GPS, yes or no?

CaptureYourAction

CaptureYourAction

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How do most feel about the GPS options on their Dashcams? Do you really feel it's a must have option? If you could save $10-20 on a Dashcam by not getting the GPS feature, would you?
 
'Most' doesn't apply to your question. :D 1/3 don't want it, 1/3 can't live without it and 1/3 don't care one way or another.

I personally like it, but more as a nice feature than a 'must have' and if the price differential is reasonable I'll get it. That's said mine is only one opinion among many.
 
Useful but not essential. I wouldn't choose a camera based on having GPS but if the one you're interested in has the option and you're only using one camera, then I think it's worth an extra $20.
On additional cameras ... I don't think I'd bother. It might be useful for synchronising videos, but there are other ways to do it.
 
Yes, but if a better dashcam without GPS is there i will go for that.
The footage itself is the main thing for me, and most dashcams can do good daytime footage, so the main challenge as i see it is in low light and night time footage.

And thinking like that i am sure i will see no major change in dashcam performance any time soon.
All the other bells and whistles they add to dashcams dont do it for me, high resolutions - technical gadgets as they come now are waste in my eyes.
 
I'm an advocate of running two front cams (because so many things can prevent the cam capturing a crucial moment - cam failure, power supply failure, sd card failure, user error etc).
So one of my cams is set to record speed/gps/audio and the other doesn't.
 
I run a separate gps for getting where l want to go. I don't see the need for a gps in the dash cam, if the gendarmes need to know what speed l was doing, they can get iit off my car computer.
 
I asked myself the same question when I bought my first two dash cams (A118C's) about a year ago. I ultimately bought the GPS units for both. Although it's mildly interesting to see the map and speed when reviewing footage I will not pay extra for GPS in the future. If the camera comes with it then great. If it doesn't I wouldn't worry about it. All I am really interested in is the quality of the footage.
 
Yes, GPS is a must for me. A lot of times the footage doesn't look too amazing, but then you see the speed and it's a huge drop in speed. I also like throwing all the footage together on Registrator Viewer and then clicking on which part of the road I was at, makes it so much easier to get to the footage I want.
 
Now there is a good argument i dident think about, ill write that behind the ear as the Danish saying go ( making a mental note )
 
What is Registrator Viewer? Website is expired. Can the GPS info be seen/accessed by software other than the program design for it by the manufacture?
 
RV is an excellent viewer program developed specifically for dash cams. Unfortunately the author was fatally injured in a motorcycle accident a few months back - thus the reason for the expired web site.

The program is still available from a couple of other sources: www.mediafire.com/download/a9shgnrmuq4l7le/RegistratorViewer.exe
 
ThePro said:
...I also like throwing all the footage together on Registrator Viewer and then clicking on which part of the road I was at, makes it so much easier to get to the footage I want.
Click to expand...

kamkar1 said:
Now there is a good argument i dident think about, ill write that behind the ear as the Danish saying go ( making a mental note )
Click to expand...

That's the feature I tend to use the most. I'm more likely to remember approximately where I was when something happened that I want to view versus what time it was.
 
CaptureYourAction said:
How do most feel about the GPS options on their Dashcams? Do you really feel it's a must have option? If you could save $10-20 on a Dashcam by not getting the GPS feature, would you?
Click to expand...
Ask yourself what kind of events do you foresee happening - events that you would take the time to remove the card and copy to a PC? Would any of those 'events' benefit from (or be harmed by) having speed/location data available?

Personally I see far more upside to telemetry:

1) Mapping of your drive will help you quickly find a specific location/incident/area of interest
2) Determining distance traveled between any two points during playback
3) Stopped for speeding? Verify what your speed was to see how accurate the accusation is...
4) Having your documented speed after an accident may help to prove speed was(n't) a contributing factor
5) Ability to document the speed of another vehicle, to report the driver for driving excessively fast (or slow)
6) Verify how fast the mechanic/valet took your car during his "test drive"
7) many more I can't think of (too tired)...

The only downside, other than cost, is the possibility that your speed data could be used against you in the event of an at-fault speed-related accident. But remember - while having the data imprinted on the video certainly makes the cop's job easier, even if you don't have GPS, if they're motivated enough, they can use objects in the video and some simple algebra to determine your speed anyway.

Just this week, a friend suffered severe damage to the tow vehicle behind his motorcoach. He was on a road with a 40mph speed limit, and hit a somewhat innocuous dip in the road. The jarring caused 4 of the 6 bolts in his tow plate to sheer off, which in turn caused extensive damage to the tow vehicle. When he told the dealership (that installed the tow plate on the car) about the sheered bolts, they accused him of hitting the dip too fast. Fortunately, he had his dash cam running in the coach, showing that the dip was relatively mild, and his speed was only 27mph. Who knows how that will turn out, but having that speed documented is certainly not a detriment.
 
erkme73 said:
they accused him of hitting the dip too fast
Click to expand...

Aaa yes the art of blameshifting :rolleyes: dont care much for that game, but its the basis of what is set forth by the lawgiving assembly in my own country at least.
What baffle me is ppl keep falling for it o_O but okay it took me at least a couple of decades to see thru the BS myself.

Just found out 5.5 million Danes owe 70 billion DKkr in outstanding taxes, wonder who those are cuz i never known any Dane that own the tax man anything.

Dammit OT again :rolleyes: this dog better head for the bed :p
 
GPS was a must have feature for me. I like the idea of having a record of where my vehicle went..and the speed it was driving. And.. as mentioned before it makes a particular segment easy to find by being able to look at a map for reference.
 
OK, seems to be a mixed bag here. So in the end, it sounds as if people (at least in this forum) would like the camera to have the option if they wanted it, but not be forced with having to buy it if it was going to cost more. Let people choose if they want to spend the extra $ if they want the feature.
 
Yeah, although honestly I prefer the GPS to be inside the camera or at least in the mount, allows it to be more discreet.
 
Yes the GPS in camera or on mount must be ideal for the ppl that remove the camera, i would go insane if i had to plug in power and GPS antenna, drive a short while and then unplug again and take camera off mount.

Build in interconnects for such things between mount and camera must be ideal, wires thats plugged in is only okay for us that leave the cameras in the car all the time.
 
My gps feature stopped working in the software. jokiin suggested I look into firmware or software update. To get the speed and maps, I need to use the software which is in Windows. For the last few months, I have been using Linux at my home mostly , so I can't be bothered as I use windows at my residence so infrequently.

If the speed were to appear on the video clips, as opposed to the proprietory viewer, I would be more inclined to do something.

I did find the maps useful, but I use the "Event" key to mark anything of interest. Hitting it cause some camera shake.

Parenting ... when the stepdaughter used the car with dash cam and we were suspicious of her before, we found the maps placed her at a location other than what she stated.

If I were to get another dash cam:
  • and the GPS feature was not that much more,
  • and the speed showed up on the video
  • and it was a manufacturer that actively updates the firmware and software
I would get GPS again.
 
I've had it in a previous cam and turned it off. Also turned off g-sensor.
I hate watching those clips on YT where the actual footage covers a part of the screen & the rest is shock data and google maps. I don't need a red pin moving up a road to know that the vehicle is moving along a road.
As for finding the clip I need - not really rocket science, I simply jot the time on a post-it note pad at my earliest convenience (plenty of red lights round here!) With the cam running all day (9.5hrs), there can be loads of incidents - sometimes there are none!
One of the problems I've found with gps speed is that sometimes it can be off (reception might not be great/dead spot). I've also noted there can be a lag before the gps speed catches up with actual speed - I've seen me doing 5mph whilst sat at lights!
Personally, I would rather my cam uses all its processing power on the video & audio.
 
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