on it. It had been in an accident and so opening the doors made the loud popping noise (made noise on the fender rubbing) anyways I am eating breakfast and hear the door to my car open. There is a dude breaking in at like 10AM I go out there and yell at him, and wonder how he got past my alarm(automatic) So yeah stuff happens sorry it happened to you. That is a lot of break ins in one month.
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ive definitely heard of others doing the same thing, not locking their cars. i usually dont have valuables in my car either, generally my phone is the only thing, but now i have the blackvue dr550gw-2ch.

i have been a delivery driver for 7 years now, started in college, still doing it trying to find an engineering job now that i am certified and have my b.s. but what i am usually worried about people stealing is the PIZZA in my car haha. drunk college kids or teens think stealing food is a victimless crime. hasnt happened to me since i always lock my door when i have food in it (and nobody is dumb enough to break a window for food) but i know of people who have had it happen while working. my friends in college were drunk once and stole a delivery drivers topper which was stupid of them. the guy who did it even went into the car to unplug the power cord.
 
I am going to school to be and Engineer also, I should be doing math right now.
 
Bumping this thread.

Want an extra camera for dual purposes, one is to use it as an in-cab camera and the second is to use it as a portable dash camera that can be used in rentals (during business trip).

My first choice is also a mobius, but looking at my cabin it would be a tight fit (and can be easily seen).
The next one is the Innovv C3, remote lens can be easily place in unobtrusive place. However I think I need an extra lens to be able to do the 2nd purpose, I can't imagine myself detaching the lens once it is set in placed.

SGZC12RC seems ok also as shown by @USDashCamera in his review of the camera. but the extra lens and price is somewhat a deterrent.

Any other camera that I could consider?
 
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I was thinking if/when we get dashcams with little remote cameras on a wire, then you could get a dual system and then conseal the rear camera inside a small fake tweeter in the corner of the window or somthing, maybe the "panic grab handle above the door.

I am hoping for remote cams a little smaller than the one for the SGZ12RC

If you wish you might be able to exchange original lens with a pinhole lens.
 
kamkar1 said:
I am hoping for remote cams a little smaller than the one for the SGZ12RC

If you wish you might be able to exchange original lens with a pinhole lens.
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Remote is the way to go (at one point i did consider a A811C as a possible candidate, but after making a mock up model and placing it in my dash the idea was scrap).

Swapping lens, haven't seen any one (ebay, amazon) that are selling lens only module.

Are other lens unit compatible with any of the recording unit provided they share the same lead? (micro usb, mini hdmi)
 
Not the whole lens module, just the lens itself, there is a wide range of CCTV and simmilar M12 lenses to choose from.
 
Just get a bullet cam (the really small cams that have a small cam and a bigger module connected to it). I saw a video of a taxi driver who had one hidden in his AC vent and it recorded his murder without the murderer even knowing, and they were able to catch the murderer using that video.
 
Xybone said:
Just get a bullet cam (the really small cams that have a small cam and a bigger module connected to it). I saw a video of a taxi driver who had one hidden in his AC vent and it recorded his murder without the murderer even knowing, and they were able to catch the murderer using that video.
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Sad, but nice to have justice
 
whoa I didn't realize this was my post originally over a year ago hah. Man how times have changed since I bought my first dashcam (DR550GW-2CH, first one died within a week, replacement has been going strong ever since). In case anyone is curious this is how I set up a hidden cam in my car now:


I used a SGZC12RC and personally I think it is the best option right now as its lens is as small as you are gonna get besides a lens extension on a mobius, but the motion detection on the ZC12RC is great and is buffered unlike the mobius. If you can afford it, its my personal favorite option.
 
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@USDashCamera. Hows the audio on your ZC12RC set up? seeing that the main unit is inside the glove box, not sure if audio will be pick up at the driver side.
 
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