First dashcam(s) F and R maybe with GPS - £100ish budget - advice required.

[thephatmaster]

I'm about to take the plunge and buy my first dashcam(s). I am familiar with my vehicle's electrical systems and will be able to hardwire the cams and any GPS accessories easily.

I'm quite confused by the various options and have 4 questions (see below).

What I can summarise from my research is:

- Capacitor power is probably best for me. I have secure parking so don't need park mode. Discreetness and permanence of install is important but not a must-have.

- Most incidents I'd like to capture unfold both in front and to the rear of the vehicle. So, I'd like either dual cams F & R or a multiple channel setup.

- I've been looking at running dual A118c A119c's or 2chan setups like blackvue DR550/650/750. I've also heard good things about the blacksys cf-100 single and dual channel units

- I know in my budget I can get a couple of
A118c's with GPS, that seems to be the best I can afford for IQ maybe there are others?

My questions are therefore:

(1) Saving footage manually: - I'd like to be able to trigger a save on the fly. With a dual cam setup, this will be difficult as I won't have access to the rear cam.

(1a) Has anyone overcome this issue by modding hardware wiring buttons together etc on a dual setup?

(1b) I hear that length of recording time available on an SD card makes 'triggering' a save less important as the footage will not be overwritten for some time. Is this corrext?

(1c) will automatic saves via accelerometer etc do the job of 'saving' for me?

(2) dual vs 2 chan for IQ: In my price range does the shared bandwidth of a 2 chan setup compromise IQ so badly it's a non-starter?

(3) regarding the older cams (cf-100 and A118) has technology moved on enough to make these obsolete, or are they still a good buy? The reviews on here seem to suggest an A118 is still good value.

(4) on the theme of older kit - is there any system I could pick up used that would be a good option dual cam system at my budget?

 

[SawMaster]

You're on the right track with this. First, consider that all 2ch cams have a low bitrate which means they cannot offer high shutter speeds (FPS) which are desirable when driving at speed. Plus many of them have a low-res rear cam which can become almost useless in low-light conditions. And there aren't many 2ch cams to choose from The better models (Blackvue, Thinkware, and Street Guardian) will probably exceed your budget but they can still be a good choice, the only budget-priced model worth considering is the CF-100 and it has some known issues with build quality and reliability plus a poor rear cam. So if you want really good images you will want 2 separate cams.

The A118c is still a good cam, but like many others now it suffers from poor low-light performance due to it being based on older technology. Newer technology and the Sony sensors have changed the game considerably of late, especially in low-light conditions. The A119S is a similar-shaped cam which performs much better (get the V2 version). Motion detect and G-sensor functions are not always reliable on the cheaper cams; they may be near-useless to you except for in a severe crash. That varies by cam so you have to check out each cam you might be considering on those aspects.

Most decent or better cams can use 64GB or larger cards now, which in a single cam 64 GB equals about 8-9 hours recording time before over-writing begins. Half that time for a 2ch cam. That can balance out the need for 'auto-save' features and parking protection as long as the cam is running when parked as well as when driving. This is my preferred method because it can't miss anything, but it can take time and effort to find the file you need if you don't know when an incident happened. And unless you check things before the card over-writes you could lose the file you need. Your worries on 'saving on the fly' with the rear cam can also be covered with a large enough card similarly.

On used kit, you're not likely to find enough of a bargain on the good cams to make them worth buying, especially when you consider that those will have no warranty. You sometimes can find worthwhile deals on the cheaper cams. Generally speaking, if a cam is worth having it will be used till it dies and then never go onto the market again, but occasionally someone will simply not like something in a new cam and want to sell it to get something else, so it's too variable to say exactly. Me, I prefer new simply to get the warranty. There's a sellers forum here on DCT which is worth a look.

Hope all that helps and welcone to DCT
Phil

 

[thephatmaster]

Thanks Phil,

Very sensible sounding advice.

Looks like a single a119s + GPS (and presumably + a separate card) will top out my budget.

Maybe I'll have to lower my expectations, wait until the tech gets more affordable, or just get a single cam.

 

[thephatmaster]

Looks like I can afford dual cams as long as they are Chupad D501, A118 or A119(non-s)
On 2chan systems - how about an older blackvue like the 430 2chan?

 

[SawMaster]

I doubt that decent dashcams will get much more affordable than now; quality always comes with a price. I like the Chupad, but I think you have to turn the screen off manually each time (no screensaver settings in the menu options) and it uses a LiPo battery (which is probably OK in your climate). Very good images for the price and chip/sensor used. The A119V2 is also quire good but the early "V1" versions had a few issues and was discontinued. Most of the trouble was linked to powering through the GPS mount base and can be handled by powering to the cam instead, which will also power the GPS. Firmware updates handled almost all the other issues. You might find a deal on one of those soon since everybody is now buying the new V2 version.

In a different form factor is the G1W-S, which has a Sony sensor for good low-light vids. Seems to be a good reliable cam with no real vices and it may be cheaper. With older tech but a good bargain is the G1W-HC with supercaps or the G1W-H with a LiPo battery. Images are about equal to the A118C.

I'm not familiar with the older Blackvue products but it's a good brand. I'm about to spend on the new SG9663DC 2ch cam when it's released to market. It won't be cheap but SG products are well built, well supported, perform excellently, and are a very good value. It might be worth a look for you too since the front cam is a 'wedge' like the A118, Chupad, and A119 cams. Should hit the market within 2-4 weeks, maybe sooner.

Get at least a good front cam- you can add a rear cam later, but your front cam is your workhorse and has a harder job to do. Lesser cams are usually good enough in back since most of what you'll want to capture there is going to be close to you at some point and clear enough until then. I'm running a G1W-S in back and I like it a lot. 2 G1W-HC's on the sides, but as cheap as they are I do worry about them some. All have been reliable so far though, and from user reports any of the other cams you're considering will be this good or most likely even better. You can probably save money buying direct from China (Gearbest or Banggood), but if you need after-sales support you're screwed. Amazon has some good sellers but some aren't, and they might send lesser versions, refurbs, or outright fakes. You're protected there initially which is better than nothing Since the UK has several reliable cam sellers with good track records that will be a safer bet and the choice I recommend even though it costs more.

Phil

 

[thephatmaster]

Cheers, the SG9663DC looks to be the nearest solution, both in form factor and ease of install. I don't know what price it will be, but as you say - probably out of budget.

Looks like my budget system is taking shape. Cheapest option is looking like G1W-S up front (Amazon, about £50), G1W-HC (gearbest, about £30) out back + associated GPS units and cards.

The thing that worries me about the G1W models is the form factor. Like you say, it is more obvious. How have you mounted your G1W's at the back and sides - are they in the way? Can the screen be set to off in the FW?

 

[DT MI]

Cheers, the SG9663DC looks to be the nearest solution, both in form factor and ease of install. I don't know what price it will be, but as you say - probably out of budget....

One thing to keep in mind when making these kinds of decisions is that buying quality only hurts once - buying cheap hurts at least twice, the initial purchase and any subsequent purchases when you have to replace 'cheap'.

 

[thephatmaster]

I agree on buy cheap, buy twice - I literally do it all the time!!! I have a (relatively cheap) Mobius v3 as an action cam but it is junk when compared with a (more expensive) modern gopro.

To be honest, I've priced up a couple of 118/G1W-s/119s based systems and am getting a bit frustrated with the whole thing.

Once I've factored in SD cards at £30 a pop and GPS modules it all ends up pretty pricey for what will be a lacklustre setup.

I respectfully disagree with @SawMaster above, quality systems will come down in price - look at the Mobius, it has the performance of an early gopro but is nowhere near the price.

I think the reality is that, at this point in time, I cannot afford (or am not willing to spend X amount of cash on) a dashcam at this stage of the technology's development.

I've done a fair bit of reading and thinking about this and think I just need to reflect on the various options.

Maybe my appetite for 2chan / dual cam system is the problem. Or my expectations of what current tech can provide.

I think I am being impatient because I know a 2ch / dual cam hardwired install would be easy in my vehicle and want to get cracking with a project.

Perhaps trying out my existing Mobius/smartphone, or getting just a front cam for now is a way to explore dashcams without spending money I could spend on other hobbies!

 

[kamkar]

I think it is safe to say that within the foreseeable future there will be no major leaps in regard to dashcam footage, what we will see will be little steps now and then as technology improve and get cheaper.

So yeah a brand new top spec dashcam in 10 years time will be much better than the current top spec dashcams, and by then we will probably still see at least night footage still be less than what people desire.
And no doubt by then top spec dashcams will still be carrying a premium price.

Good thing are almost any dashcam are better than no dashcam, and in most cases a single camera in the windscreen will be enough to proof or disproof any claim.

If you want to expose the bad drivers out there, then you really cant have too many cameras in the car. I do that and have lots of cameras, but mostly the side and rear camera are just used to lengthen the exposure of some fool, most often the stupid they do are going on in front of my car.

My latest capture are unusually from my rear camera capturing a litter bug doing its thing.

 

[viofo]

@thephatmaster We'd like to offer a dual channel sample for you to check, not released yet. PM sent.

 

[SawMaster]

Well there's your solution Thanks @viofo

Should you get a quality cam? Of course! But you might do well enough with less given the choice of one of the better 'bargain cams'. Some are actually very good deals as long as your expectations are realistic of them. You don't get what you don't pay for, but with many expensive cams you pay way too much for what you really get High price doesn't always equal quality or indicate good value

As to "cheap", the G1W-S is inexpensive for what it is, but it is a good quality build, has great low-light images, and has proven quite reliable so far based on my own hard usage, as well as what I've seen from others here on DCT. It's too new to offer long-term thoughts of it but I expect several years service from it. IMHO you currently get more value for your money with this cam than any other bar none. You'll spend at least 50% more to equal what it does in any other cam. My G1W-HC's are somewhat cheap all round, but so far are reliable and well worth their small cost of ~$35US each. My worries over them is based solely on me knowing that better can be done and had. If they last a couple years that's not a bad deal as no cam will last forever

My old van gets extremely hot parked in the summer sun all day, has very rough ride qualities, and the roads here are in such poor condition as to be appalling- much like the worst ones seen in the Russian driving vids, yet none of my cams have failed because of that save for the Mobius battery which I replaced with caps. If I recommend my cheap cams it is because I know whereof I am speaking personally

Phil

 

[thephatmaster]

Thanks all, particularly @viofo. I look forward to testing the proto 2chan setup. The pics look good.

@SawMaster - cheers for taking the time to share your setup and opinions. I came in this forum looking for exactly that.