Decent dash cam

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Siddharth Talageri

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Hello all,

Apologies if I have started a thread which is existing , if so please direct me to that thread.

I am new to this forum and new to the world of dash cams as well, I want to buy a dash cam which shall offer decent recording, not expensive.

After listening to Techmoan’s video on Ambarella A2S70 Viofo VF960 (G900) 1080P Car Dashcam, I was convinced to buy this as this camera recorded images even while driving into the sun as most of the cams would have black out, night vision video was also impressive from a camera of that cost. But as good things come to an end quickly, even this cam is out of stock.

Please advice / help me buy a dash cam similar to the one mentioned above or suggest a camera which could be close to the one mentioned above.

Thanks and regards,

Sid.
 
Siddharth Talageri said:
...I was convinced to buy this as this camera recorded images even while driving into the sun as most of the cams would have black out...
Click to expand...
I was looking at the video from my Mini 0803 yesterday, can't understand how it does it, my relatively expensive stills camera would certainly fail, but here is an image driving straight into the sun and the registration plate is still readable, not the best quality image but that is the sun at the top:

(Click image to read the plate)

Sun2.jpg
 
I see that you're in India. Depending on which region, the heat of your climate may dictate that you focus on choosing a dashcam with a capacitor rather than a battery.
 
Thanks Nigel for sharing the picture , yes it helps to see an actual picture , but I see that this camera needs to be stuck with an adhesive tape which means one can not remove it when the vehicle is sent for service and when one needs it to be removed. As in India this can be a tempting object to have the vehicle broken into, or tampered with and in sensitive areas where cameras are strictly prohibited , if caught with a camera, it would mean trouble. Not that I would keep removing the mounted camera every now and then, but to have more flexibility.

Thanks Russ331 for your reply, yes that is one of a deciding factor as well when buying one, the temperature, good to ave that pointed out as well.

Well please suggest a decent camera , the one like Ambarella A2S70 Viofo VF960 (G900) 1080P which would be easy to use as well at the same time economical and durable as well.
 
I read on the forum that the G901080P Full HD Ambarella A7LA30 Car Camera DVR is a good cam under 100 USD , well would this be a good investment indeed? Would this ship to India? Does one need to buy a 32 GB class 10 card along with it?
 
The G90 is good but in my experience suffers focus problems in the heat - so if I get that in the UK if you have hotter weather you'll more than likely get the same problem.

Personally as things stand if I was in your situation I'd be going with the Panorama 2 or a Mobius with the super cap option :)
 
Even with caps I don't think the Möbius is the best choice for that type of environment as the temps will easily exceed what's recommended for the hardware, Panorama would be a safer choice
 
Ah yes sorry just noticed the Mobius is only rated to about half the max temp of the Panorama so good shout there!

The Vicovation cams don't seem to suffer focus problems in the heat either so maybe one of those?

When I had the A7 3h2f I had that shut down a few times in the heat so guessing maybe they're out of the equation too - although that thermal protection was maybe more for the battery in that cam?
 
Jokiin / Reverend, which of the Panorama would you suggest ,we have hot and humid climate in India? And would that model ship to India is my next worry as most of the sites that I saw did not ship to India. but anyway await your reply guys, and thanks again for helping and suggesting.
 
I've got to admit not sure about shpkorea on eBay - they're one vendor and the other I know of is @RoadCam on here who is in the USA?

Rick is probably best advised to answer the humid bit as I guess that will cause quite a few issues potentially?

We're pretty lucky in the UK that the cheap ones suit most needs!
 
Thinking back I have seen videos of the Transcend Drivepro 200 being used in India and that's nice and cheap compared to the Panorama

Not sure how it would function but another option for you
 
Siddharth Talageri said:
Jokiin / Reverend, which of the Panorama would you suggest ,we have hot and humid climate in India? And would that model ship to India is my next worry as most of the sites that I saw did not ship to India. but anyway await your reply guys, and thanks again for helping and suggesting.
Click to expand...

All the models use the same core components so heat rating is the same for all

As to who ships to India, no idea, you'll just have to ask around
 
Hello reverend, your recommendation for checking out the Transcend drive pro 200 and this got me going and immediately checked on Techmoan's review on the cam, the camera looks impressive and suits my requirement as well, thanks for bring it it to my attention, however I have asked him a query that I have had, thought of sharing it on this forum as well:

Quote:
Hey Matt,
Can a car camera come equipped with the following, if no, can it be recommended to the cam manufacturers for the following reasons:

1) A camera having a slot for SIM card (GPRS enabled) , so that it can be connected to a mobile service providers and with the help of 3G networks can transfer data to remote servers thus ensuring that the data is safe atleast somewhere, I say this as during a car crash, depending on the severity of the crash, one may not have the time to prove ones innocence to law enforcement agencies as he / she may be attending to the injured if any or arguing / talking to the people concerned in the crash. The G sensor when it detects an impact obviously it will save the footage prior to the impact and some after the impact and due to the 3G enabled feature can have it sent to a remote server which the user can access and download the footage.

Typically in India, when there is a crash , people gather around the vehicle , some to help, but , many to take advantage of the situation and robbing the belongings inside the vehicle , a car cam would be an ideal steal thus ensuring that one has lost data stored as well.

2) Blue tooth enabled ,to transfer data faster to your hand held devices again to have it handy for insurance / law enforcement agencies.

3) Good to know that the Transcend is Wi-fi enabled, nevertheless as seen in your video, the data transfer is slow but the data still can be transferred while one is stranded without the means of a laptop or data cable to have the footage downloaded to the phone / tablet.

These features if included would ramp up the cost of the device no doubt , but are essential I feel ( personal opinion) as that is when the cam would be of real use in a situation that it is meant for.
Un-quote

Awaiting his reply , anyway if any one on the forum does have an ans on the SIM card requirement I have asked about, please share your thoughts as well as we have cam manufactures as members on this forum , I am sure some one would reply.

Best regards, Sid
 
Last edited:
According to his last video, Matt is packing for his holidays, so you may not get a reply until he returns.

Frank
 
If Techmoan replied to all of the many messages he receives on his Website Blogs & YouTube Videos, he wouldn't have time to do any more reviews.

Don't be offended if you don't receive a reply from Techmoan.
 
Hi russ331 , I fully agree with you and would not feel offended if Matt does not reply, and with due respect for his privacy and work that he does, it is difficult for a person to respond to queries which are received every now and then.

When it comes to dash cams, he is the man to look up to for suggestions and solutions for he has been outstanding in his reviews, one does get frank opinions about a product being tested, which further guides a person on the buying decision.

But I do feel that if he gets an opportunity to reply to the query asked it would benefit all, I mean, we have never come across a suggestion by anyone to have a SIM card in a dash cam to transfer files via the 3G and 4G to a remote server to make them secure in one place. I had contacted many Chinese manufacturers before joining this forum asking them about my specific requirement of having a cam with a SIM card facility, needless to say I was disappointed , why would they take the effort to manufacture only one. But having that feature would ideally be great, as the cam would really be worth it. One buys a cam for recording the adventurous drives , for having sweet memories , be nostalgic after a few years by watching the video, and also uses it on those rare occasion when there is a unfortunate accident. As I said earlier, depending on the severity of the accident, the cam and the data can be of use for further investigation . In developed countries it would definitely be useful but in developing countries people have not yet realized the importance of having one especially where is there less regards for safety on the roads with morons behind the wheel , DANGER!!

Well I keep harping on the SIM option for the reason described, and who better than Matt to make a suggestion to the cam manufactures to build one and test it, I am sure that the camera would be worth it and that too in developed countries where the 3G and 4 G networks are in full flow.

I hope Matt responds, in case if any one of you know him personally, please draw his attention to the post to have his opinion.
 
They don't even necessarily have to use a SIM - if they're wifi enabled and with most phones (and even some cars like the Audi's now) providing wifiaccess points they could just use something like FTP to send screen grabs.

Unfortunately the way cellular data is in a lot of places unless you had good HSDPA or 4G it would take a very long time to upload any video files - plus if you've just been in an accident you potentially wouldn't have battery power to power the transfer which is why SD cards can be useful in this application.

I have a Foscam camera at home which we use as a baby monitor and that can send images up to an FTP site - although I forgot I'd configured it and eventually got a very unhappy email from my hosting provider because the camera had uploaded half a million screenshots and it turns out my "real unlimited disk space hosting plan" wasn't quite so unlimited :D

It's a good idea and I've wondered the same but we still need the rest of the technology to keep up!
 
reverend, yes you have a point here , unless and until the cellular data is not strong enough the files will not get transferred hence the SIM card option gets discarded.
I hope the cams get good capable wifi transfer systems for transferring the data quickly for keeping it handy for law enforcement agencies in case of a mishap.
Thanks mate
 
It's a great idea and hopefully soon we'll see something starting with FTP screen captures in an event and it will move on from there :)
 
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