Dash Cam Reviewers

[petepete]

As a new member ..

and having been actively looking to buy 2 dashcams.. to aid in reversing and security whilst away from my vehicle..

I cannot see the point of endless amateur reviews on endless derivatives of dashcams.

Why cant one of the manufacturers realise...

The B40 probably has the best case design and if they kept the 170 lens and raised the bar to top notch hd rather than mid , again same with night vision .... and included an av in so we can use the rear mounted one as a reverse camera and gave the option of gps....

Its just annoying to have searched through countless videos and realised non of the manufacturers listen to their potential customers and would rather keep the market fragmented with endless new dashcams that dont offer a complete solution.

And is it realy beyond manufacturers capability to get the things working with a 64 g card and allow the camera to be left running for up to 16 hours as a security recorder !

dull and unimaginative is how i would describe dashcam developers thus far....and you dont listen to customers.

 

[Boxerman]

As a new member ..

and having been actively looking to buy 2 dashcams..

I cannot see the point of endless amateur reviews on endless derivatives of dashcams.

Amateur reviewers usually give an honest opinion of the product and will tell you about the down sides of it whereas a manufacturer will not, they will produce highly edited videos to show only the strong points.

Why cant one of the manufacturers realise...

The B40 probably has the best case design and if they kept the 170 lens and raised the bar to top notch hd rather than mid , again same with night vision .... and included an av in so we can use the rear mounted one as a reverse camera and gave the option of gps....

Its just annoying to have searched through countless videos and realised non of the manufacturers listen to their potential customers and would rather keep the market fragmented with endless new dashcams that dont offer a complete solution.

And is it realy beyond manufacturers capability to get the things working with a 64 g card and allow the camera to be left running for up to 16 hours as a security recorder !

Each manufacturer makes what they consider to to be right for the market, different people want different things in a dashcam, some want GPS, some want a screen, Bluetooth, 2 channel, others don't. There is no single solution to suit everyone.
Much is made of security when parked, the truth is that in 9 cases out of 10 its a waste of time, if you want to record damage to or theft from you car, you need to have the camera outside the car, not inside.

Frank

 

[petepete]

I strongly disagree with the above..

Damage is done by other vehicles when parked and the camera s running stands a good chance of catching a plate number and regarding vandal damage you might just recognise the plank aproaching your car and even if the evidence is not conclusive you know exactly who if they are local...

what you and others have to realise is , a dash cam / parking cam simply needs to record the events very clearly and be discrete and in stelth mode while doing so and anything bought with all bells and whistles that doesnt do the basics is a bit of a pointless purchase at whatever bargain price !!!!

 

[GJHS]

Damage is done by other vehicles when parked and the camera s running stands a good chance of catching a plate number and regarding vandal damage you might just recognise the plank aproaching your car and even if the evidence is not conclusive you know exactly who if they are local...

 

[Boxerman]

My point exactly
Frank

 

[reverend]

Jokiin on here is looking at producing models similar to the B40 shape you like so keep an eye out for his new GuardTrak products

I don't see how a reversing view on a low resolution 1 inch screen is much good though. It would be better on a bigger screen but then you've lost your stealth unless the car has a screen you could always plug the back camera into that (assuming it has an input), although depending on the shape of the car it may not be much good anyway,

Like the guys have said everyone has different needs - for the parking stuff you're looking at the high end cameras anyway - you could always cobble something together using battery discharge devices and cheap always on cameras with capacitors - how long they would actually last though is anyones guess and that's why you pay more for the devices designed for that sort of running.

 

[petepete]

seen all his videos ...

why do you assume this self appointed reviewer must be correct !!!

I can state with total confidence, had i had parking/dash camera s front and rear in my car these past ten years -

I would have filmed the neighbour who dislodged my civic headlight...

I would have filmed the same neighbour hitting the side of my motorhome...

I would have filmed the teenager who keyed my lotus...

 

[reverend]

There are options out there like the Panorama that are available now and will let you catch people do that.

I had my car keyed last week so I'm looking at spending more and getting something that does a proper parking mode now - the Panorama X2 is the one I have my eye on right now

It sounds like you need to get something in quick to be honest as you're not having much luck there.

 

[russ331]

seen all his videos ...

why do you assume this self appointed reviewer must be correct !!!

What did you buy? G1W. Who's largely responsible for the sales success of the G1W? Techmoan. Who assumes that Techmoan is correct? You do!

 

[GJHS]

seen all his videos ...

why do you assume this self appointed reviewer must be correct !!!

I can state with total confidence, had i had parking/dash camera s front and rear in my car these past ten years -

I would have filmed the neighbour who dislodged my civic headlight...

I would have filmed the same neighbour hitting the side of my motorhome...

I would have filmed the teenager who keyed my lotus...

This forum is 90%. "Amateur Reviewers" and those who are here to learn from them. That's why we are here, to hear how it really performs for real people. Techmoan is popular because he speaks the truth and not only what the manufacturers wants you to hear. That and because he is also accurate.

The point is that outdoor cameras will capture more because of their wider view and night vision/IR illumination. That's the only point being made. Dash cam manufacturers realize that dash cams are not best for watching your car in your driveway so they don't focus on that improvement.

Most dash cams use Motion Detect and aren't perfect, especially at night. Dash cams running full time take a lot of storage. Most 32Gb cards only hold about 4 hours of video.

A better option may be to put a good quality dash cam with good night video, outside your car on your house to film at night. A camera with a dedicated 64GB card

 

[Dashmellow]

From my six year experience with CCTV systems and almost 3 year experience with dash cams I can say with confidence that motion detection is virtually useless if you want reliable surveillance. Either every little puff of wind in the leaves or bird that flies by will trigger it or you'll realize after the fact that the thing you needed most to capture wasn't. Full time, archived video or "maybe" short interval time lapse is the only way to go. If you want to protect and monitor a vehicle you have parked outside your place of residence or business the only truly reliable method is one or more dedicated IR CCTV cameras. The system on my home captures 4 cameras onto a 1 TB hard drive and will archive 3 weeks of 24/7 video before overwriting. In-vehicle cameras can be very useful in parking mode and I use this regularly with 2 cameras front and rear when I'm out-and-about but unless you've got 4 cameras and 360 degree coverage, many events may never be captured if they should approach from the sides.

 

[Nigel]

Most dash cams use Motion Detect and aren't perfect, especially at night. Dash cams running full time take a lot of storage. Most 32Gb cards only hold about 4 hours of video.

If a 32Gb card holds 4 hours at the standard 30 frames per second then it holds 40 hours at 3 fps with a 10th of the power consumption. How come dashcams use motion detect to save card space instead of reducing the frame rate like most surveillance systems? Wouldn't 3fps be perfectly adequate for parking mode?

 

[IRO]

It is a good idea anyway.
If somebody would like to buy samples for test or review, of course it is a good thing.
It is a good way to spread information about a product and get feedback directly from users. As a manufacturer, it is a good way to find out the fault of the products.
I support that.

 

[jokiin]

If a 32Gb card holds 4 hours at the standard 30 frames per second then it holds 40 hours at 3 fps with a 10th of the power consumption. How come dashcams use motion detect to save card space instead of reducing the frame rate like most surveillance systems? Wouldn't 3fps be perfectly adequate for parking mode?

It won't use a tenth of the power, doesn't work like that

How are you thinking it would know to switch between regular recordings at full frame rate and parking mode at a lower frame rate?

 

[Nigel]

It won't use a tenth of the power, doesn't work like that

How are you thinking it would know to switch between regular recordings at full frame rate and parking mode at a lower frame rate?

Well given that my Mini 0803 is connected to the car only by a regulated 5V USB cable and I like it that way, I guess the sensible ways are either to use the GPS to see a lack of significant movement - move more than 100m then it runs full frame rate for the next 5 minutes, or use motion detect with a fairly high threshold - if there isn't a lot of movement over 5 minutes then drop down to the lower frame rate. Must be easier to detect that than the normal trigger happy attempt not to miss something because you weren't recording at all so must wake up instantly on movement instead of waiting a few seconds to check.

Of course you could have an extra power feed from the ignition which is fine for an expensive camera but that doesn't work for the average person who buys a cheap camera and just plugs it into the cigar lighter socket, then complains that the camera drained the battery because the lighter socket is always on.

I know it wont use exactly a tenth of the power, but even if it only drops to a 5th then that means the car battery will last 5 times longer and there is a 5th of the heat being generated so being left in a parked car in full sun is much less of an issue.

 

[jokiin]

Easier said than done unfortunately

Would generate less heat although power draw difference would be negligible anyway

 

[Dashmellow]

If a 32Gb card holds 4 hours at the standard 30 frames per second then it holds 40 hours at 3 fps with a 10th of the power consumption. How come dashcams use motion detect to save card space instead of reducing the frame rate like most surveillance systems? Wouldn't 3fps be perfectly adequate for parking mode?

I know of no one in any commercial or residential setting who would use 3 fps for capturing footage as it is wholly inadequate. Although some professionals occasionally recommend going as low as 15 fps, in todays world of inexpensive multi-terabyte storage there is rarely a practical need for this in CCTV. As mentioned in my previous post on this subject, on my home system I am currently capturing 4 cameras onto a 1 TB hard drive that will archive 3 weeks of 24/7 video. (more actually) This is with all four cameras capturing 30 fps.

The whole point of any surveillance is to capture actionable evidence. So for example, if you observe the average speed of a car crossing your path when you are stopped at a red light you will find that it takes only a very few seconds for the vehicle to enter your field of view on say, your left and then disappear out of view on your right. In parking mode, similar events that last only a brief few seconds often occur. Even a smash and grab burglary may last only a few seconds or someone walking quickly past your car and keying your hood (bonnet) could also do so in a few brief seconds. At 3 fps you would capture virtually nothing useful if you were to capture anything at all. Edit: In Techmoan's video in GJHS's post #64 above, note that in Matt's casual demonstration it takes him exactly 9 seconds to vandalize three different sides of his vehicle.

The reason CCTV surveillance systems are designed to function at such slow frame-per-second rates is primarily that they are often used in static indoor environments like a store at night, a warehouse or an office where an individual entering the scene moving at a slow or modest speed can easily be photographed. Although there is a conceptual relationship, I think comparing CCTV and dash cams is an apples to oranges endeavor and many of the techniques and approaches one might use for one don't necessarily apply to the other.

 

[CheckYourLights]

I cannot see the point of endless amateur reviews on endless derivatives of dashcams.

dull and unimaginative is how i would describe dashcam developers thus far....and you dont listen to customers.

As a long time member and first time reviewer (BL950/G90) I just want to add that I believe that the more good and honest information out there the better.

Just like you would look on Amazon and read good and bad reviews about the TV you are about to buy from 100s of people and then on top of that and other research you would decide if the TV fits your entertainment needs.

The same thing happens with a car. If I am looking to buy a new or used car I would read as much information that these endless amateur reviews on endless derivatives of trim levels and specs can provide.

If you are looking for a DashCam and you were interested in a BL950/G90 you would be able to take a look at the wirte up by reverend and see some great inside and comparative shots. Then you could say well for cheaper I could get a G1W because I am not sure if the extra money is worth it.

Well in that case there is Sunny who has compared it to the entry level G1W. Then if you were looking at a higher end Camera you could take a look at my thread and see it compared to the 200+ dollar VicoVation Marcus 3 and see if you think that spending 3 times as much is worth it to you.

You would then take all this information in and decide what fits your budget and DashCam needs and go from there.

 

[petepete]

From my six year experience with CCTV systems and almost 3 year experience with dash cams I can say with confidence that motion detection is virtually useless if you want reliable surveillance. Either every little puff of wind in the leaves or bird that flies by will trigger it or you'll realize after the fact that the thing you needed most to capture wasn't. Full time, archived video or "maybe" short interval time lapse is the only way to go. If you want to protect and monitor a vehicle you have parked outside your place of residence or business the only truly reliable method is one or more dedicated IR CCTV cameras. The system on my home captures 4 cameras onto a 1 TB hard drive and will archive 3 weeks of 24/7 video before overwriting. In-vehicle cameras can be very useful in parking mode and I use this regularly with 2 cameras front and rear when I'm out-and-about but unless you've got 4 cameras and 360 degree coverage, many events may never be captured if they should approach from the sides.

I quite agree camera motion detector is rubish....


But who said you have to use that setting as all these cameras are designed to record when power is applied and it is such an easy job to trigger them with an external movement sensor applying power to them..

 

[reverend]

Yeah but then you still have a few seconds or so delay before they've fired up and start recording anything so you're still in the same boat as the TechMoan video.

The Panorama and other similar Korean cams have the best idea for parking mode in the car - where they're constantly recording and then when it does trigger it saves the seconds leading up to the trigger event.

I've got a couple of cheap cams we tried as baby monitors which I might try out for looking out the window - just don't want the bird over the road with the big fake tits thinking I'm taping her!!