Can Auto Start Recordingn be Shut Off? Plus a few other questions...

[josuepuentes]

Hello everyone. I recently purchased a mini0906 for my wife’s new Lexus IS350 after her last vehicle was totaled. Having had a dash cam for that accident would’ve helped her, specially since the stupid insurance company keeps trying to pin the accident on her even though she was the one T-Boned.
In any case, I bought the dash cam a few weeks ago and I like the clarity of the video recorded, how compact the camera is, and all of the features. Wish it had WiFi too but it’s ok. Nevertheless, one thing we noticed that it didn’t say on the Amazon product page was that the camera automatically starts recording when it comes on, which is of course after every time the car is turned on since her Car Lighter Adapter isn’t on uninterrupted power. My question is as it’s titled above, can this be turned off? However, at the same time, If it’s possible, I’m wondering if it would be ok to do so. The manual on the camera is too vague and it talks about loop recording, which I attributed as that the camera will record the last 1, 3, or 5 minutes from the time it’s activated. However, I’m now noticing that it just records 3 minute clips from the time it turns on and auto starts recording. Is this just how the camera is supposed to work? To constantly be recording 3 minute clips and then if you happen to get in an accident that’s how it recorded the event? Or can I, as I asked above, be able to turn off the “auto start record when turned on” feature and the camera will still record the last 3 minutes if activated (i.e. an accident)?
Currently, each time she turns on the car, she stops the recording by pressing the OK button but obviously leaves the camera still ON, but as I said before, I’m wondering if by doing so it would even record anything. Specially since a few days ago some guy cut us off on the road and I pressed the OK button to record, but it only recorded from the time I pressed the button, not the last few moments.
Finally, one last question I have is regarding the temperature the camera itself is exposed to. I am in Florida. Orlando to be precise. Our temp has been around low 90s every day, for now. I have an extreme micro SD card on it, and so far have had no trouble with the recorded videos, but the camera always shows a temperature of 130 even 140 sometimes. I even attached it to the vehicle’s safety camera enclosure instead of directly onto the windshield to give it extra shade, but I’m concermed that the high temps will start messing with the camera. Has anyone ran into a similar issue or have any placement tips for Florida climate? Thanks for all of your help and input!

 

[jokiin]

leave the camera alone, you need it to work the way it does already, you're not understanding how they work

 

[StephanW]

To clarify the process of the camera a bit more, it is designed to auto start recording. It will (by default) record in 3 minutes files. Once the memory card gets full, it will remove the oldest one and use that space to record a new file. If there is an accident the G-force sensor will lock the file so it won't get removed. You can manually mark a file as locked by pressing the UP button while recording. You will see the lock symbol change in the top right corner.

Having the camera just on (and not recording) is useless since it won't keep any video images stored. Only once you start recording the images will be saved, and you then can lock the file (making it not overwrite if it would be the oldest file) by hand (UP button) or the G-force sensor will do it automatic if the car is in an accident.

Hope this helps.