Guilty

Do you guys have any suggestions for a dash cam with a decent quality ? I don't want wires all over the dash though.

Thanks

Mikegpr03

I think the hero cam is the cam everyone uses.

CoolBDPhenom03

GoPro is the most popular one, but I personally like my Contour ROAM. Contour have some great cameras too, but I think GoPro are the only ones with a viewfinder screen. Because GoPro is more popular, they also have more accessories, but the Contour is sleeker. I currently only use mine while I'm on the bike.

Guilty

I want one that can be hardwired and not too big. I saw some videos made by a GoPro cam but the videos were a little weird (the angle)

CoolBDPhenom03

My Contour has different HD options. Not all of them are the fish-eye view with the wide-angle lens. You'll have to research. I think hardwiring one would be difficult since the Contour has an onboard HDD plus a MicroSD slot.

linjy2

What you are looking for is a blackvue dr400g-hd.

I run this in my car and don't even bother with my gopro much anymore.

The blackvue is plugged in through a cigg lighter port or hard wired. Records 1080p. Google and watch YouTube for videos.

Guilty

Awesome thanks!!!!!! (coolbd too!!)

ambit

I use this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wide-150-deg...item256b406c83

Example video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zhkw...ature=youtu.be

otakki

I would like one that will allow you to capture license plate info clearly and will cycle its recording contantly, ie after running out of memory, starting to record over the oldest videos in memory. There is the scam of people backing up their cars into yours (esp if it looks like you are the deep pocket type), then claiming you have rear-ended them. I have seen plenty of videos like that so a good dash cam will be handy.

Guilty

Exactly the reason why I'm buying one. + The valet people hit my car.

bhamg

+1. I'd like to do this also...have been wanting to do it for a few years now. Some sort of true HD "endless-loop" of 3-4 hours would be perfect.

linjy2

The one I posted does just that. 1080p. endless loop erasing over old recording depending on the size of your microsd card.

Motion detection to enable recording when anything walks by. Shock sensor turn on. Date, Time, and GPS to record speed if you choose so. Looks cool on the car.

Also a excellent cam for recording track racing and what not with the GPS feature.

bhamg

Thanks!!

Guilty

You can also use it also when you get pulled over to protect your rights. I hate when cops talk to me like ****.

bluejae

i use one that's similar to the blackvue...

mine is the finevu cr300hd... i ended up going with this one instead of the blackvue because at the time the blackvue was having overheating issues... and being in texas, i knew that would pose a problem... also, the finevu can swivel... so i can adjust where it is pointed or even adjust it on the fly if needed... perhaps on one of my trips through mexico *ahem*

gopros are a nice camera, but it's huge and it's not really meant to be used like a cars blackbox..

mine is hardwired and has a built in power manager... if it's drawing too much power from my car battery, it'll shut itself off so as not to drain the battery... the blackvue has that option too but it needs to be purchased separately...

this site has some info on the product
http://www.vagsg.com/forums/showpost...&postcount=200

i didn't buy mine from this forum/site but i found it while doing research on a dash cam... korea uses a lot of these and they had the finevue... so i had a friend bring one back for me while they were in korea...

the unit is black and has some writing on it... it has a little chrome here and there but other than that, it's pretty hidden from outside... since taking these pics, i used some black sticker vinyl and cut and covered all the lettering and the chrome... so now it's completely black... i ran the wire along the window, down the passenger side, down beside the glove compartment and down to the passenger footwell... that's where a constant power was found and tapped into...

bhamg

^ Thx for the info and pix.

jl9j

Sounds like you want a black box system rather than a dash cam system. These black box systems record all 4 sides of your vehicle. I have seen many of these systems in Asia. You can probably find some Youtube. Not sure where to get/install it in the States though.

I just got a GoPro and I'm having fun with it. I don't plan to keep the camera attached at all times and also wanted to be able to use the camera for other things and not just the car.

Good luck finding what you want. It's out there somewhere.

bluejae

the only CON i have about the finevu is the night vision isn't great... it's decent but the quality isn't perfect enough to catch plate numbers like it is during the day...

mine is on all the time while driving... and while parked it's in motion detect mode...

i only have one that faces forward, but that's good enough for me, 99% of the time, i back into a parking spot...

so far i've caught 1 hit and run in a parking lot where the guy parked next to me got hit and the other driver took off... camera got both the hitters plate and the runners plate...

another time it was a car parked next to me again, but the guy didn't run and told the owner that he hit his car...

Car drvr

I don't know where you live, but in some states recording audio without other party's consent is illegal...

Also, some cops tend to react in a very negative way if you have the camera pointed at them, and while you wouldn't be doing anything illegal by filming the cops you might still get arrested and spend some time in jail, which is not a very pleasant experience ;-)

otakki

It's unfortunate those types of law exist since no one drawing salary from tax payers' money should expect any privacy during work. Unfortunately, lots of cops react negatively when there is a camera. That goes to show you most of the time, they are not doing what they are supposed to be doing. Otherwise, there is nothing to hide.

It's just like that video of a motocyclist's helmet cam a year or two ago from ?Maryland.

Guilty

I never had any problems with cops. The only tickets I ever got are 2 for speeding that got dismissed in court. 1 ticket for staying in the wrong lane and another one by a state trooper for illegal u turn on the turnpike.

The only incident that occurred was when that cop started talking **** to me and calling me a dumbass because I was speeding in a residential area. Yeah alright I was guilty but no need to call me a dumbass, just give me my stupid citation end of the story. But the guy was talking to me like if I was his slave. All the others cops were courteous.

So if I get a dashcam. I'm not planning to put it in his face, I just want the conversation to be recorded by coincidence in a way that I can use it against him in court if anything happens. I'm not planning to do anything bad anyway lol. (besides my usual speeding )

snarlingchicken

Funny thing actually. I'm in Korea right now on vacation and I just picked up a Blackvue DR350 on the recommendation of a few shops here. They recommended that I don't opt for the HD version unless I do a lot of driving (especially at night) or want to shoot HD video for like action/sport-driving purposes, so I opted for the cheaper DR350 which came out to 100000 Korean Won which is roughly $88 USD. Just checked the video quality (640x480) and it seemed fine for general use. First impressions, I'm impressed, but once I get back home and have it running on my DD, I'll give a full update.

bluejae

just curious...in those states where that is deemed illegal, do cops have dash cams with audio? or does that not apply to cops?

idk but i think in texas it's fine to record...
edit: found out texas is a one party consent... so the person recording doesn't need to notify the other person or people... whatever

at the bottom of this page is a list...
http://www.palmvid.com/content/suppo...recording.html

but if you're recording inside the car, is that still illegal? is your car considered private property?

and unless the cop was actually looking for my camera, he probably won't see it... and definitely not from the drivers side window

linjy2

I love mine. My night quality is pretty amazing on the HD version. Maybe I should post vids for others to see.

AMG PWR

I have to ask, how is this one working out for you? According to the specs, it seems pretty decent, sorry just don't feel like spending 250 bucks while I can get something similiar for 50...

M