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MancMike
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2014
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They both serve the same function, but in different ways.
Whether battery, or capacitor:
It's so that they'll continue to run for some time after you've walked away from the car. Mine has a small Li-ion battery, and runs for about 10/13 minutes after I've left the car. Very useful if you've gone to the shops and return to damage to your car.
My 10/13 minutes used to be more like 20 minutes.
That's the difference. For tiny Li-ion batteries like those in cheaper dash cams, they'll be fully discharged and get fully charged every time you run your vehicle. That'll wear out a battery very quickly and it's capacity will reduce.
More expensive dash cams will have a capacitor, which is the device in a camera's flash that saves up all the power and discharges in an instant. In a dash cam, they drain much more slowly of course, but they charge almost instantly when you power the car up again, so the cycle can be much shorter (if you do very short, frequent stops like a delivery driver), and due to the nature of capacitors, they've a duty cycle that'll outlast any battery many times over.
Overall, if you're budgeting for a high quality dash cam, it'll likely have a cap, if not, look for one that does. If you're on a budget, forget about it, as you'd rather the money spent elsewhere like the picture quality, not in a relatively costly component to make your budget dashcam last much longer.
Whether battery, or capacitor:
It's so that they'll continue to run for some time after you've walked away from the car. Mine has a small Li-ion battery, and runs for about 10/13 minutes after I've left the car. Very useful if you've gone to the shops and return to damage to your car.
My 10/13 minutes used to be more like 20 minutes.
That's the difference. For tiny Li-ion batteries like those in cheaper dash cams, they'll be fully discharged and get fully charged every time you run your vehicle. That'll wear out a battery very quickly and it's capacity will reduce.
More expensive dash cams will have a capacitor, which is the device in a camera's flash that saves up all the power and discharges in an instant. In a dash cam, they drain much more slowly of course, but they charge almost instantly when you power the car up again, so the cycle can be much shorter (if you do very short, frequent stops like a delivery driver), and due to the nature of capacitors, they've a duty cycle that'll outlast any battery many times over.
Overall, if you're budgeting for a high quality dash cam, it'll likely have a cap, if not, look for one that does. If you're on a budget, forget about it, as you'd rather the money spent elsewhere like the picture quality, not in a relatively costly component to make your budget dashcam last much longer.
A disadvantage of a battery in a dashcam is that they tend to swell after a while and pop.
Mr-Goose
Active Member
- Joined
- May 25, 2017
- Messages
- 77
- Car
- E350 Coupé
If you are interested in getting a dash cam I would suggest looking up Techmoan on YouTube. He reviews numerous cameras (and lots of gadgets) and explains some of the technology used. His videos are a pleasure to watch.
https://m.youtube.com/user/Techmoan
http://www.techmoan.com/guide-to-dashcams/
https://m.youtube.com/user/Techmoan
http://www.techmoan.com/guide-to-dashcams/
MancMike
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- Jul 29, 2014
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That's more a concern if you've got it positioned in direct sunlight. A possibility of it swelling, and leaking, but it's not going to go bang. It'll just stop working, and probably damage the dashcam itself and possibly mark the interior underneath if it drips.
Mine was 25 quid and hasn't faltered. It's been through 3 summers having been in front of my RVM arrangement.
Another point for caps though.
Mine was 25 quid and hasn't faltered. It's been through 3 summers having been in front of my RVM arrangement.
Another point for caps though.
fabes
MB Enthusiast
Mike
Which one have you got?
Which one have you got?
MancMike
New Member
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- Jul 29, 2014
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I don't know if it's exactly this, just tried finding it in my amazon history, but can't...
... be ****d.
It's probably or very similar to this: (it looks identical, but mine's a bit older, no gps).
E-Prance 0805 Dash Cam Review 2016*- 2017
... be ****d.
It's probably or very similar to this: (it looks identical, but mine's a bit older, no gps).
E-Prance 0805 Dash Cam Review 2016*- 2017
fabes
MB Enthusiast
Fair enough...
And Ta
And Ta
