DR500GW-HD still interesting to buy now?

FredLG

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Hello all,

I post a new topic on the general part of the forum for feedback regarding the best dashcam available now around 300-400$ with the following criteria :
1 - Quality of day/night video
2 - Discretion - the cam has to be the smallest/discret possible to avoid steal (parking mode will be used)


I was thinking buying the BlackVue DR500GW-HD but I read some negative comments on this forum which gave me some doubts about the buy of it

Could you please tell me if some of you are happy with this dashcam and if you think it is still interesting to buy one now or if this cam is too much expensive for his quality and that it is better to wait for another model.

I will use this cam on a expensive new car to protect it while the car is parked (degradations) but also to use it while driving in case of accident for the insurance company.
 
I advise against buying BV. Although features like wifi and the viewing angle are great, the video quality alone is not worth the price. Then there are issues with firmware that people have like, incorrect time. I've also noticed that over long periods of time, the video begins to have a gray/green tint which is what happened on my DR400 II and my 500 is blurry...
It's also a little funny if you compare this forum all the other camera forums, the BV is the only forum with the most topics and traffic on custom firmware. It's not for everyone and at this point, I just want a good quality camera that works without too much fuss.

I've given up features and currently use a Marcus 3. Mine ended up being defective and in the process of exchanging it, but the customer support were responsive and a resolution is under way. Now i'm waiting for Jokin's camera to release.
 
I'm happy with my BlackVue DR500GW-HD. It's my first dashcam and I bought it at uwdashcam.be. At first, I had some booting problems, e.g. the device would sometimes "hang" (green LED stayed lit) when starting my car. I could always fix this by disconnecting and reconnecting the power, but it was a bit of a PITA. Anyway, after several firmware upgrades (I'm now using v2.002E) this seems to be fixed and the device's startup/shutdown time is shorter. Upgrading the firmware is very easy by the way.

As for one and two.

1. You can find some examples at http://dashcamtalk.com/blackvue-dr500gw-hd/#Sample_Videos
Make sure you set quality to 1080p.

2. You can install the device behind your rear mirror. By default, the device has a blinking, white "security LED", annoying, but you can turn this off.

And yes, it's expensive (uwdashcam offers it at € 284,95, with a 32GB microSD card and free shipping), but I think it's worth it.
 
In my personal opinion I would avoid the DR500GW-HD. It has a small rechargeable battery that always fails in the heat and will die usually within a year. After that your Time and Date become inaccurate and repeat the same date every time you power up. It takes a surgeons skill to replace the battery and you have to be Indiana Jones to find one. Their Firmware Updates have been nothing short of a disaster. Some of the early Firmware releases included a Virus. Read the posts. The video isn't that great. Wait for the GoPro,Panasonic and Sony to release theirs. I feel the Blackvue cameras are of Hobbiest quality at best and belong in the back of Popular Mechanics. Do not forget that support from the manufacturer is non-existant in my very long experience with this poor camera. Oh Yeah, Get the third party Russian Firmware by all means. Why not? It's a hobby quality camera. Just my opinion with an experience of 16 months living with it daily.
 
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What heat (temperatures) are you talking about? The OP lives in Belgium and our summers aren't that warm. Now and again we have a heat wave (temperatures between 25°C and +30°C), but that's it. Last year, we had 6 days with temperatures of 30°C and above. In 2102 4 days, in 2011 2 days. (Yes, I know temperatures in a closed car will probably be higher.) You say the battery usually dies within a year. European law requires a tw0-year warranty. As for firmware: in a short time (I bought the device Jan 10 2014) I have upgraded to v1.009, v.1011, v.2.000, v.2001 and v.2002. There were no disasters. My impression is that these upgrades only improved the product (not talking about image quality, more stability and startup/shutdown time). And I wouldn't touch the Russian firmware. According to this message, the Russians aren't that eager to offer support to newbies.
 
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Panasonic dashcams are already available. Not sure they are of stellar quality though.
 
In my personal opinion I would avoid the DR500GW-HD. It has a small rechargeable battery that always fails in the heat and will die usually within a year. After that your Time and Date become inaccurate and repeat the same date every time you power up. It takes a surgeons skill to replace the battery and you have to be Indiana Jones to find one. Their Firmware Updates have been nothing short of a disaster. Some of the early Firmware releases included a Virus. Read the posts. The video isn't that great. Wait for the GoPro,Panasonic and Sony to release theirs. I feel the Blackvue cameras are of Hobbiest quality at best and belong in the back of Popular Mechanics. Do not forget that support from the manufacturer is non-existant in my very long experience with this poor camera. Oh Yeah, Get the third party Russian Firmware by all means. Why not? It's a hobby quality camera. Just my opinion with an experience of 16 months living with it daily.

Would refute most of your allegations.
I have a DR 400 and a Dr500GW and both of them are going after nearly 3 years of use in several countries.

Am at present in Nashville where it has been well over 90F for past few days and previously in Orlando where it was 96F two days Camera was almost too hot to touch but still worked properly.

"Always" means just that and if its true why haven't lots more owners reported this.

"Some" is a better word and more truthful.

My 400 's battery died and I bought two for $7 and had it going in 10 mins.
Replacing the battery is not all that hard. Try soldering fuses on a Playstation circuit board if you want difficult.

I have also never had any difficulty upgrading through the various firmwares.

Maybe its not the camera!!!!!!

You have bagged these camera ever since you came on here and lots of people are happy with what they are.

Give it a rest and let people make up their own minds.
 
Does the 500 use a battery still?

As far as I am aware they have a capacitor and a very small button battery apparently.

They dont have a Lipo like the 400 series
 
That's what I thought also

But then according to the post I must be the ONLY owner in the world who has not had the "Battery??" fail as according to that they "ALWAYS" fail
 
Hello all,

I post a new topic on the general part of the forum for feedback regarding the best dashcam available now around 300-400$ with the following criteria :
1 - Quality of day/night video
2 - Discretion - the cam has to be the smallest/discret possible to avoid steal (parking mode will be used)


I was thinking buying the BlackVue DR500GW-HD but I read some negative comments on this forum which gave me some doubts about the buy of it

Could you please tell me if some of you are happy with this dashcam and if you think it is still interesting to buy one now or if this cam is too much expensive for his quality and that it is better to wait for another model.

I will use this cam on a expensive new car to protect it while the car is parked (degradations) but also to use it while driving in case of accident for the insurance company.

If you do deiced to buy a system, regardless of model, please make sure you purchase from an authorised local seller so you get full backup support.

A lot of members buy units from unauthorised dealers from other countries and receive zero warranty support.
 
I have had mine for a bit more than a year and like it just fine. No problems with software, time, or anything else. In fact, I'm thinking of buying another one for the back of the car after nearly getting rear ended last week.
 
Hi Guys,
I've been digging forums and reviews while choosing a dashcam for my honda accord. First I've purchased two 0801 mini cams. One of them wouldn't even power on, the second did work for two days and died either. I've returned them both to the seller and got a refund as per his message the factory producing those cams has some difficulties. Now I've ordered DR-500 from authorized ebay seller - they have a discount for white version - only 180$. I think this is a reasonable price for the cam (with all known cons), taking into consideration the fact that this is an official reseller (you can find it at blackvue site) and you will be able to get support from vendor. You can easily paint pink mounting ring into white.
Regards.
 
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