Need a recommandation for dashcam

[Necromancer]

Hi,

Need a recommendation for a dashcam with the following features:

• For hot climate - capacitor, no battery
• Quality and reliable - to work flawlessly for years without any maintenance.
• Records Sound
• Above Full HD (2.7K -> 4K) at 60 FPS, HVEC/H.265 codec
• Decent low light footage

No need for GPS, screen, wifi, back lens etc. Small and discrete is preferable.

 

[jokiin]

hot climate and 4k don't go together, try looking at 2k models at most

 

[Necromancer]

I do ride with air conditioning on
I need it to survive sitting idle in hot car, and dissipating strong sunlight heat effectively in a cool car on the road.
Do you have recommandations?

 

[Outbacknomad]

If you want to solve most of your heat issues in a car put insulation in the roof.

 

[jokiin]

I do ride with air conditioning on

as does everyone in hot weather

Do you have recommandations?

don't bother with 4k, hot weather is not their strong point, they also do worse in low light than 2k or even 1080p models

 

[Nigel]

Viofo A119 V3 would be a good choice.

GPS recommended so that it keeps the clock correct, don't worry about the screen, it is normally off anyway, and the camera is a lot smaller than it looks in the marketing, it is discrete.

Best Dash Cams of 2021 - DashCamTalk

The best dash cams available to purchase in 2021.

dashcamtalk.com

 

[nutsey]

(2.7K -> 4K) at 60 FPS, HVEC/H.265 codec

I'm not 100% sure, but I can't remember any dashcams capable doing this.

 

[Necromancer]

I'm not 100% sure, but I can't remember any dashcams capable doing this.

not strictly 4K, anything above 1080, the higher the better.

 

[Kremmen]

I'm agreeing with Nigel, look at the Viofo A119 V3 if a single channel is what you're looking for.

I'm running mine at 2560x1440 @ 60fps

 

[Nigel]

I'm agreeing with Nigel, look at the Viofo A119 V3 if a single channel is what you're looking for.

I'm running mine at 2560x1440 @ 60fps

I’ll agree with you then, and point out that it will also do H265 if someone will tell you the secret button presses.

 

[Kremmen]

I haven't tried 265 as my PC is on the limit for that. 7 year old graphics card and I'm not changing it as 264 is working perfectly.

 

[Nigel]

I haven't tried 265 as my PC is on the limit for that. 7 year old graphics card and I'm not changing it as 264 is working perfectly.

There isn’t a significant benefit while driving, should be some in low bitrate parking mode if there is stuff moving around.

 

[Necromancer]

Any seller recommendation to buy the Viofo A119 V3 from?

 

[Privateer]

Viofo A119 V3 would be a good choice.

I agree with the A119 V3 as a good choice.

Any seller recommendation to buy the Viofo A119 V3 from?

I bought mine from Amazon UK.

Is H.265 codec really worth it? I think that it compresses better than 264, but is 265 common yet? If I need to send footage to the local police or my insurance company then I'm pretty sure that they can view 264 but will they be able to watch 265?

Regards,

 

[Nigel]

Is H.265 codec really worth it? I think that it compresses better than 264, but is 265 common yet? If I need to send footage to the local police or my insurance company then I'm pretty sure that they can view 264 but will they be able to watch 265?

Depends what equipment will be used to watch it, Apple devices seem to prefer H265, other devices prefer H264. Overall, H264 is safer but in the UK you should be OK with either. You are unlikely to see much improvement from H265, generally the cameras use a lower bitrate for the H265 settings so you actually get worse image quality with longer record times, but the difference is small.

 

[Necromancer]

To me its no different playing. I edit and the clips, cut it to around the accident and add photos i took from my phone of the damage to the clip. So what codec it was recorded in doesn't really matter to me for playing it later. I can play 265 natively on my pc (VLC plays it)
even 30 seconds clips usually too large to send via email, so i just upload it to youtube and send a link.
like dis:

The reason i prefer h265 is because higher resolution requires A LOT more space, so i prefer better compression to mitigate it a little. it only saves like 20% , still better then nothing.

 

[Necromancer]

Any thoughts about BlueSkySea B4K dashcam?

 

[Nigel]

The reason i prefer h265 is because higher resolution requires A LOT more space, so i prefer better compression to mitigate it a little. it only saves like 20% , still better then nothing.

For dashcam driving video it really doesn't save any space, unless you are happy to lose some quality.

Any thoughts about BlueSkySea B4K dashcam?

Nice camera, a bit more basic than the A119 V3, and has more motion blur in the dark. As a basic 4K camera it is excellent, but if you want to read plates in lower light levels the A119 V3 will win. If parking modes are not important and you don't often drive in low light then it is a close contest though.

 

[Necromancer]

For dashcam driving video it really doesn't save any space, unless you are happy to lose some quality.

I am only familiar with Mobius cams, they have several bitrate settings to chose from.
These don't?

 

[Nigel]

These don't?

A119 V3 does, but the maximum for H264 is higher than maximum for H265, so for very best image I choose H264.

The B4K only has H265, and no choice of bitrate, pretty much the same bitrate as the A119 V3 on maximum, so the image has the same amount of information, but on the B4K because there is twice the resolution detail, you get half the colour/shade detail, or something around that.