Senior citizen seeking advice on purchase

Roger

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Location
Paradise, Newfoundland & Labrador
Country
Canada
Hello my name is Roger - a soon to be 71 year old who is just now realizing the benefits of haveing a dash cam. I would sincerely appreciate some advise on the purchase.

With lots of time to do research, I have read so much that my mind is boggled !

One thing appears certain, while most of the dash cams out there seem to have their share of positive features, there also seems to be a lot of "fakes" that are unreliable.

In my purchase decision, reliability is the most important issue. I want something that will work right from the get go & continue in that manner.

Abundance of features is not really necessary for me. Don't really need GPS
& night time clarity is not really important as I hardly drive at night.

While price is not a major issue, I am from Canada & our dollar is in the toilet at the moment - so I have to be mindful of the exchange rate from USD to our dollar.

I have made a short list of 3 cameras but am open to expand or modify that list based on your advice.

Not in any order they are:

Papago Go Safe 200 which I can buy from Costco in Canada for $158.75 tax in.

Papago Go Safe LORA (381) from Best Buy in Canada for $192.09 tax in.

Falcon Zero F170 from Amazon Canada for $214.64 tax in.

Each of these has something to offer but all 3 "seem" to be reliable. Right now I'm leaning toward the Falcon allbeit that I believe that it will be less discreet than the others.

Would like to stay in the $200 (Canadian) price range & am open to consider all suggestions.

Any advice / assistance / guideance would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers & thanks in advance = Roger

PS - my reason for raising a new thread is because I see very little mention of the Papago brand here & the Falcon appears to have only been recently released.....
 
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As today I'd put my pennies to BlackSys CW-100 (Amazon)
If to wait a week Joovuu-x both under the budget and both seem to be reliable to be and both will be available from Can local suppliers
 
Welcome to Dashcamtalk !
 
Hope Roger makes sense as humbled me with Black'Sys(view) and model number C'F(W)-100 confusions didn't help really...
Thanks guys for correction! ;)
 
Welcome, Roger.

May I suggest that as a 'set and forget' dashcam that has a screen (for adjusting the view), and is quite discreet, the A118C from SpyTec through Amazon.ca

Of the units that I have, and past ones, this is the easiest to remove and replace whenever you may want to take it into the house to change settings or remove the memory card. You can, of course, do those things in the car, but it's just so much more convenient to do it at home. The picture quality is quite good both day and night, and the price is reasonable at $99.95.

Here is a sample screenshot:
2015_0724_095337_252.MOV_snapshot_00.43_[2015.07.24_10.43.19].jpg
 
WOW ! You guys are incredible - ALREADY.

It was among all the research that I did that brought me to your discussion forum AND am I ever glad I found you !!

In the past I have been a member of several "Nissan" product forums & have been able to be a "contributing" member.

Sadly, I doubt I'll be able to do that when it comes to "dash cams" - maybe what I'll be able to contribute will be my
first hand experience with whichever one I eventually buy.

You guys have given me some models to consider - ones which were never even on my radar screen.

Please keep the suggestions coming & in the interim, I'll research the ones put forward & will perhaps
come back with another "short-list" if that is OK ??

Cheers = Roger
 
Please keep the suggestions coming & in the interim, I'll research the ones put forward & will perhaps
come back with another "short-list" if that is OK ??

Sure it's OK. Glad to help.
 
Welcome and while it's great to have suggestions, you may end up with a lots of choices anyways since we have a large number of members who use and suggest quite a few different brands and models.
Whatever you buy, just make sure to search that model here and read reviews specially if a model has issues, avoid it.
 
...
Would like to stay in the $200 (Canadian) price range & am open to consider all suggestions....
Just keep in mind that if you 'bust your budget' to get the right camera it only hurts once - if you stay within the budget and get something you end up unhappy with it will hurt every time you use it, and again financially when you replace it.
 
One would do well to remember that the "Comparison" section hasn't been changed of late, so it might be a bit dated regards some cams. The forums are pretty current though. I don't know the cam's Roger asks about so n/c there, but I think the A118 would be a better bet than the G1W series, especially in the capacitor versions. Those are basic-level cams and if you can afford better that would be wiser to do.

Phil
 
BMbler - I'm good with the info. you provided - tks 4 that.
miss 331 - the "links" u provided make things easier 4 me - tks. Also, don't need or want the rear view.
parklawn - that screen shot is amazing & will put the A118C high on my list. I did miss the "Buying Guide"
tks 4 the link - I'll check it out.
Sunny - you're spot on with your comments & suggestions - sometimes "more" is not always good.
This world of dash cams is mind boggling - and oft times one has to question the validity of some
of the "reviews" that are posted.
DT MI - point well taken - I've had my share of "buyers remorse" in the past & would like to avoid that now.
I want something that is quite "reliable" & if that means paying more (initially) then that's fine with me.
However, & unfortunately, price is not always a good measure of "quality".
I'll take more time to check out the links & the various models & hopefully get closer to a final decision.

Cheers = Roger
 
...will put the A118C high on my list....
FWIW I've had 2 A118-C cams in my wife's car since earlier this year with no issues. She parks outside in direct sunlight in temps up to close to 100F and they have performed flawlessly since I put them in.

Note that I talking about the capacitor version not the battery. From what I understand the battery versions are produced in multiple factories so QA can be a bit of hit or miss while the capacitor models are all produced by the same facility.
 
I'll chime in on the A118-c, also, and the Papago GS110 I've been using for a while is a nice, low end, dash cam.
 
If you drive to work everyday as I do putting thousands of kilometers on your vehicle in a year, odds are that you will eventually land in a crash. That is the law of probability.

Whatever dash cam you choose, make sure it is reliable and easy to use in an emergency.
 
I neglected to mention that I was hoping to get a dash cam that I could easily move from one vehicle to another
as we have 2. Additionally, when we travel out of Province these days, we fly & rent a vehicle.

My plan is to hard wire it into our primary vehicle (I can do that) & use the cigarette lighter adapter to
power it in the second vehicle (SUV) & any rental vehicle that we might use.

If I conceal the wiring in the SUV, I would buy a second cigarette lighter adapter to remain portable for the rental vehicle.

That being said, one that either "suction cup" mounts or attaches to the rear view mirror in some way
may better suite our needs.

I could live with one that "sticks" on to the windshield (with a second sticky) for the SUV but that then
rules out the rental vehicle need.

I recognize that moving it around would necessitate "re-aiming" it each time but as a retiree with time
available, I don't see that as a major problem.

And finally, I see a "screen" as essential to our needs.

Again, my sincere thanks for all your kind assistance & knowledge transfer.

Cheers = Roger

PS - I note a fair bit of discussion about "heat" issues with some of the dash cams.
I'm wondering if anyone from a "colder climate" area has experienced similar issues because of the cold ??
Here in my Province in Canada it can get quite cold in the winter time & with all
the snow it's a time of year that lends itself to more accidents happening & thus the greater
need for a good quality, reliable dash cam......
 
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The 'aiming' is not so critical, and you'll get used to positioning the camera by sight.

Another cam to think about is a mobius. It's roughly the size of small matchbox, no screen, about as reliable as a dash cam gets, decent video quality. You can get an add on capacitor for it. I have 3, and threw one in my carry on bag to use on a vacation trip to thailand earlier this year.


I have a mobius that has been running in my tractor trailer 24/7, for most of the last two years.
 
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