"Cheap" incar recording

Sin_Chase

Sin_Chase

Sin_Chase

Soldato
Joined
13 Jan 2004
Posts
21,431
So, having done some research and looked at various bits and bobs I have decided that the price premium that in-car kits command are not worth what you actually get.

HD bulletcams cost the earth and the relatively low tech/cheap/china SD based recording units that are bundled with them simply do not justify thier cost either.

I am starting to lean towards using a laptop to record to which made me think this, why pay the earth for an in-car kit when a USB webcam that can do 720p cost significantly less. My only concern is that a webcam might not handle fast motion and low light as well as a bulletcam counterpart would be able to, but this is to be proven.

What do people think, does anyone own a HD bulletcam and is it worth the price premium?

I will be fabricating a towing eye mount for mounting a cam on the front of the car and I really do not want to be putting a 3 figure HD bulletcam there. A 2 figure USB webcam I would be more comfortable with :D

Perhaps someone who has a HD Webcam could do some motion testing? I've done some youtube searches but get nothing but reviews and un-boxings which is not really indicative of what its performance may be strapped to a car!
 
do you really need HD? its a lot of data. 640x480 would be "enough" wouldnt it?

i use a old digital camera (canon S3IS), with a firm "hack" to allow it to record over the 10minute or 1gig limit. the camera attachs to a headrest mount in car, so will get engine noises better than a camera mounted on the towing eye.

Id love a bullet camera system that records all the time im driving, and records over itself. If anything good/bad happens i would tag the clip and change memory cards or something. But as you say the money for this sort of system is mad.
 
why not get one of those trackers that was fitted to that Monaro VXR for £200, records video as well as tracks your route, video qality also looked alright (not HD though).
 
I think the one on that Monaro records to a memory card and is placed behind the rear view mirror so the card is easy to remove in an emergency ;)
 
Time for me to break out the youtube videos of my webcam mounted in the BMW, and some pics...

1x Webcam, 1x cheap mic. Plus laptop and BMW e36.

Initially to test the camera I strapped it down on the dash...



...as you can see, loads of glare due to not having a polarised lens, easy solution...

DSC_3538.jpg


DSC_3539.jpg


DSC_3540.jpg


DSC_3544.jpg


DSC_3546.jpg



Now to test on the dash again...



...much better, far less glare.

I then decided to grill mount the cam for better filming...

DSC_3550.jpg


DSC_3556.jpg


DSC_3559.jpg


DSC_3560.jpg


DSC_3561.jpg


DSC_3562.jpg




...and again, it worked well. The only issue I had was the small stuttering you get every now and then, that is due to the recording software being absolutely pants.

I'd say if you already have the stuff, do it, but if not the proper equipment is much better and most definitely worth the money.

I spent ~£8 or so in total on this, £2 on the glasses and £5 on the mic (which I put in the relay/fuse box :p), which made it cheap and a half decent thing to have setup for the money, but if I could have afforded a proper kit, I'd have bought one.
 
Last edited:
Interested in cheap ideas on how to do this on a bike. Webcam + laptop isn't particularly practical in that case...
 
The roadhawk system looks great, but that wont be my application.

More for use on track/handling days so on and so forth.

HD is kind of a requirement yeah, I am very picky and 640x480 just does not cut it for me :p
 
I bought myself a bullet cam set up in a similar vein to you, wanting to do it on the cheap etc, but I regret it to be honest, it really is a massive faff trying to get it all set up and the quality leaves much to be desired.

Don't get me wrong, it does the job, but I think you'd be better off just getting a simple point and click digital camera and a mount to stick in your car, this is what I'm going to do now.
 
InvaderGIR said:
Time for me to break out the youtube videos of my webcam mounted in the BMW, and some pics...

1x Webcam, 1x cheap mic. Plus laptop and BMW e36.

DSC_3546.jpg


I spent ~£8 or so in total on this, £2 on the glasses and £5 on the mic (which I put in the relay/fuse box ), which made it cheap and a half decent thing to have setup for the money, but if I could have afforded a proper kit, I'd have bought one.
Click to expand...

That Sir is brilliant! For the money thats a really impressive result.
 
Biohazard said:
Isn't this illegal?

I'm not trying to be a killjoy, I just want to know..
Click to expand...

why would it be illegal? coppers do it all the time, as do busses, taxi's etc etc etc

if they can record us, we can record them etc.
 
Last edited:
Coco said:
That Sir is brilliant! For the money thats a really impressive result.
Click to expand...

I had the camera anyway, it's about 3 years old, cost me something like £5-£10 when I bought it, only expensive part is the laptop really. :p So it was quite a good system, for quality vs price but over all, you can easily do better. :p

I have to echo what spaz has said though, a lot of point-and-shoot digi cams come with video recording abilities these days and can record quite a lot of data...although I'm not sure you can get external mic ports (which is something I'd want). Even so though, they usually have a much better result than the webcam/bulletcam stuff and are much less hassle, just put in video mode, put on a mount somewhere in the car and press record.
 
Sin_Chase said:
HD is kind of a requirement yeah, I am very picky and 640x480 just does not cut it for me :p
Click to expand...

i suppose because ive never recorded HD myself i wouldnt know how much better it is. However after recording my whole wales trip and filling up my whole laptop HDD i dred to think how much HD would have taken up :D


will do for me for a while yet. Skip to 7mins50ish to see me failing at driving :D


InvaderGIR said:
I have to echo what spaz has said though, a lot of point-and-shoot digi cams come with video recording abilities these days and can record quite a lot of data...although I'm not sure you can get external mic ports (which is something I'd want). Even so though, they usually have a much better result than the webcam/bulletcam stuff and are much less hassle, just put in video mode, put on a mount somewhere in the car and press record.
Click to expand...

problem is, some EU law states that a digital camera can only record a certain amount of footage per "clip". So digital cameras often need firmware hacks to allow them to do anything over 10mins or 1 gig, whatever comes first. Some cameras are a lot more restricted that others.
 
Last edited:
Just to add regarding the public-road legality, I believe that while filming your driving on the road isn't illegal, should you be stopped by the Police & they spot a camera rigged up, there is every possibility that the footage shall be used as evidence against you if you've been 'enjoying' yourself... bawls.
 
Biohazard said:
Isn't this illegal?

I'm not trying to be a killjoy, I just want to know..
Click to expand...

why would it be ?

its only illegal to film others if it invades their privacy. Ie if your CCTV pointing at the drive happens to film inside the house opposites bedroom window.

Out on the open road in public, your not invading anyones privacy.
 
Coco said:
Just to add regarding the public-road legality, I believe that while filming your driving on the road isn't illegal, should you be stopped by the Police & they spot a camera rigged up, there is every possibility that the footage shall be used as evidence against you if you've been 'enjoying' yourself... bawls.
Click to expand...

i drive a lot more carefully when im recording. Its a tad bit boring. ;)
 
MrLOL said:
why would it be ?

its only illegal to film others if it invades their privacy. Ie if your CCTV pointing at the drive happens to film inside the house opposites bedroom window.

Out on the open road in public, your not invading anyones privacy.
Click to expand...

Well if it isn't it used to be.

They had reserved rights, I know about insurance cameras now obviously.

I think the idea was to prevent boy racer ****s driving over the edge to make a video.. I may be completely wrong I'm away to phone a friend and ask the audience..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom