Dash Cams; What have you got!?

[Bluey.the.Coyote]

Hey all,

With the number of shathouse drivers getting around these days and with the FPV's finally over I am wanting to get a dash cam to catch out all the dipshats and god forbid if someone ever hits me (so many near misses though).

I have done a bit of research and have read only good things about the Vico Marcus 4 dash cam, but its in the higher end at ~$280

So please to those that have them, tell me what you have and how you rate it, I don't want a cheapie where I can barely tell what the letters on the number plate of the car a few meters ahead of me is, thats just pointless for a dash cam.

Cheers!

[oxmo]

Good topic, I am mostly concerned about the drivers who deliberately pull in front of you at high speed and then slam on the brakes.. presumably to do insurance jobs.

[oxmo]

sorry, and to answer the question, i have no dashcam atm but like you, am keen to learn what others have/recommend.

[tut0r]

I'm looking at the moment to, blackvue seems my favourite but a bit out of my range, been looking at the marcus range but the navman mivue 558 I think it is, is going to be the winnner.

[The Monty]

Ive had mine a while, a Navman Mivue 388. Cant fault it to be honest.

[Ben73]

I have a uniden igo 300. $60 not the best quality picture but it does the job. Thinking about getting a good quality one soon.

[uniacidz]

Im looking at this one

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/181523584...84.m1438.l2649

Dual camera, G Sensor

[Magee]

I have the navig8 camera and the resolution is great as it can show number plates when playing back on your PC. Only problem is the mount has broken. Had a cheap Kogan unit previously but it did not last as the housing warped in the hot sun.

[Simple6]

Looks like there is a new range of MiVue cameras out now - the 530 ($139), 560 ($169), and 580 ($229). I like the look of these and the video quality looks nice, without breaking the bank.

I can't find any reviews online about it, which is annoying at the moment because I like to see how big they look when mounted - I prefer the hidden look.

They all appear to have GPS as well, which I don't particularly like. It could be self-incriminating regarding speed possibly. However without being a Government regulated product (like vehicle speedometers are) then possibly it would not be admissible evidence when it comes to GPS speed accuracy. I don't know..

[Bluey.the.Coyote]

most of them have the option to disable the GPS speed/co ordinates on-screen over lay, the GPS is most handy when you use the software for the camera as you can see via google maps n that where you have gone, etc.

cops dont need to see that if an issue happens, just what happened and what time it happened

[|Nate]

http://dashcamsaustralia.com.au/

These guys are the best for finding the right dash cam within your price range.

I currently run a VicoVation TF2+ Premium as my front cam and my old first revision BlackVue DR400G as my rear cam.

Here's the picture quality of my front cam:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GREr...aXOIEoUJvnICAA

Here's the picture quality of the BlackVue on the rear > Language Warning after 5ish seconds, I crack it. < :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxRs...aXOIEoUJvnICAA

In the original footage that isn't compressed by YouTube, you can clearly see rego plates.

[jlr]

I have 2 Dashcams.
The first one I bought was the Mobius.Very impressive little machine.I've been using it for about 8 months then I thought I would like one with GPS.
So I bought a Mini 0803 about a month ago.It was dead out of the box but the vendor replaced no trouble.The image is not as good as the Mobius plus it runs VERY hot.The Micro SD card died after 2 hours.
The Mobius is back in now and it just keeps working plus there are heaps of goodies you can get for it.Also there is a very good support forum for the Mobius.

[JC]

Originally Posted by uniacidz

Im looking at this one

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/181523584...84.m1438.l2649

Dual camera, G Sensor

I have one of them in each of my vehicles - they are OK, but can freeze u every now and then. Formatting the SD card seems to fix that, o maybe do that once per week (after saving relevant footage to a hard drive, of course)?

[ebv8]

only problem with dash cams is that when i take the GT for a spin around the block some do gooder is going to tag my number plate breaking traction and sending it to the cops to book me....
i think they are awesome ideas and even have one of my own but its the do gooders that will just turn this into a giant big brother program and thats something i'd hate to happen.

eg: i was on a quiet country road a few weeks back and nice & clean VN SV5000 started ripping doughnuts in the middle of the road, i sat there and watched and waited and loved it....if some one taped this and sent it to the police there goes his licence.
I see people post a video of a p plater getting a little sideways in the wet and then tags the police....come on we all did that when we were on our p's

[uniacidz]

Originally Posted by JC

I have one of them in each of my vehicles - they are OK, but can freeze u every now and then. Formatting the SD card seems to fix that, o maybe do that once per week (after saving relevant footage to a hard drive, of course)?

Really?

That's feedback I like to hear

[Silver Ghia]

Originally Posted by JC

I have one of them in each of my vehicles - they are OK, but can freeze u every now and then. Formatting the SD card seems to fix that, o maybe do that once per week (after saving relevant footage to a hard drive, of course)?

I have the same as well, some files dont open and the rear camera I received with it was a reverse one which had reverse cam lines and recorded the image in reverse.

I guess you get what you pay for, sometimes you might be lucky but I wouldn't recommend buying one of those.

[MrMaestro]

I have an Itronics ITB-100HD. Slim and hides perfectly in front of the rearview mirror. Solid video quality, and doesn't have the heat/reliability issues like the Blackvue. Probably the best value dashcam when I bought it for $180, but now you're lucky to find it for under $300 which is a ripoff.

I did most of my research at Dash Cam Talk and a highly recommend it. It's community-driven and has info on probably every popular device on the market around the world. Dash Cams Australia has more limited content and at the end of the day is a store trying to sell you their products. I'm just saying use a number of sources when doing research to get a more complete view. Youtube is pretty good for checking video quality obviously, though be aware that its compression does lower quality slightly.

If I was buying a dashcam today I would be taking a serious look at the Tiesfong B40 and the Powerucc Panorama.

[uniacidz]

Originally Posted by Silver Ghia

I have the same as well, some files dont open and the rear camera I received with it was a reverse one which had reverse cam lines and recorded the image in reverse.

I guess you get what you pay for, sometimes you might be lucky but I wouldn't recommend buying one of those.

Thanks for the feedback








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[T-Pak Addict]

Originally Posted by The Monty

Ive had mine a while, a Navman Mivue 388. Cant fault it to be honest.

That's the one I have... Had it nearly 12 months now...
Works really well day & night.

[|Nate]

Originally Posted by ebv8

only problem with dash cams is that when i take the GT for a spin around the block some do gooder is going to tag my number plate breaking traction and sending it to the cops to book me....

I see people post a video of a p plater getting a little sideways in the wet and then tags the police....come on we all did that when we were on our p's

If you're taking your GT around a residential block, flooring it and breaking traction like a fool, then you deserve to have any footage recorded of it sent to the Police.

The fact is, if you want to do this kind of stuff on the roads, do it where there's absolutely no traffic and in appropriate areas.

Yes a P-Plater getting sideways in an Industrial estate over the weekend at 11pm isn't going to hurt anyone but himself, but doing it on a busy highway or in a residential area is disgusting and they deserve to be named and shamed.
We all have had our cheeky moments on our P's, I agree, but some of us have the brain functions to realise there's a right time and place for that kind of stuff.

[Tonz]

With the canopy/box on the back I dont have inside rear view mirror, is this going to make my choice stick out like peverbile thumb?

[commodorenutt]

I've had a blackvue for 3 years now.
Was fine for about 3 months, but slowly developed issues where it wouldn't record (and as I'd switched off the annoying LEDs I had no indication of problems).

Their support was quick, but gave nothing. Usual crap like 'reformat the card' or 'don't use cheap cards'(I wasn't). The flakey cards they were blaming worked with no hassles in my work phone (Samsung) and still do, so I know they're not an issue.

They never once agreed that it could be the camera. They blamed how I wired it up, or maybe I was running it I parking mode without their 'battery saver' extra (which is not needed if you simply run it off accessory power).

Because of the cost of the camera (some $450 back in mid-2011) I ended up buying several new microSD cards, and having to reformat them every few days for it to keep running. Major hassle is the blackvue keeps it's data/system on the card, so every time you format you have to reload all that crap back on in the right order, otherwise it won't work.
Got to the point where I had 10 cards I would format/load on the weekend, and simply swap them before each run to/from work. Sometimes a card would last 3 or 4 trips before I got the 'flashing blue LED of death' on the camera, other times I'd only get 1 trip.

That camera now sits on the shelf in the garage. Not sure what I'll buy to replace it, but it will need to take microSD cards!

[Sioso]

I have a question:
If you get pulled over for a traffic infringement and the cop notices your dashcam, can they confiscate it or ask to see it?
For example, you are having a spirited run through some back roads and then get pulled over for speeding, due to the nature of the infringement do the police have the power to confiscate the dashcam data for possible further prosecution?

Question is completely hypothetical, I have never exceeded the speed limit in my life!

[T-Pak Addict]

and that's why you don't get one with gps feature.......

[uniacidz]

As far as im aware, and maybe wrong, but they can use the dash cam to form part of a investigation/evidence.

Hence just as TPak stated, remove/disable gps function.

[Deo]

I think what FGX310 is driving at (sorry) is that the video footage would be almost as incriminating as the GPS info.

Sent from my GTi-9305 using Tapatalk 2

[Sioso]

Thanks Deo, yes that's what I'm getting at, don't really need GPS to see what's been going on.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Simples really, remove the sd card before they get to the car.

[uniacidz]

Originally Posted by Smoke Pursuit

Simples really, remove the sd card before they get to the car.

Or swallow the SD Card if its a miniSD

[elfinke]

I've been keen to get my hands on one or two of these for some time, but never made the plunge. Seems the A118 is a great bit of gear for the ~$100 mark, thanks for that recommendation.

I wonder, has anyone bought a dashcam purely for the purpose of recording carpark incidents? Having been the victim of a keyed car before (and the carpark owner being very hopeless in looking through their footage...), I've been interested in getting a wide angle cam purely for the purpose of taking movement-activated photos (or short videos, I guess too) while the car is parked.