Dash Cams really are over priced junk? F800

[RLS]

Agreed and that's a great narrative to help in the decision making. I had waited to see how the Waylens 360 and Blackvue 900 shook out, and not liking what I hearing. My #1 concern is having evidence of an accident since there are so many bad drivers in the wild. I would love to have front, rear, and an inside (lower res would be ok) cabin camera, but figure in a break-in I feel comfortable with insurance handling anything major. I rarely leave my car parked in a lot for very long so that mitigates the risk. I am retired and don't drive as much, in fact try to avoid anything remotely resembling a rush hour whenever possible and drive very little at night. I live in the south had summers are very hot and humid.

I am close to pulling the trigger on the A129 Duo, but also thinking of two A119Pros (or some other combo) as I would want to capture license plates and they seem to excel there.

I have the A129 Duo, and also the A119 Pro.

You won’t regret paying a slight premium for a dashcam with a Starvis sensor (1080P model: IMX291). The night performance is more important than the 1440p.

I would REALLY recommend the SG9663DC over the A129 Duo. The VIOFO is a great “mid range” dashcam, esp if you order the Bluetooth remote ($30), but when I compare video, I still like what I see with the SG9663DC tbh.

Also, I regularly pull video from my dashcams, and lemme tell you... trying to sync TWO separate dashcams for front and rear is a pain... lining up audio/video.


Checkout one of my IG: @thegapcam. You can see comparison videos for night performance. I’m currently playing with the Qvia QR790 for its 1440p Starvis.


Btw, if you are the type to tinker... you can make massive improvements to basically any dashcam on the market. No consumer grade dashcam is perfect. For example, all dashcams suffer from wind noise, stiff suspension, glare (esp if you have a coupe/windshield has lower angle), etc.


P.s. the waylens 360 is fun and all, but it was way too shaky with muffled audio in my coupes. I might throw it in another car with a softer ride.


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[IIAGDTR]

We were lucky in that we missed the flooding and any damage to our house which for us was very fortunate since it was in the closing process. Same with Hugo more or less, had it come in at its original predicted point down around Edisto Beach it would have been decimating to Charleston. I am so done with them!

I drove up last night and could have caught a couple of nice vids of some insanity. I just don't know how much worse it can get before we reach Mad Max status. I have always been careful but was shaken down around Bowman, SC, back in the 70s on my way home on my bike with my roommate. it's not even the shakedown as much as it increased my insurance which was painful for years.

I am definitely going to hold up a bit and see what this new SG camera offers. My car is only rarely parked for hours outside simply because I am retired. So for me getting clear daytime driving footage is the #1 priority with parking protection a bit distant second. I do want to get a battery pack for those situations. Also I can help but want video evidence of my NOT speeding in case that is needed.

- Richard

 

[IIAGDTR]

What are your requirements for a dashcam and RD?

I have basically every make/model dashcam available on the market, and have tried and tested them all in the hottest temperatures in SoCal (105F this recent summer).

Also, I run a R3 in 2 of my cars. It’s awesome to be able to pick up Ka band (used by CHP) at extreme distances, usually a solid 20 seconds before my Max360

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For me, an R3 with arrows would meet my needs. In SC laser blinders are illegal, although I understand they won't necessary shoot you in the spot if you have them. I came close to getting a Max360 when I bought my current car but then the R3 popped up and then I went into indecision mode. But an R3 with arrows, I'm ready to buy yesterday.

My ideal dash cam set up would be something like the Waylens 360 (yeah, I've read/heard its got issues) with an IR cabin camera. Would prefer to have incident footage uploaded to the cloud should the cam be stolen or damaged in accident. But for my main need, I want to have clear footage of any car causing an accident with me involved. Plus I just like tech and these would be fun.

 

[IIAGDTR]

I have the A129 Duo, and also the A119 Pro.

You won’t regret paying a slight premium for a dashcam with a Starvis sensor (1080P model: IMX291). The night performance is more important than the 1440p.

I would REALLY recommend the SG9663DC over the A129 Duo. The VIOFO is a great “mid range” dashcam, esp if you order the Bluetooth remote ($30), but when I compare video, I still like what I see with the SG9663DC tbh.

This is all great info, I am definitely looking into SG. My wife got me a cheap 2 ch cam last Christmas, but the rear is VGA (!) and I didn't want to bother installing it. More importantly, her feelings aren't hurt because she knew it was a placeholder until I found what I was looking for.

I don't drive much at night because I don't need to, so whatever is best for daytime would be my preference.

I sure appreciate everyone's help and advice here. We are in the middle of our move so I am on and offline a lot for a while.

 

[RLS]

For me, an R3 with arrows would meet my needs. In SC laser blinders are illegal, although I understand they won't necessary shoot you in the spot if you have them. I came close to getting a Max360 when I bought my current car but then the R3 popped up and then I went into indecision mode. But an R3 with arrows, I'm ready to buy yesterday.

My ideal dash cam set up would be something like the Waylens 360 (yeah, I've read/heard its got issues) with an IR cabin camera. Would prefer to have incident footage uploaded to the cloud should the cam be stolen or damaged in accident. But for my main need, I want to have clear footage of any car causing an accident with me involved. Plus I just like tech and these would be fun.

I like the range of R3, and the arrows of 360. So I run both in my cop/ticket magnet car. I am looking into AL Priority system, since you can claim “dual use” with its feature of functioning as Parking sensors lol. Also, in CA, it is illegal to have laser jammers... but it’s a fix-it ticket LOLLLLLLLL. Would be better/cheaper than the 5 tickets I’ve received so far this year...

Well, a waylens 360 would be a good interior dashcam to supplement a true dual 1080p setup. It worked pretty well with the car parked lol.

For IR, you could DIY lol. Would be pretty simple...


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[RLS]

This is all great info, I am definitely looking into SG. My wife got me a cheap 2 ch cam last Christmas, but the rear is VGA (!) and I didn't want to bother installing it. More importantly, her feelings aren't hurt because she knew it was a placeholder until I found what I was looking for.

I don't drive much at night because I don't need to, so whatever is best for daytime would be my preference.

I sure appreciate everyone's help and advice here. We are in the middle of our move so I am on and offline a lot for a while.

Starvis sensors handle light, or lack of, very well. TBH, sensor resolution above 1080p is nice and all, only if you have a high quality lens.

How hot does it get in your area? This would help narrow down dashcam choices by a lot haha.


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[SawMaster]

You're hotter in LA than we get here. Normal summers see 90-95 for months, bad summers add 5 for a week, may repeat itself. Still enough to fry many dashcam batteries. My Mobius gave it up at 2 months not in the direct sunlight but in a closed van without A/C. Cheap G1W clone seems half shot at 3 months; won't last 3 minutes but still closes OK at 1 minute. Not enough time on the Vantrue N2 Pro to comment on it's battery. There are worse places, but this is bad enough to make caps a sensible choice. Maybe with A/C it would be better, but you're gonna roast when parked in the sun.

12 hours of usable daylight here for 4 months a year which even a crap cam can see in, but many unlit areas make an Exmor or Starvis-level sensor a good idea. A CPL may be useful too if your dash is prone to reflections.

Other than smaller towns and speed traps, traffic laws here are hardly enforced, and many people drive badly knowing they will likely not get caught. A few years back, the State officially said about 20% of the cars here were uninsured. Many seemingly bogus plates too. You'll come across Mr. Magoo and Mad Max almost daily and many people consider "didn't hit them" as adequate safety space. Tailgating (sometimes 1-2 feet away) is the norm. Hit-and-runs are pretty common. Front cam with a decently wide angle FOV is mandatory, rear cam highly recomended, and side cams a good idea. Over toward the side of town where the OP is going, the town of Greer was just rated the worst place to drive in America by an Insurance Research survey; news article here: https://www.foxcarolina.com/news/up...cle_f77fe14b-2905-5354-b8df-f5dcf3a9cbbb.html Main arteries and freeways are a madhouse at rush hour.

One thing here you don't want to do is pass a stopped School Bus- $1035 ticket- as many have cameras and soon all will. You only have to stop when it's a 2-lane undivided road (both ways) or when the bus and you are going in the same direction. Kid's aren't allowed to cross roads from the bus and must be let out at the curb or roadside. SC Code of laws is online, traffic laws are Section 56.

Phil

 

[jokiin]

One thing here you don't want to do is pass a stopped School Bus- $1035 ticket- as many have cameras and soon all will. You only have to stop when it's a 2-lane undivided road (both ways) or when the bus and you are going in the same direction. Kid's aren't allowed to cross roads from the bus and must be let out at the curb or roadside. SC Code of laws is online, traffic laws are Section 56.

Phil

check out some of the numbers here http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/documents/roads/safety-rules/demerits-school.pdf :O

 

[RLS]

My Mobius gave it up at 2 months not in the direct sunlight but in a closed van without A/C. Cheap G1W clone seems half shot at 3 months; won't last 3 minutes but still closes OK at 1 minute. Not enough time on the Vantrue N2 Pro to comment on it's battery. There are worse places, but this is bad enough to make caps a sensible choice. Maybe with A/C it would be better, but you're gonna roast when parked in the sun.

12 hours of usable daylight here for 4 months a year which even a crap cam can see in, but many unlit areas make an Exmor or Starvis-level sensor a good idea. A CPL may be useful too if your dash is prone to reflections.

Oh wow... I have Mobius with capacitor swap, and have had no trouble with the hottest days... with and without the remote lens...

I have a vantrue, but it overheated so fast... I believe that they have one for Parking mode (T2?) with super cap, but I’ll stick with my other cameras.


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[SawMaster]

Love my Mobius with caps- most reliable cam ever. The Vantrue is a review cam, not something I'd normally buy. It did OK on a couple hot days, but weather is cooling for Autumn now. If they made the N2 Pro with caps, that would be a very good thing.

Phil

 

[kamkar]

check out some of the numbers here

Daum i better cut down on my Sydney area time if i get to visit, just learned today about a little railroad in the blue mountains called the zig zag railway, ill do that one and then head out to do the Gan railroad.
And then its time to rent / buy a 4 x 4 and go driveabout for a few months,,,,,,, dream holiday.

 

[ckhris]

The blckvue sucks too, yes they are over priced garbage

 

[mj1985]

I installed my F800 Pro yesterday morning (I got it via ebay auction for 80€) and ordered a VIOFO A129 Duo with GPS yesterday evening. The video quality is horrible (like my F770 before). I just rewatched the footage of my Ausdom A261 dashcam I had before. Video is more clearly, I can read most of the license plates. F770/F800 no way to read a license plate, just when you're really close.

 

[jokiin]

lucky you got it cheap, imagine how the people that pay full price feel

 

[mj1985]

Yes @jokiin that was my first thought. BTW, the Cloud App doesn't work with my Google Pixel 2 XL neither, thought it might be a problem with the old app for the F770 (but maybe it's a Google / Android Pie problem)