Cam for police encounters

eyedrop

New Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2018
Messages
2
Reaction score
1
Country
United States
Looking to buy first dash cam. I have been thinking of purchasing the A119 but have read that a more expensive camera is worth the investment.

I'm not really looking for anything fancy like cloud connectivity or smartphone app. I just want something simple and robust/high quality and the main "must have" features like good night time quality, sd card failure warning, excellent battery/capaitor quality, etc...

I live in Arizona so the unit must be able to put up with high heat, and retain high capacity. I also need the unit to hold high capacity SD card. Atleast a good 8 to 12 hours of recording.

Most problems Ive had are police encounters that I would like recorded, so high quality audio is a must. Im also thinking a 2ch cam with interior facing lens might be a good idea? Id imagine it would double up as a rear facing camera for rear end collisions which is a plus. Is 2ch front+interior recommended for my needs?

My budget isnt a concern, but I dont want to pay for bells and whistles I dont need. As long as it covers my butt in sticky situations reliably, Im good. At the same time, I've heard people say the A119 is just a "toy" and not a real dashcam. But yet despite the low cost, it seems like a camera that would work good for my needs, minus the interior view (which Im not sure is always useful. Or is it?).

So really, I just need a decent "enthusiast" level cam with the basic "must have features". Are there statistics on what the most common types of collisions are? At what point are features considered "luxuries"?
 
Thinkware do some 2ch dashcams which have Front, Rear & internal IR camera options, check them out as they maybe useful for your needs..
 
Most problems I've had are police encounters that I would like recorded

o_O?

You make yourself appear to be either a really bad driver who is stopped by the police because of that, or a driver that ignores the rules of the road, making the police need to stop you. Or a getaway driver from bank heists! :D:D:D

In all the time I have been driving (more years than your age) I have only ever had one police encounter.


However, there are are dozens of reviews in the reviews thread to have a read through, some of which are duos. (y)
 
o_O?

You make yourself appear to be either a really bad driver who is stopped by the police because of that, or a driver that ignores the rules of the road, making the police need to stop you. Or a getaway driver from bank heists! :D:D:D

In all the time I have been driving (more years than your age) I have only ever had one police encounter.


However, there are are dozens of reviews in the reviews thread to have a read through, some of which are duos. (y)
He lives in the USA, nearly all the requests for cameras to record the police come from the USA, seems to be a normal requirement over there!
 
He lives in the USA, nearly all the requests for cameras to record the police come from the USA, seems to be a normal requirement over there!

I was just wondering how many he could possibly have had! :)

Like I said I have had one. (UK of course)...
 
Indeed the bad cop phenomena seem to be widespread in the US, which make me wonder just how bad it is elsewhere that are commonly know to have very bad police.

Here former high ranking cops have been charged by current cops for massive fraud with police funds :rolleyes:
Most of the people i have known have had extensive records, some with massive weapons & drugs & robbery charges and explosives use.
And still today those guys have a pretty laid back experience with the police.
on the other hand it do seem like the current gangsters have a more profound interest of the police, maybe they are more criminal ( dont think so ) or just more stupid ( think so ) cuz those guys get padded down daily and their cars searched, a problem nor really seen in my generation of crooks.
Myself i have only 1 minor infraction with police involved, but that was before my parasitic life really kicked off.

When i was pulled over and the cops found the child baseball bat in my car they complained but i was given the bat back, i told them well you can take it, but i just go to the forest and saw of a nice branch of wood, and its not yet illegal to carry a stick of wood here. ( the latter will probably change as that's the level of stupid the people the Danes vote for have )
 
Last edited:
OP here. Ive had maybe 3 or 4 police encounters in the past 5 years. Each time there was a lame excuse to pull me over (like "a suspicious vehicle matched this description"), or minor traffic violations (accidental right on red, my fault), which may lead to roadside sobriety tests, etc... Police around here play hard ball and do everything by the book. The city is over-populated with them, and they are bored. I would prefer to cover my butt and video footage would be a great tool for a lawyer in case something happens (im not perfect).
 
In 4 million miles of driving in the US, I've only encountered a few 'bad' cops. NONE of the bad cops ever threatened me physically, or asked for money. I'm not confrontational with them, and my goal is to leave the scene on my own power, preferably not in handcuffs. (the one cop who threatened me physically (Verbally) was trying to scare the crap out of a dumb teen on a motorcycle...god bless him!)
Even when cops are 'bad', some are just having a bad day, give them some breathing space and most back off.

I still require my cams to have usable recorded audio! I have other situations as a trucker where somebody is outside of my window, sometimes somebody with authority, it may help to have a record of what they said.

The A119 is a good choice. It's my 'default' camera in my tractor trailer, and i have the GPS enabled on it. I also run a second forward facing cam in my truck.
 
Thats the problem here, police dont have to have probably cause to pull you over, but they are nice so most times they say its a DUI check though you dont get to blow in their meter or get swapped for drugs.
Some times i think its just cuz they are bored, so i always chat them up.
Like the one time where i overtook a police car and probably broke the speed limit too, so they followed to where we parked ( at which time i was on to the unmarked car )
So they started to talk smack, but then i saw one of then i met on the coast fishing so at once i turned the talk into fishing and that quickely bored them so they drove off after telling me to chill a little on the throttle.

I find the best approach to handling cops are to just play nice and pretend you are a bad guy with something to hide, on the other hand if you give them grief today they are much more inclined to return that as opposed to the good old days 30 - 36 years ago.
Back in the day you could fight with cops and get a good beating at the station, today if you sneeze near a cop you will get booked, so both crooks and cops alike have become pussies it seem to be.
I knew a mason that was strong as a bear, when he freaked out in a drunken stupor on some bar the police knew to send 5-6 guys as that's what it took to handle him, and if the come felt like looses at the bar he would get his ass kicked at the station just to make sure everyone was square.

I am fully aware of the apparent problems with the constitution ( as aware as a Dane can be at least )
And it do look weird to me and as if laws are broken, so i dont get why that dont get fixed even if it took yet another a constitutional amendment.
No doubt the Danish constitution need some tune up too, actually if i was to form a political party it would be called the constitutional party and out main agenda would be to fix the constitution.

To be honest i would probably also have a bad cop camera too if i was a American, cuz it is my firm belief that wrong doers should be punished for their wrong doing, and much wrong doing should not be tolerated from the people that's there to uphold the law.
Cops here are not so high strung, i get out of my car every time i get pulled over, i do this as i do not like people leaning / hovering over me, so i get out of my car and face them head on, a thing i will have to remember not to do if i ever get to go on my dream great American road trip.
I might even have a bad cop camera too here, but so far the surplus cameras i have had had not quite fulfilled my ideas for such a camera ( mostly lacking night performance )
But i have experimented a little with "selfie" cameras in my car.

Mostly using the Mobius cameras and the Joovuu X camera.

Getting busted videos.

Selfie cameras.
 
It used to be the polite thing to do when cops stopped you....get out of the car. Now they want you to stay in the vehicle....and wait...while they run the plate, do whatever notifications they need to do, etc. I turn on my interior light, shot off the vehicle, and don't move much. :)
 
yup. if I get the red and blue lights behind me: pull over in a spot that's safe for me and the officer, kill motor, driver's window down, and both hands on steering wheel where they're easily visible. having said that, I do feel that I have been pulled over for being brown-skinned and/or my car is a bit loud. but that's a rare case these days since I now drive quite tame.

but back on track...the A119 is relatively inexpensive but you'll be doing yourself a disservice if you count it out as cheap. it's very reliable and has fantastic image quality. I may one day install a discrete interior camera that would have the driver's window in view but that's not a priority at this point.
 
The dual channel dash camera we are working on is not far to release, good hardware spec.
 
The dual channel dash camera we are working on is not far to release, good hardware spec.

Both cameras at 1080p?
 
Yep keep your eyes peeled for the Viofo A129 dual version.

Alternatively, consider the A119S v2 (currently on sale due to the imminent launch of the Pro version), or the new A119 Pro. You'll find the A119S recommended by the Dashcam Talk website as one of the best cameras: https://dashcamtalk.com

A119Pro reviews should be surfacing shortly.

So don't overlook it. The A119S v2 is one of the best cameras out there, especially in low light.

As for recording conversations, especially outside of the car, have you ever though of having a separate audio recorder eg: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B01BWMXUGU
Could start recording when pulled over and leave it in the centre console or on the dash. If asked, it's a dictaphone.
 
Yep keep your eyes peeled for the Viofo A129 dual version.

Alternatively, consider the A119S v2 (currently on sale due to the imminent launch of the Pro version), or the new A119 Pro. You'll find the A119S recommended by the Dashcam Talk website as one of the best cameras: https://dashcamtalk.com

A119Pro reviews should be surfacing shortly.

So don't overlook it. The A119S v2 is one of the best cameras out there, especially in low light.

As for recording conversations, especially outside of the car, have you ever though of having a separate audio recorder eg: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B01BWMXUGU
Could start recording when pulled over and leave it in the centre console or on the dash. If asked, it's a dictaphone.
Not support such separate audio recording.
Audio quality will be better than current model.
 
I think there was a little bit of misunderstanding here, I wasn't suggesting feeding audio from the A129 to an external recorder, rather using a separate external recorder in it's own right to record audio if detail is needed.
 
Is there a market for a tiny, separate audio recorder, that can be hidden in the car? Looped audio segments, card that will hold days of audio? Preferably easily hardwired?
 
Is there a market for a tiny, separate audio recorder, that can be hidden in the car? Looped audio segments, card that will hold days of audio? Preferably easily hardwired?

does the Mobius have an audio only option? would hold a lot of audio if it did
 
I have a little logitec MP3 player, same size as a mobius.
I have been using it to record all conversations with the public branches when i was in the process of getting early retirement ( which i sure as hell dident expect to get judging from how other and more sick than i people are treated )
 
Back
Top