Searching for 2ch cam w/parking mode and heat tolerant for 2 cars

Smitty24

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My wife was recently involved in an accident where the other driver ran a red light. He had no license, had eye surgery less than 24 hours prior, was from out of town and driving his daughters car, and suffers from Alzheimer's. He was cited as at fault by the police, but since no witnesses stopped the insurance companies won't assign liability so we had to pay a $500 deductible and hope our rates don't go up. That's not happening again.

I'm looking for dash cams for both our vehicles. I'd like 2 channels, a good parking mode, wifi, and since we're in the south of the United States, high heat tolerance is important as well. My budget is around $300 each. I'm considering the blacksys ch-100b since it seems to check all the boxes and from what I've read appears to be fairly reliable, which is ultimately the most important feature. If there's a better choice or another cam I should consider, please let me know. This site has been a wealth of knowledge, and quite honestly, a bit overwhelming for a noob like me. Bit rates, sensors, focal length...I'm unfamiliar with a lot of the terms, so I'm hoping to make an intelligent and well informed decision with your help. Thanks!
 
You need a super-cap powered cam in the warmer climates; batteries can't tolerate normal summers here in upstate SC and many places are much warmer than this. The Blacksys CH100 had lifespan problems when it came out- I don't know if the "b" model changed this. Maybe someone else has an answer for that. Though it's too new to have a long history, right now the Mini 0906 dual-channel cam ticks all the right boxes for most folks and the price is great. Viofo is developing a 2ch option for the A119 cams and given his history it will probably be good performance and value. There's a usable 'parking mode' for the A119 now and if that stays intact it might be worth waiting for.

Parking Mode function seems to be very tough to do well, so look closely at what others have experienced when using it in any cam you're thinking about. All too often seller's claims and reality don't come together here :( And yeah, in depth there is a lot to know about dashcams but what matters is what the cam sees, and there are usually videos you can watch to determine if it's good enough for you. Check them in low light and at speed if possible as any cam will look OK with enough light at slow traffic speeds. I'd suggest a minimum of 1080P/30FPS for both cams front and rear- higher numbers are OK but lower ones are almost always useless in low light. DCT has cam-specific forums where model-specific answers can be found once you settle on one or more cam choices :)

And welcome to DCT :D
Phil
 
Thanks Phil! I hadn't seen the mini 0906, so I'll do a little research on that one for sure. Especially at that price! If the parking mode is decent I can get two of those for what I expected to pay for just one of the blacksys. If the Viofo was out I'd definitely be looking at that as well, but I'm anxious to get cameras ordered and installed ASAP, so I'll have to settle for what's already on the market. I've been watching a ton of YouTube videos of dash cam footage. Even to my untrained eye, I see the difference between 1080/30 fps and anything less. I definitely want 1080 front/rear both. Thanks again for the info!
 
If you want a one unit 2 channel dash cams, I guess my suggestion would be something from Blackvue or Thinkware, though they're expensive, they have a good parking mode and a pretty good performer.

If you're okay with having two units, consider Goluk T3 (~$100/ea). It has a decent parking mode, video quality is okay also.
 
Thanks, I've been looking at the Blackvue and thinkware cams too. From what I can tell, the blacksys is pretty comparable to their cams, and it's made in Korea also. That was one of the things that caught my attention about the blacksys, it's very similar to those but a little more affordable. I'm guessing reliability should be similar as well. Hopefully, anyway. And I thought about using two cams rather than one two channel, but decided against it. Mainly just to keep things somewhat simple, one system, one card, only adjusting settings once, one card to format/reformat, etc. Thanks for your input!
 
IMHO BlackVue is over-priced, under-supported, and behind the times with it's resolution and bitrate. It is still a well-built cam and reliable. The SG Hombre mentioned would be excellent and was my first thought, but is well past your stated budget. It is worth it's cost though. Thinkware ain't cheap but of the higher-priced cams seems to offer the best specs and has a good reputation for reliability and support.

Do keep in mind that every cam has quirks and foibles- none is perfect in every way. Always read the forums for any given cam, and ask questions regarding the things which matter most to you there before you buy. And always buy from an approved or recommended seller, as after-sales support can be non-existent otherwise.

Phil
 
Using parking mode in a hot place can cause issues as a running camera just generate even more heat on top of what the sun put into the camera / vehicle.
 
That street guardian is interesting. I want wifi, but in reality I might not actually use it as much as I think I would. The price on that appears to include a micro sd card too, so the price is pretty spot on. I was planning on $300-ish, no card included. I'll definitely add that to the list, thanks!
 
Most cameras with wifi today dont work as people expect, not with the cloud features some have, or just the slow wifi file transfer speeds they all seem to have.
Its fine if you just DL one file, but if you have hopes of bulk moving recordings off a camera using wifi, then they all fail as far as i know.

SG provide a OTG card reader with their products, at least for Android devises using micro USB or USB C ( specify what you would like when buying from SG dealer )

This is a far better and faster way getting files off camera SD card, but i still think most users just use a card reader connected to their PC or MAC if you are that kind of being.
 
If you can swing it, you will not be disappointed with an SG cam ;) A very good product with top-notch support :D

Phil
 
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