High-quality video and parking mode

[Phillip]

I am new to dash cams and been lurking for a month now. I am on the market for a very good dash cam with parking mode. I am willing to spend a bit more money if it means I find the perfect solution.

Must Haves:

• Parking mode (overnight parking)
• Withstand heat (I live in Los Angeles)
• High-quality video (to read license plates... and yes I know... not always possible, but the Marcus 4 seems to be a great option. Yes I know... US license plates have more glare...)
• Somewhat stealth
• For now, I like to set a $200-300 price range, but am open to slightly more expensive solutions.

My goal of this dash cam is to protect myself from idiot LA drivers who cannot parallel park. A few months ago, I came out to find that someone tried to parallel park in front of me and scraped my bumper (big *sigh*).

I looked at the Vicovation Marcus 4 (some people said parking mode is missing) and the Powerucc Panorama SII and the Powerucc Panorana G. Not familiar with anything else, please let me know your thoughts and suggestions.

 

[reverend]

To be fair 9 times out of 10 you're going to hear Panorama - it's a great all rounder (and I'm still tempted to finally get one myself ten cameras in!!)

 

[Phillip]

The Panorama G just dropped and I'd like to take that into consideration, but not much reviews yet.

I was locked into the Panorama SII a few weeks ago... until I saw the Marcus 4 video samples... I was blown away at the night videos.

 

[reverend]

The Marcus 4 certainly has some impressive video - it's very expensive here in the UK though - almost $400 from the distributor here!

It's a shame at that price it's lacking the parking mode you want - I've got to admit I've tried many cameras, including the G90 which is the same hardware as the M4 (I'm assuming the lens is different as well as the special sauce in the firmware) and I'm still sat here thinking about clicking buy it now on the Panorama S to see what the fuss is about first hand

 

[russ331]

Marcus 4 & Panorama fail to meet the 'stealth' requirement.

I suggest that you wait for the much anticipated GuardTrak GT2S*.

Meanwhile, I suggest a $69 Mobius to tide you over until the GT2S is available, at which time transfer Mobius to rear window duties.

* http://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/guardtrak-gt2s-model-details-and-info.2844/page-7#post-41134

 

[jokiin]

The Panorama G just dropped and I'd like to take that into consideration, but not much reviews yet.

I was locked into the Panorama SII a few weeks ago... until I saw the Marcus 4 video samples... I was blown away at the night videos.

G and S are same hardware so video capabilities are the same

 

[BlackBoxed.ca]

The good looking Lukas LK7900 ACE with excellent build quality also fits all of your requirements.

You'll also want to purchase a hardwiring kit (for example: Lukas LK350) to plug into a constant power supply for parking mode.

Kelvin