Dash cameras

[Wanders from Glos]

I was thinking of getting a dash camera. Partly as evidence in the event of an insurance claim but mainly because we drive some scenic routes l, particularly in Europe, and we thought it might be nice to record them.

When I had a quick look there seems to be a plethora of them with a range of prices. Does anyone know much about them, or have experience of using them.

I know the law varies in different countries.

 

[ctc]

I have two, one in the van and one a car. Both cheap Chinese, with a card 2 hours record time, good picture, sound if wanted.

 

[Just smiffy]

I have two also, one in car and other in the camper, nextbase dash cams, fit and forget…

 

[Geistguy]

I'm having difficulty in finding a dash cam that actually fits to the dash. A windscreen sucker type is no good with our Remiss type blinds, if fitted to the dash these cameras are then "upside down" .

Has anyone found a camera to meet my needs. Apologies for piggy backing on this post.

 

[iandsm]

I'm having difficulty in finding a dash cam that actually fits to the dash. A windscreen sucker type is no good with our Remiss type blinds, if fitted to the dash these cameras are then "upside down" .

Has anyone found a camera to meet my needs. Apologies for piggy backing on this post.

I Have a Garmin 57, it comes with two metal discs that still to the screen and the cam is held to them with magnetic mount. Two disc means I can easily transfer to from car to camper and the other way around and as its very easy to remove for the dish I just pull off free and it poses no problem with the blinds.

Garmin Dash Cam™ 57 | Dash Cam | In-Car Camera

Dash Cam 57 is an in-car camera with voice control, 1440p video recording, automatic video saving, & monitoring options when you’re away from your parked car.

www.garmin.com

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[Wanders from Glos]

I'm having difficulty in finding a dash cam that actually fits to the dash. A windscreen sucker type is no good with our Remiss type blinds, if fitted to the dash these cameras are then "upside down" .

Has anyone found a camera to meet my needs. Apologies for piggy backing on this post.

No apologies needed it’s a good point I hadn’t thought of.

 

[tonyidle]

Most dashcams have an invert image option.

 

[Chipster]

I’ve had BlackVue cameras for years now. Compact being wi fi. (No screen). I run inverted image on one of them. Did fit with Reims blind on old van. (In the spot the rear view mirror would take). They’ve all been good and reliable. Occasionally some good offers on “recondition “ units.

 

[RobertJary]

On our A class, I printed a mount that clips onto the ball on the NextBase 212. It’s fitted undeneath the front of the drop down bed. Power comes from the lights under the drop down bed. It’s clear of the blinds and high enough to be out of my vision. When the bed is lowered, a switch on the frame cuts off power - it also cuts the ignition.

If your dash cam records to a micro sd card, make sure that you get one that has a high enough writing speed. The first one I tried missed some recordings completely and others were corrupted.

 

[Orion]

I'm having difficulty in finding a dash cam that actually fits to the dash. A windscreen sucker type is no good with our Remiss type blinds, if fitted to the dash these cameras are then "upside down" .

Has anyone found a camera to meet my needs. Apologies for piggy backing on this post.

See my solution on this thread.

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[Wanders from Glos]

Looks a great solution, ours is an A class with no rear view mirror.

 

[Andy MacD]

My nextbase is fitted to the windscreen on the passenger side just above the wiper line. The blinds can be closed without moving the camera so it’s fit and forget. I had planned on pulling video from it but my one breaks the recording into 2 minute segments and the hassle of sticking them together then editing is too much to make me bother, great intentions and all that.

 

[IRHP]

I'm having difficulty in finding a dash cam that actually fits to the dash. A windscreen sucker type is no good with our Remiss type blinds, if fitted to the dash these cameras are then "upside down" .

Has anyone found a camera to meet my needs. Apologies for piggy backing on this post.

I've fitted a Nextbase 322gw at the bottom of the windscreen. The stuck on part of the bracket stays on the windscreen, you remove the camera from the bracket to close the remis blinds. Having said that I'm not very impressed with the pucture quality. Definition isn't great and number plates can't be read unless really close.

 

[Jonno1103]

The Aguri RV520 moho sat nav has a built in dash cam and free wireless map updates for life. Cost between £220 - £270.

 

[Decker]

I've fitted a Nextbase 322gw at the bottom of the windscreen. The stuck on part of the bracket stays on the windscreen, you remove the camera from the bracket to close the remis blinds. Having said that I'm not very impressed with the pucture quality. Definition isn't great and number plates can't be read unless really close.

I have the same one. Agree about the picture quality. I would also prefer a more basic one with less features.

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[Folkranger]

I've thought about getting one but having smashed two sat navs when pulling the bed down maybe not a good idea.

 

[stuartholmes]

Point one: congratulations on deciding to get a dash cam, anything is better than nothing! My son, his partner and I myself, in the space of about six months last year, had cause to use dashcam evidence in claims that saved us squillions in otherwise lost NCB and led to a conviction. So please just get one everybody.

Point two: the above mentioned son used to work in motor insurance claims. Before then he was opposed to dashcams on a civil liberties kind of basis, after a short time of watching footage (including a late motorcyclist's helmetcam, the content of which I leave to your immaginations) he became a firm advocate for their being fitted as standard to all vehicles.

Point three: said son also said, (this is important 'inside information') do not be tempted to tell your motor insurance company that you have one because the one time it's not working will be the one time you want it's recording & when you then have to tell your insurers you can't send it they will (wrongly but understandably) assume you deliberately 'lost' it to hide evidence that you were the driver at fault.

Point four: get it hard wired in so you don't have dangly wires and it is always on and get it stuck to the screen with 3M, not a sucker..

Point five: Any one is better than no one! However, the best you can afford is probably the best to get and Nextbase are the market leaders for good reason.
Their range includes one with a rearview camera. Look for high night sensitivity, lots of megapixels and a high refresh rate. Really, just the best in their range that's affordable is my recommendation. Don't skimp on the SD card.
Amazon (especially their Marketplace) is, unfortunately, a good place to look.

Point six: If Remiss blinds are an issue, there are versions that are built into the rearview mirror, they replace your existing mirror & have a little camera pointing out from the back. Genius for many people's needs.

Point seven: point one applies!!!

(sorry if anyone already said any of that!)

ps. Point eight: (or point three b) if there is no evidence to the contrary, any collision that involves lane changing or on a roundabout will be treated by your insurers as 'knock for knock', ie, goodbye to your excess & no claims discount. Dashcam recordings are evidence!! (Especially with sound, but be careful what you say.)

 

[Geistguy]

See my solution on this thread.

Great solution Orion but my blind pulls up from the bottom and not from each side, added to which I don't have a rear view mirror, however, looking at other suggestions posted on your thread a couple may work. Thanks.

 

[Guigsy]

Blinds often get in the way. For my last PVC, I 3d printed mount that poked though the small hole that the blinds allow for a mirror. For my current A-class, I've just mounted it to the dash.

 

[stuartholmes]

I have the same one. Agree about the picture quality. I would also prefer a more basic one with less features.

You don't want a more basic one, you want the one with the best picture quality you can afford.
The other features are just marketing, ignore them - the 'features' you need are in them all, the best picture quality is worth paying for if you can afford it. They last virtually forever. Get it hardwired in, stuck to the screen with 3M & forget it until it matters. Which I hope is never but you never know!!

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[Guigsy]

You don't want a more basic one, you want the one with the best picture quality you can afford.
The other features are just marketing, ignore them - the 'features' you need are in them all, the best picture quality is worth paying for if you can afford it. They last virtually forever. Get it hardwired in, stuck to the screen with 3M & forget it until it matters. Which I hope is never but you never know!!

Once you pay about £40, they all use the same Sony sensor and many of them use the same processor. The image quality is often very similar these days.

 

[stuartholmes]

Once you pay about £40, they all use the same Sony sensor and many of them use the same processor. The image quality is often very similar these days.

Around £40 that may be correct. I don't belive it is for top quality cameras but I'd still rather have a cheap one than no one..

 

[gus-lopez]

What is the point of turning it off to close the blinds? that is when the burglars are out. I turn mine on when leqving the house travelling & it doesn't get turned off until I return. 6 months in 2019.

any collision that involves lane changing or on a roundabout will be treated by your insurers as 'knock for knock', i

Not if you hit a foreigner. Here in spain the company requires someone to blame & recover all my costs from as there is no "knock for knock" nor loss of ncb or increase in premiums, unless you are drunk, drugged,driving with incorrect or no licence.
ypu have to remember that the Uk is one of the few places where you can claim off of your own insurance for your own stupidity.

 

[IRHP]

Dashcam recordings are evidence!! (Especially with sound, but be careful what you say.)

Never realised I swore at terrible drivers so much when driving until I watched a few recordings.

 

[bertiebasset]

We have a Nextbase and managed to get a second holder so I just need to unclip (magnetic mounting) from Moho and put back in car. Both hard wired to ignition so never forget to turn on.

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[steve69]

I believe it is now possible to fit your phone in such a way as to be used as a dashcam. If you just want scenery videos, why not try that?

 

[Guigsy]

Around £40 that may be correct. I don't belive it is for top quality cameras but I'd still rather have a cheap one than no one..

I believe Nextbase and Garmin also use the same sensors.

 

[SpeedyDux]

For the PVC I have a cheap Apeman dashcam that cost about £30 a few years ago. Robust and reliable except for the windscreen sucker. Image quality is surprisingly good.

If you forget to turn off the audio, as stuartholmes said, you need to be careful what you say, especially expletives! You don't want to be prosecuted for "hate speech" if you hand your recording to the Cops.

The car has a camera system built-in that will save the last few seconds of video in the event of a crash so I haven't bothered with a separate dashcam.

 

[WallaceandGromit]

Got two a cheap one from Amazon I bought at least 4 years ago and used in the toad and a Thinkware 200 in the MH both work flawlessly

 

[stuartholmes]

We have a Nextbase and managed to get a second holder so I just need to unclip (magnetic mounting) from Moho and put back in car. Both hard wired to ignition so never forget to turn on.

Excellent plan, that's what we used to do until I realised how often we swap between the two - one day when you think you're not going far so don't bother swapping it over will be the day you need it!