Car Dash Cams, any recommendations?

[tifino]

 remaining aware that any model cam mounted on the Insides of a Windscreen/RearGlass; becomes next to useless at night if it incorporates an IR night illumnation Leds... 

 

[impulse]

I've got a MiVue model with GPS that's not available any more.  I also have the same model sold under the Magellan brand.  I'd recommend the brand(s) based on my experience with them.

 

The GPS is a nice feature because I can play back a trip on my laptop with a split screen showing where I was and what I saw.  Also records my speed in case there's any question about that during a court case.

 

Long story short, I recommend the GPS feature.  Unless the evidence is more likely to go against you...  In which case, any dash cam isn't a good idea.

Edited August 19, 2021 by impulse

[NE1]

Bad experience today .

Thought I would pull into a auto electrical shop in Kanchanaburi to get a front and rear dash cam. All boxes priced and no known brand name.

Eventually settled on one , shop wii fit it for free , come back in an hour.

On return everything looked good , hard wired to ignition , connect to phone no problem.

The journey home . which is 55 klms from Kanchanaburi was uneventful until 10 klms from home.

The camera kept turning off and restarting again , it was on a continuous cycle.

Wifey phoned up the shop , disconnect/reboot etc. still the same.

Returned to shop , verdict camera was to hot due to the constant sunshine , but this is Thailand it will always be hot.

After another hour of messing about and not looking like they were going to remedy the situation we called it a day.

Told them to take it all out and return the money , and with reluctance that is what they did .

[vinny41]

14 hours ago, NE1 said:

Bad experience today .

Thought I would pull into a auto electrical shop in Kanchanaburi to get a front and rear dash cam. All boxes priced and no known brand name.

Eventually settled on one , shop wii fit it for free , come back in an hour.

On return everything looked good , hard wired to ignition , connect to phone no problem.

The journey home . which is 55 klms from Kanchanaburi was uneventful until 10 klms from home.

The camera kept turning off and restarting again , it was on a continuous cycle.

Wifey phoned up the shop , disconnect/reboot etc. still the same.

Returned to shop , verdict camera was to hot due to the constant sunshine , but this is Thailand it will always be hot.

After another hour of messing about and not looking like they were going to remedy the situation we called it a day.

Told them to take it all out and return the money , and with reluctance that is what they did .

The two main types of batteries used in dash cams are capacitors and lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are common and can last between 5 to 10 minutes on a full charge, enough to wake up and record an incident while your car is parked. A capacitor on the other hand does not hold a charge but will require a constant power source. While both have pros and cons, understanding which type best suits your needs can help with your overall experience.

https://www.grdian.com/resources/lithium-ion-vs-supercapacitor-understanding-the-difference-in-dash-cam-batteries

 

You should look for a dash cam with Capacitor Batteries

 

This is a useful site with lots of information also check which brands do firmware updates as not all do

https://dashcamtalk.com/

Edited March 15 by vinny41
add

[richard_smith237]

Order a Xiamomi (Lazada) & self fit it - it’s easy enough to do, plenty of YouTube vids. 

[KannikaP]

1 hour ago, vinny41 said:

While both have pros and cons, understanding which type best suits your needs can help with your overall experience.

https://www.grdian.com/resources/lithium-ion-vs-supercapacitor-understanding-the-difference-in-dash-cam-batteries

 

You should look for a dash cam with Capacitor Batteries

I did not quite understand how a Capacitor battery is more suitable if you want the dash cam to record after parking, but it does need a constant source of power. 

[KannikaP]

I needed a new dash cam and got one, off Lazada, which clipped over the rear view mirror, including a rear camera and some long wire. There is a smallish 40% size screen which can be on or off. Less than Bht 400.

It worked fine until I realised that every time I looked in the mirror, I was seeing what I should be looking at straight ahead, which I found very distracting. Also, the included rear view mirror was bluish and not so clear.

Lazada returns DO work.

[vinny41]

30 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

I did not quite understand how a Capacitor battery is more suitable if you want the dash cam to record after parking, but it does need a constant source of power. 

from the link provided

Lithium-ion batteries may pose a serious risk of explosion and fire under prolonged exposure to extreme heat.

I assume if you want dash cam to record after parking you would want one with a proximity sensor that turns the camera on for a short period and then turns the camera off again normally this dash cam is either connected to an always on fuse in the fuse box or an OBD-2 port