Help for the Night Owl

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MurphySubj13

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Hello everyone, I've been burning through the forum and I hope you guys can help with some suggestions for the new guy - as always thanks for the support in advance!

The dash cam would be used primarily at night on the highway (some sections have street lights on for a mile and the rest are off) and back-roads (a street light only at major intersections) and maybe a parking lot (lights from businesses) - total 1-2hr trip one way depending on traffic and accidents (there's always one I swear).

I've seen many of the videos provided here on the forums but youtube always tends to muck with the quality is my understanding and I would really like to hear from someone who uses their dash cam at night on a regular basis outside a major city.

My only local option is to grab that top dawg TDCAM01 from walmart but it's too large for what I want and need. I would prefer something discreet but the heat down here in Texas necessitates the removal of electronics from direct sunlight - as I do this already, making a dash cam part of my routine wouldn't be a problem.

I'm not in need of gps or wifi - for viewing (in case of accident) I would like to drop the files onto my phone via cable, if not taking the card out is fine or using an included screen.

My budget is $150

I keep going around on the B40, Rexing F9, and the G1W-C (I worry that the CDV300x stationary dock would be baked in the car), but maybe they wouldn't fit the bill for night travel?

Hope you guys can help! Let me know if I missed anything
 
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don't waste your money on that WalMart model, it's rubbish at any price, if that's around your budget though the G1W-C or a Mobius with capacitor kit will do a far better job, can be bought through sellers within the USA so no getting stranded without warranty, support etc
 
my budget is $150, but no local shop sells a front facing dash cam that I can find
 
oh sorry, I meant that I couldn't handle the products in person or ask a seller face to face about details, etc.
 
MurphySubj13 said:
oh sorry, I meant that I couldn't handle the products in person or ask a seller face to face about details, etc.
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yeah knew what you meant, they're not that popular just yet so not the kind of thing you can find everywhere so limited for choice, not like you'd be getting any product support from your local WalMart on them though
 
Brick-and-mortar retailers do not yet carry good dash-cams; you have to shop online. The same amount of money you'd spend at retail will get you a much better cam online. Nighttime vids are highly dependent on lighting and the cams which do nights best are above your price range. Either save up for a little longer or get the G1Wc then see if it's enough. Texas gets hot and battery versions won't like that- you need a capacitor type camera there.

Phil
 
Ok so the best option for discreet and at night would be the Street Guardian?
 
Well in reference to saving up past current budget - would that option be the best fit? The mounting video showed the ability to remove the unit from a base stuck to the window.
 
So why didn't say you needed discreet in your first post? And why would you be concerned about size for mostly night driving?
 
MurphySubj13 said:
Ok so the best option for discreet and at night would be the Street Guardian?
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The SG9665GC & SGZC12RC look suitable for your needs. Both are discreet. Neither need to be dismounted, even in the heat of Texas. Both are $200 from @Pier28 . I prefer the SGZC12RC for its buffered motion & g-sensing, others prefer the SG9665GC for its GPS. Both are good choices.
 
Here's some footage from a Mobius cam with wide angle lens. The city is not exactly vegas, so wasn't expecting the footage to be this good. There is some heavy window tinting on the top of the windshield of this rental car, you can notice the top is darker.


The next video is from a mobius with standard lens. The road is interstate type with not much lighting.



If you're hoping to be able to read license plates or see the face of the driver, it's not going to happen at night unless they are 5 feet in front of you with most of the dashcams I've seen. But it's better than nothing.

The mobius is fairly cheap, reliable, and an add on capacitor is available. May be a good starting point.
 
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dashy said:
So why didn't say you needed discreet in your first post? And why would you be concerned about size for mostly night driving?
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Dashy I did say I preferred something discreet in my first post but I'd have to remove it during the day due to the heat. I'm concerned about something the size of that topdawg I mentioned earlier because it creates a big blind spot in my cousin's car.

Thanks for the videos dash riposki! I'll need to look into the mobius with the modifications. Thanks as well russ331 for the info on the options - I'd probably go with the SG9665GC when it comes down to it
 
Must of missed it sorry. I'd go with dash riposki's advise. Good luck.
 
If you demand a good quality dash cam for $150 in US dollar. You can check the Lukas dash cam in Vancouver BC, Witness Auto Dash Cam can help you with that.
We recommend you to purchase the one channel dash cam like the LK-7700. It comes samsung len with g sensor and motion detector, which will record and save the data automatically after there is any impact during the time of driving and parking. You won't need to worry about losing any important data because it will saved separately in the sd card, which means the daily driving videos and the impact data is separated (8GB). It provide low voltage cut out, which you don't have to worry about the electricity in your vehicle. Also you can add one more CPL filter in order to make the video more clear by reducing the sunlight reflection. It's operating temperature is from -20℃ to 70 which the Lukas cams can solve the important problem of overheat comparing with the other brand in the market cannot It will be a smaller cam. Simply you can take out the sd card then insert into any computer and watch it.
However. I would recommend you to purchase one more battery pack(LK290) because it cannot support the parking mode while your engine is stopping, only the Lukas two channels can do that without an extra battery pack.
 
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