Mount Left or Right of Rear View Mirror?

[mealto]

So do you mount your dashcam on the left or right side of the rear view mirror? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

I just mounted on the right and the camera lens seems to need pointing a bit to the left to adjust for the non-center mounting spot of the vehicle.

 

[castle]

Left side (driver's side). Two main reasons:

- I wanted to hardwire the dash cam and minimize the wire length, and in my vehicle, the interior fuse box is on the left.

- My Subaru Forester has a safety camera system (called "EyeSight") which is positioned above the rear view mirror, and to avoid interference, I didn't want the dashcam wire to go across the EyeSight.

 

[jokiin]

if it can't be centered then the drivers side will generally give a better viewpoint than the passenger side

 

[Ralph2]

Also.. consider on your model which side you need to have access too. On my Blackvue if.. I mount it on the driver side the stem of the mirror would make it difficult to get at the SD card.

 

[mealto]

if it can't be centered then the drivers side will generally give a better viewpoint than the passenger side

Is into because the driver's side seens more "normal" because that's the side you drive on? (Whether that be left or right depending on the country you are from)

 

[Ralph2]

Because of the curvature of the windshield you get a tad more view on the side you mount the camera on.. if that is important then go with that side. It is not important for me to be able to see my camera so placing it on the passenger side totally hides it from the driver... others may want to see it all the time and will place it accordingly.

 

[sone983]

Is into because the driver's side seens more "normal" because that's the side you drive on? (Whether that be left or right depending on the country you are from)

The center behind,below the inside rear view mirror is the best option if it possible(type,model of your car,handling your dashcam normally,getting out sd card or similar actions),you may install your dashcam on passenger side of windscreen,but then you should move your lens dlightly to left side to catch as wide as you can,and center your point of view.This is my opinion,anyway,so guys here on the forum who knows better than me,will correct me if I am wrong.

 

[mealto]

I mounted on the right side (left hand drive) of the rear view mirror because the power outlet is on the right side of the center console. Actually, I installed a dual port cigarette lighter adapter that goes from the original power outlet to the left side of the passenger's side of the center console. This lower storage section beside the passenger area hides all the outlets and adapters. I also don't think there is not enough room between the rear view mirror and windshield to fit the cam + GPS unit on the left side (driver side) of the rear view mirror. And I won't have to deal with having to run the power cable from the left side to the right side of the rear view mirror. Now, the power cable tucks in neatly to the top edge nicely.

I will fiddle around with the L-R of the lens today to adjust for a more center view. There are click points for the lens to be tilted up / down and sideways. Let's see if I can get a better angle.

Anyone else experience some of the things I am seeing here?

 

[tabetha]

For myself I don't like things in my field of vision so mounted behind centre mirror but managed to get lens perfectly central as that's where I wanted it, this makes the camera body to the right of centre line(lens is at left hand end), it means it is 100% hidden from my sight by mirror but easy to access buttons when needed, even getting SD card out is easy as pops out top. I had a slight issue due to wiper position/type, they fold down flat one on top of another so leave a unswept area at top centre of screen, my lens is about 1" into swept area of nearside/left side wiper, I marked screen with black marker pen after getting assistant/slave to position cam whilst I kept going to front to check it was in swept area, my car is RHD, we drive on left in uk.

 

[mealto]

So I cannot decide which view is better while mounted behind the right side of the rear view mirror on a left driving car. Pointing center means the entire image is off to one side slightly but pointing it slightly to the left kind of makes it like the car is not aligned and moving slightly sideways lol.

Which angle is better for capturing more important information? Pointed straight and be a little off center to the right or pointed left and see more of the driver's side. FOV is wide so either way works but still not sure.

 

[jokiin]

if you have the option of either side then I'd always go with the drivers side, you're already off centre toward the passenger side by being on that side of the road, no point making that worse and having even further bias toward your own side of the road

 

[castle]

My dashcam has a left/right adjustment for the lens, so I mount it on the left side of the mirror, and turn the lens slightly tight. My goal is that the center nose of the hood is in the middle of the dashcam picture.

 

[jokiin]

Yes when you have side to side adjustment it's a lot more flexible as to where you can mount it

 

[mealto]

My dashcam has horizontal and vertical tilt but it goes in "click" increments so it's only in increments and not slight by any means.

 

[tabetha]

A consideration for myself was where the most likely danger was going to be coming from, after over 30 years driving mine have been almost totally from the side I drive on, at the end of the day there is nothing stopping you from moving it if not happy, nothing is permanent after all.