Dashcams!

I've just had a Thinkware Q850 installed and, overall am very happy with it.

With regards to the parking mode functionality though, is it just me or is the motion detection basically useless?

In motion detection mode, even on the lowest sensitivity, in the current weather the rain on the windscreen is constantly triggering it. As a result it's just endlessly writing pointless video files, filling the card up.
I checked this morning and it was recordingly pretty much constantly all of last night during the rain.

I've now resorted to putting it in timelapse mode (2fps). It was primarily active driving that I wanted it for, the parking mode was just a side-benefit anyway so not a huge deal.
 
that's the way motion detection is I'm afraid

i don't recall Thinkware making a Q850 (i had the Q800 pro)


ive always set motion detection to fairly low but not the lowest

Parking detection is a god send, well, it is for me as i work in public , so the parking can be a nightmare, just not for vehicles hitting yours either, yobs and drunks too
 
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Question - do you leave your dashcam on when the car goes into the dealer for service?

Obviously there's the advantage of capturing any damage if they prang it, however in reality this is unlikely and I'm wondering more about the etiquette of leaving it recording the staff as they work on your car - is that a bit 'rude'?
 
Vertigo said:
Question - do you leave your dashcam on when the car goes into the dealer for service?

Obviously there's the advantage of capturing any damage if they prang it, however in reality this is unlikely and I'm wondering more about the etiquette of leaving it recording the staff as they work on your car - is that a bit 'rude'?
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Someone on these forums, had dashcam footage of the garage ragging their Fiesta ST about.....
 
Most garages will disconnect the dashcam power if possible. Some might find it rude but then again a tyre fitter thought I was rude for checking my alloys after he fitted 4 new tyres.
 
Vertigo said:
Question - do you leave your dashcam on when the car goes into the dealer for service?

Obviously there's the advantage of capturing any damage if they prang it, however in reality this is unlikely and I'm wondering more about the etiquette of leaving it recording the staff as they work on your car - is that a bit 'rude'?
Click to expand...

Begbie said:
Someone on these forums, had dashcam footage of the garage ragging their Fiesta ST about.....
Click to expand...

I'm very much of the opinion that if a garage asks me to or without permission disconnects the dashcam then they're likely to be doing something shady

Thankfully neither of the 2 places I use (family mechanic & the MOT place) have never once bothered about it.
 
Resident said:
I'm very much of the opinion that if a garage asks me to or without permission disconnects the dashcam then they're likely to be doing something shady

Thankfully neither of the 2 places I use (family mechanic & the MOT place) have never once bothered about it.
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There is more to preventing employees and potentially other members of the public being recorded against their will than “hiding shady stuff”. Once inside a place of work any recordings are potentially a violation of the human rights act. Even for personal use legally speaking you must get the consent of all vehicle users before recording audio or video of the inside of a shared vehicle.

So a garage insisting you turn off dashcams are not being shady, they are legally obligated to do so. In fact if I was a garage owner and some shady customer insisted their dashcam be left on, I would happily tell them to take their custom elsewhere.
 
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ICDP said:
There is more to preventing employees and potentially other members of the public being recorded against their will than “hiding shady stuff”. Once inside a place of work any recordings are potentially a violation of the human rights act. Even for personal use legally speaking you must get the consent of all vehicle users before recording audio or video of the inside of a shared vehicle.

So a garage insisting you turn off dashcams are not being shady, they are legally obligated to do so. In fact if I was a garage owner and some shady customer insisted their dashcam be left on, I would happily tell them to take their custom elsewhere.
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Well I was thinking of just turning it off but maybe I should actually pull the power cable out so it's more "visibly" off.

EDIT: Or even just remove it.
 
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Vertigo said:
Question - do you leave your dashcam on when the car goes into the dealer for service?

Obviously there's the advantage of capturing any damage if they prang it, however in reality this is unlikely and I'm wondering more about the etiquette of leaving it recording the staff as they work on your car - is that a bit 'rude'?
Click to expand...

I always leave mine on when the car goes for any work done. Usually they unplug it and plug it back in when they're done, which I'm fine with. On one occasion they didn't I recorded audio of one of them making fun of my interior mods, quiet word with the manager got me a big discount on my next visit haha.

I wouldn't worry about leaving it on, if the staff don't want to be recorded it's trivial for them to turn it off.
 
Sorry I made a thread of my own not realising this thread existed, never had the need to notice until now.

About to receive a brand new lease car and wondering what options I have for dashcams to fit, where it doesn't need to do anything but stick on the windows and charge. I've seen the Nextbase IQ smart dashcam that fits in the OBD port, I watched their install video and showing them how they hide the cabling, just checking if things like that in the trim woudl cause any issues down the line? If not, any other options?

Completely clueless with car tech due to only ever driving old bangers.
 
Liquid_Entity said:
About to receive a brand new lease car and wondering what options I have for dashcams to fit,
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Get a triple camera - front, rear, and driver - if you can afford it. These days the driver cam is necessary to counter claims of, "He was on his mobile." or similar.

You should also speak to the leasing company: they may have an arrangement or preferred supplier.
 
Quartz said:
Get a triple camera - front, rear, and driver - if you can afford it. These days the driver cam is necessary to counter claims of, "He was on his mobile." or similar.

You should also speak to the leasing company: they may have an arrangement or preferred supplier.
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Thanks, I shall give the lease co a call tomorrow then. The IQ does tick all 3 of those boxes I guess.
 
Liquid_Entity said:
Sorry I made a thread of my own not realising this thread existed, never had the need to notice until now.

About to receive a brand new lease car and wondering what options I have for dashcams to fit, where it doesn't need to do anything but stick on the windows and charge. I've seen the Nextbase IQ smart dashcam that fits in the OBD port, I watched their install video and showing them how they hide the cabling, just checking if things like that in the trim woudl cause any issues down the line? If not, any other options?

Completely clueless with car tech due to only ever driving old bangers.
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Same for a lease no need to call the leasing company. I got a local dashcam company to fit the viofo A229 dual cameras which I had purchased..Very professional fit at home, wired to fusebox and no cables showing as running under the roof liner. They also offer a full remove service but may not bother as after the lease ends the camera may already be outdated and just leave them.
 
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nam said:
Same for a lease no need to call the leasing company. I got a local dashcam company to fit the viofo A229 dual cameras which I had purchased..Very professional fit at home, wired to fusebox and no cables showing as running under the roof liner. They also offer a full remove service but may not bother as after the lease ends the camera may already be outdated and just leave them.
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If the camera still catches high quality images at a decent enough framerate I would argue it isn't really outdated. It's not like you'll jump from 30fps 480p to 60fps 4k.

Something decent now will remain decent is is probably worth keeping, even if just for a second car. Removal is easier than installation anyhow, just gently pull those cables back out!
 
I've not kept tabs on dashcams so spec me!

Three camera (front, rear, driver / cab) preferred, 60 fps for front camera if possible. Able to show footage on mobile phone and able to show it without stopping the cameras is a must - my current one cannot do this. Battery drain sensor if possible.
 
I caught a comment on a Reddit thread which said that using all three channels on the A229 restricted the front sensor somehow but I can't spot details. Anyone? And it's only 30 fps.
 
What dashcam would people recommend if I wanted a simple, fuss free forward facing camera only.

I had a RoadHawk DC-2 with the software on my PC. Take the card out, plug it in to the PC and seemples.

Every camera I've looked at following the recommendations on here seems to have App problems, Bluetooth problems, WiFi problems etc.

All I want is a basic, no frills, works every time camera.
 
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