Which Dashcam?

[b1g1an]

Vote for the Mobius here, very small and easy to mount, some of the best pictures day and night for less than £50. Check out the Dash Cam forum and Techmoan's review of the older version.

 

[Notwen]

We have/had 3 of the older 801 Mini Dash Cam on my wife's daily driver, Corvette and recently sold RV. I had an older bulky cam in my C220, but recently changed to the 803.
Resolution and FPS are improved, but night time is still iffy. It is mounted up near the mirror and hidden unless you are really looking for it.
Great value for money.

 

[Ted]

I have this dashcam. The form factor works really well and the camera has proved to be reliable. My only criticism is the the night viewing is below average but passable. Supplying an 8gb sd card is laughable, you need 32gb so that you have a few hours of video stored especially if the resolution is 1080p.

Other than a desire to record whole journeys, why would you need more than 8gb? 8gb will give you 80 mins of recording time. More than enough to capture any incidents that might happen, along with showing yours/others behaviour before or after the incident.

 

[gegs88]

Other than a desire to record whole journeys, why would you need more than 8gb? 8gb will give you 80 mins of recording time. More than enough to capture any incidents that might happen, along with showing yours/others behaviour before or after the incident.

I drive for 3-4 hrs at a time, i use a 32g card to record full journeys. If i just used it for incidents i would wrap the car up trying to turn it on.
If the cameras running its going to capture everything thats going on rather than just someones reaction to an incident that wasnt recorded.
Seems a bit of a no brainer to me.

 

[whitenemesis]

Most dash cams record in a loop, over writing previous files. In the event of a crash g sensors lock the file saving it from deletion. One usually can manually lock the current file with a simple key press in the event the incident doesn't trigger the sensors.

 

[Ted]

???
The cam turns on with the ignition?
Are you saying 80 mins isn't enough.
Serious questions here - I'm all ears.

 

[mbzclk]

Thinking about a dashcam too.

I was originally going to get an E-PRANCE 0803/0805 but decided against it due to reliability issues etc.

I do like the Mobius - think it makes for a good unit (no need for a screen - it'll just be a distraction at night)

I will run the cabling down the A-Pillar and tap into the cig lighter so no issues there.

The biggest thing for me is the mount and fitting of the Mobius - it sucks and looks far too bulky - the unit is tiny and it's all let down by the poor mounting.

The mount on the E-PRANCE is perfect. if something similar to that can be attached to the Mobius it would look much more discreet and not use a nasty suction cup. it can sit just below the RVM out of view and discreet.

- Maybe time to get a 3D printer and make my own mount.

Anyway, the Mobius comes highly rated and has loads of reviews and there is even a in-depth config tool where you can set the device up just as you want it.

To be honest I don't want to go north of £75 - it's becoming more and more common and the cameras are continually improving such that there is no need to buy the best - I can always upgrade a year or two down the line and get an even better one for the same outlay.

 

[Meldrew2]

I have "The Wife" who isn't shy in telling me wtf is going on around us whilst taking a romantic drive through to the nearest shops!!

I had one of those, but was not impressed by the navigation function...

 

[fab1975]

Just over one year ago I bought the Lukas 7900-ACE on eBay for about £200, including a couple of additional lens filters and a power cut-off device to keep the camera always on until the point when the car battery is too low:

LUKAS

It is definitely neither the cheapest, nor the smallest device on the market, but the picture quality, especially in the night, is very good.

I am now struggling to install it on my new W205 C Class, but that is a different story...

 

[Ted]

Daytime quality - watch in HD and you can see the full quality. You can easily read number plates.(ignore the lady talk)

[YOUTUBE]cm18e_-HTps[/YOUTUBE]

As has been said, night vision is not as good as some of the others. This is the mean streets of Earlsdon, and gives a number of lighting situations.

[YOUTUBE]yFkVMcOKMV4[/YOUTUBE]

I'm very pleased with it so I've ordered the GPS module.

 

[Pitts Pilot]

I've had several dashcams over the last few years, and I currently run a 0803 (late version is OK) in my SL.

Once the firmware for the 0806 has been revised a couple of times (usual teething problems resolved) I'll probably change to it as its night time performance is stellar!


Danger - Personal Opinions!:

1. I use a 32Gb card because I know I'll forget to stop the recording just after I've had an accident, and the G sensors that can apparently do this automatically I don't trust to this essential task when using a smaller card. 'Auto-On & Forget' takes a lot of beating!

2. 32Gb gives 8 hours, and frankly IMO cost is a secondary issue - least it WILL BE when you are, say, standing beside your smashed car with other things on your mind

3. Same goes for the cost of the camera; "Oh, if only I had bought...." is not a place I ever want to be! There is potentially too much at stake.



This guy on YouTube is, IMO, the de-facto source of dashcam information.

'Techmoan' tests dozens of cameras and plays day and night footage for you to compare.


Here is a link to his 'Beginners Guide', which I'm sure you don't need, but at least it provides a point to navigate from and watch the latest dashcam reviews, etc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQ0Tm9FFpKM


All the answers and reviews; you might want to check him out


Cheers,
Robert

 

[flowrider]

Other than a desire to record whole journeys, why would you need more than 8gb? 8gb will give you 80 mins of recording time. More than enough to capture any incidents that might happen, along with showing yours/others behaviour before or after the incident.

32gb gives several hours of recording meaning you can store whole journey's rather than parts of a journey and just in case you have an incident, but forget to press the save button, you stand a much better chance of not overwriting it. I know dashcams have g-sensors that are meant to automatically lock a video file but IMO these are pretty hopeless, i wouldn't want to rely on the g-sensor triping and saving the file plus you will find the sensors can trigger when hitting pot holes or driving down kerbs causing the sd card to fill up with unwanted files thus drastically reducing the remaining recording time.

 

[-Ian]

I

The 0803 is the newer version, i thought all the 0801's were now gone. I have this camera wuth a 32gb sd card, it works great, but still has a few bugs.

The 803 is identical to the 801 in every aspect. However according to technomans review the night footage from the 803 is a lot better.

 

[Giantvanman]

@Ted. Did you buy from China (via Ebay or Amazon) or did you find a UK stockist?

 

[Ted]

Hi GVM. Bought from Amazon so there would be no hidden import charges. Ordered on Sunday, arrived on Tuesday. On the phone so this is the best I can do ... View attachment 50461


View attachment 50462

 

[vealige]

I have an 0803 updated it to the latest firmware and I have had no issues with it had the odd moment where it has frozen but if you turn it off then on again it cures that, this was pre firmware update mind. As people have said good dashcam for the money and mated to a 32gb card is ideal.

 

[Pitts Pilot]

Video evidence

@Ted. Did you buy from China (via Ebay or Amazon) or did you find a UK stockist?

These guys are fantastic:

The All New Mini 0806 Car DVR Super HD1296P Ambarella A7 Dashcam 3rd Release | eBay


I had a faulty 0801 and the boss of the (Leicester, UK) company called me up and spend 20 minutes on the 'phone to discuss a replacement.

Lee Marks knows a thing or two about dashcams.

[First and last thing to remember if you purchase a camera from him is to keep the receipt. It has their unique order number on it that you quote if you want to make a warranty claim, etc.]

Lee told me that they get so many people claiming to have bought a camera from them that they had to introduce this scheme to verify their real customers!


Other reasons to buy from Lee Marks of Combi-UK

They have their own Firmware written for them. You can see this because a different picture (boot screen) comes up when it switches on.

They have liaised with the factory to ensure that the stock they get is genuine not copied, is the latest spec (Example: has the ventilation holes that cured the over heating problem on the 0803), and is to their slightly altered spec Eg. Firmware.

They DO test each dashcam before you get sent it, from Leicester.


I got the distinct impression that they really DO care about you and the dashcam they are selling you.

Eg. Lee told me to save money by not buying the 0803 mounting kit, the 0801 is identical! Good advice?

Back then the 0805 was just out. He warned me not to buy it because it was new and they had not ironed out all the minor bugs yet. Reliability is paramount - 'Fit and Forget' is what you want, IMO.


As you can tell, I was impressed with Combi-UK.

I asked about the (then) forthcoming 0806 and he said he was NOT going to be an 'early-adopter', but was going to wait 3-6 months to see how reliable it was before offering it to his customers.


I see now that that time has come, so with confidence I'll be buying the 0806 from him; and Yes I can get it cheaper elsewhere!

The reason for upgrading is the night performance - quite extra ordinary


......... ------

Incidentally, I bought a 'dual' dashcam with a second remote camera on a 3 metre lead. I intend to mount it on the rear of the car, beside the number plate lights, as there is often quite a lot going on behind you, such as cyclists 'Undertaking' me at traffic lights, tailgating, etc.

Just a thought.
I think Techmoan is starting to suggest a rear facing camera too, but I completely accept that for those who are buying their first, it will seem totally OTT ... Fair play



Incidentally, check this out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFnuZKyjo00

This 'I got hit by your car' scam is apparently catching on

Without the dashcam it's your word against his. And he's using 'No win - no fee' accident solicitors...!

Video evidence is fast becoming the way to go (IMO)


Cheers,
Robert

 

[b1g1an]

The biggest thing for me is the mount and fitting of the Mobius - it sucks and looks far too bulky - the unit is tiny and it's all let down by the poor mounting.
.

I can only assume you haven't looked further than the first mount you've come across. There are hundreds of mounts that will fit it as the supplied cradle has a bog standard tripod mount on it and there is something suitable for just about every situation you can think of.

One of the most popular for windscreen mounting is Mobius' own helmet mount which after you remove the straps makes a very low profile and very versatile mount. It comes with a 3M vhb pad and if you desire it is the perfect candidate to take a dremel to to make it bespoke for your purposes. It's what I've used in the CLS and is very discrete mounted alongside the rain sensor. Right angle USB under the rainsensor cover and down to the dash end panel where I put in a hardwire USB power supply.

£3 for the mount, £3 for the power supply, £2.50 for the cable and I have the perfect solution for my car as well as being able to pop the cam out in a second if I want to use it as an action cam.

As I suggested before, check out the dash cam forum where you can see loads of ingenious ways people have mounted them and this is where the Mobius really scores as it is better quality than just about everything else regardless of cost, the new type c lens takes night filming to another level, and is the most versatile for mounting because it doesn't enflict one jack of all trades mount on you.

 

[BTB 500]

I use a non-standard mount for my Mobius



Had it nearly 2 years now - was from the very first batch released. Only issue has been that the internal battery is pretty weak now. Easily replaced ... I haven't bothered as I run it on external power anyway.

 

[Mat B]

Ive just had bought for me a Snopper DVR-3HD

I used it briefly yesterday but need to update it. Then will connect it up and shall report back.
Has anyone got one of seen any feedback regarding?

thanks