bstractig
New Member
Hi all! Finally pulling the plug on a dash cam after my most recent accident made me wish I had one. Hindsight, right?
TLDR: I want a discrete, dual cam for under $100 that I can install without cutting open any wires
I'm looking for:
- A discrete camera. I park my car outside in an area where theft is common and I don't want to leave a bulky dash cam in plain sight. Ideally the camera would be small and tucked away behind the shaded rearview mirror mount area, but I also wouldn't mind a camera on a suction cup or magnet mount that I could easily remove and stow in the glove box when parked.
- A dual, front and rear camera.
- $100 absolute max price, but I'd prefer something under that if at all possible
- Easy for an amateur to install. Hardwiring intimidates me, I'd like to just plug it into my 12V outlet or OBD port. I'm not afraid to get under the interior panels of my car for cable management, but I don't feel tech-competent enough to manage messing with my car's electrical system. Especially considering the car is a hybrid prius which runs a high-voltage battery (in addition to the 12V battery) and seems like it can kill you if you mess with the wrong wire?? Scary.
I don't care about:
- Having a screen on the camera is not something I care about, it's not a pro or a con for me.
- Having the best footage quality is not a priority for me. From my research dash cams aren't always reliable about catching license plates anyways, I've got uninsured motorists insurance if I ever am in a hit-and-run. As long as my dash cam can capture the basics of an accident it will have done it's job in my book!
- Having parking monitoring is not necessary. I don't value the concept of it enough to shell out extra for it, cam footage of a parked hit-and-run doesn't seem to change your insurance situation as again license plate capture isn't super reliable with dash cams, right? And I'm an anxious freak who keeps personal items out of my car and keeps it locked at all times so I've never had an issue with theft.
- Temperature sensitivity is not an issue for me. My 2012 prius is dope and has a solar panel system that runs a fan when it's hot out - so it's never too warm inside! Super cool feature.
- Having wifi/app/or viewing from SD card only. If I ever needed footage from an accident I am not pulling it up on-site (for fear of cops taking my entire SD card as evidence and citing me for other driving violations, or causing drama with other driver by them knowing I have dashcam footage), so idc if I need to take out the SD card and plug it into a computer to see the footage. If I showed footage to police or insurance I would send it to them after the fact and never tell the other driver about my footage.
Considered cameras:
- This 70mai pro plus a500s seems perfect https://dashcamtalk.com/70mai-dash-cam-pro-plus+-a500s/ but it's out of stock on amazon! They have it on alixpress but its like $90 for the dual setup (instead of the dashcamtalk advertised $60), and shipping takes over a month. Alixpress shipping I've also not had great experiences with so I'd be hesitant to make such an expensive purchase through that site. Anyone know when this would be restocked or a different place to get it?
- Amazon has a lifechaser dual dash cam for $90 that is 1080p front and rear, but it's quite large. It is installed with a magnet so I could remove it when parked, but not all the reviews are great and the general consensus is that the supported app sucks.
MUCH THANKS! And if you needed a bribe to help a stranger... I will shamelessly trade pics of my adopted senior shiba pup for helpful comments
TLDR: I want a discrete, dual cam for under $100 that I can install without cutting open any wires
I'm looking for:
- A discrete camera. I park my car outside in an area where theft is common and I don't want to leave a bulky dash cam in plain sight. Ideally the camera would be small and tucked away behind the shaded rearview mirror mount area, but I also wouldn't mind a camera on a suction cup or magnet mount that I could easily remove and stow in the glove box when parked.
- A dual, front and rear camera.
- $100 absolute max price, but I'd prefer something under that if at all possible
- Easy for an amateur to install. Hardwiring intimidates me, I'd like to just plug it into my 12V outlet or OBD port. I'm not afraid to get under the interior panels of my car for cable management, but I don't feel tech-competent enough to manage messing with my car's electrical system. Especially considering the car is a hybrid prius which runs a high-voltage battery (in addition to the 12V battery) and seems like it can kill you if you mess with the wrong wire?? Scary.
I don't care about:
- Having a screen on the camera is not something I care about, it's not a pro or a con for me.
- Having the best footage quality is not a priority for me. From my research dash cams aren't always reliable about catching license plates anyways, I've got uninsured motorists insurance if I ever am in a hit-and-run. As long as my dash cam can capture the basics of an accident it will have done it's job in my book!
- Having parking monitoring is not necessary. I don't value the concept of it enough to shell out extra for it, cam footage of a parked hit-and-run doesn't seem to change your insurance situation as again license plate capture isn't super reliable with dash cams, right? And I'm an anxious freak who keeps personal items out of my car and keeps it locked at all times so I've never had an issue with theft.
- Temperature sensitivity is not an issue for me. My 2012 prius is dope and has a solar panel system that runs a fan when it's hot out - so it's never too warm inside! Super cool feature.
- Having wifi/app/or viewing from SD card only. If I ever needed footage from an accident I am not pulling it up on-site (for fear of cops taking my entire SD card as evidence and citing me for other driving violations, or causing drama with other driver by them knowing I have dashcam footage), so idc if I need to take out the SD card and plug it into a computer to see the footage. If I showed footage to police or insurance I would send it to them after the fact and never tell the other driver about my footage.
Considered cameras:
- This 70mai pro plus a500s seems perfect https://dashcamtalk.com/70mai-dash-cam-pro-plus+-a500s/ but it's out of stock on amazon! They have it on alixpress but its like $90 for the dual setup (instead of the dashcamtalk advertised $60), and shipping takes over a month. Alixpress shipping I've also not had great experiences with so I'd be hesitant to make such an expensive purchase through that site. Anyone know when this would be restocked or a different place to get it?
- Amazon has a lifechaser dual dash cam for $90 that is 1080p front and rear, but it's quite large. It is installed with a magnet so I could remove it when parked, but not all the reviews are great and the general consensus is that the supported app sucks.
MUCH THANKS! And if you needed a bribe to help a stranger... I will shamelessly trade pics of my adopted senior shiba pup for helpful comments