Is there such thing as a side view dashcam? (For your car doors)

[TonyM]

The side facing footage looks pretty good all in all.

Did you notice the side camera video from the M2's looking better than the M1?

 

[Dashmellow]

Did you notice the side camera video from the M2's looking better than the M1?

Um, No, not really.

EDIT: On further inspection I do see some improvement since last time. Is this the most recent beta?

 

[TonyM]

Um, No, not really.

EDIT: On further inspection I do see some improvement since last time. Is this the most recent beta?

Yes it is. I acknowledge that it looks better resized at 50%. At 100% the loss of fine detail is more apparent.

I prefer the M2's exposure to the M1. This is the original A lens, which is darker than the D lens on my other M1.

I'm hoping to get the most out of the M2's by setting them at 60fps for the side views. The M1's will soon have new telephoto lenses installed front and back.

 

[Dashmellow]

Yes it is. I acknowledge that it looks better resized at 50%. At 100% the loss of fine detail is more apparent.

I prefer the M2's exposure to the M1. This is the original A lens, which is darker than the D lens on my other M1.

I'm hoping to get the most out of the M2's by setting them at 60fps for the side views. The M1's will soon have new telephoto lenses installed front and back.

Yes, I see that, exposure is looking good! Hard to tell more at this size though. The darker image in the M1 should be easily remedied in mSetup with a few tweaks. My original A lens Mobi always provide excellent results with no tweaking, FWIW.

 

[RavenManiac]

That's pretty slick. May I ask what mount you're using?

 

[TonyM]

That's pretty slick. May I ask what mount you're using?

It's an action camera helmet mount, with a 'cheese plate' attached. The VHB tape I'm using sticks really well to the plate, but comes off easily too, which is good for trying out different setups. The plate lets me mount up to 5 cameras from a single window mount, plus they're all aligned in the same horizontal plane.

Amazon link https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B0084N2W60

 

[TonyM]

EDIT: On further inspection I do see some improvement since last time. Is this the most recent beta?

Yes it is.

Correction - It's actually old firmware version 2.03 that I was using for testing, then forgot I'd changed it

 

[Gibson99]

It's an action camera helmet mount, with a 'cheese plate' attached. The VHB tape I'm using sticks really well to the plate, but comes off easily too, which is good for trying out different setups. The plate lets me mount up to 5 cameras from a single window mount, plus they're all aligned in the same horizontal plane.

Amazon link https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B0084N2W60

What about using 3m double lock instead of vhb? Then you can move the cameras however often you want without needing new tape all the time.

 

[TonyM]

What about using 3m double lock instead of vhb? Then you can move the cameras however often you want without needing new tape all the time.

Good idea. I have a large roll of off-brand VHB that I use for sticking mounts to windows, so I just used that. Double-lock might be worth a go.

 

[Dashmellow]

What about using 3m double lock instead of vhb? Then you can move the cameras however often you want without needing new tape all the time.

I've used both VHB tape and Dual-Lock tape for a similar set-up (wooden block) and both have their merits. Dual-Lock makes for a much thicker mount, of course, but also allows easy on-the-fly angle adjustments.

 

[Dashmellow]

Correction - It's actually old firmware version 2.03 that I was using for testing, then forgot I'd changed it

That definitely doesn't surprise me. Back in the v.203 firmware days the Mobius 2 firmware was really quite promising despite its flaws. In a variety of ways (as I know you are aware), the more the Mobius team keeps messing with the M2 firmware the more they are bleeping it up.

Not wanting to derail our side cam thread here, I post this image a bit reluctantly but I feel compelled to provide a response somehow, so here's an early V.203 incremental beta screen shot I want to show from tens months ago. Maybe we can continue this discussion elsewhere at another time?

 

[TonyM]

Maybe we can continue this discussion elsewhere at another time?

Agreed

 

[Gibson99]

I've been tinkering with centre-mounted side-facing cameras today. This was my first setup. Centre view is a Mobius 1 with 90deg lens A. The side cams are Mobius 2 with 130deg lenses, offset at 45degrees.

so how do you power them when they're like this? do you rely on the internal battery, and i guess also start them recording manually as well?

 

[TonyM]

Currently using battery. As I'm camera testing at the moment, I find battery easier than capacitor for doing firmware changes, and not re-routing cables each time I move things around. I will revert to capacitors and cables once I've settled on something for a while.

 

[Cessna CJ4]

Hi all, just wondering if there is such thing as a side view dash cam that will watch the sides of your car? Like the doors and stuff

To answer your question directly an succinctly, no.

No one has designed a "dash cam" to be side mounted in the Retail Market. That fact alone blows my mind when majority of vandal activity will happen to the side of your vehicle! However, there are 4-Channel Camera Systems that have been produced for the Commercial Market and some of them ship with their own solid state DVR unit. I have not seen one that is both 4-channel and that offers Cloud Service for remote viewing. However, I have seen Commercial Market cam systems that have 2-channels and that do offer Cloud Service for remote connections.

Having said that, on the Retail side there are several good examples of people taking the initiative to do what the current crop of Retail Dash Cam makers won't do. Here are a couple great examples where people took 2-channel systems, added a second set of 2-channel cameras to create a 4-channel system. Unfortunately, with great regret, I cannot find anything out there that offers this potential with Cloud Service for remote viewing outside of Blackvue. Lord knows I am not a paid shill for Blackvue, but this is the only way to go until Thinkware gets its act together with their F800 Pro, alleged to ship with Cloud Service once released outside of Australia. It is my understanding that right now, Thinkware customers in Australia have access to the F800 Pro and Cloud Service. However, I have not confirmed this with anyone actually living in Australia.

Fairly common side mount approach:

Pretty common side mount strategy:

This one in particular has an interesting side mounting strategy:

Here's a side mount strategy that makes absolutely no sense in the world to me - but it is not my vehicle:

There is one other very good example of using two (2) dual channel cameras rolled into one system on YouTube that I can't seem to find anymore. It shows day time footage of how 360-degrees of coverage was achieved combining both systems into one.

I think full 360-degree coverage is absolutely essential, if you are also concerned about Vandals, but also if you are concerned about illegal and unsafe lane changers who don't know how to drive, don't care to learn properly and who then lie to the highway patrol after they cause a collision - stating that you crossed over into their lane instead. That's just one example of when having 360-degrees of coverage would come in handy.

Tying it all together under one Cloud Account and being able to quickly toggle from Front & Rear Cams to R-Side & L-Side Cams, at least in my mind, is the essential ingredient. And, like I said above it is very unfortunate to note that Blackvue is the only source for this right now and the reason why I still use their product (sadly).

 

[DT MI]

...
I think full 360-degree coverage is absolutely essential, ... but also if you are concerned about illegal and unsafe lane changers who don't know how to drive, don't care to learn properly and who then lie to the highway patrol after they cause a collision - stating that you crossed over into their lane instead....

A single forward facing camera would instantly disprove their claim by showing you were, in fact, in your lane when the collision occurred.

 

[SawMaster]

A single forward facing camera would instantly disprove their claim by showing you were, in fact, in your lane when the collision occurred.

When it comes to legal protection, one front cam does 98%+ of what needs to be done. A rear cam can prove a wild driver's behavior was occurring before they caught up with you from behind. Side cams may show them gesturing, swerving etc, but also may not show your lane position very well again leaving the brunt of the work on the front (and rear if you have that) cam. They can also show approaching cars at "tee" intersections and 4-way stops which you may not get on a front cam's edges unless it's got a wise enough lens angle.

My cams also provide a security function for me, but my situation is far from the norm. I work in places where unwatched work trucks get items stolen from them, and having visible side and rear cams helps with that. As long as they think they're being watched they leave me alone

Phil

 

[Dashmellow]

To answer your question directly an succinctly, no.

There are 11 pages with hundreds of posts this more than two year old thread that essentially dispute your moderately arrogant summary dismissal of the simple question from the OP as to whether there is "such thing as a side view dash cam that will watch the sides of your car?" Reading your post and considering it's tone I wonder how much of this thread you've actually taken the time to peruse.

And this is at it's heart a simple thread about side facing cameras, primarily DIY undertakings not commercial "4 channel 360º systems"with Cloud Service or your personal exasperation that, "no one" has designed a 'dash cam' to be side mounted 'in the Retail Market'."

Despite their growing popularity, dash cams are basically a niche market and as such, side facing dash cams are an even more rarefied and esoteric endeavor. Add to this the simple fact of the huge number and variety of motor vehicle styles, designs and window configurations that would need to be accommodated make the manufacture of a "universal" side camera mounting system virtually impossible. For these reasons, commercial dedicated side facing camera systems are not something we are likely to see forthcoming from any developer any time soon.

Still, you can count on seeing a proliferation of side facing camera installations as people continue to devise clever DIY approaches to capturing lateral views from their vehicles. No doubt this thread will continue to be a testament to the fact that there is indeed "such thing as a side view dash cam that will watch the sides of your car".

 

[TonyM]

If you don't have front, rear, right, left and a second (redundant) for the front then you don't have enough.

I'm planning on two front & two rear (wide and telephoto) plus two side cams. Will that be enough?

 

[Gibson99]

I'm planning on two front & two rear (wide and telephoto) plus two side cams. Will that be enough?

You'll get a sense of accomplishment after you finish installing it, but then you'll realize you don't have one facing up for those damned birds always dive-bombing your car, and squirrels dropping pine cones, and let's not forget meteors and aliens!