Need inout

[circlhill]

Hi all. Thanks for this most excellent group! I am grateful to be here.

I work out of my personal vehicle as a delivery driver and am looking for a solution that has a stealthy front camera (not to spook customers on their properties) that also provides a rearview, so as not run over anything while backing up. Both cameras need to record for insurance purposes.

All I can come up with so far is one of these mirror options. However I can’t determine how useful these are day to day, whether the technology is gimmicky or not, adequate to replace a mirror etc. I use my mirrors all the time and don’t want to jeopardize their usefulness with tech unless it actually works very well.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated,

John

 

[DT MI]

It will be very helpful to know what vehicle you have. Possible solutions will differ quite a bit from a small sedan to a pick-up truck to a full-size cargo van.

Also, welcome to DCT.

 

[Nigel]

that also provides a rearview, so as not run over anything while backing up

This requires a reversing camera, mounted low down; for insurance purposes you want a dashcam, mounted high up. The two roles are not really compatible, better to have two seperate cameras, or continue using your mirrors for reversing, if they have a reasonable view.

Some of the mirror cameras are OK, but they can have problems in bright sunlight, so generally are not recommended for professional use, at least not the current generation. The next generation may be genuinely better than a standard mirror, but they are not really there yet.

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When looking for a new dash cam, check out our main page for the best bang for your buck dash cams. Beyond that, for 2022 these are the best dash cams to

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[kamkar]

Welcome to the forum circhill.

For backing up you need a reversing cameras, you can get these + a 7" screen pretty damn cheap. reversing cameras are often installed very low, or up high on say a van but then aimed a lot downwards.

A rear camera in a dashcam are also nice to have, but dashcams are aimed horizontal VS a reversing camera you would like to have your rear fender in the footage, depending on your car shape a dashcam aimed as such should be will leave you wit at least a couple of feet blind spot right behind your bumper.
Also dashcams do not have guide / distance lines in the footage so you will not have that help, also dashcams in general have pretty small screens, like stamp size so really not of much help reversing, but granted some to have a AV out to which you could connect a 7" LCD screen.
The problem is most multi channel dashcams tend to default to some PIP combination of the 2 cameras, so you might have to push a button on the camera to get your rear camera to show on the dashcam & LCD screen attached, in that case if you do not turn off your car you will be good for the duration of the drive.

Regarding to what will fit your car most stealthy is a bit hard to say without knowing what model / year it is, or a picture of your windscreen ( you can post a picture strait to this forum by using CTrl + p

In general the wedge shapped cameras mounted sensible often come off as just yet another sensor camera on the windscreen, if possible you of course want the camer5a to be up high on the windscreen, if possible on the dotted shade area often found there, this way just the lens peek out below and so you have a very stealthy setup.

Here a pic of such a install, though many cameras here so not stealthy, but i think you get the idea.

If your car have a sensor array / island on the windscreen like many new cars have, well then the very best location are taken by that, so in that case you have to mount a bit offset to a side of it.

If there are room on the sensor array / islands plastic you can also mount off that, but in that case you probably have to get another model of dual sided tape to mount with, as the provided one are made for install on glass, there are a rage of these dual sided tapes from 3M and other brands.
The provided tape will stick to plastic just fine, but it will probably come loose sooner or later, so just something to be weary about.

you can browse the " how have your installed your dashcam thread " go from the linked page ( 65 ) and backwards in time to see what people have done with different cars and dashcams. https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/where-did-you-mount-the-camera-post-your-pictures.502/page-65

 

[circlhill]

It will be very helpful to know what vehicle you have. Possible solutions will differ quite a bit from a small sedan to a pick-up truck to a full-size cargo van.

Also, welcome to DCT.

I have a small right hand drive Honda CRV. It is the 1997, looks like this one.
.

 

[circlhill]

Thanks for your detailed reply. You have provided some great ideas here. It looks like I may need to mix it up with a backup camera that will provide data for what is directly behind the bumper along with a dash cam for the back that records the road behind, then yet another small camera up front. I'll look up some of the models in your examples. The nice thing about the backup cams is they can plug into my stereo screen, which automatically turns on when you put the car in reverse.

My budget is around $300. As far as front and back cams it seems folks here like the Viofo stuff. The front cam doesn't need a screen as long as I can access the streams using the phone. Any experience with Viofo's app set up? Some are better than others!

 

[circlhill]

This requires a reversing camera, mounted low down; for insurance purposes you want a dashcam, mounted high up. The two roles are not really compatible, better to have two seperate cameras, or continue using your mirrors for reversing, if they have a reasonable view.

Some of the mirror cameras are OK, but they can have problems in bright sunlight, so generally are not recommended for professional use, at least not the current generation. The next generation may be genuinely better than a standard mirror, but they are not really there yet.

Best Dash Cams of 2022 - DashCamTalk

When looking for a new dash cam, check out our main page for the best bang for your buck dash cams. Beyond that, for 2022 these are the best dash cams to

dashcamtalk.com

Thanks, this is what I was sensing about the mirror cams. Great idea, just not quite fully there yet if you would like to depend it professionally.

 

[kamkar]

Yeah if you have a big screen radio, and it have a input for a camera / reversing camera, that is the way to go for sure.
Look like your car dont have a some times HUGE sensor array to deal with.
In my own car the mirror are hung off the roof, so i have tonnes of space in front of it, actually many years ago i had a 4 channel setup with analog CCTV cameras, my front BOX camera had up to 26 X optical zoom.

As a addict / tester some times there have been a lot of cameras on my windscreen / in the car, i think my record are 15 cameras in total.

My side camera system died a few weeks ago, it was a system with little remote cameras i had placed on the fixed glass on my rear doors, worked fine and at a little distance from the car i had a full 360 coverage.

ATM i just have 3 cameras in the car,,,,, i dont think i have been that low since 2014

 

[circlhill]

Yeah if you have a big screen radio, and it have a input for a camera / reversing camera, that is the way to go for sure.
Look like your car dont have a some times HUGE sensor array to deal with.
In my own car the mirror are hung off the roof, so i have tonnes of space in front of it, actually many years ago i had a 4 channel setup with analog CCTV cameras, my front BOX camera had up to 26 X optical zoom.

As a addict / tester some times there have been a lot of cameras on my windscreen / in the car, i think my record are 15 cameras in total.

My side camera system died a few weeks ago, it was a system with little remote cameras i had placed on the fixed glass on my rear doors, worked fine and at a little distance from the car i had a full 360 coverage.

ATM i just have 3 cameras in the car,,,,, i dont think i have been that low since 2014

Awesome! I can see how one can really get into it. I'm already considering another camera pointing in the cab, but will probably install the three I just ordered first!

Did end up ordering the VIOFO A129 Plus DUO and a small back up cam. The price and feedback is great.

 

[kamkar]

There are what we call uber cameras, this is 2 or 3 channel systems where one of the cameras can cover the cabin, also have IR light to aid in darkness.
My favorite Uber camera is the 3 channel Viofo A139 as its cabin camera are remote, so i put mine on the mirror stalk like the single camera in the picture above, but i could have out it anywhere on the windscreen really, or even further away though i would then have needed to buy a longer wire for it.

Some of these "Uber" cameras have 2 in 1 body cameras, i dont like these too much as at least in my car i can not put such a camera in front of my mirror cuz then the cabin camera would just film the back side of the mirror, so you would have to put it lower or offset to a side, in which case stealth are out of the window.

There are not really any single cameras with IR aid for cabin use, but if you mainly drive during the day any camera can be used.
I am however not too worried about any claims like " i saw he was on his phone" the other part would have to prove that, where as i can prove with no doubt everything else that happened.

I deleted my old Youtube channel so lost a lot of footage, but i have a video of the A139 system, that also have a short clip of the interior camera.

 

[Dashmellow]

Welcome to the forum @circlhill.

There's little I could add to this thread that hasn't already been said, but I had a good chuckle when I saw the title of the thread, "Need inout".

While many members here, especially me, as a totally ham-fisted typist misspell and mangle words all the time, this one was especially amusing. I immediately thought of the famous line from the 1971 Stanley Kubrick film "A Clockwork Orange" (based on the novel of the same name by Anthony Burgess) where the main character Alex is quoted several times mentioning the term "A little of the Old inout"

Urban Dictionary: The Old In-out

Term used by young Alex in Stanley Kubric's 1970's film "A Clockwork Orange" for engaging in the act of sexual intercourse or rape.

www.urbandictionary.com

 

[circlhill]

Welcome to the forum @circlhill.

There's little I could add to this thread that hasn't already been said, but I had a good chuckle when I saw the title of the thread, "Need inout".

While many members here, especially me, as a totally ham-fisted typist misspell and mangle words all the time, this one was especially amusing. I immediately thought of the famous line from the 1971 Stanley Kubrick film "A Clockwork Orange" (based on the novel of the same name by Anthony Burgess) where the main character Alex is quoted several times mentioning the term "A little of the Old inout"

Urban Dictionary: The Old In-out

Term used by young Alex in Stanley Kubric's 1970's film "A Clockwork Orange" for engaging in the act of sexual intercourse or rape.

www.urbandictionary.com

Haha! Yeah that clip is hilarious. I can see you must have had a good quality laugh. Looked like I was posting a whole different kind of thread here! Decided I better make it a little more clear. Doesn't anybody read what they type anymore?

 

[Dashmellow]

Haha! Yeah that clip is hilarious. I can see you must have had a good quality laugh. Looked like I was posting a whole different kind of thread here! Decided I better make it a little more clear. Doesn't anybody read what they type anymore?

I really kind of liked the original thread title. Who doesn't need a little of "the old inout" now and again?