Poppin my dashcam cherry

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K.S.

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Couple questions for getting my first dashcam in Orlando, Florida for my Fiat 500.

I'm leaning toward one of the newer Mini's (805, 806, or 826). I know there have been some issues but I really like the video quality I see in the samples compared to others most seem to like here. Plus price range is right where I need it (under $100). Any other suggestions y'all might give and the why so's?

Where would I find someone to install it? Bestbuy or an audio car shop? How much will that part usually cost? I'd like to have the cables hidden and directly connected, not into my lighter plug. If anyone knows a place local here let me know!

Some must haves: screen, good video quality day and night, gps would be nice but don't know if I need it. I'm also interested in the recording feature if something happens to my car when its parked. So whatever is needed for that without killing my cars battery.

Thanks so much for reading yet another what should I post :)
 
hmmmmm , If it has to be a Mini , one of the newer ones 0826 possibly .
I had a 0805 and agree , the video was nice , but the issues Bite ! ( Problematic GPS with mine )
I sold the 0805 and recently ordered the 0826 , I just dont know ( ? ) , is that with or without issues ..
To date the entire Mini series has been plagued with some issue or other . Obviously people like them , or the Mini series would have had a leash put on and called a Dog .
So ( ? ) , I guess buy one of the newer ones .. And hope you dont get a side order of problems .
 
Best advice...save a bit more money and get a better system...$100 isn't going to get you much quality and when the cheap camera dies...you're out of a $100.
As far as install...its a pretty easy do it yourself job. I've never done the job before and it only took me 30 minutes to do 2 cameras....most of that was figuring out the poorly translated instructions. Lukas or Street Guardian, both great cameras. Add a power management device and you are good to go.
 
K.S. said:
Plus price range is right where I need it (under $100).
Click to expand...
If under 100 dollars is a must I would say perhaps CF-100 as well although I would personally spend a little more.

If possible I would also try to find a local shop willing to do it. Ask around at a family owned type shop. Some of them might have started in the wire area of things like installing radios when they first started.

The CF-100 is not a horrible camera, but it does have some draw backs. (AVI container and lower bitrate) Making it not able to work with Registrator Viewer. I ended up buying Corel Video Studio just to work with the videos from my CF-100 X2 set up.
 
I would suggest doing install research in order to do it yourself, save that money which would probably range between $60-$100 (if using a reputable shop and depending on your location) and buy a more expensive camera like a Street Guardian where you can can find videos on exactly how to install it.

This is of course assuming you have the tools to do the install; mainly a test light. The rest you could fudge with other tools.
 
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K.S. said:
... Orlando, Florida ... leaning toward one of the newer Mini's ... must haves: screen, good video quality day and night ... interested in the recording feature if something happens to my car when its parked.
Click to expand...

Welcome to DCT. Best to avoid battery-reliant cameras in your climate, also not desirable when recording while parked. A capacitor-based camera is preferable.

I think that a capacitor-based Mini 08xx is coming soon, not sure exactly when. The closest current match to your budget / wants that I can think of is the MateGo MG380G ...

https://dashcamtalk.com/matego-mg380g/
 
Thanks so much for everyones replies! I had looked at the CF100 cause it has two cameras which I thought was nice, but without a screen I feel I will be missing something. THe MateGo looks good, I'll def keep that one in the running. I just want to make sure things are clear enough in case I need it for evidence.

I noticed everyone on these forums rave over the Street Guardian cameras. I just don't know if I need a camera that much to spend almost or over $200. I did see the SGZC12SS on sale for $168 tho, but still teetering as its a bit more than I wanted to spend. That idea of being to eventually hook a backup camera into it sounds really neat tho!
 
If you have a smartphone, I wouldn't put too much stock into a screen. I thought I needed one, but withe using my smartphone if I need to show evidence on the spot it will be much larger and clearer.
 
I really appreciate everyones advice! I decided splurge a bit since the SS was on sale. Soon as I can snap a photo I'm going to need advice on where y'all would say to place it. I know the middle center would be best but my epass sticker is there and it can't be removed since I tinted my front window (its that legal stuff so shouldn't interfere with the view I hope). I was thinking I could either stick it to the sticker so its hanging just below, but concerned that may hang too low. Or I guess to the right of the factory black window tint thats behind the rear view mirror. I know just explaining is confusing so will add a photo later. Thanks again!
 
Got a email the other day saying the 0826 has been shipped , ill get it after Christmas and hopefully before the new year .
Hopefully I will be doing a review on a nice dash cam rather than one that makes me reach for a sledge hammer !
 
Best advice ever from dear ol dad....
....one of that can be applied to many things...including guns, wine, women and condoms. In this case apply it to dash cams...
"A good dash cam ain't cheap....and a cheap dash cam ain't good."
 
Daleg said:
Best advice ever from dear ol dad....
....one of that can be applied to many things...including guns, wine, women and condoms. In this case apply it to dash cams...
"A good dash cam ain't cheap....and a cheap dash cam ain't good."
Click to expand...

Actually Cheap can be good , but the odds are against you ..
And depending on your financial standing ( How much money you have ) what is Cheap (?)
One man's cheap is another man's expensive .
One man's - ill pay that , is another man's - are you crazy ?

So lets get the variables sorted out
What is cheap ?
What is good ?
and What is Bad ?
Because no two people will agree on exactly the same standards ..
So please ....
Let us know , What is cheap ? What is no good ?
 
Good point....didn't pay attention to your post above about the 0826....that wasn't meant to be in response to your post....sorry for the confusion! It's meant to be more of a generalization...which ain't always necessarily true....but ain't always necessarily wrong either.
 
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No need to apologise ...
I also should apologise , as I tend to take exception to such bold statements ...
I still fondly remember DVD burners costing $1200 , way too expensive for me .. But some purchased them .
I bought my first ( A NEC 4x Speed ) for about $240 ... ( Still expensive ) But I still have that burner .. It was so good it was given a firmware hack to make it 8x Speed
What does a DVD burner cost now ? $20 to $30 , that's cheap , and most of them are good . ( Most )

Cheap is relative - variable - and a matter of opinion .
And expensive does not always mean good , I can think of a few cars that were Rubbish , and cost a nice hunk of change .
Heck , Australia spend Billions making rubbish submarines , the money sunk into those tubs . They should be the best submarines in the world ! ( There not )
 
$1200 DVD burner....Showing your age....My first computer....cassette tape memory...showing my age....
 
Hehehehe , yeah !
First computer was 386Dx , 5.25Floppy .. DOS 5 ( I think ) with a monochrome CRT ..
I never really got into the earlier puters , though I did read a lot about the commodores .. Did I want a C64 , and then the C128
But back then , they did so little and way $$ for doing squat ..

I didnt really start gaming till the Pentium 200mmx entered my life .. ( Voodoo Cards / TNT / Geforce ) oh dear ... ( And then overclocking - AMD - Peltiers )
 
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