Versatile dashcam advice

[Lifeline83]

Hello everyone,

I just registered hoping to get some good advice on a dashcam which could also work as a parking security camera. The cars in my area (including mine) have been vandalized a few times over the last six months, at night and I am hoping to get some good footage to the police. Installing a home surveillance system is not an option. Also, I would like a product that I can use in the forthcoming years once all these issues with security come to an end.

What I'm looking for is:

- dashcam, front and rear
- with parking monitoring, motion-activated
- the surrounding area is relatively well illuminated, even at night, so the night vision doesn't need to be the top of the range
- I would like to use the rear camera also as a reversing camera, if possible, perhaps linking the camera to a smartphone?
- I already have a spare 64GB SSD, which I would like to use, so the camera should be able to support it
- a small, streamline design would be preferable (like Blueskysea B1W) rather than something with bulky support

I am currently doing some research to find something that fits, hopefully for less than £100 (live in UK).

Does anyone have any advice? Thank you.

 

[kamkar]

No consumer dashcams support storage on a SSD now, it is all micro SD cards.
Droplets of rain / dew on your glass might obscure view, and can also trigger motion detect.

Even if you say the road have light, i think you should still go for a god low light performing sensor like the IMX 291

 

[SawMaster]

Welcome to DCT @Lifeline83

There are cams to meet all your specs except for SSD and reversing, but not all in one cam. The one which I think closest to meeting your needs is well past your budget
So first, how solid is your budget limitation? Getting a decent 2-channel cam at near that price leaves only one I'd recommend and it has had some issues reported with it. So if you can't go higher, you might need to go with two separate cams and even then you may go slightly over-budget. As to your existing SD card, well it may not work here- dashcams require a card with high write speeds which few cards have. Tell us what you've got and we can tell you whether it is known to be one of the good ones for this use.
And think about your priorities, listing them from "most necessary" downward- then we might be able to guide you toward getting the most of what you want.

Do note that there are plenty of cheap cams out there which make claims for features which do not work correctly or do not work at all. Or they die an early death leaving you with a completely wasted investment. You don't get what you don't pay for, but you can also get ripped off easily with dashcams- we'll do our best to help you avoid that

Phil

 

[jokiin]

Does anyone have any advice? Thank you.

raise your budget and lower your expectations

 

[Lifeline83]

Thank you, makes sense to prioritize.

I would say, from most important to less important:

1) Dashcam with parking monitoring, motion-activated.
2) Compatible with 64GB SSD or above. (I already own a Sandisk Ultra MicroSD 64GB Class 10)
3) A small streamline design would be preferable rather than something with bulky support.
4) Less than £100. In fact, the lower, the better.
5) Having a rear camera would be good as well, but it's not mandatory. Depending on the final price.

So, if we set aside the rear camera, it should be possible to find something within the price, I think... I fact, the more I look at the Blueskysea B1W, the more I think it should do the job. Pity that it doesn't come with rear camera, but I can get it for as low as £35 so... unless other cameras can offer more value for money, I don't mind saving some money.

Thank you.

 

[Nigel]

Thank you, makes sense to prioritize.

I would say, from most important to less important:

1) Dashcam with parking monitoring, motion-activated.
2) Compatible with 64GB SSD or above. (I already own a Sandisk Ultra MicroSD 64GB Class 10)
3) A small streamline design would be preferable rather than something with bulky support.
4) Less than £100. In fact, the lower, the better.
5) Having a rear camera would be good as well, but it's not mandatory. Depending on the final price.

So, if we set aside the rear camera, it should be possible to find something within the price, I think... I fact, the more I look at the Blueskysea B1W, the more I think it should do the job. Pity that it doesn't come with rear camera, but I can get it for as low as £35 so... unless other cameras can offer more value for money, I don't mind saving some money.

Thank you.

The B1W does quite well in the dark, except for motion blur, so if you are recording moving vehicles then I would suggest the Viofo A119 V3 or A129, but if it is just people in the dark, not moving fast, then it should do OK. Not sure what the current A119 V3 price is, but I might go for that at the front and a B1W at the rear.

You should read the thread on B1W parking mode before deciding, there are a number of different firmwares for different options and it is a bit complicated, I think I would go for the low bitrate parking mode, the motion detect version won't start recording until it detects movement, the low bitrate will record everything, and for a genuine vandalism issue that is worth having - catch them vandalising someone else's car and end the problem before they get to yours!

 

[SawMaster]

Thank you, makes sense to prioritize.

I would say, from most important to less important:

1) Dashcam with parking monitoring, motion-activated.
Lots of single-cam chioices in this price range, however few do 'motion detect' well if at all even though most cams list the function. IMHO Low-Bitrate is better for parking.
2) Compatible with 64GB SSD or above. (I already own a Sandisk Ultra MicroSD 64GB Class 10)
This card is good for many cams, check owner's comments on the cam you finalize on. MicroSD is currently cheap to buy.
3) A small streamline design would be preferable rather than something with bulky support.
Based on car and installation, 'wedge' form cams provide discretion from the outside as only the lower lens section is visible there.
4) Less than £100. In fact, the lower, the better.
This is the big problem spot. There aren't many decent cams at this price, so you mi9ght want to wait for a sale to purchase something normally costing just a bit more to get a better cam. This would greatly expand your choices.
5) Having a rear camera would be good as well, but it's not mandatory. Depending on the final price.
I'd suggest getting the best front cam you can first, then adding a B1W or 70mai in the rear later.

So, if we set aside the rear camera, it should be possible to find something within the price, I think... I fact, the more I look at the Blueskysea B1W, the more I think it should do the job. Pity that it doesn't come with rear camera, but I can get it for as low as £35 so... unless other cameras can offer more value for money, I don't mind saving some money.

Thank you.

In the UK climate, battery-equipped cams are a viable choice, but most good cams now use super-caps. Because of this, you might want to think of a 70mai in the back as it has slightly better daytime vids and slightly lesser nighttime vids than the B1W does, but at a much lower price. I prefer the B1W for it's firmware versatility and generally trouble-free reputation. Up front, if you catch a good sale the A119/S is a good cam days and very good nights, the A119 V3 better overall but a bit lesser at night. Both out-perform the B1W but normally cost more. But all in all, considering what you have said I think your best bet will be to put a B1W up front and a 70mai in back. The total cost for them is less than what you'd pay for an equal 2-channel cam. The Mini 0906 is not the greatest 2-channel cam but is worth considering as an alternate choice. Motion detect is the bugger with all these, but if you look into low-bitrate you will likely find it better. If you still desire motion detect, you'll have to go with one of the A119 cams and settle for how well it works with them as there's no really good motion detecting cams at this price level.

Phil

 

[Lifeline83]

Thank you for the helpful responses.