Need dashcam, live in cold weather

[kolkim]

Hey, new to forum and would like a dashcam. Don't need GPS or Wifi or even a screen but I am deciding between
Vantrue X2 or R2, Blackvue DR-3500, or the Livue LB100.
These are all around $200. I like the Vantures video quality, Blackvues small size, and Livue's price.

I also live in an area that gets to -40 or -50 celcius in the winter and every capacitor dashcam I see says temp range of -20~+80 celcius and battery operated dashcams are around -5~+60 celcius. Is this for real? My escort radar detector operates fine all year round for me so I'm confused. I think alot of the world can get colder than -5 celcius. Also what kind of extreme heat are people living in where they advertise +80 celcius??

Which cam would you recommend btw?

 

[jokiin]

our test equipment only goes to -20°c so technically even we have users that have our cameras in climates where it gets colder than this that are using our cameras without issue we still wouldn't advertise a lower temp than what we can verify, quite likely other manufacturers are in the same boat in that respect, best to look for feedback from users in your part of the world and see what their experience has been with the models you are interested in

as to the +80°c, we see in car temps hotter than that in summer when parked unfortunately

 

[thancam]

Hey, new to forum and would like a dashcam. Don't need GPS or Wifi or even a screen but I am deciding between
Vantrue X2 or R2, Blackvue DR-3500, or the Livue LB100.
These are all around $200. I like the Vantures video quality, Blackvues small size, and Livue's price.

I also live in an area that gets to -40 or -50 celcius in the winter and every capacitor dashcam I see says temp range of -20~+80 celcius and battery operated dashcams are around -5~+60 celcius. Is this for real? My escort radar detector operates fine all year round for me so I'm confused. I think alot of the world can get colder than -5 celcius. Also what kind of extreme heat are people living in where they advertise +80 celcius??

Which cam would you recommend btw?

Range of operation is -20 ~ 80.
I dont think you can drive at -20C.

 

[randy]

If you're spending a couple hundred I would recommend the Lukas LK-7900 Ace. It's been a great and very reliable camera for me for over a year. I have had no issues with the camera and it has no screen. I believe it is -20 as well though...check it out.

 

[kamkar]

-40 and then some thank god for the gulf current cuz here in Denmark ( also up there on the globe like Canada ) we are lucky if we get -10 and -20 is only like once every decade.
Or rather it use to be like that, last year we got 2 inches of snow where i live, and so far this year we had about 5 days with frost in my area, and we still haven't gotten any snow. next week is forecast with 2 digit temperatures ( +10 - 12 degree C ) and if we are unlucky temps will hit 0 at night.

Im not complaining cuz if we cant get any proper amounts of snow i would prefer it not to snow or freeze, less than +20 and i start to break out my skiing underwear, i just hate cold weather.

 

[randy]

Range of operation is -20 ~ 80.
I dont think you can drive at -20C.

It's just 4 below, I've done it

 

[kamkar]

I dont think you can drive at -20C.

Thats no problem, when i was like 20 we went camping in winter time in -20 degrees, we abandoned our trip after 5 mm ice formed on the inside side windows of my Volvo 121 with the good heater at full blast..

But i can understand such numbers is hard to understand for a person living where you do.

This pic is from winter 1978, i remember it as i was 12 years old back then

If you look at Aarhus town here on google map you will see the bay to the east and northeast of the town, when i was a kid it was some times possible to drive across it in a car on the ice.

But have not seen sea ice for a long time, only a little in the mid 90ties, not sure but i think our 2 ice breakers are sold now.

 

[Dashmellow]

Hey, new to forum and would like a dashcam. Don't need GPS or Wifi or even a screen but I am deciding between
Vantrue X2 or R2, Blackvue DR-3500, or the Livue LB100.
These are all around $200. I like the Vantures video quality, Blackvues small size, and Livue's price.

I also live in an area that gets to -40 or -50 celcius in the winter and every capacitor dashcam I see says temp range of -20~+80 celcius and battery operated dashcams are around -5~+60 celcius. Is this for real? My escort radar detector operates fine all year round for me so I'm confused. I think alot of the world can get colder than -5 celcius. Also what kind of extreme heat are people living in where they advertise +80 celcius??

Which cam would you recommend btw?

In some cases the DSPs in dash cams are simply not rated for such extreme low temps, so its not the capacitor, per se. My Mobius cameras have occasionally balked in very cold temperatures around -20 C but after about sixty seconds or so the chip warms up and after a reboot everything works normally.

 

[blake]

my SG9665gc has survived several -32c days in minnesota as has my a118c. My DAB202 has also survived 1 season of -25c temps and its battery powered. I would definitely go capacitor. the only issue i've heard of is that the caps may need to warm up for a few seconds before everything gets operational and flowing. Many times the screens on the dashcams failed to actually refresh for like 5 min of the trip but they were still recording.

 

[kamkar]

One thing is for damn sure if i was living a place where it got that colde in winter, i would have a engine / cabin heater installed in my car.

 

[blake]

One thing is for damn sure if i was living a place where it got that colde in winter, i would have a engine / cabin heater installed in my car.

Most of us use remote start in the morning to warm it up before we get inside to go to work.

 

[kamkar]

That would work too, and not least with the cheap gasoline you guys have, i got really cheap gasoline for my car last time i filled it up, to the tune of 4.7 dollars / gallon, and thats cheap over here 6 dollars for a gallon is not uncommon when OPEC have their things in order.

 

[country_hick]

Remote car starter?

Is that what you can shivering waiting for the car to warm up?

-20f and even -40f (or -40c )has been seen here.

 

[Raytis]

I've heard some users who live in extreme cold weather bring the cams indoors for the night, so maybe you can look for dashcams that allows for easy mounting and detaching. For example, our product comes with discrete camera modules that have a mounting mechanism you can easily detach the camera from, just slide the camera out from the mount base.

 

[niko]

I've heard some users who live in extreme cold weather bring the cams indoors for the night, so maybe you can look for dashcams that allows for easy mounting and detaching. For example, our product comes with discrete camera modules that have a mounting mechanism you can easily detach the camera from, just slide the camera out from the mount base.

Thats a nice easy mount / dismount solution for cameras, but I guess main DVR unit also has to be disconnected / connected along with cameras in order not to be on the safe side ?

 

[Raytis]

Indeed, it would be wise to do so. Depending on how you mount the console, it may or may not be a pain in the ass to detach and reattach.

Real world example:

In this case, the console is simply placed in the glove box, no adhesives, so it's relatively simple to disconnect cables and remove from the car along with the camera modules.

Even with adhesives, it's still possible to make it easily removable. For instance, you can opt to use one of those velcro type adhesives like the 3M Dual Lock or 3M Hook and Loop instead of the default tape. The 3M Dual Lock in particular I really love, personally using it for other applications and it's really stable.

 

[xelamander]

Just installed my dashcam last week and it was -35C here a few days ago but my Blackvue DR650S-2ch still works flawlessly.

Winter temperature here in Northern Alberta, Canada can get as cold as -45C so we will see.

 

[SawMaster]

Thanks for the info xelemander and please do keep us updated It is members like you who have the valuable information we need to be able to help others with. When you share here you're making the whole world a better place

Phil