Would this cam be good for this scenario?

LazPL

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Hi!
Somebody on my street keeps scoring my and my wife's car with their keys, and I really want to know who.

I am thinking about getting the SG, setting it up with a 5v battery pack (no power in the car when it's parked), and leave it in motion detection over night.

I'd capture all passers-by of course but I'll probably be able to identify the guy if I find new marks on the car the next day.

So, given there are street lights, is it sensitive enough to capture a face a meter away?
How wide is the angle?
Can I leave it connected to a 5V power pack in MD mode?

Please let me know what you think. I'm getting desperate after having this happen to 3 cars in a year's time...
 
Welcome to forum !
I guess it happens near your house / home / appartmment ? Is it possible ( allowed ) to install a CCTV to record place where you park your car ?
 
Unless the perpetrator keys the hood and sets off the camera in plain view, you would only have circumstantial evidence at best. An external camera with motion detection showing the full scene would be the way to go. They aren't terribly expensive, (compared to a new paint job or increased insurance rates) and could offer irrefutable evidence when they're charged.

I would would install a motion-detection camera in each car, pointing at the other, then park both cars in such a way that one could monitor the other discreetly.

CCC
 
Unless the perpetrator keys the hood and sets off the camera in plain view, you would only have circumstantial evidence at best. An external camera with motion detection showing the full scene would be the way to go. They aren't terribly expensive, (compared to a new paint job or increased insurance rates) and could offer irrefutable evidence when they're charged.

I would would install a motion-detection camera in each car, pointing at the other, then park both cars in such a way that one could monitor the other discreetly.

CCC

I've thought of this of course, but the problem is that there are trees & bushes between the house and the street, so it would be very difficult to acquire a good view of the car. And it's not so necessary to create "proper evidence" - I will know who it is and have a conversation... :)
An external camera would be best, I agree, but lacking that option, I'd just like to recognize the passer-by. He/She'd probably slow down, take their keys out, look around for witnesses, etc, and then do their thing...
So I'd know what day it happened, and then ideally I'd be able to review and guess which captured person is the culprit.

But to this, the cam would have to be powered by an external powerpack, and have good motion detection and decent night vision (although, who knows, maybe the bastard did it during daylight).
So what do you think?
 
Welcome to forum !
I guess it happens near your house / home / appartmment ? Is it possible ( allowed ) to install a CCTV to record place where you park your car ?

Thanks Niko. See my post above... So I think an in-car cam is the best option.
 
Like I said, you need an internal MOTION (IR or RF) detection camera, not a G-shock-enabled dashcam., which is great if someone bashes into your car.

Similar to this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/B00564TF4W
The effort required to key a car is minimal and likely wouldn't set off a dashcam, which wouldn't necessarily be pointing the right direction anyway. If they moved the car hard enough to set off a g-shock sensor, you would see them from behind, walking away. Again, this is marginally useful for prosecuting someone.

Use my suggestion mentioned above, or mount a full-time security camera with a zoom lens from your window where the car is visible, or start parking somewhere else safer. A dashcam is excellent for viewing the road in front or behind the car, but it's field of view and sensitivity are not adequate for the type of security purposes that you need.
 
How about two Street Guardian cams installed inside but both facing outwards to either side. They are discreet enough and it would show and hopefully hear who is doing it. Once caught you can then set then up to face front and back like regular dashcams.
 
Or if you have a second car then set one up in that with the car parked behind?
 
CCClarke - well found! I've been looking for something like that, but all the security cams I've found have required power-over-LAN or from a wall outlet... That's exactly what I need.
However, I thought that the SG had visual motion detection - i.e motion detected via light sensor / camera eye, not via shock/G-force... Apparently not?
Thanks!!!
 
Just to clarify, - do you want to cover front and rear, or sides ?
 
However, I thought that the SG had visual motion detection - i.e motion detected via light sensor / camera eye, not via shock/G-force... Apparently not?

it does, but whether that's effective enough at night or not is debatable, a better tactic is just use a larger memory card and leave a camera running, motion detect in any camera is going to be hit and miss in low light situations
 
Just to clarify, - do you want to cover front and rear, or sides ?
@niko, the sides. Or perhaps, at a 45 degree angle. The car is parked along the sidewalk, so I think, facing forward from more or less where the driver's head would be but at a slight angle.
 
How about two Street Guardian cams installed inside but both facing outwards to either side. They are discreet enough and it would show and hopefully hear who is doing it. Once caught you can then set then up to face front and back like regular dashcams.

That's sort of what I had in mind.

it does, but whether that's effective enough at night or not is debatable, a better tactic is just use a larger memory card and leave a camera running, motion detect in any camera is going to be hit and miss in low light situations

I wonder, if I'd put in say a 128 Gb card, and used a 13000 mAh powerbank that I have, would the cam last the night?
But on the other hand, then I'd have hours & hours of movie to look through...
With a motion-detect setup, I'd only have a few minutes to review.
 
CCClarke - well found! I've been looking for something like that, but all the security cams I've found have required power-over-LAN or from a wall outlet... That's exactly what I need.

Turns out that the motion detection doesn't work through a car window :( as it's "body heat activated".
 
Are there any street lights at night in the area you park your car, is it well lit ?
 
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You should be able to run it all night off your car battery so long as it's not an old dying one. Give the car a good run before hand to get it charged up a bit also. Or if worried use a battery protect device and hardwire.

Going through a lot of footage is easy in registration viewer as you can view it at like 32x or something and when you see the quick bit of action then you know where to view in 1x speed.
 
Car batteries will die an early death if you have a parasitic drain every time you are parked unless it's a deep cycle battery, normal lead acid car batteries are intended to remain as close to fully charged as possible at all times
 
...I wonder, if I'd put in say a 128 Gb card, and used a 13000 mAh powerbank that I have, would the cam last the night?....
I ran 2 SG9665GCs with GPS for over 5 hours on a 12000 mAh unit and used between 1/2 and 3/4 of it's capacity so you should be OK if you decide to go that route.
 
2005 Accord, 2006 Mazda 6 MPS, 2008 CRV and 2015 BMW 330D all ran off the car batteries for what must be about five or six years and never had a problem starting or a battery needing changed. I think he will be fine to do so in order to just to catch the person so long as the car is driven daily. But up to you if course.
 
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