Which Dash System

[saul]

Firstly would like to say Hello to all and register myself a newbie on this forum and to the world of dashcams.

So like most people it's going to be one of those "what camera do I buy" but with hopefully a twist.

I live in the UK and shortly will be embarking on a career as a minicab driver. What I would like ideally is a small dual lens dash cam for the front (enabling me to record road and inside of car) and also a rear mounted camera for outside.

So my questions are

1. Is there such a thing as a 3 channel/way system using just 2 cameras.?
2. Or is there a small factor dvr system allowing 3 cameras.

As a complete newbie any advise and recommendations would be much appreciated.

 

[jokiin]

there are some 3 camera systems that do what you want but they're not really high quality, Uniden does one but it gets very mixed reviews

 

[Kip]

Welcome.

I would suggest either:

Option 1 - A 2-channel system on your front + rear windscreens (I have a 2-channel Blacksys CF-100 which I am happy with and it's an absolute bargain at the moment, but, there are other options too) with a single channel camera (Mobius, for example) discreetly filming the inside of your vehicle. That way you have a single camera for your own personal security and a separate 2-channel system that deals purely with the road. The Mobius lens can be removed if you fancy some tinkering and could be hidden away quite nicely behind interior trim panels.

Or

Option 2 - A 2- channel 'taxi' style camera (something in the style of a Transcend DrivePro 520, might not be many other options like this, I'm not sure) that films front + interior, which would maybe cover your vehicle's rear as well somewhat, or if you like, you can add a single channel to the film out of the rear windscreen (again, Mobius would probably be my choice here as it's cheap, well made, lots of information on the web, lots of support, etc, but again, there are many single channel options available). This means you only have 2 actual cameras but are filming 3 channels and would be an easier install. You could even double up on the 'taxi' cameras to give you 4-channels, 2 outward and 2 inward.

Have a look at those that I suggested and see which format you like the idea of most, then you need to start looking at what features you need in a camera, as well as any drawbacks those camera's might have and if they would affect you or not. For example, my CF-100 only locks (so the camera will never delete it itself) 10 seconds before an Event and 20 seconds after, so I either need very quick reactions or a large enough memory card that it doesn't loop cycle before I can get home/parked to view and/or save any footage that might not be locked. I work around this drawback with a large card as it's easier and more importantly, safer.

It's complicated but shortlist a few and ask around and you'll hopefully find a solution.

 

[kamkar]

Transcend DrivePro 520 there was the name and model i forgot.

Its performance of the inside and the build in IR light is not that good, but you can fix that by adding another little IR ermitter on the dashbord.

There is a lot of cameras simmilar to the trancend, but i think you would want to stay avay from those in general.

 

[Gibson99]

i actually installed a cf-100 for an Uber driver here in town with the main camera facing forward, and the second camera facing the interior. probably doesn't record anything useful inside at night, but it's fine during the day, when he does all his uber driving, so he's not worried about it.

 

[saul]

i actually installed a cf-100 for an Uber driver here in town with the main camera facing forward, and the second camera facing the interior. probably doesn't record anything useful inside at night, but it's fine during the day, when he does all his uber driving, so he's not worried about it.

Thank you, my main work will be in the evenings from the start and possibly moving to days at a later stage. Just googled cf-100 but no results come up.

 

[saul]

Does anyone own, or have had any experience with the Nextbase Duo dashcam?

 

[Gibson99]

Thank you, my main work will be in the evenings from the start and possibly moving to days at a later stage. Just googled cf-100 but no results come up.

https://dashcamtalk.com/blacksys-cf-100/

 

[Kip]

I can't give you actual experience but I can offer this.

The Nextbase Duo is only 720p on both cameras, which will be fine for capurting what happens, but, I would expect a lot of details such as numberplates to be unreadable unless very close. It also has a battery (I think all Nextbase cameras do), which generally do not last that long (maybe a year or two). If you're handy with fixing small electronics you could probably change the battery yourself, however, they are not usually designed to be user replacable. On the up side, you can buy them from a bricks and motor store. Our local Halfords sell them, so, easy to return/swap if something goes wrong.