So I've been wanting to get a dash cam for my wife and I for a few years now. Some jacka$$ ran a red light and hit my wife's Highlander and insurance wouldn't pay even though he got a ticket AND he admitted fault to the officer. Then a few weeks ago some guy not paying attention came into my lane and hit the side of my front bumper with his caddy (had he been driving a smaller/lighter car it would have been a perfect P.I.T. hit) and dented it. We pulled over and he seemed like a decent guy and promised to mail me a check for $200 (I got his license number and his plate number plus a business card) but hasn't and I doubt he will. While I don't care about the EX since no one was hurt and I can fix it I do care about what could have happened. I would really like a GoPro but I really can't afford that. If I was single and it was just me then it would be fine but we have 2 cars so double the price I'm looking for something that others have used and like, but all I can find is the eBay junk for $10 from China or GoPro for not $10. Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated.





-------------------------MUST HAVE---------------------------------WANT-----------------------------------


------------------------------------------------------------------------Continuous recording even when vehicle is parked

------------------------------------------------------------------------SD card slot

------------------------------------------------------------------------Motion detection

------------------------------------------------------------------------Night vision

------------------------------------------------------------------------Sound




Found this one so far, I'm thinking for the price and what it does maybe it fits the bill? I'm going to need a camera for the rear too though, not sure how I want to do that or how exactly it should be done yet.

 

I too was looking in to these, and yes there are a ton of cheap ones out there... As for the GoPro, they are a great camera for what they do, but they are not the best dash cams... They have limited memory/recording time, and they can not be used and charged at the same time.

You should be able to find a decent plug and play dash cam that works off of your Ex's power supply, and will record several hours before looping back and starting over automatically. Most will have a save feature that will allow you to save the data if you want to keep something in particular.

Not sure if it will help, but check out this site: Dash Cam Comparison | Dash Cam Talk

I would recommend LOTS of research, look at video demos, and read reviews, then pull the trigger.

As for me, I have not bought one yet, but I just may before this summer's road trip.

 

I got 2 from Amazon last year for my daughters Explorer. One out the front and the other out the back. She had been reported to her high school for speeding and cutting someone off. After that I would have proof. Spent $70 on 2 cameras and 2 SD cards. One stopped working a couple months ago but it had fallen off the windshield several times. It doesnt show tag numbers very well but you can see the color of traffic lights and has a decent field of view. I added a power supply socket to plug the cameras into, it comes on everytime it starts and shuts off when car is shut off.

 

I've been tossing around the idea myself of getting one for my Ex and Car. After much research I've found 2 that I like. The Lukas LE 7900 and the Black Vue DR 500GW HD. I want something not easily seen and will record continuously even when vehicle is parked. still haven't bit the bullet and gotten one yet.

 

Ok, I think we need to make a few requirements on features we want/need. I'll add the list to the first post and as everyone chimes in I will add it as well.

 

I run this one I bought off amazon. It was $50.00 or so.

Its a 16gb recorder with removable microsd. Records 5 minutes and saves the file, over writes old files. Has night vision and motion detection + really good battery life although it does use a standard cigarette lighter power plug.

 

Ok, someone hits you, you pull over and you have the last 5 minutes on tape great. After you get out of the truck he pulls a gun and shoots you in the face for 5 minutes and then leaves. Exactly 5 minutes after that the cops show up and grab the cam to find out what happened. Now what? Not calling out your camera, just trying to figure out how it works.





Also, I made a few additions to the the first post, what do you guys think? Anything need to move to the other side, anything need to be added? Is cost an issue for any of you guys or just me?

 

Sorry I wasn't clear. It records in 5 minute intervals back to back. You end up with 1000's of 5 minute recordings you can download to your computer. After it uses all 16gigs, it starts over at the beginning overwritting the first one and so on. It recorded my entire drive from Virginia to Idaho (25 hours) on 1 disk without a single overwrite. I sometimes play it at parties when people get rowdy.

If you get into an accident, you can set it to continually record as well without saving it into 5 minute blocks, but it uses more memory since it isnt compressed as it is in the 5 minute blocks. Even after you turn off the truck, it will continue to record on battery. You can set it to record on battery for certain time spans if you want or even to continue to run until it runs out of battery.

Each one is time stamped as well.

No sound though.

 

Is sound that common? I never even thought about that being a thing.

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post13855003

Stewart

 

On some high end ones you can activate sound, I didnt care about that since if I got into an accident I would have my cell phone on record to get all the info. Just another layer of protection.

 

This thread really interests me.
Subscribing.
I've been wanting one for quite a while but there are sooooo many out there and too little information..
Might want one for the rear too actually

Sent from my Galaxy Note 3 using IB AutoGroup

 

SO this topic has me once again looking at these types of cameras. I just came across this one, that seems to come with a second camera. Not sure on the quality yet, but for the price with a second camera, I would have to say it has me intrigued...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/120-720P-Car-Dash-2-TFT-HD-DVR-Dual-Camera-Cam-Recorder-Night-Vision-IR-USA/350862447713?_trksid=p2047675.m1985&_trkparms=aid%3D444000%26algo%3DSOI.CURRENT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D13%26meid%3D4243460911610308872%26pid%3D100012%26prg%3D1014%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D5%26sd%3D350953340075%26

 

Broken English but ships from the US. Not sure how much I trust it but at that price it might be worth a shot. I bolded and underlined the things that seemed odd about that one. Still not a bad find.
Introduction:

• Thank you for your interested this Car Recorder.
• This product it specially developed and aimed at evidence collection difficulty of today's car accidents.
• At the same time, it meet the market needs on other occasions, allowing you to realize on unit multiple uses and marking your life carefree and colorful.

Package Includes:

• 1 x 2inch Wide-angle Fixed
• 1 x Car charger
• 1 x USB cable
• 1 x Manul
• 1 x Rear View Camera
• 1 x Remote Control
• Note: When use this item at night, please switch to the infrared night vision mode

Features:

• 1. New and high quality
• 2. With motion detection, loop recording, while recording and other functions necessary and sufficient edge
• 3. Effectively prevent eavesdropping, videotaping,
• fraud and protect personal privacy, data and confidential information
• 4. High-definition and wide viewing angle
• 5. New infrared LED night vision
• 6. Support taking a photograph and charging simultaneously
• 7. It can record high-definition video in the low illumination
• 8. It features torch appearance design and it is made of alloy, stylish and wear-resistant

Specifications:

• 1. Sensor: Samsung 4AW 1.2 Mililion Pixels
• 2. View of Front Lens: 120 Wide-angle Lens
• 3. Camera Resolution: HD(2048 x 1536)
• 4.Display: 2.0 inch HD TFT
• 5.Storage Temperature: - 20℃~60℃
• 6.Operating Temperature: - 20℃~60℃
• 7.Memory Card Type: Micro SD Card
• 8.Memory Card Capacity: Support TF Memory Card 512MB-32GB
• 9.Operating Humidity: 15-65%RH
• 10.Battery: 800mAH
• 11. Front Lens Video Quality: H.264 1280x720,30fps
• 12. Back Lens Video Quality: H.264 720x575,S/30Frame
• 13.Weight: 435g

 

I have 6 company vehicles and run the Smarty BX4000 from D-Teg in every vehicle. I run the Smarty BX 1500 in all of my personal cars / kids cars. Very high quality camera's for a great price. Not some cheap POS. Great customer service. Software updates are free and easy to install.
If you want the US reps name, let me know and I will get you in touch with him.