Dash cams?

[LagunaH1]

Does anyone use dash cams on a regular basis?

If so, what do you use?

My job requires me to drive quite a bit in the greater LA area so it seems like a dash cam might be a good idea, just in case.

 

[Expendable]

I use my GoPro. it may not be as convenient as a dedicated dash cam in the way that the higher end dash cams turn on and record when you turn the ignition on. But a GoPro isn't permanent, I can transfer it from car to car and get to use it for fun stuff such as off-roading.

Dash cams are definitely a must in the LA area or even SoCal. my buddy got hit on the 110 freeway and from the impact his car ran into the car in front of him. the owner that hit him tried to claim he was at fault and that he hit the car in front of him first and she hit him as a result. dash cam footage proved otherwise, he was found innocent, his car was fixed by her insurance and she was responsible for his and the car in front of his.

 

[Mb30sdl]

Get something with a lot of storage capacity and long battery life. Sony handy cam I use for offroad usually lasts all day.but I have biggest battery they offer. Go pro has been proven less effective even with external battery it doesn't last that long, biggest micro SD card seems to be 62 wich is not that big withnHD quality. Plus if u mount it in sealed case it overheats and locks out often. If u mount it without case it may be better, but u have to get app to constantly view it and make sure it's recording.

 

[Expendable]

My Hero2 works awesome. even in the waterproof case. Not sure why your Hero3 Black edition is overheating. I haven't heard of that problem before.

 

[Mb30sdl]

I had it mounted in waterproof case on front bumper.it wasn't too hot ~75-80 outside. But sun probably helped a lot.

 

[LagunaH1]

Get something with a lot of storage capacity and long battery life. Sony handy cam I use for offroad usually lasts all day.but I have biggest battery they offer. Go pro has been proven less effective even with external battery it doesn't last that long, biggest micro SD card seems to be 62 wich is not that big withnHD quality. Plus if u mount it in sealed case it overheats and locks out often. If u mount it without case it may be better, but u have to get app to constantly view it and make sure it's recording.

I've done some research on line and most reviews point to this as being one of the best: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA29C0U76137

If I'm going to do this, I'll want it permanently installed in the Passat.

 

[3Hummers]

Looks like it got one great review and one terrible review on Newegg.

 

[LagunaH1]

That's interesting.... it gets lots of good reviews in general

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[Kurt]

I'm looking at the blackvue from the UK, they got a US site, they have a multi channel system so you can set it up to +12v and have it auto turn on front and rear recording on power up, plus it has a parking mode where it auto records when the vehicle vibrates from a hit/knock, the quality is pretty good it uses a sony camera chip apparently. I plan to get 2 of them for my Lincoln and H1.

Theres a few commercial trucking system models that are around $1000-2000 that allows 4 channel video import and stores it on a hard disk, but thats overkill for personal vehicles.

I'd rather not use the handicams/go pros, those are high theft targets if you want a dedicated dash cam I'd go with something that you can leave in the car all the time and is semi consealed.

The blackvues use meta data in the vdeo stream to tag events such as high g force shocks and accelleration changes and the like, so you can have a few hot spots to review when going back over the videos on a phone or computer.

http://www.blackvueusa.com/

 

[alrock]

I've thought about getting one of those purpose built ones like Kurt recommended. Ideally I'd like to have something that automatically records over itself after X hours. For example, I doubt I needed to see the driving from 20 hours ago - if something happened, I can make a point of saving it.

 

[RamRod]

There should be lots of options due to the situation in Russia

... You have all sorts of crazies to protect yourself from over there

 

[amrg]

I bought one of those ebay dash cams, called the gs9000. I got them vased on a recommendation of a friend who installed several of them, and after he personally ahowed footage of an accident he was involved in where the cam proved that he wasnt at fault. ( he rear ended a guy after that guy cut into his lane and stopped). The cam works great, has full HD resolution (but not really the quality) and starta recording when the car is switched on. Night mode isnt great, but its gd enuf for the intended use. It has a g sensor for crashes, and gps, so its constantly recording vehicle speed which i personally like. It accepts up to 32 gbs which translates to 10 hours of recording. You can set the looping from 4 mins segments to i think 16 mins. For the price, its a great cam

 

[evldave]

Everything you ever wanted to know about dash cams

http://dashcamtalk.com/

 

[skeptic]

Call me simple, but I just use my phone (Galaxy S III). I already have a universal phone mount in the middle of my dash, and a cig lighter charger for it. Resolution is 720p, but I do turn my phone "tall ways" so the camera has a clear view out the window. Probably not necessary with the right mount. The only downside is phone calls pause the video and I'm not sure if you can record and run other apps such as GPS as the same time. I'd be really surprised if there wasn't an app that lets you record video while doing other stuff including phone calls.

 

[Expendable]

When I use my GoPro as my dash cam I use the suction cup mount. usually mount it on the hood.take it off when I get where I'm going. can leave it in the car if you trust someone not to break into it to steal it. or just bring the Gopro in the hard case with you. they're not too large and bulky.

 

[Steve #1]

I have a webcam on the carputer mounted to the windshield that I use as a dash cam. The software I have running with it starts it recording when the computer starts and I can adjust the recording quality and the disk space it can record to. As it is now it records up to one hour then creates a new file then will record over the previous file. I can also tell it not to record over a previous file.

If you are looking at videos from different cams try to find how the camera works at night. I upgraded my camera a while back because the one I originally used did not have an auto iris.

 

[ppv]

I've had a dashcam for 5-6 years now (time to upgrade I guess since mine started eating SD cards), and recorded virtually nothing of note other than me lapping some tracks+several autox runs, and some random tech-people chat at the dealership ;


I could see it being more useful in a larger city though.


But before you put it on in North America - check your local laws. Some places might require some notice on the outside or the car or whatnot, and be extracareful around police.


That said, dashcam is way better than blackbox apps. I tried those with my S3 and it's a hassle and video quality is so-so.

 

[skeptic]

But before you put it on in North America - check your local laws. Some places might require some notice on the outside or the car or whatnot, and be extracareful around police.

I have never heard of such a thing, but now I'm curious. Where exactly is a dash cam not allowed? Nothing surprises me these days with some of the laws being passed, but this would.

 

[LagunaH1]

I don't recall the context but I have seen videos on youtube of people recording a traffic stop and being told by the cops that they MUST notify the cops that they are being recorded.


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[skeptic]

I don't recall the context but I have seen videos on youtube of people recording a traffic stop and being told by the cops that they MUST notify the cops that they are being recorded.


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I've seen that before but it's all BS. Some cops don't like being video taped, especially if what they are doing is questionable (ie roughing up a suspect), but as far as I'm aware it's 100% legal to video tape anything in public with or without their permission or knowledge. Doesn't stop cops from arresting you, and plenty of people have been charged with crimes or even felonies for this, but as far as I am aware the people arrested and charged were ultimately found not guilty every time. It might be illegal to record private conversations that you are not part of (eavesdropping), and it's definitely illegal if video recording is interfering with the cop.

I could see local laws being passed making the recording of cops in public in the line of duty illegal, but ultimately I think they would be found unconstitutional. I just wouldn't want to be the poor bastard that had to fight a law like that through the courts to the point where the law was struck down and charges were dropped.

 

[JGBB04]

It's not the video portion, that has already made it's way through the US Supreme Court, you take all the photos or video you want. What gets you in trouble in some states is the audio portion under wiretapping laws.