Looking for a very reliable sub $300 dashcam with excellent low light video with support/warranty

[Kherven]

Apologize if this exact question has been asked around here, but I couldn't find it.

I live in the US and on the weekends I am a pizza delivery driver. With how much I drive I thought it'd be a good idea to buy a dashcam. Like many newbies in this area I heard many good things about cheap Chinese dashcams. I ended up going with one I saw from this website; the mini 0805.

I was pretty happy with the daytime footage, however, the night time video was pretty terrible. Street lights would completely blow out the view. On top of that, the clock would never work right. Even after it being set it'd always forget it. Apparently this is a big deal in actually using dashcam footage as evidence.

More disappointingly, the dashcam has broken after 3 months of use. The camera cannot stay on (even with direct power) for more than 20 seconds at a time. I've tried this both inside my car, on its own battery power, and hooked up to my computer.

As that's $100 down the drain, I'd rather not cheap out this time. I'm willing to spend a good deal of money if it means getting great quality night video and great reliability.

I live in Midwestern US, so the temperature can go as low as -10F (-23C) to 105F (40C) at the extremes. On top of that, I work in a suburban to rural area. Some areas are well lit by streetlights while others are completely dark. I need a camera to work well in both.

Here's exactly what i'm looking for:

• Excellent night vision in both well lit and rural areas
• Very good reliability. Something that can handle a wide variety of temperature changes and stay in the car 24/7
• Good support/warranty. If it breaks shortly after purchase, i want some protection.
• 1080p 30 FPS
• Support for 64GB card

If anyone can help, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

 

[Kherven]

Ugh, I thought I had posted in the what to buy section. I don't see a way to delete the thread.

 

[Deleted member 46308]

Welcome Kherven! I have the SG9665GC from @Pier28 a seller on this forum. Works great, reliable and has excellent support from Manufacturer and Seller. Also, mounts very securely to windshield. I think it is a given that if it breaks shortly after purchase you will have great protection and support! Good luck!

 

[Module 79L]

First of all, welcome to the forum!

More disappointingly, the dashcam (Mini 0805) has broken after 3 months of use. The camera cannot stay on (even with direct power) for more than 20 seconds at a time. I've tried this both inside my car, on its own battery power, and hooked up to my computer.

As that's $100 down the drain, I'd rather not cheap out this time. I'm willing to spend a good deal of money if it means getting great quality night video and great reliability.

Well, if you're calling "cheap chinese camera" to a $100 Mini 0805 I wonder what you'd say if you bought a really cheap $50 chinese camera!
And, mind you, some of them have pretty decent night video quality and durability.

 

[Kherven]

First of all, welcome to the forum!


Well, if you're calling "cheap chinese camera" to a $100 Mini 0805 I wonder what you'd say if you bought a really cheap $50 chinese camera!
And, mind you, some of them have pretty decent night video quality and durability.

Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not made of money. $100 is a lot and I"m very frustrated that the money is gone for nothing. But the whole point of me buying the 0805 over a G1W is I thought it'd be better quality/more reliable.

Sadly I was wrong and I just spent more money for nothing.

It perhaps the most frustrating thing about dashcams. Two people buy the same thing and one gets a very good quality and very reliable camera, and the other gets unlucky and gets one that's terrible in both regards even though they bought the same thing.

 

[Deleted member 46308]

Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not made of money. $100 is a lot and I"m very frustrated that the money is gone for nothing. But the whole point of me buying the 0805 over a G1W is I thought it'd be better quality/more reliable.

Sadly I was wrong and I just spent more money for nothing.

It perhaps the most frustrating thing about dashcams. Two people buy the same thing and one gets a very good quality and very reliable camera, and the other gets unlucky and gets one that's terrible in both regards even though they bought the same thing.

Nothing wrong with expecting quality in your purchases. It does seem though with DashCams that cheap generally gets you that, cheap. My neighbor has a G1W-C and it is still going great, however he is always fiddling with it, adjusting things etc. Myself, I tend to look for quality and reliability. Read a lot of the threads on this forum and I am sure you will find something that will work for you.

Edit:
The Mobius is an exception on the cheap gets you cheap statement.

 

[Module 79L]

Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not made of money. $100 is a lot and I"m very frustrated that the money is gone for nothing.

I feel your pain. If I was to spend that kind of money on something like a dashcam, I'd have to be pretty damn sure it was well spent.

But the whole point of me buying the 0805 over a G1W is I thought it'd be better quality/more reliable.

It's always a lottery with generic dashcams like the G1W's series but in a large percentage of the cases you buy a good one and they are amazing pieces of machinery for the price tag they have.

 

[kuoh]

I think part of the issue with the mini 080x line may be all the poor quality cloning due to its popularity and some design issues because of its size. I'm also in the midwest, in the great state of Oz and have been quite happy with the Blacksys CF-100, which has been in my car now for around 10 months. It has basically everything you're looking for plus a rear camera at under $100 on Amazon right now or slightly more if you want GPS capability. The only thing I can't vouch for is warranty support, since this is my first Blacksys product and I haven't had to make any support or warranty claims. It's not the perfect dashcam, but it's as close to one as I can find at this price point.

KuoH

I live in Midwestern US, so the temperature can go as low as -10F (-23C) to 105F (40C) at the extremes. On top of that, I work in a suburban to rural area. Some areas are well lit by streetlights while others are completely dark. I need a camera to work well in both.

Here's exactly what i'm looking for:

• Excellent night vision in both well lit and rural areas
• Very good reliability. Something that can handle a wide variety of temperature changes and stay in the car 24/7
• Good support/warranty. If it breaks shortly after purchase, i want some protection.
• 1080p 30 FPS
• Support for 64GB card

 

[russ331]

If anyone can help, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

See https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/amazon-usa-bargain-deal.11847/

 

[Kherven]

Thanks for your help everyone, after looking at quite a few cams, including all your suggestions I think the Street Guardian SG9665GC probably fits my needs the best. Will have to wait a little while to actually get it , but the order is placed.

 

[Witness Auto Dash Cam]

Why not check out the no.1 brand in Korea, The Lukas. There are two models I would recommend you to purchase. The first one is the LK-7950. It comes sony lens 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 a micro sd card, which means the daily driving videos and the impact data is separated into two SD card(8+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 smaller than the other Lukas two channels cam and it is working in wifi too. Simply you can download the app in your smart phone and view your videos recording, or you can take out the sd card then insert into any computer and watch it.
On the other hand, if you don't need the wifi function, you can choose the LK-9350. It also comes with the above spec but there is a touch screen monitor for you.

Check the our retail store (my user name) in Vancouver BC with the good currency between US$ and Canada$.
You can search us in google and check the installation photos if you are curious. My user name is the company and we are located in Vancouver. Which we are the sole distributor in Vancovuer and we have 10 dealerships holding our brand like porsche and BMW

 

[Calgary Dash Camera - Robert]

Thanks for your help everyone, after looking at quite a few cams, including all your suggestions I think the Street Guardian SG9665GC probably fits my needs the best. Will have to wait a little while to actually get it , but the order is placed.

One thing you can count on with the purchase of your SG9665GC and a account with Dash Cam Talk, is the unprecedented amount of support that is available to you

 

[Deleted member 46308]

One thing you can count on with the purchase of your SG9665GC and a account with Dash Cam Talk, is the unprecedented amount of support that is available to you

+1

 

[DT MI]

One thing you can count on with the purchase of your SG9665GC and a account with Dash Cam Talk, is the unprecedented amount of support that is available to you

Speaking as a customer (versus a retailer or manufacturer) I can confirm this.