Best Cam for travel and rental car

GoTigs

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I'm going on a couple international trips and will be driving a rental car for a week or so at a time. Any recommendations on the best cam that would be small to transport and easy to mount in a rental that is under, or at least around, $200? Would like front and rear, but front only is not a deal breaker. Thanks!!
 
If you will be changing car daily then you’ll need one with a suction cup mount available, but if it is only going to be a few changes of car per year then you can consider using a normal sticky mount and stick it to the glass indirectly via an anti static sheet which will make it very easy to remove from the hire car.

Suction cup mounts tend to vibrate so are not ideal for movie making. Many of the decent cameras come with sticky mounts and anti static sheets included but you would want some extras, plus something to clean the polish off the glass so that it will stick properly.

If you can make use of a normal mount then just choose a good camera for normal everyday use from the best dashcams page linked at the top of this page, maybe look at one of the taxicams so that you get a rear view without having to install a rear camera, installing rear camera cables in a hire car would not be good.
 
I'm going on a couple international trips and will be driving a rental car for a week or so at a time. Any recommendations on the best cam that would be small to transport and easy to mount in a rental that is under, or at least around, $200? Would like front and rear, but front only is not a deal breaker. Thanks!!

Your problem is going to be that if you do a 2 channel, you are going to have wires hanging everywhere. I mean you could do a Viofo A129 Duo or Plus and use the 12v adapter. You'll just need to place the wires somewhere. If going 1 channel, I believe the Viofo A119 is suppose to be good.

Or check out some street guardian cameras.

Either way, I'd buy a suction cup mount. You can find them on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/B000FGI9R0
 
Welcome to DCT @GoTigs :)

Suction mount is going to work best here. And a "rideshare" or "taxi" cam which has a built-in rear-facing cam will be far more practical than one having a cable to the rear cam, even though these don't have great rear coverage. Not too many decent rideshare cams and not all of them have a suction mount. If you're wanting to use it after this trip for your own car it's worth getting a better cam, but if you're just looking for something basic the Nexar Pro is OK and cheap; be sure your phone works with their app (LINK) If you can do with front-only coverage the B2K is a very good cam for the price (LINK) You'll also need a microSD card with either cam and Samsung EVO Select from Amazon is a very good card at very good prices. Get at least a 64GB size to hold ~6+ hours of driving. Better cams can be had within the upper range of you're budget.

You didn't mention your itinerary but do check the laws where you'll be driving, as in some countries (mainly in Europe) have restrictions on what you may film and in some a dashcam is illegal to use. Also note that dashcam theft is an issue in some places, so best to remove the cam and avoid the break-in risk if you're parking in a bad area or overnight (easy to do with a suction mount).

Phil
 
Welcome to DCT @GoTigs :)

Suction mount is going to work best here. And a "rideshare" or "taxi" cam which has a built-in rear-facing cam will be far more practical than one having a cable to the rear cam, even though these don't have great rear coverage. Not too many decent rideshare cams and not all of them have a suction mount. If you're wanting to use it after this trip for your own car it's worth getting a better cam, but if you're just looking for something basic the Nexar Pro is OK and cheap; be sure your phone works with their app (LINK) If you can do with front-only coverage the B2K is a very good cam for the price (LINK) You'll also need a microSD card with either cam and Samsung EVO Select from Amazon is a very good card at very good prices. Get at least a 64GB size to hold ~6+ hours of driving. Better cams can be had within the upper range of you're budget.

You didn't mention your itinerary but do check the laws where you'll be driving, as in some countries (mainly in Europe) have restrictions on what you may film and in some a dashcam is illegal to use. Also note that dashcam theft is an issue in some places, so best to remove the cam and avoid the break-in risk if you're parking in a bad area or overnight (easy to do with a suction mount).

Phil

Those front + interior camera combo units will do fine with an interior view, but not great out the back window. The image captured MIGHT be sufficient to show someone hitting you but you'll never capture plates or enough detail. However, its better than nothing of course and far more convenient than having wires hanging down.

Should post your review of the Garmin. They make those same cameras with a Front Facing and Rear Facing camera built into one unit.
 
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Here is my "rental" setup. Garmin DC5x with the OEM suction cup mount.
 

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I've used CHORTAU dashcam for over 2 years now. One out the front window, the second out the rear. I don't use the app, it can be finicky. But the SD works great. Loop Recording & Emergency Accident Locks.
 
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For rental cars, I use the Blueskysea B1W since it is relatively low cost (around USD 60), low profile (cigar shaped), and runs on capacitors instead of batteries. The one draw back is that it is only 1-channel for front coverage.
 
For rental cars, I use the Blueskysea B1W since it is relatively low cost (around USD 60), low profile (cigar shaped), and runs on capacitors instead of batteries. The one draw back is that it is only 1-channel for front coverage.

I got a MyGeckoGear 960 I got as a Beta Tester. I use it as the car rental / kick around camera. Obviously, getting a 2 channel setup in a Rental would be a hassle. As you'd have wires dangling everywhere and would have to mount both cameras on suction cups or a clear plastic pad.

So I, like you, only use a front camera in a rental.
 
I'm Also looking for a "travel dashcam"

The garmin mini 2 is really great, as very small and you can get a suction cup for it.
But.. no GPS and no rear cam possibility. (though i want to spend max 100 euros, so dual seems out of the question)

Then there's viofo ... But if you have the gps module attached, their suction cup won't fit.
So i would have to "glue" it onto a universal mount myself and not sure if that would be a good idea.
i can't find any that have a large surface to stick the camera on, like Arkon had: THIS (they don't make it anymore)
 
...i can't find any that have a large surface to stick the camera on, like Arkon had: THIS (they don't make it anymore)
Interesting, it still shows as available on the US site.

 
I finally found this on Ali, which seems a perfect solution : MOUNT
It's for a "70MAI" dashcam (never heard of it) but the principle is the same
 
What might be an even better solution is a magnetic suction cup for smartphones.
Not because of the magnetic part, but the flat base makes it easy to stick a camera on it.
Something like THIS for instance
 
just to follow up.. after 7 month :)

I went with the vantrue N1 (2023 update) with gps mount (107 eur in total through their website)

i don't like a screen on my permanent camera in my car (U1000) ,
but it's very handy for a travel cam as it easily let's you angle it.
(this is the reason i did not like the garmin mini)

Very impressed with the image during the day, as licence plates are pretty easy to read.
have not tested night time yet (according to reviews, image is not to good)

for the 2-3 times a year i drive a rental, this camera is perfect enough
 
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