DASH CAM TO MONITOR VANDALISM

2chains

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Sad to say I have a problem with vandalism ie. keying of my vehicles at my workplace. The parking lot is outside and I'm considering the dual lens dashcams that have an interior/cabin view as the videos I see of them give you a decent view of who is going by....

I'm wondering if others here can offer some feedback or advice using the dual lens dash cams with interior/cabin view. I'm looking at the new release section of the forum and see these are becoming more popular.
 
You would be better off with something external.
 
Thanks for the reply. Thought about the external cameras but didn't think they were very stealthy? I do have a front dash cam but they saw that and proceeded accordingly.
 
You might ask the company to install security cameras.
 
Thanks for the reply. They put their head in the sand hence my need for some proof.

I'm surprised there isn't a better interior 360 option with todays tech.
 
You might want to have a look at the new B2W cam. It has two easily rotatable lenses which you can aim towards the parts of the car you want covered :) AFAIK no other cam has this feature. Just remember to re-aim the cams for driving when you set off again ;) I'm using a Samsung EVO Select 128 GB card in my B2W and getting somewhere around 8 hours recording time ( I haven't checked exactly). Mine has been running 24/7 for a few months now with no problems at all and it's probably going to remain as my primary cam. One small issue you may have in using it like this is that the 'cabin cam' automatically switches to IR when night comes, and the IR illuminators will glare back from window glass making it harder to see much outside, but I think it would pick up someone close enough to key your paint. IIRC those illuminators can be switched off in the menu, and then you'd get better exterior pics at night at the cost of losing some brightness inside the car. Where I park I just leave the main cam forward and swing the interior cam to my driver's side when parked at home since that's where I'm most likely to spot trouble :sneaky:

Some other 'Uber cams' like the N2 Pro might also be useful, but would require twisting the entire cam and having the lenses stuck 180 degrees apart no matter where you set it. You may not have space to do that and to me anyway that's kind of awkward as I like my mounts tight, which makes swiveling the whole cam an issue :rolleyes: Cams with a remote interior module like the A129 Duo IR don't allow horizontal aiming at all once mounted. The A129 does have excellent parking modes though and might fit your needs anyway.

With whatever cam(s) you choose, you need to be aware that this kind of usage is hard on a car battery and will affect it's service life, shortening that perhaps as much as 50% if it's small, and it can run your battery down so much that the car won't start if the battery is small and old, especially in cold weather. Most hardwire kits have a low-voltage shutoff feature to protect your battery but that stops the cam from recording afterward so there's a trade-off with these. The better HWK's will have selectable voltage cutoff levels and are the smarter way to go :cool: You may also want to use a powerbank instead, but you'll have to remember to charge it after use. Many folks just keep 2 of these with one charging at home while the other is in use. There are dashcam-specific powerbank systems like the Cellink, but those are expensive and may not recharge fully under your normal driving circumstances. I have a very large battery in my workvan but even it gets stressed from my cam use. I estimate that I'm losing about 20% of it's service life, but it's not too expensive and I figure my costs are still under $0.50 per day, which I don't mind spending for the peace of mind my constant recording gives me :love:

You can find threads, reviews, and vids on the cams I've mentioned here on DCT.
Phil
 
You might want to have a look at the new B2W cam
Now B2W dash cam available on the market, and you can tag me for discount code if you want to get one!
 
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@SawMaster thanks for the info. I was thinking of going with three cams up front with two facing the rear but will definitely check things out. The info on the power source is good to know. I have a 30m commute so will have to be careful on my choice.
 
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