Moving on from a G1W

[JJ0063]

Hi guys,

New to the site, not new to dash cams.

I've had my G1W (genuine) hard wired into my E90 BMW for the past 6 months or so, however it has started to not save clips, or save random short clips rather than the set length, the mount has also become loose leading to shaky footage.

Therefore I've started to look at replacements.

I hate to be a generic "what cam?" Poster, but after watching hours of reviews, I'm still unsure as to what suits my needs.

Size isn't really a problem (having had a G1W) although obviously smaller the better.
I'd like a screen
Something reliable
Decent quality footage
I'd like to be able to use my class 10 32gb card to save extra expenditure.
Not fussed on GPS ETC. I want it to record footage - anything else is a bonus.
£70ish max.

What do you guys recommend? I like Techmoans review on the 'Wedge' cam, but is there anything better for the money? 0803?

Regards,

Jordan

 

[JJ0063]

Ok, so after another few hours of watching reviews & reading up, I feel the SJ4000 WIFI may be the answer.

I can use the camera for 'sticking' to the outside of the car for filming motorsport videos, cycling etc and it still looks to perform great as a dash cam too which will be the main use for it.

Any thoughts?

 

[Nigel]

I can use the camera for 'sticking' to the outside of the car for filming motorsport videos...

Any thoughts?

Isn't it likely to get broken outside?

What are the rules for cameras inside for motorsport use? Is something like the Mini 0803 allowed? I imagine that in a crash it could detach itself so maybe not considered acceptable...

I think if you want a dashcam then go for a proper dashcam that is designed for that purpose, the results will be much better than using a general purpose camera, The 'Wedge' and the 0803 are both good choices at that price range, both have good and bad points. both have sections to read on here (https://dashcamtalk.com/mini-0803/) both have Techmoan reviews, read up on the problems people are having with them and decide if those would be issues for you. If you want an 0803 and can wait a little while, its now over 6 months old and is soon to be replaced by 0805/0806 depending on the quality you want, the Wedge is still fairly new!

Not many people have tried all the cameras as they change so fast, so for most people it is hard to answer your question accurately, you will find people who will recommend most models but you need to decide for yourself.

 

[JJ0063]

Isn't it likely to get broken outside?

What are the rules for cameras inside for motorsport use? Is something like the Mini 0803 allowed? I imagine that in a crash it could detach itself so maybe not considered acceptable...

I think if you want a dashcam then go for a proper dashcam that is designed for that purpose, the results will be much better than using a general purpose camera, The 'Wedge' and the 0803 are both good choices at that price range, both have good and bad points. both have sections to read on here (https://dashcamtalk.com/mini-0803/) both have Techmoan reviews, read up on the problems people are having with them and decide if those would be issues for you. If you want an 0803 and can wait a little while, its now over 6 months old and is soon to be replaced by 0805/0806 depending on the quality you want, the Wedge is still fairly new!

Not many people have tried all the cameras as they change so fast, so for most people it is hard to answer your question accurately, you will find people who will recommend most models but you need to decide for yourself.

Hi Nigel,

Sorry, I probably worded that completely wrong - Sorry, writing whilst in a rush!

I don't mean motorsport as in 'Racing' or anything like that, more external videos such as this, on our track/weekend toy.

I have just reviewed todays footage filmed from my G1W & touch wood it seems to have saved, I decided last night to format the memory card and reset the camera back to default settings. I have a feeling I had put motion detect on by mistake which from reading up I believe may effect how the footage is saved hence having random length files & some files seemed to be missing.

I have also superglued the camera to it's mount which seems to have firmed it up & stopped the shaky footage.

I will do some more reasearch & reading on here in that case, to maybe sway my decision.

Regards,
Jordan

 

[M---]

Also consider buying a new memory card, as they can eventually go bad.

 

[DT MI]

Also consider buying a new memory card, as they can eventually go bad.

This is true, but not extremely likely.

There are a number of variables that come into play that determine the life of flash memory (SD cards are just one format) but the primary ones are the type and quality of the memory itself. (Major manufacturers I would assume would use higher quality.) The life span is determined by the number of write/erase cycles each memory cell experiences. Estimates range from a minimum of 10,000 cycles at the low end up to as high as 100,000 or more, and possibly higher with the newer memory technologies that are being developed.

What it means for a dash cam can be calculated.

A camera recording 1080P @ 30FPS and a bit rate of 12K can record about 5.5 hours of video on a 32GB SD card. Let's round that down to 5 hours to make the math simpler.

So, for every 5 hours of video capture the entire card will be written once before looping begins - that's 1 write/erase cycle. So after 50,000 hours of video the 10,000 write/erase cycles will get us to the minimum life-span of the card. 50,000 hours is 5.7 years if recording is happening 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. (A 64GB card would be twice that, while a 16GB would be half.)

I would be surprised if any dash cam records that much and think that 8 hours a day would be a lot which would give a life span in the neighborhood of 16 years or so. (I suspect that environmental factors like extreme heat or cold may affect this but that's pure speculation on my part.)

Adjust this as suits you needs for larger or smaller cards, different bit rates, 720P, etc.

Keep in mind that this also assumes the lowest estimate (10,000) of write/erase cycles - better quality cards will be rated for many times that. I have CF cards in my digital cameras that are over 10 years old and still functioning nicely.

 

[M---]

While it's just an anecdote, I've got a friend with a photography habit who's had multiple memory cards go bad, preventing him from retrieving the photos that he took. Perhaps the memory chips inside were still OK, but the electronics surrounding them failed. Or perhaps the chips were faulty.

I'm sure we've all been hit by electronics that have died early... Hard drives that claim 20 years' worth of hourly cycles that fail after 3, or 5 years. Or even failing after a month. Bad capacitors destroying a power supply or motherboard. Stuff that's not up to spec. Counterfeit/fake/copied dashcams...

And yes, heat and temperature variations will affect the life of an electronic device.

 

[DT MI]

While it's just an anecdote, I've got a friend with a photography habit who's had multiple memory cards go bad, preventing him from retrieving the photos that he took. Perhaps the memory chips inside were still OK, but the electronics surrounding them failed. Or perhaps the chips were faulty.

I'm sure we've all been hit by electronics that have died early... Hard drives that claim 20 years' worth of hourly cycles that fail after 3, or 5 years. Or even failing after a month. Bad capacitors destroying a power supply or motherboard. Stuff that's not up to spec. Counterfeit/fake/copied dashcams...

And yes, heat and temperature variations will affect the life of an electronic device.

It's happened to me as well - but generally with electronics that have associated mechanical components - DVD players, VCRs, etc. My experience with memory cards is, barring counterfeits, the point of most frequent failure is the external connectors - especially with CF cards with the numerous, very thin pins. Surprisingly I've never had a hard drive failure - yet (knock on wood), but I'm sure the day will come.

Only once can I recall having a true 'electronic' failure and that was with computer memory expansion that was dead out of the box.

 

[JJ0063]

So after I wiped my card & went through the settings on my G1W, realising I had switched motion detect on.. Turned it off & it's been faultless since!

I glued the rattling mount which had made it film fine too, also went over the lense surround & flash with a black sharpie