DC-IT

As our roads and highways get more and more congested, drivers are getting very impatient. Coupled with the prolific use of cell phones and even texting and driving it's becoming a dangerous world out there.
It makes sense to use a dashcam to record the road traffic for evidence in case of an accident.


Last month I decided to install a dashcam beside the rear view mirror and am amazed at the results.


I set it to record in 3 minutes clips in high definition.
The recording is done on an 8GB micro SD card. The camera will automatically delete the oldest clip when the disk space is full.
For best results I set the camera to over expose by 1.25 stop.
The video also records the audio as well as the date and time.





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r7X...ature=youtu.be

thefisch

That's pretty cool. Is it sharing power with your cell phone cradle? What's the total recording time on the 8gb card?

Now that the 360 camera is available, it would be great to be able to record that so you have record of the entire surroundings.

DC-IT

It came with a long power cable that I plug into the power plug behind the arm rest.

There is no need to worry about the micro sd card running out of space as when it's full the oldest clip is recorded over. Each 3 minutes clip is approx 200 MB and the 8 GB card should store approximately 2 hours of recording.

In the event of an accident you can take out the micro sd card and copy the data to your computer and reuse the card.
I just keep a couple of cards in the car.
BTW, the dashcam takes up to 32 GB card so you can use the larger card instead,

I happen to have two spare 8 GB cards which I use for the dashcam while I use the 32 and 64 GB cards for my digital camera.

Also if you're stopped by a traffic cop and he sees that you have a dashcam recording the event you can bet he'll be more professional and more careful how he deals with you!

telemakhos

A couple of my buddies installed cameras too. The pictures are amazingly clear and in high def. They have caught accidents, bad driving etc. It would be nice to have this built into the car...

axhoaxho

That dash cam looks good, could I ask what brand/model is it?

Thanks,

DC-IT

It's just called Portable DVR and is made in Russia!
I got it in Hong Kong on my way back from a vacation in Australia.
Of the numerous models I saw I like this design the best and the salesman recommended it highly.
It even had a HDMI port.
I only paid $30.00 for it and am surprised at it's performance and clarity.
It's been working flawlessly since mid April.


However do not rest it to factory settings as I did once as it defaulted to Russian language and I struggled to get it back to English! LOL.


I couldn't find it on Amazon.


BTW, I found a similar unit on an Australian site except mine can record up to 1080p:
http://cheapestcarparts.com.au/produ...ralia-hd-720p/

I'll take another picture of the unit from the front or side vies to show it's compactness when I have some time tomorrow.

Arrie

Your dash cam would be better to mount on the passenger side of the mirror. All cops don't like them and you cam covers too much of the view. I also have one since about a month ago and it is a lot smaller than yours but I still mounted it on the right side of the mirror.

Then, if you record audio you can get to real trouble if a cop that does not like the cam stops you. It is illegal in most states to secretly record voice so if you record a cop that just pulled you over and he does not know about the voice recording he can get you in trouble for it if he finds out later.

You should have stickers on your car stating that you are recording audio. Video recording is fine.

I turned off the audio recording and made the screen go out after 1 min delay from start of the device. I made it to record 10 min loops and if something happens I then take the camera and move video to my computer. I have a 32 GB card so it takes a lot of video on it.

DC-IT

Thanks for the suggestions Arrie.
I had it mounted on my side of the mirror as I wanted to make frequent adjustments to the settings to get the best results.
I'll switched it over to the passenger side soon as suggested.
Dully noted about cops not liking audio recording. I'd never thought of it.

fintail

Where did you route the power cord?

gleil

looks pretty nice

BenzV12

Hopefully, you will never need that cam recording events to save your head .It's unfair cops can do record anything but when it comes to sane drivers they can't .

Arrie

I have mine from the glove box under the A-pillar cover up to the head liner and then under the liner at top of the windshield to the camera.

thenew3

Looks nice, unfortunately in some states (i.e. California) you are not allowed to attach anything to the windshield. That's a ticket they often give.

I wish MB would just have an option for a built in camera. There is already a camera installed for lane departure warning system, I wonder if they can just tap the output of that camera and send it to another system to record it. even record on the Navigation's hard drive maybe.

atz06

I use an app "Carcorder" on my iPhone. Perfect recording and no extra device to mount.

DC-IT

Unfortunately the power cords dangle from the Dashcam and my Cell phone to the power plugs.

I just tied them together to form a single cord to make it slightly more visually acceptable.

axhoaxho

Thanks!

alanme123

I live in California and had my dash cam for a year now. Haven't had any problems with cops. It is the much smaller finevu and I put it on the passenger side of the rear view mirror.

You don't need to have the cord dangle. If your wire is long enough, you can tuck the wire under the headliner and have it go all the way to the trunk of the car and connect it to the fusebox. I did this and took around 30-45 minutes. Most of the time was trying to figure out how to get the wire into the trunk as I did not have fold down rear seats.

I can't even see the camera from my driver's seat and no cord.

fintail

Has anyone hard-wired in a cam in a W212? I loathe dangling wires, just can't do it. Patiently waiting for battery technology to allow a ~3 hour recording period with no wires or power supply needed.

I think the CA law only applies to attachments in certain parts of the windshield.

alanme123

It can easily be routed to the fusebox if the wire is long enough, which they usually are.

2nice4me

my 1st car DVR broke after perhaps 6 or 8 months. I believe that the starting of the car was to hard on its circuitry. My new one has a delay start up, only after the car is running will the DVR turn on, it's about 6 months now so will see if this model will last.

I also opted for a dual camera DVR and have a camera facing mounted under the rear parking guidance lights.

Airmousam

Arrie, Which cam do you have? Looking to install one these in the next couple of weeks. Thx!

bbirdwell

I have one of these mounted in every one of my cars and am very pleased. I would purchase them again.




Ultra-wide-angle 2K. Excellent quality 2560x1080 (21:9) is the setting on which I keep them. Day or night video is great. Sound recording is marginal but I don't care about that. Impact causes the camera to "lock" the video file being recorded (5-minute clips) to prevent overwrite. Nice bit is it can be set so that when the car in front pulls away (and one is not watching), the speaker gives a double "bong". Sound level is adjustable.


Uses a 5-volt supply so you cannot connect it directly to a 12-volt circuit in the car. I didn't like the included power cord (too short) so I installed my own 12v-to-5v converter (cigarette lighter) with 6' of cord. One end is a standard USB 'A' connector, the other end is a micro-'B' connector.


Power cord is worked under the headliner, then remove the A-pillar trim and pull the door gasket next to the dash back, run the power line down the A-pillar, alongside and then under the dash, reinstall door gasket and A-pillar trim. Approx 6" of power cord is visible where it comes from under the trim and plugs into the power converter.

unr1

I need to install this on mine. Thanks for your post.

dbldpr

Mine is hard wired both front and rear the only wire you see is for the GPS which shows about 1 inch of wire the rest is in the roof lining.

Arrie

Mine is a Blackview. Bought it in China and I DO NOT recommend this one. It lost the screen already. It still records though.


I'm looking to get another one but it is kind of difficult to buy something you cannot put your hands on first as it seems these cameras are mostly internet items.


At a Travel America truck stop two weeks ago I did see three different camera models but did not have time to stop and look at them but I will with better time. One of them was like $350 so it might even be a good one.