Camera that suits my needs?

[flyguyj]

After witnessing a young kid almost get run over at a stop light yesterday (not the driver's fault), I've decided it's time to get a dashcam. I'm having a hard time sifting through the endless choices and was hoping for some help.

First and foremost, I'm looking to mount it to my existing factory rearview mirror (via a clamp somehow ... I'm not convinced on adhesive or suction cups).

The other features I want:
- permanent power
- I want it to start recording when I start driving (I don't want to have to remember to turn it on with a button).
- I *don't* want it to stop recording when I'm stuck in traffic ("parked") or at one of those lengthy red lights
- I'd also like that motion-detection feature for when I'm in the store for an hour or so
- I'm pretty partial to widescreen video, and I'd like fullHD
- Removable media I can take to the computer (it's looking like this is standard on most, if not all)

Optional / Do I need it? :
- GPS ... I don't think I care about it, should I?
- Screen ... again, I don't care about a screen, but should I?

I'm not on a budget, but that doesn't mean I want to spend a ton of $ on it, either. I'd like something around the $100 mark, but I'm flexible if it's worth the extra money.

Thanks for all your advice!

 

[jokiin]

plenty of cameras can do what you want, budget will decide which one you buy I guess

 

[flyguyj]

I guess I'm looking for some recommendations!

 

[Jarod]

Welcome @flyguyj, I think they could help you better if you can give them a budget in mind.

 

[jokiin]

he did mention $100 and what he wants to do is available in that budget, spending more will just give more quality options, reliability, support etc

 

[Jarod]

@jokiin: Oops, my bad. Of all the things I read, I missed the most important one

@flyguyj: Based from my lurkings on this forum, the Mobius would be a good option for you. Compared to a lot of cheaper or similar priced units, this had been the well discussed one for a reason. Good luck on the hunt!

 

[Deleted member 46308]

Welcome flyguyj

 

[russ331]

First and foremost, I'm looking to mount it to my existing factory rearview mirror (via a clamp somehow ... I'm not convinced on adhesive or suction cups).

Welcome to DCT. Please upload a photo of your mirror & it's stem, so we can see if any available mounts might fit. What car do you drive?

An alternative mounting solution is the sun visor mount...

 

[Talay]

....I'm not on a budget, but that doesn't mean I want to spend a ton of $ on it, either. ......

I came here without a budget and have (almost) decided on Cellink B battery back up plus expansion pack hard wired to car with ............... still undecided 2 x dual or individual cam x 4 solution.

Spent about 50 hours plus on research and there is no one best solution as they all are at best part developed and some are simply not fit for purpose. If someone could bring out a decent model with always on and data to the cloud it would wipe the rest off the map.

 

[SawMaster]

Maybe so, but the cost would be prohibitive for many buyers. Every cam is a compromise so we won't ever have a perfect solution, only good ones.

@flyguyj: Mobius is good, but the 'motion detect' isn't pre-buffered so there is a delay in it's activation. Testing has shown that the current draw is very similar to when recording with it so there's only the advantage of saving wear on the SD card and of keeping the cam cool when not operating. Against popular advice, I've left my Mobius running constantly for up to 3 days with no problems so far but it really isn't designed for that constant use (no dash-cam is). Another good choice would be something in the Street Guardian series; these are one of the better-developed cams and good build quality. More basic but some like it is the 2ch Blacksys 100 (be sure you're looking that the 2ch, the 1ch is similar). There are not very many good cams in this price range but going lower will likely disappoint.

Whatever you decide on, before you buy read the forums here to see what the owners have encountered in use. We're real people here, not shills doing reviews for $$ like you may encounter elsewhere. And buy only from recommended sellers so you don't get a fake.

Phil

 

[Witness Auto Dash Cam]

Maybe the Papago Gosafe 260 although it might cost you around $100-200
The good thing is that the it just clips on to your existing rearview mirror rather than having an extra device mounted on my windshield.
This one would cause less distraction. And the Zoom feature when you are on trips or when you are trying to capture a license plate.
The video quality is Full HD It is so crisp and vibrant. And if you like without the screen, you can turn the LCD screen off and just concentrate on driving and forget that it is actually recording.

 

[flyguyj]

Thanks for all the inputs everyone. I went with a Mobius and got a $7 clamp to mount it to the stem of the rearview mirror. I also got a 12v DC to USB adapter that I hardwired to the truck battery. I couldn't be happier with how it all turned out.

 

[David Reed]

Check out some brands because often they care about their customer needs.