Dashcams. Who uses them?

Imy · 5 Jan 2015 at 19:32

You're probably going to be better off getting 2 separate cams.

Dash Cam Talk is a good resource.

Malt_Vinegar · 5 Jan 2015 at 19:57

I have yet to find a half decent combined one, I am considering buying a cheap one for the rear of mine, just to run it separately

Outcast · 5 Jan 2015 at 20:18

Wherever you mount your dashcam, make sure it's low enough to be covered by the wiper sweep

I mounted mine too high

Malt_Vinegar · 5 Jan 2015 at 21:19

Oops!

Burnsy2023 · 25 Jan 2015 at 19:43

I've just installed my recent purchase of a Panorama X2. There is a 1080/30fps camera front and back recording to 2x 64GB microSD. I'll get pics tomorrow, but it seems to work pretty well so far.

Malt_Vinegar · 25 Jan 2015 at 21:32

My blackvue is still working well, and i pulled the camera card today to take a quick look, no change from new, all recordings are there, seems to be nice and reliable.
Considering doing a firmware update, as I am three revisions behind at the moment. They seem to update regularly!

Finglonga · 26 Jan 2015 at 10:29

Malt_Vinegar said:
seems to be nice and reliable.
Considering doing a firmware update, as I am three revisions behind at the moment. They seem to update regularly!

My old man did an update on his and it would not start up after the update for some reason. The next update it started working fine again. Can't see a reason to update them myself if it is working OK, if it aint broke and all that.

The wife has not updated hers and it works as it did out the box.

Burnsy2023 · 26 Jan 2015 at 10:35

Finglonga said:
My old man did an update on his and it would not start up after the update for some reason. The next update it started working fine again. Can't see a reason to update them myself if it is working OK, if it aint broke and all that.

The wife has not updated hers and it works as it did out the box.

I didn't buy Blackvue due to the overheating issues some owners have described as well as the rear camera on the 2 channel systems being only 720p.

Malt_Vinegar · 26 Jan 2015 at 11:12

I believe the blackvue overheating issues was only on the pre-2014 higher spec models with built in GPS. The 3500-FHD model that I use has optional external GPS functions and is a 2014 model, so no overheating reported to my knowledge

Funnily enough after I posted that I found one of the (short) clips in the card would not play, and the update claims that they have added some improvements to video processing. So I thought I would apply it seemed very easy to do. I suspect this may be because of a power-off mid processing issue. I just downloaded, copied the files to the card, very easy

It worked perfectly this morning, it spoke to me, telling me it was updating the firmware, to wait and to ensure I did not power off until completed. It was a nice touch, and then I started on my way to work. It then told me it had completed, and was performing a reboot. It then started up as it would any other day.

I think that is the difference between the cheaper models and the likes of blackvue, whilst the feature set is comparable, the ease of use/reliability/installation/support is just miles ahead. I figure it is worth paying for!

I am actually considering buying another for rear use, found the same model I have from ebay for sub £100, so very tempting

Burnsy2023 · 26 Jan 2015 at 14:05

I spent a long time looking at what to get. I originally wanted a Cowon AW2 or AF2 but couldn't find a UK supplier and as they are already £250, I didn't want to get stung by import and VAT taxes. The Panorama X2 is bigger than I wanted but the video quality is very good. Not cheap though.

Kemik · 26 Jan 2015 at 15:28

I've been looking at some of these. Everyone seems to suggest either the Mini 0801 (£48 with 32GB card) or the G1W (£42 with 32GB card). There also seems to be a new version of the 0801/0803/0805 coming out - the 0806. The cheapest I can find that is £90 but it includes memory, a filter for the sun, GPS, and better video.

Can anyone recommend which they believe would be best? It's really just in case of an emergency and would really like it to be small and discrete.

Thanks!

Nasher · 26 Jan 2015 at 21:52

Kemik said:
I've been looking at some of these. Everyone seems to suggest either the Mini 0801 (£48 with 32GB card) or the G1W (£42 with 32GB card). There also seems to be a new version of the 0801/0803/0805 coming out - the 0806. The cheapest I can find that is £90 but it includes memory, a filter for the sun, GPS, and better video.

Can anyone recommend which they believe would be best? It's really just in case of an emergency and would really like it to be small and discrete.

Thanks!

You can get ones built in to the mirror. But I don't know how good they are. I find the cheaper ones tend to mess up after a while though.

[TW]Fox · 26 Jan 2015 at 22:09

Burnsy2023 said:
the rear camera on the 2 channel systems being only 720p.

That must be awful, imagine if your rear facing dashcam footage was only 720p. It'd massively reduce its usefulness

Burnsy2023 · 26 Jan 2015 at 22:13

[TW]Fox;27536578 said:
That must be awful, imagine if your rear facing dashcam footage was only 720p. It'd massively reduce its usefulness

I hear you brother.

I know how frustrating it is to look at CCTV and not quite make out a registration plate - so yeah, those pixels make a difference.

[TW]Fox · 26 Jan 2015 at 22:17

Burnsy2023 said:
I hear you brother.

I know how frustrating it is to look at CCTV and not quite make out a registration plate - so yeah, those pixels make a difference.

Thats because some CCTV is beyond awful - for a dashcam application 1080p is hilariously OTT and I can't imagine why 'only' being 720p would be a nuisance.

Burnsy2023 · 26 Jan 2015 at 22:24

[TW]Fox;27536631 said:
Thats because some CCTV is beyond awful - for a dashcam application 1080p is hilariously OTT and I can't imagine why 'only' being 720p would be a nuisance.

I'd just rather not be in the situation where the footage isn't quite good enough and I end up getting shafted. Considering the angles that these cameras cover, that is a realistic issue.

rs1800 · 26 Jan 2015 at 23:28

Kemik said:
I've been looking at some of these. Everyone seems to suggest either the Mini 0801 (£48 with 32GB card) or the G1W (£42 with 32GB card). There also seems to be a new version of the 0801/0803/0805 coming out - the 0806. The cheapest I can find that is £90 but it includes memory, a filter for the sun, GPS, and better video.

Can anyone recommend which they believe would be best? It's really just in case of an emergency and would really like it to be small and discrete.

Thanks!

I'd be interested in this too if anyone with these 'cheaper' units could comment?

Phemo · 26 Jan 2015 at 23:35

I've got a G1W-H and have had it for quite a few months now. It's still working fine and I'm more than happy with the video quality. My only real complaint with it is that it's fairly wide but I have it mounted behind my rear view mirror so don't really see it anyway.

Was looking at getting an 0805 or 0806 camera so that I could put the G1W-H in my wife's car but I don't really see the justification in spending more double the price so it'll probably be another G1W-H.

That said I'm not sure how the 0801 compares. It is a smaller device though so I'd say it has that in its favour at least.

Fuzz · 27 Jan 2015 at 00:12

0803 here (the 1296p one with gps)
Still going strong, no issues with it. Updated firmware to one of the forums latest.
Bought on Amazon for £70 notes back in September 14

"E-PRANCE® New Ambarella A7LA50D Chip Full HD 1296P Car Dvr Recorder Mini 0803 (Upgrade Mini 0801),With GPS Logger,No Internal Memory Model
"

nam · 27 Jan 2015 at 11:23

e-prance mini 0801 with GPS and onboard 8GB, fantastic camera. Will try and upload a video today...