Trouble finding a dashcam that meets specific criteria

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Rescue77

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Hi,

I've been trying to find a dashcam that meets specific criteria that I have. I didn't think it would be this difficult, but I'm starting to lose hope. Therefore, I figured I would turn to the forum to try to see if there is anything I've missed.

I'm looking for a dashcam that meets all of the following criteria:
  1. Cannot be from a Chinese company (This cuts around 90% of the options off, leaving only Korean, Japanese, etc).
  2. Must discretely mount behind the mirror (This eliminates anything with a ball joint mount, and most devices with screens. Wedge mounts and other screen-less devices are fine.)
  3. Must have a physical button, readily accessible by the driver, to mark an event such that recently captured footage will be safe from deletion
  4. Must either not have a GPS receiver at all, or there must be an option to completely disable the GPS (physical switch preferred over software settings)
  5. Must have an option to disable any microphone (I realize that just about every device has this, but adding it just to be safe)
  6. Must not be Internet-connected. (I'm ok with use of an app to connect to the dashcam on a private WiFi network, but I am not ok with a dash cam that communicates with the Internet at any time, ever. If this is an option that is disabled by default and never needs to be enabled, I'd probably be ok with that. But if even the initial set-up requires direct connectivity by the camera, it's not ok.)
My most recent attempt was the Thinkware F770 after a vendor told me that it met all of the above criteria. However, they made the mistake of trying to interpret what I meant, and thought that not printing the speed on the video was my intent with #5. It's not. It's a privacy issue, so the inability to disable the GPS eliminates the Thinkware. The lack of a physical button to store recent events eliminates the BlackVue. And so on... I've found several that meet all but one of the above criteria, but never one device that meets all of them.

Basically, I don't want a low-end device (Chinese-made, physically large, etc), but I also don't want many of the features being pushed into the high-end devices like cloud storage, etc, due to privacy issues that they create.

Please don't offer suggestions that only meet some of these criteria. I'm not trying to negotiate, and I'm not going to compromise. If no such product exists, then I just won't buy anything. I've been waiting for over a year, and I'm content to keep waiting if needed. I'm just tired of returning devices.

Thanks.
 
jokiin said:
Koreans have different ideas about what features a camera should have
Click to expand...

I'm not faulting companies for making decisions as to where they think the market is.

If nothing exists, then I guess I won't buy anything. After some a recent event that left me on the hook for an insurance deductible when video would have clearly prevented that, I'd really like to buy something if at all possible. So I'm posting here in a last-ditch effort to find a solution.
 
Korean cameras are really made for the wants and needs of the Korean domestic market, some of them are sold outside of Korea but with very little to prepare them for western markets

Rescue77 said:
If nothing exists, then I guess I won't buy anything. After some a recent event that left me on the hook for an insurance deductible when video would have clearly prevented that, I'd really like to buy something if at all possible. So I'm posting here in a last-ditch effort to find a solution.
Click to expand...

plenty of reports here from users that have been saved by having video even though their cameras weren't a Korean brand, just saying
 
Why no Chinese cams? I've run over a half dozen different ones from there with no real cam problems. The most reliable cams are all made there. The most robust cams are all made there. I prefer to buy locally produced goods myself to help my own local economy which helps me, but if nobody here makes what I want then I'll buy wherever I have to. That's how the world works today. When you exclude all your best options, you're creating your own failure. I can't sympathize with that, nor do I know of any cams which meet your specifications made anywhere other than China. Succeed or fail, it's your choice.

Phil
 
SawMaster said:
Why no Chinese cams? I've run over a half dozen different ones from there with no real cam problems. The most reliable cams are all made there.
Click to expand...

a lot of the Korean cams are made in China also, they're still made to suit their own domestic market needs though
 
The fact of the matter is that comparatively very few electronic components are now being manufactured anywhere outside of SE Asia, so no matter where they are assembled, the components will be mainly from that area. In effect, every electronic gadget has a SE Asian heart in it. And where once most electronic components were made in the USA then Japan, now it is China, Malaysia, and Indonesia leading that game. It's just how it is, and no amount of wishing for anything different will change that. Given enough time, that too will change to some other area, but not in the forseeable future. Africa has the world's cheapest labor, and if they had good enough governmental and economic stability they would be taking this business and many others, and prospering from it greatly. It all goes round and round- it always has and it always will. You have to go round with it or you will get left out in the cold.

Phil
 
the cheapest products are already being made elsewhere as the labour cost in China is too high for some
 
Yes funny how that work.
In the old days it was Philippines that took the job of Danish sailors.
Thats not the case today for a couple of reasons, first of all the pay to be a sailor are no longer interesting and second the job itself are pretty much 3-4 months on with little free time as ships are so fast in and out of ports.
And so no Danes want to be a sailor.
Even in the officer branch things are changing, they used to be all Danish too, but i think they also find it hard to staff those jobs with Danes, and you can also get cheaper ones now, often from the former eastern countries like Russia.
 
For your discretely behind the mirror mount check out BlendMount. Really slick mount. I just installed one for my Blackvue DR590W. Very stable and easy to adjust.
 
Rescue77 said:
Hi,

I've been trying to find a dashcam that meets specific criteria that I have. I didn't think it would be this difficult, but I'm starting to lose hope. Therefore, I figured I would turn to the forum to try to see if there is anything I've missed.
Click to expand...
Winycam Log FHD might work for you, although it's not the most discreet mount. I have no idea how good it is.
http://www.winycam.com/product/non-lcd-type/log-hd
 
TonyM said:
Winycam Log FHD might work for you, although it's not the most discreet mount. I have no idea how good it is.
http://www.winycam.com/product/non-lcd-type/log-hd
Click to expand...

not great on paper, 20fps if you want the full HD version, I have seen this model and it would be fairly discrete once mounted, it may meet criteria number 1 but it is pretty low standard otherwise, not sure about the physical save button either
 
jokiin said:
not great on paper, 20fps if you want the full HD version, I have seen this model and it would be fairly discrete once mounted, it may meet criteria number 1 but it is pretty low standard otherwise, not sure about the physical save button either
Click to expand...
I missed the 20fps detail. It has a physical save button and a mute button. GPS is an optional extra. WiFi only if you plug in a dongle. The OP didn't say anything about the minimum specification in terms of video quality.
 
TonyM said:
I missed the 20fps detail. It has a physical save button and a mute button. GPS is an optional extra. WiFi only if you plug in a dongle. The OP didn't say anything about the minimum specification in terms of video quality.
Click to expand...

if he's shopping Korean then image quality isn't going to be best of breed, there's only a couple of models there that I'd call acceptable, majority are well below even cheap Chinese cams, market expectation is obviously lower though as 720p is still a big seller in the Korean market
 
An alternative approach might be a commercial-grade rather than consumer-grade camera. I was looking at some cameras sold by Roadhawk here in the UK. The ones marketed for vans and heavy good vehicles have simple cameras and separate DVR units. No screens or WiFi to distract commercial vehicle drivers. GPS tracking seems an optional extra. It's not a market I know much about, but it seems the potential is there for a straightforward camera without the bells & whistles.
 
TonyM said:
I missed the 20fps detail. It has a physical save button and a mute button. GPS is an optional extra. WiFi only if you plug in a dongle. The OP didn't say anything about the minimum specification in terms of video quality.
Click to expand...

I didn't. And I'm ok to compromise on video quality, as long as it's good enough to read license plates. I'm not looking to post quality videos to Youtube...I'm looking to have evidence records for insurance or law enforcement, if ever needed.

I'll check into that one. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
TonyM said:
An alternative approach might be a commercial-grade rather than consumer-grade camera. I was looking at some cameras sold by Roadhawk here in the UK. The ones marketed for vans and heavy good vehicles have simple cameras and separate DVR units.
Click to expand...

Hmm. Having a quick look. The separate DVR units bring the price up pretty high. I'm ok with the price range of the higher-end consumer options, but not really to go beyond that. But after a cursory look, the two cameras on the Roadhawk site mention use of SD memory, which makes me think that the separate DVR may be optional. I'll look into this a bit more to see if there's a camera-only option, and if it otherwise fits the bill. Thanks.
 
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