Best cam blackvue dr900s

[Kitkat]

Hi, just bought new to us car, weeks later victim of a nasty hit and run (whilst parked) so now want to invest in dashcam to avoid future incidences.

Have been looking at the new Blackvue DR900s (we are in U.K.) and baseline 2 channel model (we want front and rear) is £440 so quite pricey. I note others are recommending the viofo A119pro and buying two to cover front and back. We want;
- Ability to hardwire and hide wires
- Parking mode
- motion detection/bump recognition that will then save minimum of 15secs footage before and after incident
- front and rear
- won’t interfere with car battery and drain in parking mode
- wide angle (I’ve read 140 degree is currently highest angle)
- ability to upgrade as cars so not one with minimum inbuilt memory
- excellent quality footage as don’t want to not be able to read a registration if someone hits us again
- not worried about audio or viewing over cloud on phone etc
- not concerned for a screen on it

Any ideas or recommendations please?

Many Thanks

 

[krole]

It sounds like what you're looking for is a dashcam with a buffered parking mode. Buffered parking mode writes to memory, when it detects an event (such as motion or bump) it will write part of that to the microSD.

I believe your best bets will be Blackvue or Thinkware. Viofo doesn't offer a buffered parking mode. Blacksys has a buffered parking mode but I think it's only motion detection. I think your best options are the Blackvue DR900S, DR750S, or Thinkware F800 (Pro). The link below compares the DR900S to DR750s for video quality. The video also compares with the F800. It includes the ability to read the license plate in various situations. I don't think the DOD has a buffered parking mode either.

You could look at last years models (DR650S or F770) but the video quality won't be as good.

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/dr900s-2ch-initial-impressions.33902/

Hopefully someone more experienced can chime in, and potentially correct me if I made a mistake here.

 

[Kitkat]

It sounds like what you're looking for is a dashcam with a buffered parking mode. Buffered parking mode writes to memory, when it detects an event (such as motion or bump) it will write part of that to the microSD.

I believe your best bets will be Blackvue or Thinkware. Viofo doesn't offer a buffered parking mode. Blacksys has a buffered parking mode but I think it's only motion detection. I think your best options are the Blackvue DR900S, DR750S, or Thinkware F800 (Pro). The link below compares the DR900S to DR750s for video quality. The video also compares with the F800. It includes the ability to read the license plate in various situations. I don't think the DOD has a buffered parking mode either.

You could look at last years models (DR650S or F770) but the video quality won't be as good.

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/dr900s-2ch-initial-impressions.33902/

Hopefully someone more experienced can chime in, and potentially correct me if I made a mistake here.

Hi sorry could you explain what buffered parking mode means? Also I don’t need parking mode at home as car is either garaged or on drive do they have option to turn off?

It was that video that made me reconsider viofo over blackvue!

 

[krole]

Buffered parking mode is where the dashcam continues to record video, however it doesn't save it to the microSD card. It buffers it in memory. When motion and\or bump\shake is detected, it will save a video to the microSD card from a short time before and some time after. This way your microSD card doesn't fill up.

Thinkware parking mode kicks in when ignition is off. I believe Thinkware saves 10 seconds before the event and 10 seconds after, up to a minute for continuous events.
Blackvue parking mode kicks in after car is stationary for a few minutes. I believe Blackvue saves 5 seconds before the event and then a minute total.

With Viofo, after no movement is detected for 90sec it will go to standby. Then when it detects motion in front of the camera, it will record at a lower frame per second (1, 5 or 15 compared to default 30 for 1440p). If a bump\shake is detected it will record as normal. However it will not record prior to whatever happened that caused the event. It will continue to record for 90 sec after no motion is detected.

With an appropriate hardwire kit when your car battery is at the voltage threshold specified your dashcam will no longer record until the voltage is above that threshold.

I don't think any of these the parking mode is simply turned off with a simple button. You can either unplug it or have to navigate settings for your dashcam.

 

[Kitkat]

Buffered parking mode is where the dashcam continues to record video, however it doesn't save it to the microSD card. It buffers it in memory. When motion and\or bump\shake is detected, it will save a video to the microSD card from a short time before and some time after. This way your microSD card doesn't fill up.

Thinkware parking mode kicks in when ignition is off. I believe Thinkware saves 10 seconds before the event and 10 seconds after, up to a minute for continuous events.
Blackvue parking mode kicks in after car is stationary for a few minutes. I believe Blackvue saves 5 seconds before the event and then a minute total.

With Viofo, after no movement is detected for 90sec it will go to standby. Then when it detects motion in front of the camera, it will record at a lower frame per second (1, 5 or 15 compared to default 30 for 1440p). If a bump\shake is detected it will record as normal. However it will not record prior to whatever happened that caused the event. It will continue to record for 90 sec after no motion is detected.

With an appropriate hardwire kit when your car battery is at the voltage threshold specified your dashcam will no longer record until the voltage is above that threshold.

I don't think any of these the parking mode is simply turned off with a simple button. You can either unplug it or have to navigate settings for your dashcam.

I’ve just bitten the bullet and ordered the Blackvue DR900s 2 channel £441.20 on Amazon currently out of stock so hopefully it won’t be too long before it’s back in stock and dispatched. Hope I’ve made the right decision. Aware I now need to fork out for polarising filters and a b112 battery pack (£170) or power magic pro (£30) to hardwire. You can pretty much guarantee I’ll never be victim of a hit and run again now I’ve spent out!

Thanks for your help

 

[krole]

If you got the 16GB one, consider getting a larger microSD card for it as well. That will fill up pretty quick, don't want to take the chance that it overwrites something important before you notice. I'm sure there are other threads here that have recommendations for brands if you don't want spend it on the Blackvue.

 

[Kitkat]

If you got the 16GB one, consider getting a larger microSD card for it as well. That will fill up pretty quick, don't want to take the chance that it overwrites something important before you notice. I'm sure there are other threads here that have recommendations for brands if you don't want spend it on the Blackvue.

Ah yes that’s on the buy list too, going for 128gb I’m thinking Samsung EVO one it’s class 10 u3 £27.99