What are the general file protection options?

[murbot]

I'm new to cams and the forum. Please excuse my current lack of cam knowledge.

I'm having trouble finding details on devices. How much time can be protected on a recording while continuing to record...and then of course how many times can I protect X minutes of recording?

Background:
General driving to work at 3am and home at 3:30pm, plus road trips. I drive through some woodsy areas at night and see a lot of foxes and their pups along with deer on the side or in the road. I want to share that stuff with my kids, even if a night view looks odd. The other half of my drive is on the highway with the crazies. I'd like to be able to protect at least 2-3 segments of 1 minute or less of the non crucial video and still be able to record in case something bad happens that needs to be saved.

Hoping I can get this for about $100 give or take $20 with a decent cam that won't overheat etc. I'll grab a 32GB card separately if that size is compatible with whatever cam I end up with.

Thanks for any help or suggestions.
-Steve

 

[Deleted member 46308]

Welcome to the forum Steve

 

[Module 79L]

I'm new to cams and the forum. Please excuse my current lack of cam knowledge.

I'm having trouble finding details on devices. How much time can be protected on a recording while continuing to record...and then of course how many times can I protect X minutes of recording?

Background:
General driving to work at 3am and home at 3:30pm, plus road trips. I drive through some woodsy areas at night and see a lot of foxes and their pups along with deer on the side or in the road. I want to share that stuff with my kids, even if a night view looks odd. The other half of my drive is on the highway with the crazies. I'd like to be able to protect at least 2-3 segments of 1 minute or less of the non crucial video and still be able to record in case something bad happens that needs to be saved.

Hoping I can get this for about $100 give or take $20 with a decent cam that won't overheat etc. I'll grab a 32GB card separately if that size is compatible with whatever cam I end up with.

Thanks for any help or suggestions.
-Steve

First of all, welcome to the forum.

Most dashcams work this way: they can record continuously up to 4GB files, which is the max file size per file of the FAT32 file system or they can record in 3, 5 or 10 minutes loops (or more, depending on the camera's firmware) until the card is full, then they start overwriting the older files. In most cameras, a 32GB card can record up to over 5 hours at 12MB/s or a little over 4 hours at 15MB/s (those are the most common camera's bitrates). Almost every camera has a button to lock files manually, in the event you see something you want to keep immediately. When you press that button the loop that is currently been recorded will be protected. Those files won't be overwritten when the card is full.

Giving the use you intend to do to the camera, I don't think you'll need to lock files, unless you drive more than 4 or 5 hours each day. If you don't, all you need to do is take the card out of the camera every day or so and download the files to your computer/HDD, and start again with an empty card.

 

[Sunny]

Welcome!
If drive is short, 32GB card will have enough for a week. No need to protect anything manually.
If you drive through rough roads, disable G-Sensor so it doesn't lock files and eventually fill the card up.
I use 32GB card and is enough for almost 5 days work week drive.
I drive around 35 - 45 minutes each way.

 

[murbot]

Thank you both for the responses and info. Exactly what I was hoping to learn.

Am I shooting too low with my price range? $100'ish...

 

[Sunny]

If hot weather is a concern, you have to go for capacitor versions and good brand are little more than that.

 

[dash riposki]

Maybe an A118-C, has an easy to use 'lock' button to save some files.
Available multiple places online for around $80, including some suppliers on this forum.
You may not get much usable footage of wildlife on the side of the road at night, though. (Not sure any cam would do well)