discreet, battery operated - what's best option?

[BigUgglyPanda]

Hi Dashcamtalk members,

At first I have to admit this is great community, I've learnt a lot reading yr posts.

Now to the point - at my place the use of fixed dash cams is forbidden by law.
Therefore I have to stick to removable dash cam options and preferably discreet to do not annoy ppl.

My thoughts go to @JooVuu although I am not sure how does it work w/o power and GPS...

Any other advice would be appreciated... TIA

 

[jokiin]

the batteries are not something that the cameras can run off for too long on most models, sport cams generally do better for battery run time than regular dashcams, most dashcams with batteries only have a few minutes run time on battery

you'd need some type of power lead running to the camera if you need any sort of reasonable run time, anything suction mount or with a quick release bracket is easily removable, how legal it is either way though might be debatable

 

[BigUgglyPanda]

Unfortunately no cabling is allowed, only the suction mount and camera itself.
I saw cars here running with GoPro 3+/4 but this looks a bit awkward to me

I saw the thread with power banks solution, but I'd like to avoid number of peripherals as I have to dismount this thing every time I go out of the car.

 

[jokiin]

maybe a Mobius, can run close to 2 hours, that's about the most you'll find in a discrete camera

 

[Module 79L]

Hi Dashcamtalk members,

At first I have to admit this is great community, I've learnt a lot reading yr posts.

Now to the point - at my place the use of fixed dash cams is forbidden by law.
Therefore I have to stick to removable dash cam options and preferably discreet to do not annoy ppl.

My thoughts go to @JooVuu although I am not sure how does it work w/o power and GPS...

Any other advice would be appreciated... TIA

I know one American dashcammer from Northern California (much hotter all year round than Luxembourg) who uses a Mobius as a front camera, running on battery all the time. She bought it in October 2015 for her previous car, a Ford Focus, and also didn't want to run any wires. Now she has a 2016 Honda Civic and she's still using it without external power. Also the Mobius has the discreetness you want and it's mounted on a craddle that attaches to the suction cup with a tripod screw, so you have the option of unscrewing only the camera or removing the whole mount.
The downsides of the Mobius are the night video quality and being a camera that has many setting possibilities it can take a while before it's set to your taste.
If you don't drive for more than 1h30min at a time, most action camera's batteries will last long enough.

 

[BigUgglyPanda]

Indeed @Mobius might be an option - I've just noticed "Optional 820 mAH battery available instead of the 520 mAH battery"

Although availability is an issue:
amazon - sold out or untrusted sellers
joovuu - sold out
carcamerashop - sold out
Mobius-cam - rip off

...and I think it works with Windows only (for updates) - correct me if I am wrong...

SOS

 

[JooVuu]

Hi Dashcamtalk members,

At first I have to admit this is great community, I've learnt a lot reading yr posts.

Now to the point - at my place the use of fixed dash cams is forbidden by law.
Therefore I have to stick to removable dash cam options and preferably discreet to do not annoy ppl.

My thoughts go to @JooVuu although I am not sure how does it work w/o power and GPS...

Any other advice would be appreciated... TIA

Our battery won't last as long but we can easily provide a none-GPS cable. Whilst we are a little more expensive that the Mobius we include everything you need to get started, plus we have more features. It really depends what you want/need.

If you want I'll drop you a PM with more information and details?

Cheers,

Dan

 

[BigUgglyPanda]

My trips are usually 1-1.5h long and then I can remove the camera for charging. Would @JooVuu camera battery last that long?

 

[jokiin]

How long between trips also, some cameras are not quick to charge back up

 

[BigUgglyPanda]

I am doing max. 1.5h on battery because if more than I can plug the cable (being outside Lux).
Minimum 3-4hrs break before return or going elsewhere.

 

[JooVuu]

My trips are usually 1-1.5h long and then I can remove the camera for charging. Would @JooVuu camera battery last that long?

Depends on settings and variables. Low bitrate without WiFi on 720 could get 1.5h+ at 1080P with high bitrate about 1h.

 

[Harsh]

I am doing max. 1.5h on battery because if more than I can plug the cable (being outside Lux).
Minimum 3-4hrs break before return or going elsewhere.

The Mobius will work well in your scenario. I would suggest you to hardwire and conceal the wires with just the USB port and enough wire sticking out to reach the dashcam, this way when in Luxembourg, tuck the wire and port into the headliner and when outside you can use the cable to charge the Mobius while driving too. This will also save you the grief of taking the Mobius out each time you exit the vehicle depending on how long you've driven outside Luxembourg with the cable plugged in.

 

[BigUgglyPanda]

Thank you all for contribution.

I'll have a look for the universal USB port as @harsh proposed.
I hope this option won't cause a problem here.