Thinking hard about a car cam

[DashCamManToo]

Mr. Negativity raises his ugly head again.

4K is old tech.

 

[Dashmellow]

Mr. Negativity raises his ugly head again.

4K is old tech.

You are changing the subject. Why am I not surprised? The subject was your advice to the OP to "just stay away from opinions" while in the very same breath dishing out your own.

As for 4K cameras, just because you personally believe that everyone should only purchase 4K models doesn't make it an intelligent or practical choice.

There are many factors and practical decisions that go into the choice of resolution when purchasing a camera. Many dash cam users with far more knowledge and experience than you would advise against 4K cams in most situations. 2K cams are an excellent choice and 1080P cams are still quite viable and even desirable in many applications.

 

[DashCamManToo]

You have already proven that you cannot defend or simply won't defend your position.

 

[Dashmellow]

Defend my position? I just did!

I disagree with your insistence that people should purchase nothing but 4K cameras. They are expensive, they all have significant heat issues, excessive file size issues and other drawbacks and thus are not appropriate for many installations. There is a good reason that so many knowledgeable, experienced dash cam users opt for 2K cameras as the current "sweet spot" resolution. And indeed even 1080P resolution in a well designed and well made camera is more than adequate for many installations.

Speaking of "defending your position" you have not explained your rational for 4K at all other than to claim that "we should buy the latest and greatest".

This "latest and greatest" mentality in this particular instance is nothing more than marketing hype and consumerism. I mean, if anyone wants a 4K camera, by all means buy one, but for you to insist that people only purchase a dash cam with 4K resolution is ridiculous and likely unwise for many users.

 

[StrayCam]

Defend my position? I just did!

I disagree with your insistence that people should purchase nothing but 4K cameras. They are expensive, they all have significant heat issues, excessive file size issues and other drawbacks and thus are not appropriate for many installations. There is a good reason that so many knowledgeable, experienced dash cam users opt for 2K cameras as the current "sweet spot" resolution. And indeed even 1080P resolution in a well designed and well made camera is more than adequate for many installations.

Speaking of "defending your position" you have not explained your rational for 4K at all other than to claim that "we should buy the latest and greatest".

This "latest and greatest" mentality in this particular instance is nothing more than marketing hype and consumerism. I mean, if anyone wants a 4K camera, by all means buy one, but for you to insist that people only purchase a dash cam with 4K resolution is ridiculous and likely unwise for many users.

You are spot on with your comments! Just because someone is an expert in another technological field does not make them an expert with dashcams.

This brand new member saying that 4K is the way to go is just one example. 4K dash cams use much more heat and in heat sensitive areas of the world, your dash cam will stop working. If heat is not a consideration for where someone lives, it might be worth considering. But many people do indeed have heat as a factor in the consideration of their dash cam.

And you are 100% correct and that the 2K dashcam is the "sweet spot" for current dash cams. This may change in one or two years when there are other methodologies to cool down your car while it is parked. But until then, 4K dash cams are not a smart choice for many consumers. Thank you for making that point known!

 

[DashCamManToo]

@Dashmellow
(Since you seemed to think it appropriate to comment on my handle; What an inappropriate name is yours! Actually anything but mellow.)

Earning my income as an imaging expert, I believe I have some expertise in this area. Was your income also based upon this technology?

4K is not desirable or appropriate (or affordable) for many users and despite your prior claim, heat is indeed an issue with any 4K camera.

Many of these entities do not have computer equipment designed for adequately viewing 4K video.

...the current "sweet spot" for dash cam resolution is 2K for a variety of reasons...

4K video on the wrong monitor can look worse than lower resolution on an appropriate monitor.

No experienced and knowledgeable dash cam user here would ever purchase a camera in this form, especially an expensive 4K model, that has a suction cup mount and hangs down from a ball and joint pedestal. Such mounts are notoriously prone to vibrations and falling out of adjustment and suction cup mounts have a reliably bad habit of falling off your windshield when you least expect them to.

...you might want to listen to the advice of long time users and actual experts here on the forum with a broad range and depth of knowledge and experience who have spent years product testing and using these devices in real world settings, including working directly with major manufacturers in pre-production before you start lecturing us."
You were asked to prove your positions, but you did not.

Unlike myself, who is an actual authority on digital hardware and imaging, you continually present yourself as an authority but with no real experience.

Your misleading reference to Nigel should have repeated what he actually stated, "As suction cup mounts go, Vantrue have a very good one, very rarely falls off...". I don't know what you think people should use as a reasonable criteria in an age when there is nothing perfect, but it seems reasonable to be pleased with the performance of such a device. I have never seen such a high quality suction cup mount, and I have used a lot of them. I would totally recommend it and would be interested in hearing any other personal use comments on that subject.

I will be continuing my personal, real world testing to include using the suction cup mount on an old one ton dually pickup on bumpy roads. I really expect no more shake than I've experienced so far, and that was absolutely no discernible shake in the image recordings whatsoever.

So what are you saying? The OP should only listen to your opinions?

What a shortsighted and ignorant comment. Could you be any more narrow-minded?

You are changing the subject. Why am I not surprised? The subject was your advice to the OP to "just stay away from opinions" while in the very same breath dishing out your own.

I never changed the subject. Instead you have interjected personal opinions base upon foundationless and highly questionable information.

As for 4K cameras, just because you personally believe that everyone should only purchase 4K models doesn't make it an intelligent or practical choice.

I never said that. Rather I continually said that people should make their own decision. I only strongly recommend not sticking with old, outdated technology. Of course, we know that the conservatives like you don't want change. Fine. You have a right to that. However, it still remain as a disservice to others.

Many dash cam users with far more knowledge and experience than you would advise against 4K cams in most situations.

Another silly comment with no value. I could just as easily say that many dash cam users and manufacturers with far more knowledge and experience than you would advise in favor of 4K cams in most situations. If you think you have facts otherwise, please post them here. You have a lot of opinions but no evidence. Glittering generalities mean nothing.

They are expensive, they all have significant heat issues, excessive file size issues and other drawbacks and thus are not appropriate for many installations.

1. I have found that one may pay a little more for quality, but that most of the time, the 4K is very competitive against the competition, and often less expensive. Anyone can create a spreadsheet and compare two costs; the retail and the current best price. This practice will be most eye opening. Even you could do it.

2. The 4K models from the advanced manufacturers have no "significant heat issues" at all.
I asked some major manufacturers:
"Do your 4K cameras have significant heat issues?"
Nextbase = No
Cobra = No
Blackvue = No (167 degree shutdown)
Thinkware = No (140 degrees shutdown)
I have not heard back yet from Miofive. Will report here as soon as I do.

3. There are no "excessive file size issues" when there is plenty of storage space.

4. There remains to be seen if there are "other drawbacks". (Looks like just another glittering generality.)

5. There is no evidence that the 4K cameras are not appropriate for any particular installation. That also has not been proven.

Basing one's reasoning on anecdotal evidence from untrained individuals does not equate with proof. Most purchasers have no knowledge of proper testing procedures or even diagnostics examination methodology. We cannot take these comments as any proof without detailed questioning, and even then it is something of a crap-shoot. A forum which uses anecdotal exchange does a disservice to those wishing for accurate insight and becomes a case of the blind leading the blind.

 

[Dashmellow]

That's quite a verbose over the top OCD sort of post DCM2. You seem to have a some sort of problem with your ego and apparently a lot of spare time on your hands. Perhaps you should try to get a grip on yourself.

You describe yourself as "actual authority on digital hardware and imaging" yet you don't even appear to have much personal experience with dash cams at all. It's kind of peculiar really.

You are entitled to your opinions but all the truly experienced dash cam users would disagree with much of the advice you hand out. Your presumptuous "What To Look For In A Dash Cam" posts is a prime example. The thread is so full of misinformation, gaps in knowledge, incorrect information and misleading advice to other forum members as to be cringe-worthy to many of us who have spent years learning by hands-on experience with dozens of cameras rather than vicariously reading about them on the internet. The thread should be deleted in my view because so much of your advice is based on your own misguided, incorrect personal opinions that I fear new users reading your posts might end up making poor decisions as a result. For example, what the hell is "fog mode" you refer to in the thread as a feature "you've noticed as usually considered" or "image stabilization" which is not a common or particularly desirable feature in dash cams.

I find it curious that whenever someone challenges you on something factual you never present anything to back it up. You claim to be an "imaging" expert but you don't explain what it is you actually do for a career and why that would even make you an authority on dash cams as a product category. Of course, while virtually everyone who has much experience with dash cams would advocate for using cams that mount directly to the glass for stability, stealth, avoidance of vibrations and security for the camera to stay in place in the event of an accident, you on the other hand advise everyone to have a stalk mounted camera with a suction mount thus demonstrating your lack of experience to everyone who knows better. Interesting too that you focus on Nigel's comment that as suction cup mounts go, the Vantrue may well be a good one (relatively speaking) but you avoid his mention in the very same post of camera vibration issues with such mounts. If you were truly an "imaging expert" you would know better than to go with a vibration prone mount much less to advise that everyone else use one too!

Of course, showing up here on the forum and using the name DashCamManToo as your handle, seems an intentionally provocative, inappropriate and somewhat disrespectful thing to do considering that @DashCamMan is the owner and administrator of this site. After 10 years since founding DCT his name is closely associated with his business interests here and using a nearly identical version of his name is confusing and distracting, so one has to wonder what your motivation would be in choosing this name. Frankly, much of what you have posted since arriving here seems designed to call attention to yourself.

 

[StrayCam]

I never changed the subject...

...Rather I continually said that people should make their own decision. I only strongly recommend not sticking with old, outdated technology. Of course, we know that the conservatives like you don't want change. Fine. You have a right to that. However, it still remain as a disservice to others.

lol... good to hear you're not changing subjects while you interject politics into a dashcam thread. Are you serious?

Stick to what you know about... and please refrain from your political jabs as they really have no place here in a dashcam forum.

 

[Dashmellow]

Gee, I don't seem to recall ever mentioning my political leanings.