Cam focused on Parking Mode - what sensor and what model for vertical mount ?

[fluegelfischer]

Hi everyone - I am looking for one or several cameras to watch my car when it is parked. I have had some dashcams mounted to the front screen, but most of them have limited viewing angle. I recently ordered a VIOFO 4k 129 pro (for Video quality reasons) but the viewing angle is only 130 deg now (video quality is excellent though).
I think about installing a set of cams to the side windows of my car to monitor any movements in close proximity. I am not looking for G-Sensors, as these are not sensitive enough for e.g. someone punching a hole in a tyre who sneaks up from the side of the car. I read about the new Thinkware U1000 having a radar sensor, but this cam is difficult to mount on a vertical side window. Are there other cams with radar sensors out there yet ? Or maybe a software motion detection would be possible. Is this sensitive enough ? Which camera model is known for its good parking mode and has reliable software movement detection ? My first guess would be a small cam like the iTracker mini0906 pro that can be fully rotated and mountet on a vertical surface. But it should also have supercapacitors or no battery at all.
The parking surveillance should be hard wired and protect my car while it is parked outside of my home on a large and open accessible company parking lot for at least 10 hours.

 

[Sdeel7491]

Hi everyone - I am looking for one or several cameras to watch my car when it is parked. I have had some dashcams mounted to the front screen, but most of them have limited viewing angle. I recently ordered a VIOFO 4k 129 pro (for Video quality reasons) but the viewing angle is only 130 deg now (video quality is excellent though).
I think about installing a set of cams to the side windows of my car to monitor any movements in close proximity. I am not looking for G-Sensors, as these are not sensitive enough for e.g. someone punching a hole in a tyre who sneaks up from the side of the car. I read about the new Thinkware U1000 having a radar sensor, but this cam is difficult to mount on a vertical side window. Are there other cams with radar sensors out there yet ? Or maybe a software motion detection would be possible. Is this sensitive enough ? Which camera model is known for its good parking mode and has reliable software movement detection ? My first guess would be a small cam like the iTracker mini0906 pro that can be fully rotated and mountet on a vertical surface. But it should also have supercapacitors or no battery at all.
The parking surveillance should be hard wired and protect my car while it is parked outside of my home on a large and open accessible company parking lot for at least 10 hours.

Hi let me know when you get some suggestions i’ve been waiting since last year to improve the parking issues with my Viofo 129 Duo! fed up of waiting!!!!

 

[SawMaster]

Of motion detect, probably the best is Blackvue but even theirs has been known to miss things. Myself and most others here do not recommend relying on motion detect. G-sensor is much the same with unreliability, though some cams do this fairly well in some examples, yet others of the exact same type don't. You can't know which you'll get till you try.

There is one member here who reports that his U1000 radar was constantly activating inside his closed garage overnight, not sure if the cause was ever discovered. The Vantrue T2 also has a radar sensor, and it has been reported to work very well but it has a very long delay before the camera 'wakes up' and starts recording so it's not a good choice either. I know of no other cams with radar at this time, but I don't know everything.

It seems that right now the best choice for parking protection is full-time recording in a "low bitrate" mode. This has a low power draw and is constant, unlike time-lapse. The downside is that the images seen can have motion blur if the speed difference is high, but save for roadside parking, the car speeds where you are parked are usually slow, and you get good images then. Another issue you will have is powering multiple cams for longer time periods. You might get 3-4 hours with 2-channels and low bitrate in the average car. Using powerbanks will overcome this but adds to complexity, cost, and unless something like the Cellink Neo is used will require manually switching power sources or recording modes between driving and parking, then charging the powerbanks when they're not in use.

There are no easy and good solutions to having all directions reliably covered by dashcams when parking but it can be done. You may find the side cam thread HERE of some assistance, it covers this topic pretty well too. As to recommending cams for this that will depend on your budget and mounting situation, but there should be something workable for you.

Phil

 

[kamkar]

I am using 1080/30 low bitrate for parking, i dont trust the sensors but on the other hand low bitrate are also a bummer if something happen at speed, like your curbside parked car get a mirror torn off by a passing car.
BUT ! personally it is rare i park curbside to a "fast" road, i am more concerned about the deeds of lowlife skum in parking lots where mostly drive at a moderate speed.

I will always see parking mode as a novelty feature of dashcams, but it could be interesting if someone went all in making a parking camera,,,,,, a really smart one mind you.

 

[SawMaster]

it could be interesting if someone went all in making a parking camera,,,,,, a really smart one mind you.

Here here There's a large demand for really good parking cams, yet only a few seem to be focused on that aspect. TBH most folks only need moderate driving protection which 1080p30 delivers well enough. Shouldn't be too hard to incorporate a simple version of that and concentrate on some good parking schemes instead. Vanture has a good radar, Street Guardian has good pre-buffering, Blackvue has a decent motion detect, my example of the B1W has a near-perfect g-sensor, and several cams do low-bitrate reliably. It's just that nobody has put all this (or even most of it) into one cam and done it all right yet Maybe someday

Phil

 

[kamkar]

My vote are for separate dedicated parking camera, and if you are that type dedicated cabin camera for the Uber / lyft people out there ( the latter should probably be a detachable remote camera so you can bury the main unit and the evidence deep in your car )

I am not a fan of mixing, each to what he do best i say.

 

[jokiin]

Street Guardian has good pre-buffering

just to be clear, we don't do pre buffering, pre buffer is a band aid fix to try and improve the results of motion detect, which we also don't do, it introduces a number of other problems in the process

I don't like things that almost work which is why we don't do this

 

[SawMaster]

Sorry @jokiin I was thinking of your file saving time-scheme I guess. But still, the world needs something better in a dashcam for parking.

Phil