Travel dashcam - suction mount

[venezian]

For years I’ve been using the SG SG9665XS which died recently.

I travel for work and in rental cars. I want to replace it with a single channel quality camera with a suction mount.

I looked through viofo’s models, but none have suction mount.

Edit: I see the garmin mini 2, not too fond of the price for a 1080p and addition of the suction mount accessory.

 

[Jeff_Vantrue]

For a reliable single channel dashcam with a sturdy suction mount, I recommend checking out our Vantrue E1 featuring 2.7K resolution with HDR, built-in GPS, voice control, and built-in WiFi.
Vantrue E1: https://www.vantrue.com/products/vantrue-e1
Suction mount: https://www.vantrue.com/products/vantrue-suction-cup-gps-mount

 

[Panzer Platform]

I travel for work and in rental cars. I want to replace it with a single channel quality camera with a suction mount.

We’ve been asking @viofo for many months for a “temporary / travel” dash cam, (either suction mount, or clip on rear view mirror).
I was hoping it was going to be the VS1, but it wasn’t.
@Mtz said he made a suction cup mount for the VS1, but he hasn’t posted photos yet.

The problem with Jeff's recommendation is the E1 does not have STARVIS 2 & functional HDR.
These screenshots were stolen from @rcg530 YouTube review of the E1.




If I was in your shoes, and needed a dash cam to quickly install between cars in a travel situation I would look at the unreleased (US) 70mai S500 1-CH Rear View;

70mai

dashcam.70mai.com

Maybe @ly-70mai can send you one for test & review.
The specs say it has STARVIS 2 IMX675 & HDR, and a capacitor, (not battery).
One of the problems with the S500 it it uses USB Micro not USB Type-C for the power connection.
-Chuck

 

[Panzer Platform]

Suction mount:

Right on @Jeff_Vantrue
I asked for a GPS suction mount for the E1 November 2022.

Vantrue E1 Test & Review PP

Hey guys, Just a few hours ago I received a Vantrue E1 for testing & review sent by Vantrue. Shoutout to @rcg530 for passing my name along to his Vantrue Representative. Thanks Robert. When I first learned of this dash cam I read the specifications, and on paper this camera appears to be a...

dashcamtalk.com

It only took 16 months. Lol
Now you just need to update it with STARVIS 2 IMX675, and functional HDR.
-Chuck

 

[Nigel]

Viofo cameras will happily stick, using the standard 3M sticky pad, to something like this:

Windshield Suction Mount for EZ Pass Toll Transponders, Bluetooth GPS Receivers, and Radar Detectors

Arkon's BT010 windshield suction mount is ideal for mounting Bluetooth GPS receivers, small radar detectors, and auto-deduct/EZ-Pass toll road electronic devices that need to be mounted high up on the windshield. This mount features a 2 5/8" x 2" base platform to attach your device with either...

arkon.com

 

[Dashmellow]

I travel for work and in rental cars. I want to replace it with a single channel quality camera with a suction mount.

I looked through viofo’s models, but none have suction mount.

With minimal DIY skills you can easily create your own simple and inexpensive mounting platform that can be attached to ANY commercial suction cup or adhesive mount that uses a 1/4-20 threaded screw.

The fact that we see so many requests for this capability and the paucity of commercial options was one of the reasons I posted a thread about a DIY option.

DIY adjustable flat platform mount for wedge cams

We often see requests from DCT members for a method to mount a wedge shaped camera like the Viofo A119 V3 or A229 without having to attach it permanently to the windshield. Often the desire for this capability is to mount the camera temporarily, for example in a rental car, or perhaps the...

dashcamtalk.com

 

[Panzer Platform]

Viofo cameras will happily stick, using the standard 3M sticky pad, to something like this:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. lol
I purposely did not mention that because the average consumer wants a purpose built “out of the box” plug & play unit.
They don’t want to fiddle about with purchasing extra / separate accessories or DIY projects.
We still need a temporary / travel unit from Viofo to round out the product line so they can stop loosing market share to other brands.

 

[Nigel]

We still need a temporary / travel unit from Viofo to round out the product line so they can stop loosing market share to other brands.

To make a suction cup mount work with all the Viofo dashcam range, it would need to be a suction cup with a flat plate to stick the dashcam sticky pad to.
No need for the ball joint or hinge in the above examples, just a flat rigid plate parallel to the windscreen.
Some people would want to buy a second camera specific sticky mount to stick to it.

Or is it better to have a special travel dashcam, with built in suction cup, which maybe what you are suggesting?
Trouble is that you then have no choice of dashcam, so I think the suction mount with flat plate is a better option.

 

[kamkar]

Well we should also acknowledge the few PPL that still bother to make a suction cup camera, it still have merit i think though for a declining set of people.
The universal mount / DIY of course also a option, DIY probably more for us old PPL, cuz to me it seem like young people are more and more inept at least in regard to fixing / doing stuff.
Hell my own 35 YO nephew he probably dont even know what a spark plug are.

 

[Dashmellow]

No need for the ball joint or hinge in the above examples, just a flat rigid plate parallel to the windscreen.

So, how do you propose obtaining or building such a suction mount? And how do you insure that it is suitably and precisely parallel in any given installation.

Obviously, you have no hands on experience with any of this.

As I explained in my DIY thread about this, I'd been using a flat aluminum plate as you suggest to mount a A119 V3 but found it nearly impossible to obtain a perfectly horizontal aim. No matter what I tried it was always off by a few degrees and this was noticable. While this was perfectly acceptable for most dash cam usage, it bugged me, especially because the perfectly horizontal tailgate of my pick-up truck accentuated this off-kilter effect and this became the motivation to come up with an adjustable approach.

Speaking of adjustments and the ball joint approach you feel there is no need for, said ball joint not only allows the user to make adjustments to the aim and angle of the camera but it also provides for a new feature otherwise unavailable to wedge cameras, and this is the easy ability to quickly turn the aim of the camera to the driver's side window (or any where else) in the event of a traffic stop or some other subject of temporary interest including the interior of the vehicle.

 

[Dashmellow]

The universal mount / DIY of course also a option, DIY probably more for us old PPL, cuz to me it seem like young people are more and more inept at least in regard to fixing / doing stuff.

I have to wholeheartedly disagree with your rather jaded attitude towards young people kamkar. We are living in a time of a burgeoning "maker culture", never quite seen before, especially among younger people. Thousands, if not millions of people including teenagers and younger folks of college age are enthusiastically engaged in designing and building projects from the simple to the complex using all kinds of technologies and environments such as 3D printing, open sourced hardware and software, fablabs, maker spaces, hackspaces, communal workshops, and studios etc, etc. These are exciting times for the DIY subculture. There is a remarkable amount of amazing energy and creativity out there.

Maker culture - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Fab lab - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Hackerspace - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Library makerspace - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[kamkar]

Hehe yeah i am not saying everyone are inept, and i for sure would not be able to code a white page with my name written on it in black even if my life depended on it.
Or for that matter print a capitol B on a 3D printer.
It could also just be it is my own family, but if someone need a hole in a wall or ceiling, they call for me, also often out of the fact that even a drill they do not own.
Hell it have been a years long uphill battle for me to get them to at least have a couple of screwdrivers in the house.

But it seem to me that today many go thru life and not really do much creative stuff that is readily useful, but some do freaky stuff, i just read about a guy on tomshardware, he was often annoyed with the raggaetron ( music style apparently ) his neighbour played loud on a regular basis, so he whipped something up that could detect that particular kind of music, and then instigate a BT attack on the frequencies so the neighbours listening experience would be very bad.

It is sort of the same with my metal fabrication educations, and granted if i could i would have both a lathe and a mill in my shop, but really what give me far more satisfaction is beating on a piece of red hot metal with a hammer.
I sure as hell would not want to work a CNC machine, i tried that in my last job when one of the lathe guys was sick, and half way thru the day i was so over that.

Okay making my own 1 off stuff, on a CNC machine that might actually be interesting enough, cuz they can do stuff i can not do on a manual machine, and something like a 5 axis mill, i can get aroused watching it work, and what they can do is simply astonishing.

 

[Vortex Radar]

For a reliable single channel dashcam with a sturdy suction mount, I recommend checking out our Vantrue E1 featuring 2.7K resolution with HDR, built-in GPS, voice control, and built-in WiFi.
Vantrue E1: https://www.vantrue.com/products/vantrue-e1
Suction mount: https://www.vantrue.com/products/vantrue-suction-cup-gps-mount

Does it have a built-in battery for date/time? What happens when the battery dies?

The reason I ask is that I'm currently running an X4 as a temporary dashcam. It's been my rental car dashcam since it does 4K, has an LCD which makes it easy to aim, a suction cup mount, and I only run it for driving recording so the parking recording limitations aren't an issue. The internal battery must have died because it keeps resetting itself to thinking it's 2028 every time I drive. Even if I go and reset the time, the next time I turn the car off and then come back again, it's back to 2028. It also doesn't use its GPS to reset its time when it can. Does the E1 do better in this regard? Also, do you sell the X4S as a single channel option? I'd like that since it adds an LCD display, but it looks like it's typically only sold as a 2CH solution. There is a 1CH version on vantrue.net, but it's currently out of stock.

 

[Jeff_Vantrue]

The problem with Jeff's recommendation is the E1 does not have STARVIS 2 & functional HDR.

Hello Chuck @Panzer Platform

Thank you for sharing your perspective on the matter. We appreciate hearing different viewpoints in discussions like these.

While we respect your loyalty to Viofo and its products, we believe in providing objective recommendations to users seeking advice. Our suggestion of the Vantrue E1 and its suction mount was merely to offer another option to the OP, as requested.

We're curious about the need to discredit our product in order to promote other brands. It seems counterproductive to discourage users from exploring different options and making informed decisions based on their preferences and needs.

It only took 16 months. Lol

Regarding your comments about our product's suction mount, we released the suction mount for the E1 in September 2023, not 16 months later as you mentioned. We take customer feedback seriously and work diligently to innovate and meet market demands. Our decisions are made through careful consideration of the broad international market and not solely based on a few requests.

It's important to clarify that Vantrue has never seen Viofo as a real competitor, but rather as a peer in the dashcam industry for us to study and progress. We believe that a thriving industry benefits all manufacturers and users, and we are committed to contributing to its growth and improvement.

In the spirit of healthy competition, let's continue to focus on providing value to others in this forum and enhancing the dashcam community as a whole.

Warm regards,
Jeff
Vantrue Team

 

[Panzer Platform]

Does it have a built-in battery for date/time? What happens when the battery dies?

When I tested the E1 it was going to be my #1 pick for temporary / travel dash cam.
But they did not offer the optional suction mount at that time.

Vantrue E1 Test & Review PP

Hey guys, Just a few hours ago I received a Vantrue E1 for testing & review sent by Vantrue. Shoutout to @rcg530 for passing my name along to his Vantrue Representative. Thanks Robert. When I first learned of this dash cam I read the specifications, and on paper this camera appears to be a...

dashcamtalk.com

The E1 has a super capacitor, and I remember the GPS did update the time when it received signal.
But I don’t know if it has a RTC (real time clock) battery like Viofo.
I would happily crack it open to check, but this is one of the dash cams that got “sent back”.
Maybe @rcg530 can take a look inside his.
Here’s my daytime highway test footage;

 

[Panzer Platform]

Hello Chuck @Panzer Platform

Thank you for sharing your perspective on the matter. We appreciate hearing different viewpoints in discussions like these.

While we respect your loyalty to Viofo and its products, we believe in providing objective recommendations to users seeking advice. Our suggestion of the Vantrue E1 and its suction mount was merely to offer another option to the OP, as requested.

We're curious about the need to discredit our product in order to promote other brands. It seems counterproductive to discourage users from exploring different options and making informed decisions based on their preferences and needs.



Regarding your comments about our product's suction mount, we released the suction mount for the E1 in September 2023, not 16 months later as you mentioned. We take customer feedback seriously and work diligently to innovate and meet market demands. Our decisions are made through careful consideration of the broad international market and not solely based on a few requests.

It's important to clarify that Vantrue has never seen Viofo as a real competitor, but rather as a peer in the dashcam industry for us to study and progress. We believe that a thriving industry benefits all manufacturers and users, and we are committed to contributing to its growth and improvement.

In the spirit of healthy competition, let's continue to focus on providing value to others in this forum and enhancing the dashcam community as a whole.

Warm regards,
Jeff
Vantrue Team

Yo Jeff,
OK, I agree with you.
I’ve been heavy handed with my criticism of Vanture products because they keep disappointing me based on image quality compared to Viofo models using the same image sensors.
As far as “loyalty” to Viofo, it’s because I’ve tested other brands, and they also disappoint based on image quality.
Viofo is the current image quality King, and to me that is the most important thing about a dash cam, (just in front of reliability, and durability).
Everything else like bells & whistles I have no regard for until these first 3 things have been accomplished, (image quality, reliability, durability).
But Viofo also keeps making the same mistakes over, and over that drive me crazy too. lol

The reason I keep coming down so hard on you is because I want to call out what I see as “unacceptable” so you can improve your product, and be a true competitor to Viofo.
When I tested the E1, and and compared it to the original A119 Mini (2022) I said; “Vantrue is 2-3 years behind Viofo in overall product development”.
When I tested the S1 Pro, and compared it to the A119 Mini 2 (2023), I saw dramatic improvements, and said; “Vantrue is closing the gap on Viofo, and is now only 1 year behind in overall product development".
So next year, I’m hoping you will be neck, and neck.
But, I really wish you would offer both Codecs H.264 & H.265, (not H.265 only).
Also, if you want a leg up on Viofo you should start including Hardwire Kits & 64GB Vantrue Brand SD cards with all your dash cams, (just raise the price accordingly).
-Chuck

 

[Jeff_Vantrue]

Does it have a built-in battery for date/time? What happens when the battery dies?

The reason I ask is that I'm currently running an N4 as a temporary dashcam. It's been my rental car dashcam since it does 4K, has an LCD which makes it easy to aim, a suction cup mount, and I only run it for driving recording so the parking recording limitations aren't an issue. The internal battery must have died because it keeps resetting itself to thinking it's 2028 every time I drive. Even if I go and reset the time, the next time I turn the car off and then come back again, it's back to 2028. It also doesn't use its GPS to reset its time when it can. Does the E1 do better in this regard? Also, do you sell the X4S as a single channel option? I'd like that since it adds an LCD display, but it looks like it's typically only sold as a 2CH solution. There is a 1CH version on vantrue.net, but it's currently out of stock.

The time resetting issue might be caused by the malfunction of the RTC battery. E1 also has an RTC battery to help with the time setting.
Currently, X4S has gone out of production, both the single-channel and duo-channel. If you need a single-channel dashcam with portability, I personally recommend our E1 & E1 lite model and the suction mount.

 

[Dadi_T]

The problem with Jeff's recommendation is the E1 does not have functional HDR.

-Chuck

I don't find this statement quite accurate. Ok, it's not perfect HDR, but also it is not a very expensive dashcam.
Post in thread 'Vantrue E1 - impressions/samples' https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/vantrue-e1-impressions-samples.47878/post-583288

 

[Panzer Platform]

Ok, it's not perfect HDR, but also it is not a very expensive dashcam.

Wow, the T130 is terrible.
$150 = E1
$120 = A119 Mini 2

 

[Jeff_Vantrue]

Yo Jeff,
OK, I agree with you.
I’ve been heavy handed with my criticism of Vanture products because they keep disappointing me based on image quality compared to Viofo models using the same image sensors.
As far as “loyalty” to Viofo, it’s because I’ve tested other brands, and they also disappoint based on image quality.
Viofo is the current image quality King, and to me that is the most important thing about a dash cam, (just in front of reliability, and durability).
Everything else like bells & whistles I have no regard for until these first 3 things have been accomplished, (image quality, reliability, durability).
But Viofo also keeps making the same mistakes over, and over that drive me crazy too. lol

The reason I keep coming down so hard on you is because I want to call out what I see as “unacceptable” so you can improve your product, and be a true competitor to Viofo.
When I tested the E1, and and compared it to the original A119 Mini (2022) I said; “Vantrue is 2-3 years behind Viofo in overall product development”.
When I tested the S1 Pro, and compared it to the A119 Mini 2 (2023), I saw dramatic improvements, and said; “Vantrue is closing the gap on Viofo, and is now only 1 year behind in overall product development".
So next year, I’m hoping you will be neck, and neck.
But, I really wish you would offer both Codecs H.264 & H.265, (not H.265 only).
Also, if you want a leg up on Viofo you should start including Hardwire Kits & 64GB Vantrue Brand SD cards with all your dash cams, (just raise the price accordingly).
-Chuck

Hi Chuck,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and feedback with us. We understand and respect your preference for Viofo products, especially regarding image quality, reliability, and durability.

At Vantrue, we continuously strive to improve our products and address customer feedback. While image quality is indeed a crucial aspect, we also focus on other features and innovations that users may find valuable.

We value your contribution to our brand and the dashcam community as a whole, and we've already reported your suggestions to our tech department for consideration.

Best regards,
Jeff
Vantrue Team