UK buyer -compact no screen front cam under £100

[steveo3002]

my bluesky b1w seems to have died

looking to spend £50-100 , want small and compact no screen , dont need any frills but would like reliable and good enough clarity to pic out a number plate in the event of a crash, will be hardwired

i guess a recent version of the b1w

 

[Nigel]

If you want to come up to date, then you want a Sony Starvis 2 image sensor, so I suggest this, even though it seems to be slightly over budget at the moment:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B0CRR6H7Z2

VIOFO VS1 Mini 2K HDR Dash Cam - Sony Sensor & GPS | Free 32GB Card

Discover the VIOFO VS1 Mini 2K HDR Dash Cam with Sony STARVIS 2 Sensor. GPS integrated, voice control, and free 32GB card. Perfect for capturing your drives in high definition. Check our shop for the latest pricing!

viofouk.co.uk

If you wait a while then there may be a better sale, I think it was in budget at Easter, but if you need it now then I think it is worth the little extra. Image quality is considerably better than the B1W, especially at night, the image sensor is 2 generations newer.

Viofo VS1 (Novatek NT96565, unboxing & first impressions) (Sony IMX675, HDR, GPS, 5Ghz WiFi, 2.5K video quality)

Today we are taking a look at the cheapest Sony Starvis 2 solution from @viofo @VIOFO-Support , the VS1. This is an important product for Viofo, as it follows the successful launch of 2023's Starvis 2 midrange dashcams in the A229 Plus and the A119 Mini 2. Being such well-regarded dashcams in...

dashcamtalk.com

 

[Dashmellow]

The official date for Amazon Prime Day has not yet been announced but it will be during July as usual. The VS1 should become available at a very attractive price at the time for anyone who has a Prime membership.

 

[steveo3002]

thanks for the suggestion , i have watched a few reviews, may i ask is there a way to save any incidents via a button , or do i have to purchase the bluetooth button which looks a bit poor to me having to pair it everytime you need to save a near miss or whatever?

 

[Nigel]

thanks for the suggestion , i have watched a few reviews, may i ask is there a way to save any incidents via a button , or do i have to purchase the bluetooth button which looks a bit poor to me having to pair it everytime you need to save a near miss or whatever?

You can press the button on the back of the camera, or you can use the voice command "Lock Video", or you can swear at the other driver (the impolite phrase needs to include the F word!), or you can use the Bluetooth button, which should only need pairing once. (I think I saw that review, not sure why they had an issue.)

 

[steveo3002]

hmm yeah , so what keeps the bluetooth button battery charged?

 

[Nigel]

hmm yeah , so what keeps the bluetooth button battery charged?

It is a lithium coin cell battery, with a 10 year life, like the ones in your key fob.
You can probably wear it out sooner with a lot of use, but in normal use it will last years.

 

[Nigel]

may i ask is there a way to save any incidents via a button

I forgot, I think you can also lock files using the app, although if I've bothered to find the file in the app, I would probably press the download button so that it is safely stored on my phone.

 

[Dashmellow]

The official date for Amazon Prime Day has not yet been announced but it will be during July as usual. The VS1 should become available at a very attractive price at that time for anyone who has a Prime membership.

Amazon has just announced that their Prime Day event will be held on July 16 and 17 and will feature exclusive and invite-only deals for Prime members.

Amazon is holding Prime Day sales in over 20 countries on the same date: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the UK. India comes later in the year for some reason. With invite-only Prime subscribers can request invitations from a product page by clicking a new button next to “Add to cart.” Members who are selected for a sale on the item will get an email with instructions for purchasing the item.

 

[steveo3002]

i dont have prime , i see theres code vs130 for $30 off on the .com site , makes it £94 gbp

 

[Nigel]

i dont have prime , i see theres code vs130 for $30 off on the .com site , makes it £94 gbp

That would be a decent price, and remember that you get a very high quality memory card included with it, not a very big one, but big enough for a 1 channel dashcam. I don't expect Prime will be much cheaper if any.

The viofo.com site might mean importing from China, but at that price, you don't need to worry about taxes or VAT, there is a £135 limit that it may be best not to go over if adding accessories. And I think shipping is included, so nothing to worry about. Returns are not as easy as with Amazon, but you are unlikely to need that.

 

[steveo3002]

hmm yeah did wonder if its uk dispatch , uk site offers next day but i dont see any codes

 

[Nigel]

hmm yeah did wonder if its uk dispatch , uk site offers next day but i dont see any codes

I suspect it will be dispatched from somewhere in Europe, but I don't know, some things come from China.
It does work, but it is not next day, normally a week or a little more for standard shipping.

 

[steveo3002]

okay ordered it , 8-12 days from china it claims, worth a short wait for $30 off plus 10% off accessories

code-vs130 if anyone cares

 

[steveo3002]

6 days from china , not too bad at all

 

[Nigel]

That's good.

It would be interesting to hear what you think of it after the Blueskysea. The B1W was a nice camera, with a surprisingly sharp image for 1080 resolution, but it is old technology now, you should find the night time much better on the new one...

 

[steveo3002]

yes i will try to update my thoughts , no doubt i will have some set up questions when i fit it