Due to the sun shade, regardless of the camera system you go for, there isn’t a perfect mounting point. Top middle of the glass won’t work because it’ll prevent full opening of the shade. Bottom of glass at the deck or corners won’t work either. At one point I was just going to scrap the idea of the rear camera all tighter, then figured that some coverage is better than no coverage.

View isn’t going to be above eye level like the front but it’s good enough to document the action behind you. Will see if I can pull a few stills tomorrow from the front view, and rear with the shade up/down.

 

It’s been a long time since we had our W222 but the Blackvue rear camera was small enough to fit on top of the rear window with no interference of the screen up/down functions.

We have only used Blackvue/Thinkware cameras in our cars with zero issues and it was always easy to upgrade as the cable was consistent between models (not brands).

 

This one has the same feature as the one I sent you (But you are paying more for the cabin camera). I didn't choose this one cause it was more bulky. As far as the parking sensor, that's where you need to pay more to get (for VIOFO Dash Cams) more clarity and confidence about what the camera does and it's spec in certain conditions. I haven't tried the G-sensor triggered camera recording time events.. but I'll try to test that when I can, but don't expect it to be 30 seconds (30 seconds means that camera is working most of the time, and this means it will consume more power than normal and u may end up with some battery issues). I'd be fine with a camera that records just around, or maybe couple seconds before the event, with the understanding that it doesn't draw too much power. It's hard to find the right balance (u really need to factor in battery consumption when the camera is awake most of the time). That's the reason for the G-sensor, so that the camera is fully operational only when the G-sensor is triggered.

 

Thanks for the insights. I see some cameras come with a "super-capacitor" that provides power instead fo the car's battery. Looking forward to what you find out about G-sensor buffer time on your camera.

 

Thx for the intel, I'll have to check it out!

 

Fun fact, some if not all aux batteries in MBs are actually just super capacitors, not an actual battery.

 

Although over 7 years ago, this was our camera setup. Even when upgrading to the latest 4K DR970x Dual channel, it would be a plug-n-play upgrade. Never underestimate the cable compatibility since 90% of the work is the hard wiring of the car...

 

The "Super-Capacitor" is not a replacement to car's battery power source. It only gives you the chance to unplug the camera for a short period of time, so that it remains on (in case you need to quickly unplug it, show screen to an officer, or whatever).

 

Yes, and that's why I also strictly searched for cameras that come with USB-C charging cable, so that I can at least keep the existing wires since most high-end newer cameras will also need USB-C power source. Many cheap cameras nowadays still come with micro-USB, and I know that one can use an adapter later when upgrading to a better camera with UCB-C, but it's a peace of mind to know that I have a USB-C powered cable with all the work done.

Also important: I made sure that whatever I buy has separate short loop (cane be physically unplugged from the longer USB extension cable) for the low voltage protection module (the 3-leadtime-lapse to USB hardwire module) so that I can replace that (as needed) next to the fuse box instead of having to pull the entire long hidden USB C cable when that module fails.

Actually the USB-C cable that I extended was a separate, really thick high quality, that I bought separately, which I know won't melt or cause any issues in case the cable is touching the any metal when tucked behind trims or panels, and then I only connected it to the rest of the dashcam cables near the fuse box, where I made my own cable management box wrapping everything inside a tiny box, but still perforated to allow the low voltage module to cool down.

 

I’ve put this style of camera in all of my vehicles, https://fitcamx.com, two of them are FitCamX, and two came from AliExpress. Ease of install and lack of dashcam attached to the windscreen is what attracted me. For my son’s car, I got one with a rear cam, the others only have front facing, and I only have them powered when the vehicle is on, I didn’t go for wiring to support constant monitoring. As someone else mentioned, the supporting apps important, FitCamX has the best app of the three that have.
Here’s a clip from one:

 

I absolutely love my Garmin DriveAssist 51 LMT-S. I have it in my front windshield of my W204 that doesnt have navigation so it serves both functions. Built-in dash cam, navigation and even hands free calling with bluetooth. I have the power cord that picks up live traffic. I have even had notifications for speed traps on the highway a few times and will show red light camera locations. Shows the posted speed limit and then my speed right below it, turns to red and theres an audible tone if i go over.

*I just looked on Garmin and it appears they dont sell the driveAssist anymore, the latest one with dash cam is over $400. Crazy. I bought the DriveAssist 2-3yrs ago on ebay as refurbished for around $70.

For the rear I wasnt too concerned so just have an inexpensive $40 Amazon dash cam that actually works great.

If I didnt want it for the navigation I would probably get something like the Garmin dash cam mini or other small mini camera so its up out of the way. Hopefully with it being small and light its not falling off the windshield like my DriveAssist does in hot weather, id love to figure out a way to mount it better instead of just the suction cup.