Looking to narrow down options

ryanprins

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Hello, I used to be on this forum quite a bit. I didn't post a lot but read a lot. Anyway, I have been gone for quite a while and I am now crazy busy building a trailer and modifying a vehicle for a Canada wide tour. Taking 3 months off and going 20k miles. Anyhow, I want a good dashcam. Right now I have an LS300w in one car and Aiptek X2 in another. I would like a better one for this vehicle. There are pros and cons to each that I have and I am hoping that it would be alright if I gave you guys a list of features I want and you give me recommendations of cameras to look into? I just dont have time for weeks of searching right now and it would help me out to have a few good options to choose from rather than sifting through hundreds...

-On this trip I would like to be able to save videos of interesting things we drive by easily. On my aiptek x2 you hit a button and it saves a separate read only video of 30 seconds before you hit the button and 30 seconds after. I like that feature a lot and want something similar. The LS300w just makes the 3min video its recording read only and its happened several times that whatever I wanted to save was at 2:55 or in the gap between videos. Its also a pain to find them back in all the others and to find which ones have something interesting and which are just rumble strips or big bumps. After 6 months of winter the card is almost full from read only window scraping videos...

-good picture quality of course

-front and rear camera. I want to point the rear one forward so you can see inside the car from the back window with it. Although this being a separate camera wouldn't be the worst thing but obviously much preferable to be the same.
-Largish card capacity. 32gb is what I have now and would like bigger, but im not buying a $200 card, so maybe 64-80gb range.
-not having a screen on the camera is fine if it has a good interface with a laptop or phone.
-has to either come with or have a mount available that uses double sided tape. I'm done with suction cups in -30c.
-needs to be able to handle cold, they all do right? like -40c/f
-price, I would like to stay under $400. Less is better, but at minimum same quality as the dod ls300w, I do want better picture quality than that though.
-gps/speed writing i never looked into much. if its being recorded onto the video is it possible to remove it after the fact? If so I would kinda like it but its not a deal breaker.
-what other features are important/available now?
Thanks again!

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No one?

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You might want to start here:
https://dashcamtalk.com/dash-cam-buying-guide/
On that page are also links to "Best cams " (top) and "Reviews" (top right). There are many cams which fit your criteria so recommendations are tough. One trick for saving files is to use the G-sensor, and when you want to save something give the cam a good tap to activate it. That almost always saves the current file plus the previous one but you need to check each cam for how that works. Most cams have a 'save' button but it's not always easy to use and may save files differently.

Most cams can use a 64GB or larger card but it often requires resetting the format to FAT32 in your PC first. Check each cam's forum to see what's possible as reviews often just echo a manufacturer's statement of max card size and better may be possible. Also stay with the recommended cards only as others may not be reliable if they function at all. Note there is a world-wide shortage of micro SD cards at the moment, and many are either not available or will have shipping delays. Some recent large Lexar cards have been giving trouble so you might want to pass on them even where recommended. If you use a large enough card, you won;t need to 'save' files since they won't get overwritten before the day is done and you have time to save those clips on your laptop. Just note the time(s) for them and view them later, saving as much or as little as you please.

Several cams have been tested in extreme cold, again you'll have to dig that info up on a cam's specific forum. Manufacturers and reviews usually give specs on this but people's actual experiences is much a better indicator. Also consider just how good the second cam really needs to be; recording car interior shots usually means a heated/cooled car so temps aren't as important and a lower resolution may be good enough. Savings here cam be applied to getting a better front cam.

Some good brands (not all-inclusive) are Thinkware, Lukas, Street Guardian, BlackVue, Viofo,Vico-Opia, Garmin, Yi, Chupad, Mobius, SJ. Note that not all of these people's cans are good but some definitely are. Check each possible choice's specific forum for details. Also some of these are action cams but work well when used as a dashcam.

Narrow your choices down some and then come back asking for details on those specific cams- you'll get a better response that way ;)

Phil
 
You might want to start here:
https://dashcamtalk.com/dash-cam-buying-guide/
On that page are also links to "Best cams " (top) and "Reviews" (top right). There are many cams which fit your criteria so recommendations are tough. One trick for saving files is to use the G-sensor, and when you want to save something give the cam a good tap to activate it. That almost always saves the current file plus the previous one but you need to check each cam for how that works. Most cams have a 'save' button but it's not always easy to use and may save files differently.

Most cams can use a 64GB or larger card but it often requires resetting the format to FAT32 in your PC first. Check each cam's forum to see what's possible as reviews often just echo a manufacturer's statement of max card size and better may be possible. Also stay with the recommended cards only as others may not be reliable if they function at all. Note there is a world-wide shortage of micro SD cards at the moment, and many are either not available or will have shipping delays. Some recent large Lexar cards have been giving trouble so you might want to pass on them even where recommended. If you use a large enough card, you won;t need to 'save' files since they won't get overwritten before the day is done and you have time to save those clips on your laptop. Just note the time(s) for them and view them later, saving as much or as little as you please.

Several cams have been tested in extreme cold, again you'll have to dig that info up on a cam's specific forum. Manufacturers and reviews usually give specs on this but people's actual experiences is much a better indicator. Also consider just how good the second cam really needs to be; recording car interior shots usually means a heated/cooled car so temps aren't as important and a lower resolution may be good enough. Savings here cam be applied to getting a better front cam.

Some good brands (not all-inclusive) are Thinkware, Lukas, Street Guardian, BlackVue, Viofo,Vico-Opia, Garmin, Yi, Chupad, Mobius, SJ. Note that not all of these people's cans are good but some definitely are. Check each possible choice's specific forum for details. Also some of these are action cams but work well when used as a dashcam.

Narrow your choices down some and then come back asking for details on those specific cams- you'll get a better response that way ;)

Phil
Ok, thanks.
Spent a couple hours looking at cameras today.
Dual channel panorama x2 is looking like the best, have to look at it closer yet though.
It looks better to me than the:
thinkware f770 (too pricy for quality)
Lukas 7950 (close second to x2?)
Koonlung k1s (battery, night quality, small card)

Any others that have good quality in that price range that i missed and should look at?
Is there a list somewhere of all dual channel dashcams that im just not finding here?

Because of the price of a good dual channel i started looking at 2 single cameras but wow, there are a lot of them...


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Panorama X2 is a deleted model, K1S is a problem model, I would think your logical choice right now would be between the Thinkware and the Lukas
 
I agree with Jokin, although he has what could be another good choice almost released which could be worth considering if you can wait for that. He's too humble to suggest his Street Guardian products over other people's cams himself ;)

There's just not much out there in 2ch cams :( And there are so many good 1ch cams that deciding among them can drive you nuts :p Among the good cams there are no really bad choices, only minor differences in features and form-factors and prices between them all. Obsessing over the choice isn't a good idea if it leaves you making a rushed decision as deadlines close in so try something that seems to give you the most of what is most important to you. If you don't like it then sell it and try something else. Research only the few most important points you need deeply, while remaining aware of the rest. Stay with the good reliable cams and you can't go too badly wrong whichever you choose.

Phil
 
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