Dash cam advice

[Taff814]

Morning all,

I'm thinking about installing dash cams front and rear (can the rear one be called a dash cam????) in my C204 2013. Anybody have any recommendations as to the best ones? I plan to have an auto sparks do the installation so I have no visible wires and I know it'll work. (I'm an RAF Armourer and therefore ham-fisted)

Thanks in advance

 

[John N]

I was given a Nextbase 312GW for Xmas, it's only forward looking!

I did a lot of research around Dashcams and if I hadn't been given it, I would have opted for top of range BlackVue or Roadhawk (Front and Rear), they both come with Hardwire Kits as extras!

I hard wired mine myself, if your C204 has the same Fuse Box Layout as mine the Forward Camera is quite straight forward, the Rear should be the same!

And I'm an Ex RAF Rigger and ham-fisted too!

 

[roheel]

Blackvue is the best in my opinion. Paired with a Power Magic you cant go wrong. The power for the rear camera comes from the front cam via one cable.

 

[brucemillar]

I am watching this with interest. I am also needing to get a dash cam.

I just do not get the pricing on these things? I see people who have bought camera's for £20 in the local filling station and gad great results, then I read about set ups that cost £300+. I have absolutely no idea what my money is buying me?

I want a High Def Camera that works in daylight and night time automatically.
Be used as "evidence quality" footage.
Does not fill up most of the windscreen with it's bulk.
Can be hardwired or wireless connection, without a degree in electronic engineering and a bag load of additional parts that have to be purchased at a greater cost than the camera.


I am not trying to buy cheap. I just don't get the huge price breaks with these systems.

 

[Trickythemerc]

Hi Bruce, take a look at the HP F800g. I have one and it is very good all round, the thing I like about it is the very small footprint it has. Being a CLK owner windscreen space is at something of a premium in terms of room for sat nav Etc. I have it hard wired rather than using the rather long aux socket lead and plug.

 

[Badvgood]

Just purchased a Blackvue here, I like it as it's more discreet and does not 'hang down' the screen like others do.

Video quality is great, cant fault the unit at all.

 

[NDFR]

Techmoan - What is the best Dashcam?

 

[Taff814]

Many thanks to you all. And my condolences to John N for being a Rigger(ex or otherwise)

 

[Cymruambyth]

Mini 0806...don`t understand why anyone would pay any more.

 

[KoFidee]

Mini 0806...don`t understand why anyone would pay any more.

806 Ambarella NICE & compact had in my one in my W639

 

[bluestreak]

Blackvue is the best in my opinion. Paired with a Power Magic you cant go wrong. The power for the rear camera comes from the front cam via one cable.

Video quality is pathetic though, you can barely tell number plates in bright daylight. The only thing that's going for it is form factor.

 

[BoristheBounce]

I am watching this with interest. I am also needing to get a dash cam.

I just do not get the pricing on these things? I see people who have bought camera's for £20 in the local filling station and gad great results, then I read about set ups that cost £300+. I have absolutely no idea what my money is buying me?

I want a High Def Camera that works in daylight and night time automatically.
Be used as "evidence quality" footage.
Does not fill up most of the windscreen with it's bulk.
Can be hardwired or wireless connection, without a degree in electronic engineering and a bag load of additional parts that have to be purchased at a greater cost than the camera.


I am not trying to buy cheap. I just don't get the huge price breaks with these systems.

The big difference is the quality in low light or dark its easy in bright sunlight its the low light that differentiates between good and bad.

 

[roheel]

Video quality is pathetic though, you can barely tell number plates in bright daylight. The only thing that's going for it is form factor.

I have no issues with reading number plates in bright daylight. I have the full 1080p front and rear version. Totally spot on. Footage was also used recently for a crash for cash scam.

 

[brucemillar]

Spent an hour in Halfords, then left without buying anything. This despite a very knowledgeable assistant who truly knew his products and wanted to help.

My brain got sore. We ended up looking at Nexbase and Blackvue and the price range is just huge. What I found really difficult, was to get any idea of what my £ would actually deliver in terms of quality. That and the added complication of "should we also have a rear facing camera?

There was a big debate on this with another customer joining in ;^)

Concensus was to get a forward facing one for now, then add a rear facing one later. But then do you:

Buy a forward facing one that can take a rear facing one without re-wiring?
Do you buy a duo Camera that has a built in rear facing one?
Would the duo see through the rear privacy glass on my SUV?
Would a rear camera (any make) see thru the privacy glass?

Halfords chap said it would see thru the glass (he went and had a look) and they re-fund if not. For £30 they hardwire it, to my requirements and test it all for me (sounds reasonable)

£150 buys me a 'good quality' Nexbase that can have a rear facing camera added. £200 gets me a Nexbase with both - running 1080i and night vision. But then some other punter showed up and said "save your money and get a XXXXXX for £45 quid on ebay. Brilliant quality does front and rear. So then it all starts again. His argument was the mark up on these camera's is enormous, claiming that they are all the same camera in a different case? All made in China for about £10 then sold here for £250?

 

[KoFidee]

My take on it is if it proves a accident or incident is not your fault then worth every penny

why skim the saving and security far outweighs the cost for piece of mind!!!
quality on my Lukas is 1080p

lots of options available in configurator

 

[kalvin928]

next base duo is what I use; bought a refurbished one off reputable seller off ebay; more than happy with quality for both back and front recording; as soon as ignition starts, it records and again stops after key pulled out. you have various options like car parking mode etc. mine developed a fault and was out of warranty and thought NEXTBASE customer services wouldn't help; but they were great they repaired at nominal cost and supplied accessories that were cheaper than some retailers,,, I was so impressed that I would seriously consider same brand in future. make sure you purchase a quality branded micro memory card as this is normally the cause of assorted recording issues

 

[bluestreak]

I have nextbase 512 facing forward and blackvue 650s on tailgate looking thru privacy glass. Disadvantage of dual camera setup is having wire running front to back to link them up. It is much fewer clips to break when cameras are not conjoined.

Blackvue does see thru privacy glass ok, but footage is noisy to a point that it is hard to read number plates on moving cars on video that comes directly from camera. I would imagine YouTube will add to the noise if you ever upload them.

Advantage if blackvue over nextbase is its size and mounting. It sits discretely on tailgate with no risk of falling off. Nextbase image quality is far superior but suction mount is prone to falling off. I had nextbase on tailgate originally, which got squashed when it fell off while tailgate was coming down.

 

[brucemillar]

Some fantastic 'real user' experience coming out here. Thank you. This is exactly what I wanted to know. Apologies to the OP. I had no wish to hi-jack his thread. But I hope that this helps?

Can we get a Nexbase back and front set up that does require wires between the camera's?

 

[garycat]

I have a C204 and I bought a DDPai mini 2 which is very discreet and good quality. The design is ideal because the lens is way to the left of the mounting so you dont get any of the big mirror mounting cover in the video.

Two problems
- it has wifi and it wipes out weaker stations on the DAB radio.
- the silver colour makes it quite visible through the windscreen, maybe I should have got the black mini 1

Apart from that its excellent.

I wired it to the 12v socket by connecting a wire into the loom and running that to the panel by the passenger door, which had a training 12v socket and a plug-in dual USB power supply

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Car-Vehi...8&qid=1494596620&sr=8-1&keywords=ddpai+mini+2

 

[vijilants]

The way the prices on some of these units are heading north, I guess they will be the next target for theft in relation to car break-ins.