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Dash cams, what to get and where to get it (Q&A only)

Max Power

Can anyone recommend me one?

Are they easy to install?

Mod note - this technical thread is for three things only:
acquirement, installation and operation of dash cams.
Do not post your dash videos or argue over small stuff.

Only post if you are committed to buying and have questions, general chat will be removed.

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D'Agger

Red Nissan wrote: »

GoPro cameras can make wonderful videos and are far superior to most dashcams to boot.

Drawbacks include battery life and difficulty in powering sufficiently from the vehicle's power sockets, it can be done but not as a weatherproof option from GoPro. It's a full video system that does not support GPS currently, and is generally a pain in the butt ~ it's forté is short video clips in high quality in a weather proof and waterproof case. Maybe best for storm chasing than a day to day dashcam.

If one has the GPS option on their dashcams then the sodtware showing where they went is pretty good and worth a little extra to get this feature. Dedicated Dashcams draw power from the engine and will start and stop with the key. Some can have continuous power supplied to offer over night and parking protection.

Most are poor in transferring files, it's a take the card out and put in another one.

Perfect, I haven't even looked into this properly as I wouldn't be buying until closer to Christmas.

I have GPS built into the car so not sure I'd need that. Something that works based off the ignition would be cool, that and something that doesn't clutter up the dash too much with wires etc.

Will leave off the gopro anyway, cheers for the advice!

danger_mouse_tm

dashcamdanny wrote: »

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/310891426086?clk_rvr_id=671997101570

This sellers sells the correct none fake GW1.

I got stung with a fake but reordered from above.

Top class cam.

Ordered one on Sunday. Lets see how long it takes to get here. Will I need an sd card? I don't think I have any class 10 ones knocking around.

DeepBlue

danger_mouse_tm wrote: »

Ordered one on Sunday. Lets see how long it takes to get here. Will I need an sd card? I don't think I have any class 10 ones knocking around.

Ordered mine from estore009 on the 16th July and received it via Parcel Motel on the 26th. You'll need an SD card (micro I think) and a Mini HDMI to HDMI cable if you want to review video on your TV.

dashcamdanny

danger_mouse_tm wrote: »

Ordered one on Sunday. Lets see how long it takes to get here. Will I need an sd card? I don't think I have any class 10 ones knocking around.

I have a 32 sandisc class 4 in mine. Had to buy it separately. Works fine. (for me)..

Mine took about 2 weeks to be delivered. I think the seller waits till he gets a large consignment to send at one time. So it may take longer.

SteM

danger_mouse_tm wrote: »

Ordered one on Sunday. Lets see how long it takes to get here. Will I need an sd card? I don't think I have any class 10 ones knocking around.

Reviews of the gw1 say not to use a class 10 card as there is some sort of buffering bug with them. Class 4 card seems to be recommended.

magentis

SteM wrote: »

Reviews of the gw1 say not to use a class 10 card as there is some sort of buffering bug with them. Class 4 card seems to be recommended.

Thats odd,the guy selling them on ebay is saying to use a class 10 only!

Red Nissan

magentis wrote: »

Thats odd,the guy selling them on ebay is saying to use a class 10 only!

All things being equal, Class Ten.

Individually, any class card will work better, specifically to that device and physical card.

I have devices that demand Class Ten but actually run better on Class 4, and even one card from the same class and manufacturer working well in a particular device and not working in another ~ despite neither being faulty.

Firmware has bearing in the mix too.

joujoujou

My dashcam refuses to write on Class 4 (too slow) card. Class 10 - no problem.

Prices are going down, so not really big money to spend.

SteM

magentis wrote: »

Thats odd,the guy selling them on ebay is saying to use a class 10 only!

G1W REVIEW - The Best (Insanely Cheap) 1080p Dash…: http://youtu.be/Eo76bkytA3o

10:43 into this review for instance. I don't have one so maybe it's an issue that's been fixed.

Cabaal

So I've had to replace the car, now I have a Ford Focus Zetec and wanted to get a dashcam for it, this is my choice http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00F2GMWCG/

Thing is, I'd like to minimize the visibility of the power cable for it so how can it be wired to the car. Any suggestions?

DeepBlue

Cabaal wrote: »

Thing is, I'd like to minimize the visibility of the power cable for it so how can it be wired to the car. Any suggestions?

I got the G1W recently and discovered that the cigarette lighter in the Focus always has power so the unit won't switch on/switch off automatically with the ignition (if you're using the cigarette lighter to power the dashcam). It might be a factor you should consider also when considering how to wire up your dashcam.

Cabaal

DeepBlue wrote: »

I got the G1W recently and discovered that the cigarette lighter in the Focus always has power so the unit won't switch on/switch off automatically with the ignition (if you're using the cigarette lighter to power the dashcam). It might be a factor you should consider also when considering how to wire up your dashcam.

I have two power outlets in the zetec (2009), one near the gear stick and another in the armrest behind the handbreak. No actual cig lighter like you'd normally see.

I must check of power stays on either when the car is off.

BohsCeltic

Has anyone ever bought one from aliexpress ?

danger_mouse_tm

SteM wrote: »

Reviews of the gw1 say not to use a class 10 card as there is some sort of buffering bug with them. Class 4 card seems to be recommended.

So mine arrived yesterday. I have yet to get a card. I'm still undecided to get a 16gb or 32gb class 4 or class 10. Any help would be much appreciated. Is there a firmware update? I haven't plugged it into the pc yet.

DeepBlue

danger_mouse_tm wrote: »

I'm still undecided to get a 16gb or 32gb class 4 or class 10.

Have used 16GB (Sandisk) and 32GB (Transcend) in it and both work fine. However I've only been using it for just over a week. Perhaps issues arise over time.

dashcamdanny

danger_mouse_tm wrote: »

So mine arrived yesterday. I have yet to get a card. I'm still undecided to get a 16gb or 32gb class 4 or class 10. Any help would be much appreciated. Is there a firmware update? I haven't plugged it into the pc yet.

I have a 32g class 4 in mine. 4 months in a 40hr a week truck with constant stop/starts.

It works fine. But I do have playback issues from using .mov files.

I have yet to find an easy way to maintain the raw quality without spending ages behind the computer.

danger_mouse_tm

i ordered a sandisk 32gb ultra (it doesn't appear to say what class it is) from the vodafone fone website. I had a load of cherrypoints racked up so it didn't cost me anything. It should be here in a couple of days. Let's see how it handles 60 hours a week in the truck:eek:

dashcamdanny

As I said , I was having trouble before using .mov files and uploading to youtube while keeping quality.

Spend a small bit of time serching for simple answers. As quite a few of you are using the G1W it may interest you.

Most people have windows movie maker installed on their computer.

The problem is, that it does not recognize .MOV files.

This is an easy fix. You need to download a codec pack. These are files that enables Windows Movie Maker to recognize .mov files by teaching the program the language that your G1W speaks.

I found it here . http://www.codecguide.com/download_kl.htm and used the full version. I scanned the files with AGV for malware and found them to be safe.

Once I installed the files onto my PC, Windows Movie Maker could see the dashcam vids.

There is also a handy YOUTUBE button in Windows Movie Maker that can transfer your finished vids to youtube with a couple of clicks. You will need to set up a windows live account and connect it to youtube to do this. Its simple though.

I just made a quick sample here and it took no time. Its available in 1080p.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnYMVOborXw

It has given it a crop which I don't know how to fix just yet. Suggestions?

DeepBlue

Is it just me or does that video start in SD and only change to HD about half way through? I've noticed this in a few dashcam videos but don't know if the issue is at my end or the same for everyone.

dashcamdanny

DeepBlue wrote: »

Is it just me or does that video start in SD and only change to HD about half way through? I've noticed this in a few dashcam videos but don't know if the issue is at my end or the same for everyone.

Yeah. It happen to me also. Takes a few seconds to play in HD.

D'Agger

With regard to viewing files from a dashcam - rather than installing codecs I'd recommend using VLC media player - comes with tons of in built codecs & is a brilliant media player

SteM

I was already thinking of it but after spending a week driving in Clare I've decided to fit a dashcam, some of the driving I've come across has to be seen to be believed. Think I'll go down the route of a modified Mobius, looks like a neat solution to me.

danger_mouse_tm

SteM wrote: »

G1W REVIEW - The Best (Insanely Cheap) 1080p Dash…: http://youtu.be/Eo76bkytA3o

10:43 into this review for instance. I don't have one so maybe it's an issue that's been fixed.

So I got my sd card yesterday and mounted the cam in the truck. But unfortunately there's not enough manoeuvring on the mount to get a proper angle of the road because of my vertical windshield. Not good. I will see what the footage is like later on a pc.

dashcamdanny

That is a different mount to the one I got. The mount that comes with mine will do any position.

Did you use the seller posted in the link I put up?

danger_mouse_tm

dashcamdanny wrote: »

That is a different mount to the one I got. The mount that comes with mine will do any position.

Did you use the seller posted in the link I put up?

I believe I did. I thought there was a different mount for attaching to rear view mirrors but I didn't look too closely. The mount I have is fine for the volvos because there is a slight slope in the screen bur in this Scania(which is what I drive most of the time) it's not going to work out, especially since I've been advised to make sure that it can see the traffic lights.

SteM

danger_mouse_tm wrote: »

I believe I did. I thought there was a different mount for attaching to rear view mirrors but I didn't look too closely. The mount I have is fine for the volvos because there is a slight slope in the screen bur in this Scania(which is what I drive most of the time) it's not going to work out, especially since I've been advised to make sure that it can see the traffic lights.

There is. You can buy it pretty cheap separately from ebay I think - just look for g1w mirror mount. It looks like that might suit you better?

danger_mouse_tm

SteM wrote: »

There is. You can buy it pretty cheap separately from ebay I think - just look for g1w mirror mount. It looks like that might suit you better?

I don't think mirror mount would suit me as we don't have mirrors in theses things. But if I could get one the same as yours I would be sorted.

danger_mouse_tm

Checked out the footage that I got yesterday from my dashcam and its completely useless because of the angle of the mount. I looked back at the ebay listing and the mount pictured is different from the one depicted in the ad. I also searched ebay for another mount and I cant seem to find one.
It looks like i will scrap that dashcam and buy another one.

cormie

Are there any gadget nerds amongst us here?

I've 3 dash cams which aren't working properly and I don't know if it's down to an error with the camera itself, something to do with the cards I'm using, something to do with the power source in the van or what, but all 3 of these are giving issues:

Mini 0801 (bought for about €90) - Only records sometimes, with no obvious pattern as to when it might record
iTronics ITB100HD (bought for about €180) - Rarely boots up and records, but still does the odd time but again no pattern as to when it does.
DRS1100 (bought for about €150)- This is an older model but was reliable in it's day. It's now giving an issue which I think might be related to the card that it keeps beeping when you turn it on. I actually have a second one not being used too which I believe was working perfect last time I had it connected.

So 4 cameras I'd be willing to get rid of. Just not sure what the best thing to do with them is and I really don't have time to be messing around and testing them. I could put them on eBay of course but thought I'd post here first. I'd be selling the camera only, no accessories (not even power cable), no memory cards, just the unit itself.

EDIT: Wow, just dealt with amazon customer service and have already had a shipping label returned for the mini 0801 to be returned so that's no longer available

cormie

Threw the above cams up on Ebay if anyone is interested: http://search.ebay.ie/?sass=vantasks&ht=-1