Need help. NEWBIE

[Dr disinfectant]

Having trouble with a co-worker, as I'm sure many of you have as well. I am fearing vandalism to my vehicle (toyota tacoma). Our parking lot has decent lighting, but not great and I usually work overnight so it's dark. I need help finding something that can record the front and sides while I'm inside working, incase of getting keyed or dented. Thank you for your help! Please

 

[SawMaster]

Welcome to DCT @Dr disinfectant
Yours isn't an uncommon request, as can be found in numerous threads here. First is you need to realize the shortcomings of dashcams for this purpose:

* Dashcams need light to capture images. Some do this well, some don't but all need some light or you'll see nothing
* Dashcams cannot cover every part of your vehicle though they can sometimes cover most of it. This can get complex and expensive sometimes, but fairly good coverage can be achieved at a reasonable price if you can compromise some coverage for cost.
* For purposes like this, external security cams do this job immensely better and if possible are a far better choice. Dashcams should be seen as something to use like this when you can't have anything better
* Dashcams are only a tool to gather evidence; they cannot prevent damage. Your insurance is your real protection, and dashcam footage may at best save you the deductible on a claim while helping your insurer recover their costs. They can also assist investigations into incidents.
* The best protection requires other actions first which may be inconvenient such as parking only where there is good lighting, parking away from other cars and traffic, parking only where there are other cams or persons to assist you with security coverage etc.

It is certainly possible to get good coverage with dashcams but it will involve some expense, and based on what you want for image quality and recording times can get expensive fast. A basic 4-cam setup with cards and hardwire kits will start in the $250 range, and offer you maybe 2 hours recording time. You'll need about twice that price to get this kind of coverage for 8+ hours of a work shift. Better image quality will add as much again.

Perhaps you may not need this much; a 2-cam system can catch a lot and may be enough to prove the culprit for intentional damages. How much proof you need will matter here too. Your company may act on evidence of them being shown to approach your car intentionally without need or cause along with the damage they cause, or they may require absolute irrefutable video of everything.

So a long reply by me but necessary. If you think dashcams are what you need we can get you there The first question we will need answered is what your maximum budget is- from that we can go forward

Phil

 

[Dr disinfectant]

Welcome to DCT @Dr disinfectant
Yours isn't an uncommon request, as can be found in numerous threads here. First is you need to realize the shortcomings of dashcams for this purpose:

* Dashcams need light to capture images. Some do this well, some don't but all need some light or you'll see nothing
* Dashcams cannot cover every part of your vehicle though they can sometimes cover most of it. This can get complex and expensive sometimes, but fairly good coverage can be achieved at a reasonable price if you can compromise some coverage for cost.
* For purposes like this, external security cams do this job immensely better and if possible are a far better choice. Dashcams should be seen as something to use like this when you can't have anything better
* Dashcams are only a tool to gather evidence; they cannot prevent damage. Your insurance is your real protection, and dashcam footage may at best save you the deductible on a claim while helping your insurer recover their costs. They can also assist investigations into incidents.
* The best protection requires other actions first which may be inconvenient such as parking only where there is good lighting, parking away from other cars and traffic, parking only where there are other cams or persons to assist you with security coverage etc.

It is certainly possible to get good coverage with dashcams but it will involve some expense, and based on what you want for image quality and recording times can get expensive fast. A basic 4-cam setup with cards and hardwire kits will start in the $250 range, and offer you maybe 2 hours recording time. You'll need about twice that price to get this kind of coverage for 8+ hours of a work shift. Better image quality will add as much again.

Perhaps you may not need this much; a 2-cam system can catch a lot and may be enough to prove the culprit for intentional damages. How much proof you need will matter here too. Your company may act on evidence of them being shown to approach your car intentionally without need or cause along with the damage they cause, or they may require absolute irrefutable video of everything.

So a long reply by me but necessary. If you think dashcams are what you need we can get you there The first question we will need answered is what your maximum budget is- from that we can go forward

Phil

Omg thank you so much for all the help! As far as budget goes I'd like to spend as little as possible while still getting the job done lol. 300$ would probably be pushing it for me. Based on what you're saying, four side view is probably out of my league, is a wide "fisheye" style view something possible? The rear would be the least of my concerns if that helps at all. THANKS AGAIN!

 

[kamkar]

Welcome to the forum Dr disinfectant.
If you can park in a way you dont have too much movement in front or behind the car, you can use motion detect on a common front and rear dual system, but that will just catch the approach and departure of the person not the deed itself.
Same go if you use a camera which are constantly recording but low bitrate to take up as little space as possible, the camera i have i use in that way generate two 110 MB files ( front and rear ) every 3 minutes so no need for a super large memory card to host a work day.
Recording low bitrate all the time are my preferred parking mode, versus time lapse that also take up little memory space the low bitrate also have sound.

A alternative which will capture the guy on the approach and doing his evil deed would be to put a trail cam so it oversee your parked car, but that necessitate you have a place to put the camera so it can be stealthy.
I think you can get okay cheap trail cameras, and they are also reasonable small.
You could probably use any nanny or covert spy camera in this way, just have to be mindful these are not weather proof, and it need to have a sufficient battery size to cover a work day.
But i assume many of these can be powered off a USB power bank.

A downside with that approach are of course that you will have to deploy the camera every day you park, and you dont want that guy seeing that.

Even side cameras like i have it on my car, well they have no coverage of the side of the car, and so also just capture a vandal on the approach, to capture the deed you would need a system that film down the side like for instance on the Tesla cars, but these kind of systems are rare as stand alone dashcams, and the image quality can be just 720p which are sort of low these days.

I do however not use parking guard, i just do it on a front / rear system i was given to test, and in that case i must of course also test this, but thankfully that camera have a timer function too, so set to 1 hour i dont load my battery too much, and it still cover all of my shopping.

I will also update side cameras with wider Field Of View lenses, but not the system i currently use as it is acting a little weird, but next system to go on the fixed glass on my rear doors will be outfitted with wider FOV lenses for sure.

Next car over / for driving my current system are just fine, the latter half of this video have some INFO on the install too.

 

[EGS]

Omg thank you so much for all the help! As far as budget goes I'd like to spend as little as possible while still getting the job done lol. 300$ would probably be pushing it for me. Based on what you're saying, four side view is probably out of my league, is a wide "fisheye" style view something possible? The rear would be the least of my concerns if that helps at all. THANKS AGAIN!

Welcome to the forums!
The only vehicles I've seen with wide surveilance coverage where you can see part of the exterior of the car are the Tesla cars or any vehicle with self driving capabilities as they have several lateral cameras like in the side mirrors. Something that would be very expensive to replicate on your own plus I don't think there is anything in the market for that purpose.
Maybe the cheapest option is to make that guy your friend and problem solved . I know, bad joke. Sometimes we wish it was that easy to make peace with people.

 

[kamkar]

Gnet make a down the side system ( 1-2-3 channel ), but as i recall it are just 720p when using 2 side cameras.

(주)지넷시스템

(주)지넷시스템 설명

www.gnetsystem.com

The side cameras seem to be optional.

IMO the way these cameras install ( just in front of door front fender gap ) are a okay solution, the wire feed thru the door gap, and the cameras stick on, so if they dont fall off a pretty strait forward install, and l tool less, and not needing a high level of DIY skills.

I would like to try a setup like that ( just side cameras ) but it must be 1080p cameras, CUZ this aim i can see useful in many situations.

+ with some Gnet cameras, they support up to 2TB external SSD drives ( M2 drive in a dock ),,,,,, that is pretty nice i feel, though i would prefer if the M2 drive are in a remote main unit.

 

[SawMaster]

For that budget and with getting 8 hours recording time what can be done is limited. I'm guessing yours is about a 65AH car battery and if it's in really good condition that should keep a 2-channel cam or 2 single cams going long enough with a low setting on a hardwire kit (HWK). Car battery service life will be reduced 20%+ doing this- a hidden cost of dashcams for parking protection.

One choice here would be the B2W 'Taxi cam'. It has two rotatable lenses in the single windshield-mounted housing, and they could cover most of both sides and most of the front if aimed properly, then be re-aimed to front and rear for best driving protection. Each lens covers a claimed 110 degrees which jibes with my experiences. Sony IMX307 does OK at night and good daytime. With a good HWK about $200 after buying a good card. Odd form-factor may not work well, but a good cam where it does work. You could also use 2 B4K single cams similarly mounted at the mirror but having the ball mount loose enough to turn them by hand leaves them a bit loose for normal driving. IMX335 sensor good at night and very good daytime. That will need 2 HWK's and 2 cards, maybe slightly over $200. Both these cams are from Blueskysea and are good cams and a very good value.

Alternately you could use a regular 2-channel system that has a main unit and a small 'rear' cam module, but these are fixed mounting and would cover only 2 directions, missing one side or the front. Only one HWK and card needed for these. Cheaper ones will not do good at night with at least the 'rear' cam- maybe both. The A129 Plus Duo has good sensors for nighttime use, but only low-bitrate or time-lapse parking modes work properly for everyone. Probably the best value in a 2-channel cam today.

One member here @Dashmellow with a Tacoma gets 360 degree coverage with 4 Mobius cams using powerbanks to run them. He can show you his set-up. Sadly the old Mobius is much lacking at night being an older design but you could do something similar with newer cams that are better at night. You could combine a 2-channel system and 2 single cams, or just 2 2-channel cams to do something similar, Cost will top your budget but it's the best coverage possible. Doing something like this lets you add cams as you can afford them so it may be viable.

All these prices presume you'll DIY the install which is pretty easy if you've got average handyman skills- we can walk you through it. If you have someone else do the install that cost will vary based on the system you use but will eat up your stated budget by at least 1/3.

Links: B2W
B2K
A129 Plus Duo

Phil

 

[Dashmellow]

@Dr disinfectant, @SawMaster's comment that I run four Mobius cameras, is not quite correct. I currently run front and rear facing Viofo A119 V3 cameras and two Mobius M1 side facing cams with C2 lenses. I also have an additional customized Mobius up front with a varifocal telephoto lens on it.

I do drive a Tacoma Tacoma. It is an Access Cab model which facilitates the use of lateral facing cameras because it has fixed glass rear windows. If you have a four door Tacoma, side cameras will be more of a challenge to mount. Also, as mentioned, side curtain air bags need to be considered for safety reasons so that your cameras don't become projectiles if the curtain bags are activated.

My side cameras are "ceiling" mounted on the frame surrounding the rear fixed glass windows.



At one time, I did have a rear facing Mobius that was mounted like this. I reinforced the headliner with drillable, sandable epoxy putty so I would have a secure (but invisible) mounting surface. The mount was a DIY custom one I made from an existing commercially available one. My current camera uses the same scheme but with a custom built mount for a wedge style camera. The object here was to have the camera in a good position but still be able to open the rear sliding window panel without interference from the camera.

My original rear headliner mounted Mobius looked like this:



I use two 20,000+ mAh power banks with two USB ports each when I am away from my vehicle to run four cameras. Two of these power banks will easily handle more than your entire work shift in run time for four dash cameras. I recharge them overnight when needed but you could also have two spare power banks charged and ready to go and just swap them in while the other two are charging.

As for coverage I achieve more than full 360º surveillance around my truck. By "more than" I mean that each camera's FOV significantly overlaps the coverage of each adjacent camera.

You can see an example of how that works in THIS older post which used three Mobius cameras and a SG9665GC which has since failed and been replaced with the A119 V3s which provide much better performance, especially in low light sityations and with higher resolution.