Why are dash cams painted black which absorbs sunlight?

[Ephesians2:8-9KJV]

I don't understand why most if not all dashcams are painted black which absorbs sunlight and causes premature failure. Heat kills electronics and the glue holding the screen in place. Purely for looks? Are there any good dashcams painted white which reflects sunlight or should I buy some acrylic white paint to prolong the life of my dash cam?

 

[Kremmen]

I believe to make them discrete.

 

[Ephesians2:8-9KJV]

I believe to make them discrete.

I can see that, especially for smaller ones like the Garmin mini 2, but some are large enough where a thief walking by would likely notice them anyway. A white dash cam may be discreet on a white vehicle, hopefully manufacturers will one day offer a white or even silver or gray option

 

[Dashmellow]

Yeah, it's because it makes them less visible from outside the vehicle.

This question has come up before here on DCT and you have a point. Windshield mounted toll transponders are usually white for the reasons you mentioned for example.

 

[kamkar]

Welcome to the forum.

Ideally i assume a dashcam should be chrome plated to reflect heat from the sun rather than absorb it like a black camera would do.
But this make the camera highly visible and so you risk : 1. getting the camera stolen when parked - 2. A part in a alteration see it, which would be unfortunate if that person are already aggravated and hoping to get by lying.

In my opinion the best solution is the systems where the cameras are remote from the main unit where the heat generating encoding and storing go on, that unit could also be made larger to accommodate actual cooling VS the meager heat sinks in conventional dashcams, also it can be placed out of direct sunlight, and you could actually use active cooling in parking guard mode, though this would cut into total time parking guard is possible.
Also theft of the main unit or just the memory card in it will be harder if it is hidden.

Edit for regular use just recording when driving, and just sitting there cooking but not recording in the sun, well the black cameras are fine.
Heat problems when driving are not really existing, even if you have a car like mine that dont have AC, and just sitting there shut off, though in a hot state in summer the camera will be almighty hot as will the car interior.
But a good camera will still wake up when you start the car and record your drive.

I have not heard of a camera needing AC to get going before it was cold enough but i have heard of dashcams so cold that they would need a few minutes for the car to warm up before they would work.

You can maybe run into heat problems ( when driving ) if you use am modified firmware with a substantial higher bitrate, cuz more bitrate = more heat, and the dashcams like action cameras do not have impressive cooling solutions.
But as far as regular bitrates go i have not heard of a dashcam overheating while driving, it is only using parking guard and parked in the sun where heat get to be a issue.

 

[DAP]

Yes, white absorbs less heat than black, but it also radiates less heat than black. If your camera is generating heat, painting it black will allow it to radiate more heat.
A better solution to the problem would be to create a sun shade to keep the camera from sitting in direct sunlight.

 

[batbug]

I don't understand why most if not all dashcams are painted black which absorbs sunlight and causes premature failure. Heat kills electronics and the glue holding the screen in place. Purely for looks? Are there any good dashcams painted white which reflects sunlight or should I buy some acrylic white paint to prolong the life of my dash cam?

Welcome to the forum.

Ideally i assume a dashcam should be chrome plated to reflect heat from the sun rather than absorb it like a black camera would do.
But this make the camera highly visible and so you risk : 1. getting the camera stolen when parked - 2. A part in a alteration see it, which would be unfortunate if that person are already aggravated and hoping to get by lying.

In my opinion the best solution is the systems where the cameras are remote from the main unit where the heat generating encoding and storing go on, that unit could also be made larger to accommodate actual cooling VS the meager heat sinks in conventional dashcams, also it can be placed out of direct sunlight, and you could actually use active cooling in parking guard mode, though this would cut into total time parking guard is possible.
Also theft of the main unit or just the memory card in it will be harder if it is hidden.

Edit for regular use just recording when driving, and just sitting there cooking but not recording in the sun, well the black cameras are fine.
Heat problems when driving are not really existing, even if you have a car like mine that dont have AC, and just sitting there shut off, though in a hot state in summer the camera will be almighty hot as will the car interior.
But a good camera will still wake up when you start the car and record your drive.

I have not heard of a camera needing AC to get going before it was cold enough but i have heard of dashcams so cold that they would need a few minutes for the car to warm up before they would work.

You can maybe run into heat problems ( when driving ) if you use am modified firmware with a substantial higher bitrate, cuz more bitrate = more heat, and the dashcams like action cameras do not have impressive cooling solutions.
But as far as regular bitrates go i have not heard of a dashcam overheating while driving, it is only using parking guard and parked in the sun where heat get to be a issue.

It's interesting that you bring these points up, I'm developing a new dash cam which will solve this exact issue! I found it was a major issue for me when looking for my next dash cam, almost always when a dash cam breaks it's because of the fatigue the sun causes it by heating it up and cooling it down every day in summer. People like myself feel a bit insecure with leaving a dash cam on my windscreen in a parking lot or even at home as I have on-street parking. I can't reveal too many details but if you want to be one of the first to hear about it, pop your email in here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf3YRdxhc5qmEUjduyqV9GvoWV3k782SwpgRb_7KBZDwHSBbQ/viewform

 

[kamkar]

The cooler you can run most things the better, so a big cooler ( heat pipe or similar ) would beat a small ALU heat sink in a small body.

In my opinion as long as a system with a remote unit have that unit being half the size of a shoe box,,,, or smaller i am good / if it can fit under a car seat

I had a break in in my car in January last year, sadly then i did not have a IP camera on my car as the old one died, nothing was taken but my mirror where the interior camera of the A139 system was mounted was ripped off the roof where it mount, but the about 1 TB of memory card storage in total in various cameras and spare cards lying in the center console was not touched.
I dont really have any problems leaving a system in the car, but it must of course be discrete installed, and my little car is just about perfect designed to install at least wedge shaped cameras good.

I will be getting my first smart camera in a few months, it is dual 4K ( front and rear ) and have radar and LTE modem. but i am getting that at kickstarter price, otherwise i would not have gone there.

 

[DashCamDelight]

I don't understand why most if not all dashcams are painted black which absorbs sunlight and causes premature failure. Heat kills electronics and the glue holding the screen in place. Purely for looks? Are there any good dashcams painted white which reflects sunlight or should I buy some acrylic white paint to prolong the life of my dash cam?

The desire to be discreet and stealthy at the cost of maximum heat absorption. Think wearing white versus black on a hot sunny day. I'd almost prefer a "white visible camera" at times. Visibility in and of itself can often serve as a deterrent.

 

[Ralph2]

I will be getting my first smart camera in a few months, it is dual 4K ( front and rear ) and have radar and LTE modem. but i am getting that at kickstarter price, otherwise i would not have gone there.

Looking forward to a report on that one ;-)

 

[DashCamDelight]

I will be getting my first smart camera in a few months, it is dual 4K ( front and rear ) and have radar and LTE modem. but i am getting that at kickstarter price, otherwise i would not have gone there.

VEZO 360 - The First 4K 360˚ Smart Dash Cam

Protect your car and everyone in it with the first 4K 360˚ dash cam that keeps drivers alert with AI-powered drowsiness detection.

www.kickstarter.com

I looked up smart dashcams on kickstarter. Curious, Is it this one?

 

[kamkar]

No it is the dride 4K i will be getting. https://dride.io/dride4k

 

[thomas-dash]

Hopefully, they actually get it to market.

 

[DashCamDelight]

No it is the dride 4K i will be getting. https://dride.io/dride4k

Cool concept. Appears the parking mode on this camera is motion detection based according to their website description. Calling it "Radar Based" seems to be a fancy way of marketing the feature?

 

[kamkar]

no there is a radar in the front camera, but build in unlike others where it is a accessory.
The radar did create some problems during development.

 

[DAP]

No it is the dride 4K i will be getting. https://dride.io/dride4k

Internal storage? I don't like that at all. That means the camera is disposable. It will be usable only as long as the internal FLASH storage is still functional. FLASH memory is a wear item, very much like brake pads. It needs to be replaced regularly.

 

[kamkar]

It have a option for additional 128GB Emmc storage, but it is a option you dont have to take / use. each camera have a slot for a micro SD card, the front single or dual camera also have a option for a SIM card which are also optional.

 

[Screen name taken]

One point here. They are not painted black. They are made from a material which is black.
A few cams have or did have silver/chrome rings to the lens. These are usually criticised as not being stealthy enough.

 

[Nigel]

One point here. They are not painted black. They are made from a material which is black.
A few cams have or did have silver/chrome rings to the lens. These are usually criticised as not being stealthy enough.

The black is paint pigment (carbon black), but the pigment is mixed into the plastic during production rather than painted onto the surface.

The main purpose of the black is to absorb the UV from sunlight, which would otherwise destroy the plastic. Other colours of plastic have much shorter lifespans when exposed to sunlight. It is also the best colour for radiating away the internally generated heat from the camera, which extends the life of the internal components. And yes, most people prefer black, or nearly black, for stealth reasons. As for absorbing heat from sunlight, that only happens on the part of the camera that is exposed, and many of the better cameras are shielded by their mounts, so the amount of extra heat from sunlight absorbed by the camera body is quite small.