Dash cam recomendations please

hawker1986

hawker1986

hawker1986

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Leicester
Hi all,

Basically what the thread title says, in the market for a dash cam, want it to auto on and record with the ignition, if it has braking/G force sensor that would be good. obviously full HD recording. Can anyone recommend me one that's reliable and doesn't cost the earth?

Im sure theres threads about this but my searchfoo seems weak today!

Thanks

Hawker
 
The Mini 0803 is out now though, better night recording

Got one the other day, seems okay so far, build quality on some are dodgy, if you get a bad one just swap it out for another one though
 
Just some extra info

The Mini 0803 is good enough to pick out a car number plate of a car in the opposite lane to you going in the opposite direction to you, at ~60mph in a line of traffic

Tested mine out the other day when I got it to see just how good it is. I'd say that's pretty impressive for £60
 
Another vote for the Mini 80x series, got an 803 here. The mounting is really handy as you can get a great out of the way position. On my Z4 it tucks right up behind the rear view mirror so it's invisible to the occupants.

Only thing I don't like is the white writing makes the camera a bit obvious in the windscreen, better to tape over the writing with some electrical tape.
 
azibux1 said:
Just some extra info

The Mini 0803 is good enough to pick out a car number plate of a car in the opposite lane to you going in the opposite direction to you, at ~60mph in a line of traffic

Tested mine out the other day when I got it to see just how good it is. I'd say that's pretty impressive for £60
Click to expand...

Can you do me a favour please and check out my video clip - are you seeing the same level of quality?

http://www.filedropper.com/amba0008
 
azibux1 said:
I'd say quality of yours is similar to mine, even possibly slightly better

I think mine is getting affected slightly by reflections of the dashboard in the windscreen, I think I need to 'tweak' the angle / position of mine slightly
Click to expand...

Here you go

This is shot in the 1296p mode with WDR on, and all other settings left at their deafult.

What do you think? I 'think' it is 'good enough' quality but wanted to get some views from others with an 0803.

http://www.filedropper.com/amba0016

Thanks!

EDIT: Here's some still frames if you don't want to download the entire thing. Click to open in imgur, then click again for full size

MYmB7kLl.jpg

sEXH3i7l.jpg
 
Last edited:
azibux1 said:
Here you go

This is shot in the 1296p mode with WDR on, and all other settings left at their deafult.

What do you think? I 'think' it is 'good enough' quality but wanted to get some views from others with an 0803.

http://www.filedropper.com/amba0016

Thanks!

EDIT: Here's some still frames if you don't want to download the entire thing. Click to open in imgur, then click again for full size

MYmB7kLl.jpg

sEXH3i7l.jpg
Click to expand...

I think yours looks good.

I think the general consensus is to just use 1080p - 1296p doesn't seem to improve quality that much but does make the unit hotter!

Also like the video said - angle the camera down to cover more of your dash. This helps the lens by not being pointed at the sky and contrast is better.

Check out the mini 0801 forums - some people have made a polarizer which removes windscreen reflections!
 
Bit of a hijack - that mini 0803 looks good, but does it support a second camera?

I want one with a rear facing camera as well, been looking at the i1000 / F70, but that's a slightly older model and I've read some criticism of the video quality.
 
Haggisman said:
Bit of a hijack - that mini 0803 looks good, but does it support a second camera?

I want one with a rear facing camera as well, been looking at the i1000 / F70, but that's a slightly older model and I've read some criticism of the video quality.
Click to expand...

No. They are individual units.

I have two though - I just placed one at the front and a second, independent unit, at the back.

Simples.
 
I just ordered a mobius wide angle version as they looked to be the best picture/discrete camera I could find that was reasonably cheap.
 
hominid said:
I just ordered a mobius wide angle version as they looked to be the best picture/discrete camera I could find that was reasonably cheap.
Click to expand...

Mine arrived today.

Cracking bit of kit and very well made. Picture quality seems excellent from some random office samples.

I was looking at the Mini 0803 but the watercolour look to the picture and some reliability issues put me off. Plus the Mobius can be used outside the car in many applications and has a waterproof housing available.
 
Vanilla said:
I think yours looks good.

I think the general consensus is to just use 1080p - 1296p doesn't seem to improve quality that much but does make the unit hotter!

Also like the video said - angle the camera down to cover more of your dash. This helps the lens by not being pointed at the sky and contrast is better.

Check out the mini 0801 forums - some people have made a polarizer which removes windscreen reflections!
Click to expand...

Yeah I've read that too, and 1080p will allow you to save more on the memory card

I might check out that polarizer, someone else has given me some suggestions too...

- Put the camera as close to the screen as possible
- Angle it down (like you said)
- Cover the dash in a dash-mat (which I'm not interested in)
 
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