Dash Cams

[alec.m]

Not sure if this shouldn`t be in Boys Toyz. I`ve been looking for a dash cam for a while. Ebay has so many from a tenner upwards and reviews are very mixed on most of them. Lidl have this on offer tomorrow and I wondered if any of you techie people have thoughts on this or can recommend anything else. I don`t want to spend more than about £40. I`ve had technology from Lidl before and it has always been top class. Thanks.
http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/our-offers-249 ... l&id=15036

[pingu]

Aceman sent me this...

Hi Guys,

Good to see you both today. Following on from our conversation about dash cams here is the ebay number of the one I have which I highly recommend for the price.

321226920418

Regards,

Ian

I took the leap and spent the £42. Well worth it. It has a rear camera (the Lidl one doesn't). Hopefully, the EBay reference will point to the current reference when you take a look.

I agree that Lidl (and Aldi) do some really good kit. Their computers are usually a very high spec for a price that no-one can match.

[alec.m]

Thanks pingu. That is still on ebay, looks impressive for the money. Not sure that I would want the hassle of fitting rear camera but tempted. Where did you fit the front camera? It shows it fitted at the top of the screen. I am tall and the mirror created a big blind spot for me and I feel this might make another obstruction.

[pingu]

Thanks pingu. That is still on ebay, looks impressive for the money. Not sure that I would want the hassle of fitting rear camera but tempted. Where did you fit the front camera? It shows it fitted at the top of the screen. I am tall and the mirror created a big blind spot for me and I feel this might make another obstruction.

It's in my van above the rearview mirror. The rear camera is very easy in a car or van with a rear glass window. It would be awkward in the roadster unless it was stuck on the outside or on a perspex wind deflector. It couldn't be stuck on the softtop rear window. There is a very long wire from the rear camera (720 pixels) to the front camera (1080 pixels).

The hardest bit was wiring-in the USB lead. Again, it's very long, but it wants to be tucked out of sight as the camear needs a permanent feed when running as the battery is next to useless.

You will also need a MicroSD card. I got a 32Gb one from Costco for around £16. It holds over a day's footage at maximum resolution.

The most important thing to realise is that it is a dash cam and not a GoPro. The footage is not brilliant, but it is good enough for evidence and memories, but don't expect to make Speilberg productions with it.

Some video from the front camera...



Some video from the rear camera...

[alec.m]

Thanks for your "review" pingu. I was impressed with the quality of the picture, front and rear. It would be a problem placing the rear camera in a Z although I suppose you could fit it in the rear bumper like a parking sensor but I imagine muck would soon cover the lens in wet weather. Food for thought and the price is good, only a few quid more than the parking ticket I got today but that`s another story and a letter to write to contest it .

[Cooper01]

Thanks Pingu, may I ask a few questions?

Once the dvr is attached to the windscreen can it be removed [unclipped] so it can be secured when you leave the vehicle or used to take photos in an incident?
I can't identify a couple of the parts listed in the photo. It looks like there are two external cameras but I am quite sure that can't be correct. What are the items?
Do the files play in Windows media player or do you need special software.
I have a plastic wind deflector. Will I be able to stick it to that to see out the back with parts supplied?
Can I use the rear camera as a reversing camera? I was thinking of using another one in my Suzuki grand vitara.

Anything else of interest?

Thanks. Cooper

[davieb]

I've just bought a Transcend DrivePro 200 (front facing only), which was about £80 from Amazon. Well impressed with the quality, easy of operation etc. Easily removed out of sight as well.

[pingu]

Once the dvr is attached to the windscreen can it be removed [unclipped] so it can be secured when you leave the vehicle

Yes, the rear camera plugs in using a 3.5mm plug (like headphones) and the power lead is the normal 5v USB lead. The camera then slides out of the clip. The sucker stays on the windscreen.

or used to take photos in an incident?

The battery is too poor to use unattached to the power lead. Mine lasts about 10 seconds. The power cable is about 3 metres long, but mine is tucked into the car, so it would be too difficult to use for photos. Use a smartphone for photos of the scene.

There is a photo function on the camera, so it is possible to take stills from the onboard position. This can be activated by pressing a button on the camera, but my preference is to use the remote control.

I can't identify a couple of the parts listed in the photo. It looks like there are two external cameras but I am quite sure that can't be correct. What are the items?

The main camera is an internal camera. The rear camera is either, but mine is mounted interally.

Do the files play in Windows media player or do you need special software.

You need Apple's QuickTime. It's free and works on Windows as well as Mac.

I have a plastic wind deflector. Will I be able to stick it to that to see out the back with parts supplied?

Yes, but the rear deflector probably vibrates too much to get a steady image. If your deflector is rigid, it would be the best option in a Z3. If that's no good, I'd consider mounting it on the number plate (and just hope that nobody nicks it).

Can I use the rear camera as a reversing camera? I was thinking of using another one in my Suzuki grand vitara.

Yes, Sometimes, I do. The screen is very small, but adequate. There are three views - Forward, Rear, Forward with Rear in frame (this is the default)

Anything else of interest?

You can decide how long you want each file to be. From memory, 1 minute, 5 minutes or 10 minutes. A 1 minute file is around 30Mb, so that is what I have opted for.

A 32Gb MicroSD card holds about 28 hours of full resolution video (you can reduce the resolution if you want to hold more).

I also use the remote control to store (they use the word "lock") any videos I want to look at later. This stores two video files, one from the front and one from the rear cameras. These videos are stored in the "LOCK" folder on the card and will never be overwritten. I put the card in my laptop to look at the files. It's best to do this within a day as you may need the file before the one that was saved.


Can't think of anything else, but feel free to ask.

[gookah]

I bought one of these:

Dashcam

And here is a video it took:




not bad for £11....

[BladeRunner919]

I bought one of these:


not bad for £11....

That is good! Not the driving, of course! What's the night-time video like?

[alec.m]

That is great value gookah ! I think that`s as good as you get unless you spend a lot and go for those go pro ones, then you could use it when you fly in your wing suit too.

[gookah]

I bought one of these:


not bad for £11....

That is good! Not the driving, of course! What's the night-time video like?

Night time video is not great to be honest, but probably enough to prove bad driving leading to an incident.

[houdini2005]

I bought one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00J ... echmoan-21
and this is the test of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LWOq62cY6U
its very good has a gps mount but the supplied software for viewing the video and gps route is a bit crap so I use "RegistratorViewer" google it and its free, works really well.