In car camera Advice

Stiffs

Anyone recommend a good value in car camera. 50-100 euro to spend roughly.

Atomic Pineapple

for what type of usage?

Stiffs

To record the view from my front wind screen ie the road ahead.

2 Espressi

Well, Duh!
On road, on track?
I picked up a MiniDV clone on ebay for a tenner, and it's pretty good, solid 30fps, 720x480 resolution, sound is OK.

listermint

Try this forum

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055935996


Some great deals there, Have one myself cost my 13 Euro inc delivery. Clips to the sunvisor. very good quality

gurramok

Any of the mini cams will do for cheap purposes, someone posted this up on the Bargain Alerts forum http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055935996

Only problem with these cams is charging it constantly as you may only get 1.5hrs recording time and also the size of the memory card where you will have constantly delete files.
Professional cams do not run out of charge and are connected to the cigarrette lighter socket constantly plus they record in a loop where old files can be overwritten automatically.

Stiffs

Sorry never consider track at all. Just normal road use. The one on the link above means you have to charge everytime to use it. Id prefer an in car charge unit - cig lighter

What sort of card would cover 3hrs commute record time do ya reckon?

Was looking at this one
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vehicle-Sport-Car-Mini-DVR-TFT-Screen-Camera-Cam-New-/320575713165?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM

Mods is it okay to post ebay links?? if not feel free to remove or let me know and i'll remove.

gurramok

That camera claims to do high quality recording with 'cycled recording' which I'd assume that means it will overwrite old recordings instead of you have to manually do it.

For 3hrs, at least a 8gb card i'd say is needed. Problem i'd have with these devices from HK is that i'd prefer to read a review of them and perhaps see some sample video to entice me to buy. Guess its a buy and try option for that one

nogoodnamesleft

I was thinking about getting one for the car. However it seems that not many suppliers have the type i want.

For it to be in the car: I would want to be:

• Unobtrusive
• Compact
• Mounted over the rearview mirror (cameras mounted in grill etc susceptible to damage) Just the camera nothing else.
• Powered by 12vdc (ignition)
• Wired to a recorder such as SD located in the glove box.

Wouldnt want the hassle of having to remove and mount it each time im in the car or worry about the life etc.

Most of the kits I have seen are just one unit like a digital camera.

I had a look at putting one together from parts I can get off the web. A suitable camera housing isnt available.

CreepingDeath

example eBay Link

I got one of these with a 4Gb SD card. (came with decent windscreen suction cup mount)
You don't want to skimp on the SD card, get a Class 6 or above (faster recording).

I initially got a cheap 8Gb SD Card from eBay, but I don't think it was true Class 6, so the video recording stuttered / lost frames every 30 seconds or so.

One thing, I got mine in black.
But when it's sunny it can heat up quite badly.
So maybe a white one would reflect away the heat a little better.

gurramok

In that eBay pic, that camera CreepingDeath is very visible, you would want it to be discreet wouldn't you? Plus, its not on recycled recording. Does it charge and record at the same time? (Alot of these types don't)

nogoodnamesleft, thats why the ones you seek cost money. I used to have a cheap cam that needed constant charging and manual erasing of videos. I ended up buying an all-in-one professional kit(roadhawk) thats attached beside the rear view mirror with a wire hidden travelling all the way to the cigarette socket. (that ticks 4 of your options )

Voodoomelon

Anyone have a link to that one thats in and around $250 and has GPS info integrated with Google Maps etc?

CreepingDeath

gurramok wrote: »

In that eBay pic, that camera CreepingDeath is very visible, you would want it to be discreet wouldn't you?

It's only the size of a pack of chewing gum and camera lense is on the side,
so when you look at it through the windscreen you see it side-on, which is about 10mm across.

gurramok wrote: »

Plus, its not on recycled recording.

I think mine is supposed to do recycled recording, but I haven't got that working yet. It stopped when the 4Gb is full (about 3-4 hours)
Also has motion detection.

gurramok wrote: »

Does it charge and record at the same time? (Alot of these types don't)

Good question, not sure if it does or not, it did come with a car socket cable.

I'm not saying it's perfect, just throwing it out there as something I have experience with in case the OP sees it on eBay and wants an idea of what it's like.

Video output was decent enough for any accident recording, but you could only make out reg numbers if they were say 3 car lengths in front of you.

mondeo

Is there any legal issues about having one of these in your car?

gurramok

CreepingDeath wrote:

It's only the size of a pack of chewing gum and camera lense is on the side,
so when you look at it through the windscreen you see it side-on, which is about 10mm across.

Is yours like that pic? I just hate stuff whether a big toy or a camera dangling so far down in the middle of the windscreen

Voodoomelon wrote:

Anyone have a link to that one thats in and around $250 and has GPS info integrated with Google Maps etc?

I have the Roadhawk http://www.roadhawk.co.uk/ which is a rebrand of another US model.

mondeo wrote: »

Is there any legal issues about having one of these in your car?

No, a Garda friend told me so!

CreepingDeath

gurramok wrote: »

Is yours like that pic? I just hate stuff whether a big toy or a camera dangling so far down in the middle of the windscreen

Yep, but that photo is right up against the dashcam, and gives a false sense of perspective on its size.
I have mine to the left of the rear view mirror, it's no bother.
And it definitely doesn't look that big in real life.

One thing, I would've like the lense to have a wider angle.
It's fine for facing in front, but I'd prefer a little more coverage to the immediate left and right of the car.

jock101

The best on the market! But a bit pricey! About 350 yoyo's in Dublin Camera shops!

http://www.goprocamera.com/products/hd-motorsports-hero-camera.php

Voodoomelon

gurramok wrote: »

I have the Roadhawk http://www.roadhawk.co.uk/ which is a rebrand of another US model.

Thats the one, cheers buddy!

Voodoomelon

jock101 wrote: »

The best on the market! But a bit pricey! About 350 yoyo's in Dublin Camera shops!

http://www.goprocamera.com/products/hd-motorsports-hero-camera.php

Whilst that is the business, any camera that doesn't run off 12v is useless for in a car with day to day driving.

TheBazman

Picked up one of these from Ibood.com for around €40 a while back - came with an accessory pack
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Veho-VCC-003-Muvi-Micro-Camcorder/dp/B0029631VI

Decent camera if you can get a good place to mount it in the car but again needs very regular charging - you can use a sat nav charger tho

gurramok

TheBazman wrote: »

Picked up one of these from Ibood.com for around €40 a while back - came with an accessory pack
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Veho-VCC-003-Muvi-Micro-Camcorder/dp/B0029631VI

Decent camera if you can get a good place to mount it in the car but again needs very regular charging - you can use a sat nav charger tho

Thats the one I had The Bazman for using as a drivecam(I posted about this a few months ago )

I've noticed lately though the charge didn't last as long as it should of been, that after maybe 3 months or so of daily use. Thats alot of wear and tear I reckon hence I opted to buy a professional kit.

Basically what you need is one that:

-does not run out of charge
-does not run out of disk space on memory card, use recycle recording.

Only solution is to get one that is constantly connected to the cig socket and also overwrites files on the memory card. Professional expensive cams do that and the one I have has a wide view angle instead of the 'square' view. Also it captures brightness better than the cheap cams, it actually captures the clouds unlike the Veho

TheBazman

The road hawk is the one to have if you want a proper set up, rather than a budget one

RandomAccess

Is anyone aware of an iPhone app that would do the same thing as a roadhawk?

Rolling loop recording, with a manual previous 10 minute capture button and logging of impact events.

The newer iPhones do video recording, the iPhone 4 in HD I believe.
Now I'm not sure if apple allow apps to access the video capture functionality, but since the iPhone has GPS and accelerometers + is solid state I would expect it would make a pretty decent incident recorder.

Obviously an iPhone 4 isn't cheap, but many people already have them so its not going to cost them anything extra for hardware..

gurramok

Won't the iphone(or any mobile phone) have severe battery problems from recording alot hence the need for a constant power source?

RandomAccess

gurramok wrote: »

Won't the iphone(or any mobile phone) have severe battery problems from recording alot hence the need for a constant power source?

Well you can already buy a TomTom sat nav car kit for the iPhone, that includes a car charging kit so if you were to use that mount or similar then I don't think it would be an issue.

Hopefully there would be a way of recording in the background so you could still use music/sat nav on the iPhone, I'm not really sure what its (limited) multitasking allows you to do though.

sdanseo

gurramok wrote: »

Won't the iphone(or any mobile phone) have severe battery problems from recording alot hence the need for a constant power source?

Yeah but you can get in-car chargers for phones from about a fiver

I've used my iPhone for video recording off the dash and it works, but my phone holder blocks the camera meaning that to unobscure it, the holder is barely gripping the phone. Also the iPhone, in apple's ludicrous stupidity, films in portrait which is annoying as fúck.

Fey!

gurramok wrote: »

I have the Roadhawk http://www.roadhawk.co.uk/ which is a rebrand of another US model.

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Thats the one, cheers buddy!

TheBazman wrote: »

The road hawk is the one to have if you want a proper set up, rather than a budget one

I have a roadhawk, too. It came in very handy when I had a crash recently; it proved that I wasn't speeding r on the phone (sound) at the time.

Easy to move from car to car, too.

Voodoomelon

I'd want to mount the Roadhawk so you can barely see it, I wouldn't be using that big ass suction yoke you get with it, i'll probably rig something together to get it to work.

How did you guys go about wiring into ignition and routing the power cable?

Fey!

I have mine hidden just behind the rear view mirror; I barely notice it now. There i a fair bit of adjustment allowed between the stand and the camera to suit most cars.

The power lead is long enough to to go around the edge of the windscreen and clip n behind the trim (I have a lead permanently in the jeep, and am getting a second power lead for the car). The lead they supply is around 5' long.

If any of you are Galway based you're welcome to have a loook at mine before you buy.

galwaytt

I see there's a Roadhawk agent in .......Roscommon !!

gurramok

Well mine is mounted just left of that rear view mirror as it has a wide angle and by god it really takes the whole road view up no matter where you mount it.

I've installed the wire at the upper top underneath the plastic trim along the windscreen, over to the front driver side window(hidden) and trailed along the seat belt down to the floor and across to the socket which is beside my handbrake on my car. (some cars have this socket nearer the dash itself)

Its quite easy Voodoomelon. Even I had questions how to mount it but when applied its quite easy to do it when the device is in front of you!

The Roadhawk comes with a smallish adhesive attachment to apply to windscreen and a suction cup for choice, both are discreet when mounted. Still, i'd remove the device when unattended, this does not remove the 'suction cups/windscreen attachments' so its quite handy.

gurramok

sdonn wrote: »

Yeah but you can get in-car chargers for phones from about a fiver

I've used my iPhone for video recording off the dash and it works, but my phone holder blocks the camera meaning that to unobscure it, the holder is barely gripping the phone. Also the iPhone, in apple's ludicrous stupidity, films in portrait which is annoying as fúck.

I guess the question is do you trust mobile phone batteries to last long when they are constantly recording video every day with a charge needed very often?

Voodoomelon

gurramok wrote: »

Well mine is mounted just left of that rear view mirror as it has a wide angle and by god it really takes the whole road view up no matter where you mount it.

I've installed the wire at the upper top underneath the plastic trim along the windscreen, over to the front driver side window(hidden) and trailed along the seat belt down to the floor and across to the socket which is beside my handbrake on my car. (some cars have this socket nearer the dash itself)

Its quite easy Voodoomelon. Even I had questions how to mount it but when applied its quite easy to do it when the device is in front of you!

The Roadhawk comes with a smallish adhesive attachment to apply to windscreen and a suction cup for choice, both are discreet when mounted. Still, i'd remove the device when unattended, this does not remove the 'suction cups/windscreen attachments' so its quite handy.

But thats not wired to ignition is it? My cigarrete lighters in the front and back are on all the time, i'd be wiring it to the ignition. Do you plug yours in and out all the time, or do your lighters go off with the ignition?

gurramok

Voodoomelon wrote: »

But thats not wired to ignition is it? My cigarrete lighters in the front and back are on all the time, i'd be wiring it to the ignition. Do you plug yours in and out all the time, or do your lighters go off with the ignition?

It is but it depends on the car. Advertised by Roadhawk it is but all cars are different.

Mine, I do have to plug into the socket to activate it rather than the keys to activate it.
Let me explain. My car is a Skoda, it charges from the cig socket without a key in the ignition. Fiats for example are the opposite, they need the keys in the ignition for a power connection to take place.

So in my case I do have to plug it out when deactivating it, make sense now?

Merch

the roadhawk looks the business, are they sold here or is it better to get them online?

galwaytt

Merch wrote: »

the roadhawk looks the business, are they sold here or is it better to get them online?

See post #30

http://www.motorsupplies.ie/

Voodoomelon

gurramok wrote: »

It is but it depends on the car. Advertised by Roadhawk it is but all cars are different.

Mine, I do have to plug into the socket to activate it rather than the keys to activate it.
Let me explain. My car is a Skoda, it charges from the cig socket without a key in the ignition. Fiats for example are the opposite, they need the keys in the ignition for a power connection to take place.

So in my case I do have to plug it out when deactivating it, make sense now?

I just didnt know how your sockets worked, that would wreck my head having to plug it in and out. It would also leave cables on display which I hate. Hardwiring all the way!

what recession?

how often do you people crash that you require a camera to prove that it wasn't your fault? haha. assuming that's what this is used for. :P

gurramok

Merch wrote: »

the roadhawk looks the business, are they sold here or is it better to get them online?

I ordered from the UK online, i don't trust Irish retailing prices

It is a pad expensive at 280euro after conversion(I ordered a dual cig socket also as well). I stumped up the money because its a hobby for me and I've tried the MUVI cam/cheap cam options for months(results on youtube) and decided I wanted a professional version for ease of dependability and less hassle of having to charge it/manually delete video files all the time.

gurramok

galwaytt wrote: »

See post #30

http://www.motorsupplies.ie/

Thats quite a competitive price

Voodoomelon wrote: »

I just didnt know how your sockets worked, that would wreck my head having to plug it in and out. It would also leave cables on display which I hate. Hardwiring all the way!

Well, in my case I just have to disconnect the socket when not in use for long periods. I wouldnt do it when visiting Tesco but do it for overnight periods. It depends on your car. If your car charges only when keys are in ignition all the better as opposed to my setup where i'd have to physically disconnect it from the socket.!

what recession? wrote: »

how often do you people crash that you require a camera to prove that it wasn't your fault? haha. assuming that's what this is used for. :P

Haha Its a hobby and the fascination on what goes on out there!

Voodoomelon

gurramok wrote: »

Thats quite a competitive price
If your car charges only when keys are in ignition all the better as opposed to my setup where i'd have to physically disconnect it from the socket.!

Even if my sockets only came on with the ignition on I still wouldn't use them as it looks messy. I'll probably do as another poster did and run the cable down the B pillar by the seat belt and under the seat where I can tap into my heated seats I put in a few months back. They're wired to ignition too so it would make the whole thing nice and neat.

gurramok

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Even if my sockets only came on with the ignition on I still wouldn't use them as it looks messy. I'll probably do as another poster did and run the cable down the B pillar by the seat belt and under the seat where I can tap into my heated seats I put in a few months back. They're wired to ignition too so it would make the whole thing nice and neat.

Thats a hard wired scenario where an auto-electrician would know what to do or you
Best setup alright without a doubt!

Merch

gurramok wrote: »

Thats quite a competitive price

Its cheaper online in UK

barochoc

Possibly the best kit i've ever seen.

http://www.goprocamera.com/products/hd-motorsports-hero-camera.php

Not that I've ever looked for anything else but I seen an amazing youtube vid in HD of a guy base jumping off a massive cliff face & gliding for a long time with out pulling the shoot. The quality is amazing for the money in my opinion!

Check out this compilation. AMAZING. The video quality is not bad either

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRzhBkZNQFI

Merch

barochoc wrote: »

Possibly the best kit i've ever seen.

http://www.goprocamera.com/products/hd-motorsports-hero-camera.php

Not that I've ever looked for anything else but I seen an amazing youtube vid in HD of a guy base jumping off a massive cliff face & gliding for a long time with out pulling the shoot. The quality is amazing for the money in my opinion!

Check out this compilation. AMAZING. The video quality is not bad either

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRzhBkZNQFI

Bit inconvenient needing to be charged though??

gurramok

This is the Roadhawk quality in dull conditions today http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=67570464&postcount=1382

GPS data and the other stuff in their software doesn't export with the video to AVI format, think specialist software is needed?

vectra

Am actually thinking of getting an in car camera as well and was looking at one of these >> [EMAIL="Camera"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190421885550&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT[/EMAIL]

Any opinions on these ?
cheers

gurramok

vectra wrote: »

Am actually thinking of getting an in car camera as well and was looking at one of these >> [EMAIL="Camera"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190421885550&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT[/EMAIL]

Any opinions on these ?
cheers

Looks good, very similar to the Roadhawk. As again, its a question of can you trust the product?

If it was me, i'd try and get it and see how it goes but i'm the type willing to take a risk on unproven ebay stuff from China

Merch

gurramok wrote: »

Looks good, very similar to the Roadhawk. As again, its a question of can you trust the product?

If it was me, i'd try and get it and see how it goes but i'm the type willing to take a risk on unproven ebay stuff from China

except for gps and inertia/G? seems ok though, think I might go for one and see

gurramok

Merch wrote: »

except for gps and inertia/G? seems ok though, hink I might go for one and see

Yeh true it doesnt have those features, guess its up to the buyer what they want!

Voodoomelon

Got my Roadhawk today, no arsing around with cigarette lighter power cables for me! Have it wired into the auto dim mirror so it comes on every time the ignition is started:





This is the view from the drivers seat, I can't even see it when driving:













Stay tuned for some bad Micra driving vids!