best onboard cam for taxi

[pascal]

hi everyone

i searched but i didnt find nothing good for my use, maybe you can have better ideas and tell me if my ideas is good or not.

camera will be used for taxi, pointing inside for security purpose, so need good night vision, wideangle, hard wired, and not easy to stole the memory card, also low budget....

i know i ask for a lot....

i think my best option so far for camera is

-dvr-207
-c600
-g1w
-hidden mobius?

they are cheap, night vision, video quality ok i think, with infrared. ( i never test them pointing inside car yet)

but im not 100% i can hardwired them easily, but i think so.
i will also have to install a sd card extension to hide the memory card on roof or dash...im not sure about this too...extender can be broken easily with vibration? hard to fit. etc

maybe i can find a better option?

i see somes cam with dvr apart hidden but around 200$ like the link below... seam good for the price

i see some wifi, so data is safe, but i dont even understand how its working...



this one have 4 camera with lots of IR and 600tvl, looks good i think, anyone even tested thoses?



thanks

 

[niko]

You need something with IR do likes of Mobius, G1W etc are no good.
What is your budget?, you mentioned word "low budget" with sampkes of 50-80usd dashcans, but at the end pointed out 200usd sysyems as well

So, what it will be ?

 

[pascal]

hi

i was thinking g1w have IR, maybe its just not good enough for my needs

budget is the lowest possible even if i have to modify a bit its ok.

the quality needs to be good enough to see face good even if they are on the back seat, i will need to test that with the camera to be sure...

at 200$ i guess the kit is really really good and ready to go, but 200$ its the max price i can put.

if i can get similar quality with a 207 modified for 3 times less, i will go that way.

thanks

 

[niko]

I am personally prefer discrete solutions. Mobius is the best smallest high quality dashcam (B-lens), but it doesn't have IR, however you can add into car a separate powerful IR with auto - light sensing on/off if you are good in DIY.

 

[pascal]

ok yes, this was one of the ideas

it can be simplier to hide a mobius than modify a 207 to hide memory card

but i will put a sticker inside taxi to warn people they are on video, to discourage thiefs.

it may work well, i need to test it

 

[sludgeguts]

When I take passengers out in the dark, I always have the lights on in the back of the bus. I have noticed this with taxis as well - only ever been in a taxi (black cab (London taxicab) as opposed to minicab (car with taxi plate)) a few times at night and they always have the lighting on & even my G1W can cope with that so I'm guessing a hidden mobius with extension lens would also fare really well?
My only concern with the mobius (and why I haven't bought one) is lifespan. There are some heat issues - but how long would this cam last if it is recording for many hours at a time? My DR32 was doing 2x4hr shifts, 5 days a week & lived for about 6 months before I noticed it was getting 'quirky'.

 

[niko]

When I take passengers out in the dark, I always have the lights on in the back of the bus. I have noticed this with taxis as well - only ever been in a taxi (black cab (London taxicab) as opposed to minicab (car with taxi plate)) a few times at night and they always have the lighting on & even my G1W can cope with that so I'm guessing a hidden mobius with extension lens would also fare really well?
My only concern with the mobius (and why I haven't bought one) is lifespan. There are some heat issues - but how long would this cam last if it is recording for many hours at a time? My DR32 was doing 2x4hr shifts, 5 days a week & lived for about 6 months before I noticed it was getting 'quirky'.

You need to buy special Mobius Capacitors ( SuperCap ) and exchange with battery, check joovuu, - they should have them.

 

[GJHS]

When I take passengers out in the dark, I always have the lights on in the back of the bus. I have noticed this with taxis as well - only ever been in a taxi (black cab (London taxicab) as opposed to minicab (car with taxi plate)) a few times at night and they always have the lighting on & even my G1W can cope with that so I'm guessing a hidden mobius with extension lens would also fare really well?
My only concern with the mobius (and why I haven't bought one) is lifespan. There are some heat issues - but how long would this cam last if it is recording for many hours at a time? My DR32 was doing 2x4hr shifts, 5 days a week & lived for about 6 months before I noticed it was getting 'quirky'.

I am going to jump in and say the heat issue is exaggerated. I live in a hot climate, it's been around 90F/32c with no problems. Mine has never gotten hot, except the heat sinks, as they should. If you're worried, a little breeze has also been shown to really help cooling, as even the master Tom Frank has shown. On hot trips, to ease my mind, I just put the defroster on 1 and a slight cool breeze hits the cam. The only time I think heats a problem is sitting in the car window all day in the hot sun, then the Mobius was too hot for my liking. A simple spin and it removes in a second, so why leave it? I wouldn't leave any electronics in that environment.

Past the heat issue, the Mobius is fantastic. The video quality is amazing period, even more amazing for something the size of a tic tac box. I took mine into a huge indoor market yesterday and was very impressed. It's so small, that I could hold it discreetly in my hand and just walk, without it attracting attention and getting stolen.

 

[kamkar]

Dont the mobius lens have IR filter, if it do then additional IR lighting will be useless.
But if the car have internal light that is on a Little while after ppl have been seated it should have caught the face of everybody by the time the light go out.

You could make the internal light manuel so you can turn it off when you are sure the cam have gotten a good shot of all faces in the cab, and then for the rest rely on the good night time footage the mobius have.
Or you could dim the overhead light a Little so the cam camera still get good face shots and you can drive with the light on all the time.

I think if you mount the cam at the R side of the driver sun visor you will get good coverage, and if you put it above the sunvisor it will be fairly stealthy.

I will try to do a experiment with my innovv C1 tomorrow, to see what coverage one can expect from a sun visor munted cam ( in a Little Suzuki like mine )

 

[sludgeguts]

I am going to jump in and say the heat issue is exaggerated. I live in a hot climate, it's been around 90F/32c with no problems. Mine has never gotten hot, except the heat sinks, as they should. If you're worried, a little breeze has also been shown to really help cooling, as even the master Tom Frank has shown. On hot trips, to ease my mind, I just put the defroster on 1 and a slight cool breeze hits the cam. The only time I think heats a problem is sitting in the car window all day in the hot sun, then the Mobius was too hot for my liking. A simple spin and it removes in a second, so why leave it? I wouldn't leave any electronics in that environment.

Past the heat issue, the Mobius is fantastic. The video quality is amazing period, even more amazing for something the size of a tic tac box. I took mine into a huge indoor market yesterday and was very impressed. It's so small, that I could hold it discreetly in my hand and just walk, without it attracting attention and getting stolen.

It's not so much the climate - it does occasionally get warm over here (generally when the sun goes super-nova), it's more the length of time I'm expecting the camera to be operating for - around 4 - 5hours' continuous recording, a break of around 45 mins (occasionally 60min) and then maybe 3 - 4 hours' continuous again before it's put away for the night/weekend.

 

[pascal]

thanks you the info, lifespan is also a matters, the 6 months of the dr32 is not enough...

sludgeguts, you use your g1w for a long time now? you think it will last more than your dr32?

my mobius is on the way, i think i will also order one g1w

i dont know about heat issues...im in mexico right now so its hot but all put air conditioner anyway.

maybe its possible to put IR lights inside the dome car light, always ON, so its not really visible by eye but only by the cam?

 

[sludgeguts]

I got my G1W by the 23rd of January so it's been running for 4 weeks. It cost half the price of the DR32 - if it lasts 6 months I'll be overjoyed. I'm definitely buying another to put in my car & I'll be moving my F70 so that the main unit covers the rear & the secondary cam looks through my side window. This will also give me an option to use my car's G1W if/when the one in my bus breaks.

As to IR lights, they give off a red glow to the naked eye so would be noticeable inside the dome light - but might be passed off as part of the car security system.
I'm wondering if it might be possible to disguise the mobius? Maybe use the 8" lens extension, have the mobius unit hidden and the lens inside an air freshener (or decorative ornament)?

 

[niko]

I got my G1W by the 23rd of January so it's been running for 4 weeks. It cost half the price of the DR32 - if it lasts 6 months I'll be overjoyed. I'm definitely buying another to put in my car & I'll be moving my F70 so that the main unit covers the rear & the secondary cam looks through my side window. This will also give me an option to use my car's G1W if/when the one in my bus breaks.

As to IR lights, they give off a red glow to the naked eye so would be noticeable inside the dome light - but might be passed off as part of the car security system.
I'm wondering if it might be possible to disguise the mobius? Maybe use the 8" lens extension, have the mobius unit hidden and the lens inside an air freshener (or decorative ornament)?

The "best hidden?" I LOL are those:

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.160.T9FkBR&id=37421441817

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.170.T9FkBR&id=37421441816

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.150.T9FkBR&id=37421617190

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=...dabe49dc714165f5495a&spm=a230r.1.18.18.T9FkBR

 

[sludgeguts]

I liked the first one - it was so tacky that I barely recognised it :-D

 

[kamkar]

Yes to red glow from IR light, that is if in 850 Nm wavelenght range, 940 Nm wavelength can not be seen with naked eye.
I myself use 940 Nm Ir light for my nightly vermin hunting, not that the critters can see 850 Nm light, but i like to be 100% unseen.

Still i think the lens in mobius have IR filter in the lens, if it was only a filter between the lens and cmos it could easy be taken care of ( just like i did in my Toshiba videocamera )
I have no idea if lenses without IR filter can be had, the lens on the innovv and i assume the mobius are smaller than the 12 mm thread CCTV lenses i am used to deal with.

 

[Dashmellow]

Most dash cams use standard M12x0.5 threaded lenses. They are widely available without built in IR cut filters. To a certain degree, the lenses in dash cams and CCTV cameras are the same kind of board lenses but with different specs, apertures and focal lengths.

 

[Xybone]

The "best hidden?" I LOL are those:


http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.170.T9FkBR&id=37421441816

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.150.T9FkBR&id=37421617190

Why am I not surprised they're angry birds merch?

 

[pascal]

good find but the taobao camera are not hidden, to film inside you need to turn them and are very visible lol

 

[niko]

good find but the taobao camera are not hidden, to film inside you need to turn them and are very visible lol

I would like to see and shake hand to the guy who came up with this idea on the first place to install fairly visible to outside camera and call it "hidden?". I understand if it would be pin-hole type, but lens size there is far too big not to be seen. Different cultures, - different understanding. I am personally dont understand them in some design features they use on dashcameras.

 

[GJHS]

It's not so much the climate - it does occasionally get warm over here (generally when the sun goes super-nova), it's more the length of time I'm expecting the camera to be operating for - around 4 - 5hours' continuous recording, a break of around 45 mins (occasionally 60min) and then maybe 3 - 4 hours' continuous again before it's put away for the night/weekend.

I run mine for 2+ hours non stop in hot weather almost everyday lately, no problems. I remember when reading the forums before buying, people were saying a two hour trip would melt it. I have taken a lot of long trips and the heat has stayed the same as a 20 min trip As I said, to me, it's exaggerated.