Please inform me about dash cams

I hate to be writing this post, but yesterday was the second time in my life that I have been in an accident where my car was less than a year old, and some shiny happy person decided they had right of way and I didn't, and then lied to the responding police officer. No witnesses, so if this go around is any like the first, I'll end up on the hook for my full deductible. Needless to say, I'm pissed, and don't ever want this to happen again.

So, it's time for a dash cam. Looked online last night, and there's a ton of them out there in all price ranges and feature sets. So many, and pretty much all unrecognized brand names, and not enough reviews on Amazon to separate the wheat from the chaff. I'm hoping a few of you here have some experience with them.

Here's what features I pretty much require:

Easily removed from the car, preferably with multiple brackets, so I can put it in any of my cars.

Easy to start/stop recording. Preferably, it'd start when the cig lighter outlet powers up when I start the car.

Looping recording, records over the oldest data continually. This way, I don't have to check and delete files from an SD card every day or two.

Reliable, I want this thing to be working when I need it, not dead.

Dash mount, I'd rather not have any wires hanging in my field of vision.

Immediate playback ability. I want to be able to play a video back on scene, whether with a built in monitor, or a cheaply available monitor that could be stored in the glovebox( don't know if that exists).

Some capability at nighttime. Doesn't have to be perfect, but enough to capture what's going on.

What I'd like to have:

HD recording, mainly to potentially capture license plates in the case of a hit and run. Not critical.

People lie? Say it ain't so!

Seriously, sorry to hear about this. I've been considering a dash cam for the same reasons so will be following this.

I would suggest the HD PRO. Seem to hold up well in rough situations, but I don't know about looping recording. I'm a camera guy, and am very impressed with the quality of recordings. Maybe use a 32gb card for longer recordings? Well known, well proven, not bad price, considering the performance..

After the accident I witnessed Wednesday, I wish I had a camera looking out my windshield. A stupid female in her Exploder decided I wasn't fast enough, passed by nearly clipping myself and the car in the other lane, then rearended a guy at a red light she didn't want to stop and obey. Then she proceeded to BACK UP to get away from the mess she caused. She eventually crashed/stopped going up an enbankment.

You might want to check with the local laws as in Maryland (Communist central) drivers (the people) are not allowed to record the police, active or indirect.

Might want to ask on a Russian board as they seem to have a lot of experience with dash cams (off to you tube)

Did a bit more looking, and it turns out one of my neighbors bought one recently that has a front and rear camera. However, from some reviews, it appears it has a tendency to eat SD cards, so the search goes on.

Found one I like but it's $300, might still get it though pending some more research. Also, found out there's a forum for everything, including dash cams.

Check Ebay for: car DVR

There is so much fraud in some countries that these are very common and pretty cheap.

Donebrokeit wrote: You might want to check with the local laws as in Maryland (Communist central) drivers (the people) are not allowed to record the police, active or indirect. Might want to ask on a Russian board as they seem to have a lot of experience with dash cams (off to you tube)

I think you are allowed to record police in Maryland http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-05-17/news/bs-md-ci-police-recording-doj-20120516_1_anthony-graber-new-police-policy-officers

I have thought about getting one.. if nothing else to record the lunacy I see on a daily basis.

Like the lady in the exploder above.. I had a woman in one of those cut me and two other people off the other day so she could get to a red light 5 seconds faster(at she stopped though)

The latest GoPros apparently have looping video as a software option. Once you turn it on, it'll continuously record over itself progressively and either do a "small" file (5 min, 20 min, 1 hr, etc.) or you can set it to use the entire memory card. I'm sorely tempted to get a Silver model for my rollbar.

I like my GoPro hero HD, and its nice to hear that looping has been added to the firmware. Biggest concern I have is my current camera battery or charging circuitry may have been damaged during a trip that I had it plugged in and recording for very long stretches. Still works, but starts to smell like electrical stuff is overheating when I charge it off the cig lighter.

After a bit of time searching around, it appears my first choice place to buy, Amazon, is not a good choice. Apperently, it's impossible to find out what you are actually buying, as there are a lot of clones and fakes of the "better" dash cams. There are supposed to be a few reputable ebay vendors, and I decided to take a chance on one of them. Ordered a DVR-027. It's an obsolete model, but its replacement appears to have some teething issues. Does 720p, supposed to have so-so night recording, has a built in flip down screen, looks like it is pretty low profile, so it might fit over the rear view mirror, and looks like it may have a long enough charger cable it can be run around the edge of the windshield. When it comes in, I'll try to remember to post back here with any impressions I have, and some links to test video.

This is a topic that interests me.

I'm going to ask for a dashcam for my birthday. I bought a mount for my smart phone at a garage sale for $2 and it works pretty well, but it's to much of a hassle to set up each and every time you get into and out of the car. I'm going skip the GPS feature and mount the camera so it has a view of the speedometer. I also wan't at least two cameras (one for front, one for back) and the ability to playback video untethered.

I was going to suggest Smart Phone too. I've been using Daily RoadsVoyager. Free for Android. It can be set up to start recording and minimize in one click. You allot how much storage for file saving and periodically overwrites old files.

My only issue is if you use GPS for speed it sucks power fast than the charger can provide power. Or maybe my charger just sucks. I get the same from navigation apps sometimes too.

In reply to Mmadness:

From what I've read, the dual camera systems are not great quality (yet). Best to go with two independent cams. I skipped the GPS, because I don't have to have a log of my travels, and don't really speed much, so not worried about fighting an unfair ticket. Not to mention, I gather most of the GPS equipped units don't update the speed quickly enough. I'm guessing they are based on a 1 Hz GPS system.

In reply to neckromacr:

I have played with Dailyroads Voyager a bit yesterday, and was running into a problem where my video playback was green and blocky. I haven't search online to see if this is a known issue or not, yet, but I am hoping its got a workaround, I'd like to use my smartphone as a backup. BTW - I was using a Droid Razr Maxx, the problem may be specific to my phone.

Dash cam came in on Friday, but I didn't get a good chance to test it out until today. Took a trip to Lexington to help Ashyukun with the El Camino, and loaded up a 16 GB card into the camera.

The sound is pretty bad, but its there. Most of it sounded like it was from the mount rattling a bit, but you could hear the radio a little. I'm not worried about it myself, so I'll probably just mute it, since the video is far more important to me, and to get around any audio recording laws.

Video is decent. Can read the plate on a car stopped in front of me just fine, but not really any farther than that. Most importantly, traffic signals are easy to see, and the viewing angle is decent, though not as good as my GoPro Hero HD.

The video screen is awesome to have. Makes it really easy to aim the camera. I still haven't gone over how to playback the video on the screen but it supposed to be capable of it.

The auto start-stop works great. That alone is about worth it to me. As long as it is plugged in to the cig lighter, it starts as soon as the outlet gets power, and shuts down shortly after you switch off the ignition.

Quick video, the quality has been degraded a bit by a pass through Movie Maker, then being processed by Youtube, but at least you can get an idea of it. I had it mounted on the passenger side of the windshield, about 2/3 of the way up. It did not make it any harder for a passenger to get in or out. Oh, I removed the audio, too, so Deep Purple doesn't sue for royalties:

http://youtu.be/0p2XwSInSOM

If your really want a wider field of view, you could stick on a fish eye lens like I used on my 808 camera.

cghstang wrote: If your really want a wider field of view, you could stick on a fish eye lens like I used on my 808 camera.

how do you attach that to an 808?

That looks pretty decent, for what you want to do with it. The only possible problem I could see is maybe at one of those intersections where the traffic light is set back pretty far and you've got to crane your neck and look up to see the light.

In reply to JoeyM:

With Henkel Polyseamseal My first attempt held up to a season's worth of RallyCross before it came loose. These aren't my pictures but they are what convinced me to try it: http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/8985/camerastuff.jpg

Just an FYI update, first week of usage, the cam seems fine. Still thinking of picking another up, but with 1080p, to see if it can pick up license plates better.

Semi-related note, I got a summons in the mail today. First, I thought I was getting sued, then I realized it was the county wanting me as a witness for the other driver's trial for not having a license

That quality is actually pretty nice. What seller did you buy it from?

Sorry to hear about your accident. I hope it doesn't end up costing you too much money.

In reply to dculberson:

Got it from estore009 o eBay, althought. There are several other reputable vendors, but the price and shipping speed worked out best for me with them.

I suspect I'll just be out my deductible, because I'm guessing the driver being unlicensed is going to keep me in the clear, and I'll have to pay parking when I go to court.

These guys seem to be the standard in my area - http://www.blackvue.ca/

Should others be in the market for one as well.