Viofo, Garmin or Nextbase?!

[minibbb]

Afternoon All

I am looking for a front and rear dash cam for my GLC which will be hardwired in. I really want parking mode to work for both cameras.

My choices are :

Viofo A129 - either 1080p or 4k (the 1080p is v good value on Amazon today)

Nextbase 422GW front and rear kit. Good value at £178 but not sure how reliable Nextbase are and how good the parking mode is?

Garmin mini 2 (God knows if they've sorted the parking mode over heating) or the new garmin 57.

I know Garmin will be the most expensive option of the three but probably the most attractive. The viofo does look a little cheap and not a fan of the two sides out of the side.

Ultimately after the best solution for sub £250 ideally. All seem to have mixed reviews around missing clips etc.

Many thanks for any thoughts

 

[kamkar]

Welcome to the forum minibbb.

If you are going to be using parking guard, you have to be careful what you get, so ask in the sub forums for user experience to make sure you get what you like, and be sure to mention if parking guard is high up on your list of wants.

The A129 and for that matter other viofo cameras seem to have some issues with parking guard, in some cases as i understand just one of the optional modes.
I am currently testing on the A139 and for driving it is excellent and it have also been so when i used the low bitrate option in parking guard, but just for 1 hour, since going up to 6 hours on the timer i have had problems, which i am not entirely able to blame on the hot days we have had in Denmark lately.
Nextbase and Garmin i have no personal experience with, but they and the A139 are cameras that reside as a whole on the windscreen, and so the system will also receive heat directly from the sun if it is facing that way or not parked in the sun.
Of course you living over there in the UK super bright days and heat are also not terrible common in the summer, but some days we do get lucky and thats where thermal loads might be a problem for parking guard.

The dual ( 1080p ) SG9663DR i am also testing i feel is the best chance to do parking guard on the hot days, as both cameras are remote from the heat generating main unit you like to also not get hit by heat from the sun, so placing that main unit somewhere out of the sun, and maybe low in the car should mean you could expect to do parking guard for longer than a conventional system.

BUT ! it is just a assumption of mine, i have not been able to test that camera VS a conventional designed one with the same hardware, but it make sense to me, in the main unit dont get hit by direct sun and the heat that give, it should last longer dealing just with the heat it generate itself processing and storing 2 X 1080p video.

 

[lacibaci]

I am a big fan of Garmin (as you can probably tell from my history) so I would recommend DashCam 57. It is really an iterative improvement over DC 55, 56 which was (and is) very reliable despite the battery haters here
Single unit with dual GNSS built in (GPS, Galileo), good parking mode, single wire install and more...

 

[minibbb]

Welcome to the forum minibbb.

If you are going to be using parking guard, you have to be careful what you get, so ask in the sub forums for user experience to make sure you get what you like, and be sure to mention if parking guard is high up on your list of wants.

The A129 and for that matter other viofo cameras seem to have some issues with parking guard, in some cases as i understand just one of the optional modes.
I am currently testing on the A139 and for driving it is excellent and it have also been so when i used the low bitrate option in parking guard, but just for 1 hour, since going up to 6 hours on the timer i have had problems, which i am not entirely able to blame on the hot days we have had in Denmark lately.
Nextbase and Garmin i have no personal experience with, but they and the A139 are cameras that reside as a whole on the windscreen, and so the system will also receive heat directly from the sun if it is facing that way or not parked in the sun.
Of course you living over there in the UK super bright days and heat are also not terrible common in the summer, but some days we do get lucky and thats where thermal loads might be a problem for parking guard.

The dual ( 1080p ) SG9663DR i am also testing i feel is the best chance to do parking guard on the hot days, as both cameras are remote from the heat generating main unit you like to also not get hit by heat from the sun, so placing that main unit somewhere out of the sun, and maybe low in the car should mean you could expect to do parking guard for longer than a conventional system.

BUT ! it is just a assumption of mine, i have not been able to test that camera VS a conventional designed one with the same hardware, but it make sense to me, in the main unit dont get hit by direct sun and the heat that give, it should last longer dealing just with the heat it generate itself processing and storing 2 X 1080p video.

Thank you for such a comprehensive reply, it's very much appreciated!

That's useful info re the viofo- I think I'm moving away from that idea plus I just don't think it looks to be the tidiest install either.

The SG looks good but it doesn't appear to be readily available in the UK?

We get the odd hot one here so be good to have something reliable when it's sunny! I think whatever I get will just be the unit on the screen rather than trying to fit a separate unit within the car.

I shall get trawling through the sub forums!

Thanks again

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

 

[minibbb]

I am a big fan of Garmin (as you can probably tell from my history) so I would recommend DashCam 57. It is really an iterative improvement over DC 55, 56 which was (and is) very reliable despite the battery haters here
Single unit with dual GNSS built in (GPS, Galileo), good parking mode, single wire install and more...

Thanks for the reply- it looks good and I think I can get 10% off through Halfords with my work discount too which is handy.

Does it still require the additional parking cable for parking mode to work? Any issues with overheating so far?

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

 

[Outbacknomad]

I have four Garmin 56 cameras, on each side of the car, so far very happy.

The only issue is when you first set them up make sure they get a full satellite signal or you have to go through the whole setup process again.

A couple of them I managed to buy for au$199.00 ea directly from a large franchise chain off the shelf & the others for au$219.00 from same outlet.

For Australians: I have bought 256GB SanDisk high endurance cards for them from Techbuy in Australia $70.00ea, just checked today $61.90 if you are a local!

 

[kamkar]

I forgot to say the SG camera are more expensive, the local dealer is hiniko https://www.hiniko.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=59_105_206

 

[lacibaci]

Thanks for the reply- it looks good and I think I can get 10% off through Halfords with my work discount too which is handy.

Does it still require the additional parking cable for parking mode to work? Any issues with overheating so far?

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

There are three ways to get parking mode.
1. OBD cable
2. Parking mode cable
3. Plug camera to an always on power outlet. The cam will switch to parking mode when the car is stopped. Start interval is configurable.

1 and 2 are accessories purchased separately.

 

[minibbb]

There are three ways to get parking mode.
1. OBD cable
2. Parking mode cable
3. Plug camera to an always on power outlet. The cam will switch to parking mode when the car is stopped. Start interval is configurable.

1 and 2 are accessories purchased separately.

Thanks matey. This suggests it doesn't need anything else adding other than a hardwire.

The 2 second lag doesn't sound ideal but j guess is better than nothing

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

 

[minibbb]

So it turns out I can get the 57 direct from Garmin for £112 posted with the bluelightcard.

The mini 2 is £75 but needs the £30 parking cable.

Would I be better off having a parking cable for the 57 too even though it says it doesn't require one for parking mode?

I'll get the 57 for the front. Not sure if I trust they have sorted the overheating issue with the mini 2 yet for the rear? Otherwise I could get another 57 for the rear as actually works out the same price near enough once you budget for the parking cable.

Do I need to buy a separate kit to hardwire either or is the cabling included?

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

 

[Kremmen]

I've just looked at the 57 and it's not very stealthy and the whole unit body is on a stalk. My experience of stalk units is the vibration on less than perfect roads.

My Viofo is easily removed and remounted, one handed, to offload footage, and no need to check alignment as the lens never moves.

Your call though.

 

[mel11]

I tried Garmin 66w all was OK except forget reading plate numbers
So on a hit and run what good is that?

 

[lacibaci]

I tried Garmin 66w all was OK except forget reading plate numbers
So on a hit and run what good is that?

Identifying license plates (especially US, CA ones) is a crapshoot. DC66 with its wide view is not well suited for that.

 

[Kremmen]

If you want an example of Viofo number plate grab see my post here :

VIOFO А119V3 FIRMWARE

The 2.5 mod worked well whilst driving however it failed to record whilst parked This mod does not affect parking, everything should be OK

dashcamtalk.com

 

[lacibaci]

If you want an example of Viofo number plate grab see my post here :

VIOFO А119V3 FIRMWARE

The 2.5 mod worked well whilst driving however it failed to record whilst parked This mod does not affect parking, everything should be OK

dashcamtalk.com

Big EU plates. A different animal.