Need Recommendations - Four 4k Car Cameras

HopWorks

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Hello!
My wife and I travel a lot, and I like to use the video from my car dash cameras to add to the video I put together on the trip. Currently, I only have the VIOFO A129 Duo, but we want four 4K cameras to capture not only the front and back, but the sides also. Our 2018 Kia Sorento has fixed, small windows in the middle-seat area, which makes those perfect inside mounts for the side cameras. I am hoping the aficionados here can recommend some options.

Ideally, I would love to have 4k wireless cameras that feed a central recording hub, that can also stream to my Open Auto car computer so I can select a camera and see it on the display. This is not required though, just would be a nice option. I can always just download the recorded video to my Alienware laptop at the end of the day of travel. Cables are OK also because I have a lot of options to hide them, and since our Sorento seats 7, with the 2 of us, I have room for gear, and a lot of power outlets to plug into.

For the last year or so I have been googling this, researching this, but have not found anything worthy so I decided to finally reach out to the community for options. And although I like to budget, cost is not a big deal if I have no other options.

I considered external cameras, but with weather I was concerned. Also, I really do not want to mod up my car's cabin to accommodate.

Thank you in advance for your suggestions. I sincerely appreciate your valuable time!!

Hop
 
Viofo A129 Pro.

They won't feed 4K video live, but nothing will. They do have quick wifi, but for more than a few minutes of video it is better to extract the cards.

Not sure the side ones are really worth it, although it does depend on the type/content of the video you make. An extra front one with narrow angle lens can be far more use - see @kamkar 's setup.
 
well i can not link to footage from my cameras anymore as i deleted my old Google stuff, so +10 years of mails and +10 years of videos down the drain.

But ! Not possible to do 4 K all around the car, the hardware are simply not there for it now unless you use single 4K cameras, and they will be very large not least for side mounting.

It might be doable with one of the small CCTV boxes and 4K on that, but for such a box to accept 4 X 4K resolution and at higher bitrates which CCTV are not really doing, it will get almighty expensive if it can be done.

Dashcams are not really good for scenic drive videos, here a camcorder are much better ( for the front view ) the youtube user called American roads do some cool drive videos

 
If you look at some of his older 720p footage, you will see jello in the recordings as back then he did not have the camera sturdy enough mounted, and that is paramount, not least if you use a little optical zoom to not have dashboard and A pillars in the frame which dashcams generally have.
A camcorder you can also take out and use on foot at stops to get some nice B roll footage to spice things up with. but even a palm sized recorder, you need a beefy mount.

You also have to look for heat durability in the camera you want, dashcams are no problem as they do record lower bitrates, but i have made 4K/60 recordings of longer drives using my dji Osmo action camera.
And i know this also can be a issue with camcorders.
Also remember 4K cameras generate huge files, so even with 256GB cards in the cameras, you have to be mindful when the cards are full, then offload to some other storage ( laptop / laptop + external hdd )
And if your trip are long you probably have to do that several times a day.
 
There are also some 360 cameras, you could in theory out on the roof of the car on a short stick, but these are lower resolution so often just 5-6K spread over a 360 degree field of view.
There are a 8K 360 camera from Ricoh i think it is, but it is also expensive and for sure they are not waterproof, also there is the issue of powering it for longer recordings, and remember this is 360 degree footage so probably take up even more memory card space.


You can of course frame as you like in post production and use a flat 4K crop in any direction, or any of the 360 options like little planet ASO, which i am not into,
 
If you look at some of his older 720p footage, you will see jello in the recordings as back then he did not have the camera sturdy enough mounted, and that is paramount, not least if you use a little optical zoom to not have dashboard and A pillars in the frame which dashcams generally have.
A camcorder you can also take out and use on foot at stops to get some nice B roll footage to spice things up with. but even a palm sized recorder, you need a beefy mount.

You also have to look for heat durability in the camera you want, dashcams are no problem as they do record lower bitrates, but i have made 4K/60 recordings of longer drives using my dji Osmo action camera.
And i know this also can be a issue with camcorders.
Also remember 4K cameras generate huge files, so even with 256GB cards in the cameras, you have to be mindful when the cards are full, then offload to some other storage ( laptop / laptop + external hdd )
And if your trip are long you probably have to do that several times a day.
That is great information, and yes, I expected the amount of data would be enormous. On my field kit, I have 20 terabytes of hard drive storage but it is USB3 interfaced. I have 5 RPI4 devices with a 4tb drive connected to each. With gigabit ethernet, I hoped that I would be able to support 4 channels of 4k video for editing later. But yeah, to be honest, after 8 hours of driving and only a couple of hours down time before bed before the next leg, it's asking a lot to archive the day's capture. I will probably have to down-grade to 1080p. That's not really a big deal either, at least as an attempt to ease the bandwidth struggle I would face.

So I guess with all the posts my request has seen thus far, it seems viable that I need to down-grade to 1080p. With doing that, does my venture seem more viable?

I do not want to have a desktop PC in my cargo area, loaded with CCTV video capture cards to the 4 cameras, so it still has to be all digital. Also, is it viable to look at flush mounted cameras that I can install in, say, my luggage rack? Then yes, I would have to drill, grommet, etc. to support those cameras, but maybe I need to open up the hardware search window to support my idea.

Thanks for the reply!!!
 
I use the K2S system for side cameras ( K2S pro ) the remote cameras on this system are 1080p and very small like 1/2 of a matchbox, so very suited for use as side cameras.
I have some pics from the unboxing and install in that sub forum. https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/k2s-received.37896/

Front and rear can be just about anything i have used a few different ones from other brands since i put that system in for side use, this mean that there are some post work to do as 2 different systems dont boot and start recording at the same time, so you have to get a little creative, most often a Audio que are fine to sync up 2 or more different cameras, some video software can even do this automatic.
This have given me a full 360 coverage though not right up against the car as after all the cameras are only 130 - 140 degree FOV, so you have to be some feet from the car before the different cameras start to overlap.

It is however extremely rare i have used any of my side camera footage, and if it was not a system i was sent to test and i could use it in this way i would not have a side camera system in my car.
When it break it will be a done deal i think.
I have a zoom camera on the windscreen, a dashcam retrofitted with a more narrow lens ( 8 - 12 mm ) this i could not be without though it is also rare i use footage from it, but it let me see small detail way further out ahead than a wide angle camera allow, but this is at a cost of a substantially narrower FOV.

I have yet to try my first 4K system as no one have sent me one of those to beat on, this 4K system will also be one of the so called smart systems so i also get to try that for the first time.
 
That is great information, and yes, I expected the amount of data would be enormous. On my field kit, I have 20 terabytes of hard drive storage but it is USB3 interfaced. I have 5 RPI4 devices with a 4tb drive connected to each. With gigabit ethernet, I hoped that I would be able to support 4 channels of 4k video for editing later. But yeah, to be honest, after 8 hours of driving and only a couple of hours down time before bed before the next leg, it's asking a lot to archive the day's capture. I will probably have to down-grade to 1080p. That's not really a big deal either, at least as an attempt to ease the bandwidth struggle I would face.

So I guess with all the posts my request has seen thus far, it seems viable that I need to down-grade to 1080p. With doing that, does my venture seem more viable?

I do not want to have a desktop PC in my cargo area, loaded with CCTV video capture cards to the 4 cameras, so it still has to be all digital. Also, is it viable to look at flush mounted cameras that I can install in, say, my luggage rack? Then yes, I would have to drill, grommet, etc. to support those cameras, but maybe I need to open up the hardware search window to support my idea.

Thanks for the reply!!!
Recommended YEECORE D22 true 4k dashcam , support 512GB microSD card max. The biggest advantage is that the video quality is very clear and super night vision.
 
But that system are only 4K on front camera, so he would have to get 4 of those systems and then not use the rear cameras.

Right now there are no 4K camera suited for side use, very few would tolerate a full size 4K dashcam on the side windows, and i also think very few cars would allow for that.
4 cameras mean people want side cameras / 360 degree coverage, but the main challenge here is the side cameras, and how to install them without side cameras get in the way of curtain airbags.

IMO the best side cameras you would have to make with phone lenses ( wide angle ) to be able to make the camera small enough, the K2S system i think use 8 mm lenses, and that is why they camera units in that system can be so small, but even smaller will only be a big + for side mounting.
And such cameras, you can not rely on cars having fixed glass to mount off on side doors, a lot dont have that, so IMO the only place toy can mount is off the top of the door trim plastics right where the glass go down into the door when rolled down, and here you still face challenges as that part of a door are rarely flat but rather all kinds of curves it seem to me.

I am fortunate in my car to have fixed glass on both front and rear doors, so i put my side cameras on the rear doors.
img_20190709_214021-jpg.47290
 
But that system are only 4K on front camera, so he would have to get 4 of those systems and then not use the rear cameras.

Right now there are no 4K camera suited for side use, very few would tolerate a full size 4K dashcam on the side windows, and i also think very few cars would allow for that.
4 cameras mean people want side cameras / 360 degree coverage, but the main challenge here is the side cameras, and how to install them without side cameras get in the way of curtain airbags.

IMO the best side cameras you would have to make with phone lenses ( wide angle ) to be able to make the camera small enough, the K2S system i think use 8 mm lenses, and that is why they camera units in that system can be so small, but even smaller will only be a big + for side mounting.
And such cameras, you can not rely on cars having fixed glass to mount off on side doors, a lot dont have that, so IMO the only place toy can mount is off the top of the door trim plastics right where the glass go down into the door when rolled down, and here you still face challenges as that part of a door are rarely flat but rather all kinds of curves it seem to me.

I am fortunate in my car to have fixed glass on both front and rear doors, so i put my side cameras on the rear doors.
img_20190709_214021-jpg.47290
Hey @kamkar thanks for the tip! I don't pay much attention to my rear doors, but when you mentioned you had a portion of your rear-door windows that are fixed, I was thinking, "I may as well!" I checked and I do have fixed portions too... lol

I'm not sure I want to add side-dashcams, but I have a Viofo A129 Duo that I suppose I could add to the sides. Now you got me thinking... Thanks!
 
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Side cameras are very telling, in that you have a dashcam addiction.
I am fairly sure i would not have gone down this path if it was not for the K2S system was sent for me to beat on, and it is so well suited for the job at least in regard to camera unit size, the lenses for side use could have been 10 - 15 deg wider that would have been nice for side use.
BUT ! i think the K2S cameras use 8 mm lenses VS the 12 mm normally used ( thread size ) and thats how they can be about 50 % smaller than any other remote camera i have seen.

When i finally manage to kill the K2S system i dont think it will get replaces, i did have a plan to put the SG9663DR system in its place, but that system i am hacking into for use in a totally not car related way.
 
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