Confused First Time Purchaser

[Captain]

After an exhaustive research to try to find a dash cam to my liking, I am very discouraged. Is there not a dash cam made in the USA? I have been watching a lot of cop stops on Youtube. That is very disturbing. The fact that dishonest cops are breaking the law and need to be checked. So I'm looking for a good quality dash cam that will not only cover the road before me, but a cop at the side window as well. I think I have it narrowed down with some of the features I would like. Quality, well made and tested. Reputable company. Capacitor, not battery. Stealthy. Screen, preferably touch. Good support. I only want to make one purchase, with no disappointments, or need to return it. Is that asking too much? It seems like they all have problems. Please help.

 

[Deleted member 46308]

Welcome to DCT @Captain Street Guardian products would be a good starting point Have a great Thanksgiving!

 

[Ralph2]

Off hand.. it is asking a lot and to limit it to products made in the USA.. sorry, you are really asking for the impossible. Short of having access to some to the military grade toys..and, access to a lot of cash.. you will need to put up with inferior products like the rest of us.

 

[Captain]

Thanks Gabacho. Sure you wouldn't prefer a cam made in Mexico? It looks like you have the Australian one you suggest. Are you happy with it? It looks good, do you use both cameras, and does it cover the side driver's window?

 

[Captain]

Off hand.. it is asking a lot and to limit it to products made in the USA.. sorry, you are really asking for the impossible. Short of having access to some to the military grade toys..and, access to a lot of cash.. you will need to put up with inferior products like the rest of us.

 

[Captain]

At least I'm in good company!

 

[Captain]

Is it necessary to have the 2 camera version Street Guardian to cover the driver side window? It seems to me if I just had one camera and it was necessary to manually point the camera towards the driver's window, that wouldn't be a problem.

 

[Captain]

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

 

[Deleted member 46308]

Thanks Gabacho. Sure you wouldn't prefer a cam made m in Mexico? It looks like you have the Australian one you suggest. Are you happy with it? It looks good, do you use both cameras, and does it cover the side driver's window?

At some point in time we all buy something made in Mexico. I am very happy with Street Guardian products, and the service and support is superb. You might want to review some of the posts by @Dashmellow as he does a great job with side facing cameras. I have tried several different cameras and configurations, and I have found for my needs Street Guardian products are what works best for me. Also, search for @SawMaster and his posts as well he is a McGyver type guy who gets great results. Good luck in your search.

 

[SawMaster]

I'm all for supporting our own economy but if you want a good dashcam you'll be buying it from an overseas manufacturer- just the facts of life. Now that we're past that, it becomes a question of whether you want one cam which you can turn by hand, or do want a dual-channel cam? And you must consider that people can approach from either side of the car too, or both sides together.

If you want a single channel cam that rules out all the 'wedge' cams as they can't be turned. The Aukey DR-01 seems to be a good choice here with a screen, and the original Mobius or WR-1 would be good but they have no LCD screen. On the cheaper end of things but reliable would be the G1W-S. A dual-channel cam can cover one side too and would not need any input from you which makes that a viable option. The SG9663DC would be excellent here and the Mini 0906 looks pretty good too. Something to remember is that no cam is perfect- all will have some kind of quirk or deficiency so you have to decide what you can live with.

Something to be aware of is that while recording video in public is generally legal in the US, the recording of audio is regulated on State and local levels and may have specific restrictions or requirements involved to be legal. For instance, here in SC it's a felony to record audio without agreed consent, and to have audio on a dashcam vid might render it inadmissible as evidence- you need to look into that locally. My approach is a separate hidden audio recording device along with 4 cams. Mini recorders are cheap these days and even if that causes me problems I'll still have all my video which can leverage my case to allow the audio anyway.

Weclome to DCT and I hope you're enjoying Thanksgiving!
Phil

 

[Captain]

Thanks Phil. What part of SC are you in? Can you elaborate on your last two sentences: My approach is a separate hidden audio recording device along with 4 cams. Mini recorders are cheap these days and even if that causes me problems I'll still have all my video which can leverage my case to allow the audio anyway. So do you have a primary front facing cam, one on each side and rear, and a hand held audio backup recorder. Are you audio recording illegally with your recorder hidden? Most, if not all the cop stops I've seen on Youtube, they have audio. And they all claim 1st Amendment right to do it. Can you quote the law forbidding them in SC? A felony is serious.

 

[kamkar]

Welcome to the party Captain.

If you are hell bend on a American made product, then that rule out just about all commercial grade dashcams.
If customer care and support are high on your list that pretty much narrow the field down to street guardian, their approach to those matters are second to none in this field and a lot better than you will find in other fields of consumer electronics.
Not that its much needed, but if you are unlucky with a SG product the boss himself and a worldwide network of resellers will jump as soon as they get the chance
Street Guardian are a Australian brand, but they do build their cameras in China, but they have standards and so their cameras are not among the cheapest of cameras out there, by now SG do have both a cheap and med and high end solutions, but still none of them are cheap cuz cheap dont mean Chinese cheap for this Aussie brand.

Many of us addicts have full coverage ( 4 cameras ) and some of us even more, but up until now such systems more or less had to be made up of several single cameras, but things are moving forward and this year 2017/18 are the first season where you can get worthwhile dual-channel systems so with 2 sets you can cover all 4 sides and you only have 2 memory cards where the footage are stored Vs 4 if you have single cameras.
Next year i think we will start to see worthwhile quad channel systems, the components are already there but makers have not yet pulled the trigger on such systems, i think they bite the bullet and wait and see how dual channel systems will sell.

You can also find other brands that can deliver the same grade of footage and you might even find those a bit cheaper, but they will not have the customer response SG have as far as i can tell.
Normally in here if you post in the SG subforums and its a problem or for that matter pretty much anything the response time from a official SG person are measured in minutes most of the time.

 

[SawMaster]

Technically my audio recording could be deemed illegal, but there are some 'gray areas' of the law here which could be brought into play to help with that. For instance you can record audio if it is only used to document or refresh your own memory and is never played in the presence of anyone else. And there's the angle of intent, which I can claim I did not intend to record audio. But this only comes into play if it is discovered and if they choose to attempt to prosecute me over it. If my computer got hacked where a copy is stored the recording could find it's way to the Media or the internet and I don't think they'd want that to happen any more than I want to be prosecuted over it No guarantees in life but I think I can avoid legal problems because I know what the law says and how their system works

The Federal government regulates video recording and the most cited reference is "Glik v Cunniffe" 1st Appeals 2012 which was reiterated in several other Districts, but recently the 9th Appeals Court ruled differently so in that District you might have problems. Audio recording is in the realm of State laws and those vary widely. These are generally referred to as "One Party Consent" where you don't need to inform or ask permission of those being recorded (Texas etal) and "Two Party Consent" such as here in SC where you must ask and obtain the permission of the person(s) being recorded and stop recording if that is not given, erasing or otherwise destroying any recording of them made prior to that point. The only exceptions here are Stores and other places generally accessed by the public to use signage which gives them automatic consent, or with Government employees recording as part of their official duties. And there are other variations so you must make local inquires to know where you stand. There is no Federal right to record audio in the US no matter what you see on TV or the internet. Just because they weren't prosecuted over it doesn't give you immunity from the law.

I've got a front cam, two side cams, and a cam in the rear of my workvan (with plans for more ) and just one in front in my second vehicle for now but it's getting a rear cam soon (and maybe a temporary one placed there today) Dashcams can be addicting and I've definitely got the bug

Phil

 

[Deleted member 46308]

Welcome to the party Captain.

If you are hell bend on a American made product, then that rule out just about all commercial grade dashcams.
If customer care and support are high on your list that pretty much narrow the field down to street guardian, their approach to those matters are second to none in this field and a lot better than you will find in other fields of consumer electronics.
Not that its much needed, but if you are unlucky with a SG product the boss himself and a worldwide network of resellers will jump as soon as they get the chance
Street Guardian are a Australian brand, but they do build their cameras in China, but they have standards and so their cameras are not among the cheapest of cameras out there, by now SG do have both a cheap and med and high end solutions, but still none of them are cheap cuz cheap dont mean Chinese cheap for this Aussie brand.

Many of us addicts have full coverage ( 4 cameras ) and some of us even more, but up until now such systems more or less had to be made up of several single cameras, but things are moving forward and this year 2017/18 are the first season where you can get worthwhile dual-channel systems so with 2 sets you can cover all 4 sides and you only have 2 memory cards where the footage are stored Vs 4 if you have single cameras.
Next year i think we will start to see worthwhile quad channel systems, the components are already there but makers have not yet pulled the trigger on such systems, i think they bite the bullet and wait and see how dual channel systems will sell.

You can also find other brands that can deliver the same grade of footage and you might even find those a bit cheaper, but they will not have the customer response SG have as far as i can tell.
Normally in here if you post in the SG subforums and its a problem or for that matter pretty much anything the response time from a official SG person are measured in minutes most of the time.

+1

 

[DT MI]

...And there are other variations so you must make local inquires to know where you stand....

I cannot agree more that you have to determine locally what is and is not permissible. As Phil mentioned there are generally '1 party consent' and '2 party consent' jurisdictions but even those may have local idiosyncrasies. Michigan is a '2 party consent' state which means that all parties being recorded must give consent.

However the Michigan law is based on eavesdropping prohibitions and the courts have ruled that as long as you're recording your own voice it's legal to include others in the recording. A real world scenario would be you have a dash cam that records audio. As long as you're in the vehicle it's legal to record audio because you are party to the recording - but if you were to exit the vehicle and continue recording the other occupants without their consent it's now a crime.

 

[Captain]

The SG9663DC seems to be a popular one. Is there a SG that's a little cheaper that only has one camera and could cover a potential cop stop? I don't mind having to manipulate it if it is adjustable.

 

[DT MI]

The SG9663DC seems to be a popular one. Is there a SG that's a little cheaper that only has one camera and could cover a potential cop stop? I don't mind having to manipulate it if it is adjustable.

The SG9665XS might suit your needs.

https://streetguardian.cam/sg9665xs

 

[randy]

After an exhaustive research to try to find a dash cam to my liking, I am very discouraged. Is there not a dash cam made in the USA? I have been watching a lot of cop stops on Youtube. That is very disturbing. The fact that dishonest cops are breaking the law and need to be checked. So I'm looking for a good quality dash cam that will not only cover the road before me, but a cop at the side window as well. I think I have it narrowed down with some of the features I would like. Quality, well made and tested. Reputable company. Capacitor, not battery. Stealthy. Screen, preferably touch. Good support. I only want to make one purchase, with no disappointments, or need to return it. Is that asking too much? It seems like they all have problems. Please help.

Hey Captain,
What state are you in? Sometimes in dealing with cops you will be outside your vehicle as well. I have a camera that looks like a fit bit that I wear everywhere I go. I got in on eBay, it’s called a “wearable braclet camera” and uses a 32gb micro/1080p/date time stamp.

 

[DT MI]

I am about to order the SG9665XS V2 from Amazon. It looks like it could meet my needs. Can anybody see it there is anything I need to order with it such as card or wires(to have it hardwired) I know it's almost time to chow down on some turkey, but I would be more thankful if I got this done first.

Both Amazon listings that I found include a memory card so you should be OK on that front. As to doing a hard wire that's not something that needs to be done immediately so go with the 12V adapter that comes with the camera and see how that works out for you. You can always change that at some point in the future.

 

[Captain]

Hey Captain,
What state are you in? Sometimes in dealing with cops you will be outside your vehicle as well. I have a camera that looks like a fit bit that I wear everywhere I go. I got in on eBay, it’s called a “wearable braclet camera” and uses a 32gb micro/1080p/date time stamp.

randy, do you have a link for that? sounds cool and then I can forget about a dash cam for that purpose and just get one for the front but still don't have a clue which one. I'm in SC