Motoring Dashcams?

[Gray]

My first dashcam (DVR D011) had to be sent back to the point of sale in the end, because the design is so cheap and tacky, that things where just falling off.

Inside the actual dashcam, it seems as if something was loose. While driving, while i couldn't hear anything, there was actually a rattling going on which was noticed when playing videos back.

I lived with it though as it wasn't a serious issue, but then the actual holder of the dashcam went dodgy. On the bottom of the holder is a small pivot style ball which is used to rotate the camera around, however the weight of the camera became too much for the small piece of plastic and it gave up the chase, so it would no longer "hold" the camera in-place. I had to get it replaced then.

A month later i got my replacement, and the pivot ball went again, even quicker. Massively annoying, however in the end i superglued it so it at least stayed in place. However it wasn't going to give up, because the "holder" is thin plastic fingers which hold the camera in place, they started breaking off. I have one finger holding it in place, once that goes, well, i'm fucked.

I love the camera, it's awesome, however the design of it is so piss-poor, the materials are so cheap. At the same time, i said to myself "this is my first dashcam, i don't want to buy expensive because i don't know if it's worthit".

But i think in the future now i know how awesome they are, i might upgrade the budget to a better one.

 

[TdC]

tbh I don't know what's worse. the state of some people driving, or the fact that these days you'd better off with a dash cam :/

 

[GimmlyThe3rd]

Suspect provenance that video.

You can hear the panic, shock and adrenaline in both of their voices ....

To think that's staged is ridiculous, have you never seen a person run over? It's legit.

My first dashcam (DVR D011) had to be sent back to the point of sale in the end, because the design is so cheap and tacky, that things where just falling off.

Inside the actual dashcam, it seems as if something was loose. While driving, while i couldn't hear anything, there was actually a rattling going on which was noticed when playing videos back.

I lived with it though as it wasn't a serious issue, but then the actual holder of the dashcam went dodgy. On the bottom of the holder is a small pivot style ball which is used to rotate the camera around, however the weight of the camera became too much for the small piece of plastic and it gave up the chase, so it would no longer "hold" the camera in-place. I had to get it replaced then.

A month later i got my replacement, and the pivot ball went again, even quicker. Massively annoying, however in the end i superglued it so it at least stayed in place. However it wasn't going to give up, because the "holder" is thin plastic fingers which hold the camera in place, they started breaking off. I have one finger holding it in place, once that goes, well, i'm fucked.

I love the camera, it's awesome, however the design of it is so piss-poor, the materials are so cheap. At the same time, i said to myself "this is my first dashcam, i don't want to buy expensive because i don't know if it's worthit".

But i think in the future now i know how awesome they are, i might upgrade the budget to a better one.

What do you recommend for a bike? Something that won't fall off with heavy wind and I can remove it everytimg I stop.

 

[Punishment]

That might be quite cool, but it's not really what's being discussed.

It's the main reason for dashcam's, how is it not relevant exactly ?

 

[Gray]

BBC News - Panorama - 'Crash for cash' insurance fraud caught on tape

Aww, looks like i missed this last night, might catch it on iPlayer though.

 

[Tom]

Good spot, I think I'll be watching that.

Look out for an ambulance outside my house, treating me for television-induced rage.

 

[Mabs]

Sorry for the bump, but I just saw this on another forum:
YouTube - ‪MUST WATCH Hit and Run, driver in Southall chased and caught in Heston - dash cam footage‬‏

fair play to him, restores my faith in people a bit really, and outrageous behaviour :/

 

[Starman]

Thinking about getting one of these - anyone care to suggest a decent starter model for my little '59 Fiesta.

 

[old.user4556]

fair play to him, restores my faith in people a bit really, and outrageous behaviour :/

Disgusting piece of filth. Instant gas chamber for people like that, contributing nothing to society and a waste of space.

 

[Gray]

Thinking about getting one of these - anyone care to suggest a decent starter model for my little '59 Fiesta.

The one mentioned in this is an excellent starter model, whether or not 7dayshop do the same deal or not now since it's been about 6-8months.

7dayshop.com - Online Store

Indeed it seems the price has been increased now by about £10 or so.

The other cam which had a review from the same guy looks decent, albeit a wee bit more expensive... But it looks better than the torch.
YouTube - ‪HD 720P Car Camera Review - Part 1‬‏

 

[Starman]

The model you linked to includes an 8gb micro SD card also - that might explain the £10 increase. There is a £14.99 option without the card.

I'll take a look at the review for both models tomorrow when I have some more time.

cheers

 

[Gray]

Yeee there was a deal on back when the thread was just made, it even had the SD card come with it. Was pretty awesome.

 

[Gray]

Embedded media from this media site is no longer available

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=773_1319879712


bump because it's totally worth it

 

[Tom]

What a cock. I now have a Gopro, I use it to record my rides. You see some right twats:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqHHTZ30UUE

 

[Clown]

Potty mouth!

 

[Gray]

Going to bump this because it's always fun. Anyway my original dashcam i had, the Torch version (DVR011) had to be replaced, it was just too cheap and had constant issues with its cheap tacky make. The final straw came when the holder snapped. I could have got some tape to tape it up, but it wouldn't have been stable overall.

Quite ironic though, because i'm with the IAM i decided to send them an email, i seen in their quarter monthly magazines they have write-ins, and it was a discussion i hadn't seen them discuss before, so i just sent them an email. They where pretty interested so asked me a few questions, and recommended the dashcam i had (Cheap, worked -just about) of course, a few days later the camera holder snapped, when i went to see about getting another one from 7dayshop i noticed they removed the product from their website. Bugger.

So, i go about looking for a new camera since this one while a nice beginner one, really needed to be better. So at the same time as i originally posted this thread, the TechMoan guy reviewed and recommended another dashcam, it was about the same price so i thought i'd give it a go. Chinese made again, but it seemed to be just about better than the Torch version, except a few things on the dashcam didn't work, like HDMI or HD etc. No biggy.

Ordered and it arrived yesterday, mine is a slightly different model to that one he reviewed, but it's basically the same, they covered over the HDMI slot with a "Pass" sticker. One issue. One big issue. The fucking thing doesn't work. I power it on, it comes on with the welcome screen and then the fucking thing goes off. Two other big issues, unlike the one reviewed this one didn't come with an instruction manual - Nor did it come with any drivers.

Searched high and low, and eventually found the instruction manual, but it was for a different model (Again, same, but different...) and Windows isn't recognising this device, won't install it. So i need those damn drivers but nowhere has them listed. Kept it charging overnight, nothing. Took it out to the car to charge there, no power again. Bloody waste of time it was, while the torch cam was cheap and tacky and had it's issues - at least the damn thing worked.

Really wanted a replacement dashcam for winter, seen some moron's on the road during the one and only day it has snowed so far, and missed one accident by about 5 minutes - I might have to up my price range from £30ish to £100 though and maybe look at one of them GoPro cams.

 

[Chilly]

GoPro's start at 200 notes, I just bought one for aerial filming from my quadcopter and they are fucking amazing.

 

[Gray]

Daaamn, thought they where at around £80-100 for the low-end ones, hohum.

Hard searching for a decent car-cam when there is about a million retail websites selling the same crappy Chinese manufactured cameras.

 

[Gumbo]

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_Rg5RxFFQg

 

[Gwadien]

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_Rg5RxFFQg

In mother Russia, thats normal, clearly.

 

[Chilly]

Fuck, watching that made me squirm - that truck coming on at top whack, amazed there was room...

 

[megadave]

they're remarkably calm after that

 

[soze]

There was talk of some insurance companies offering reduced prices if you run with one of these. Some of the ones you get from america record 24/7 but only save to disk when there is either an impact or you press a button at which point you get 3 minutes before the incident and as much as the disk can hold after.

 

[Gray]

I've still been searching around for a decent dashcam to absolutely no avail. Ended up getting a refund for the cheap tat i had just before christmas because the damn thing just wouldn't work. A few days ago i came to the relisation that i'm not happy with any of the designs apart from the ones which are £100+ and so i'd probably just give up with it.

Then i looked down at my mobile phone, Samsung Galaxy S2. I thought "shit, hang on a minute... This has a much better camera on it than the other cheap shit i've had, whats more it won't cost me anything because i already have it in my possession...

Just done a quick search and it seems people are using their mobile phones for dash cameras anyway, more specific this phone as well. Perfect.


View: http://youtu.be/HbTKwouLgpE


The only thing i need is the mounting piece which fits the phone.

 

[Gwadien]

I've still been searching around for a decent dashcam to absolutely no avail. Ended up getting a refund for the cheap tat i had just before christmas because the damn thing just wouldn't work. A few days ago i came to the relisation that i'm not happy with any of the designs apart from the ones which are £100+ and so i'd probably just give up with it.

Then i looked down at my mobile phone, Samsung Galaxy S2. I thought "shit, hang on a minute... This has a much better camera on it than the other cheap shit i've had, whats more it won't cost me anything because i already have it in my possession...

Just done a quick search and it seems people are using their mobile phones for dash cameras anyway, more specific this phone as well. Perfect.


View: http://youtu.be/HbTKwouLgpE


The only thing i need is the mounting piece which fits the phone.

Doesnt it damage batteries using your phone whilst charging it ?(assuming thats your plan)

 

[Gray]

Hm nah wouldn't charge the battery in the car, i generally charge it every night or two anyway so it's always fairly good.

Would just be my intent to frit it to my windscreen/dashboard and let it be wireless filming, unless i ever did plan on doing a long trip then i probably would charge it when necessary, but that happens rarely.

 

[Gwadien]

Hm nah wouldn't charge the battery in the car, i generally charge it every night or two anyway so it's always fairly good.

Would just be my intent to frit it to my windscreen/dashboard and let it be wireless filming, unless i ever did plan on doing a long trip then i probably would charge it when necessary, but that happens rarely.

I meant your phone battery you numpty! I'm not sure about that particular phone, and how far you drive, but I'm not sure if it would be able to last a whole day if you drive 2 hours a day constantly recording.

 

[Zenith.UK]

Doesnt it damage batteries using your phone whilst charging it ?(assuming thats your plan)

Nah, I have my Desire S on charge while using it all the time I'm in the car. That could be anything from 2-8 hours a day. Gmaps Navigation, Latitude, Vlingo, BT link with ICE and calls all without a problem. I've tried to drain my battery as fast as possible and my charger just tops it up without breaking a sweat. The battery is reporting it's health as 94% and has only dropped 1% in 3 months.

The charger is one of these... http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005VSUD7Q
1A socket for phones, 2.1A socket for work's Playbook.

 

[Gray]

Well the car mount car today so decided to take it out for a lengthy run. Positioning it was a pain in the arse but i used it in the centre of my windscreen just below my mirror, it gave a much better view than the passanger-side where my old dashcam used to be.

On my Samsung Galaxy S2 i used some software which was available on the Android Market which was called DailyRoad Voyager. However there was a serious issue which has been brought up by many, that you can't actually use HD video with the software. I tried it myself and it ended up where the recording was corrupted by a green screen. I tried another dashcam software called Omni's Dashcam but this suffered the same, and it wasn't as good.

As such, i had to go back to non-HD with the resolution 800x480 WVGA, encoded with H.264 MP4. The 15min drive i did produced a file which was about 300mb, the quality wasn't fantastic but it was on par, if not better, than the old torch camera i had which did a fine job up until it needed replacing. The only issue i had was because it was MP4, the format isn't recognised by Windows Movie Maker so i had to convert it, which i would guess made the quality a little worse.

I think there was actually a way for me to get HD video working, but it wasn't recognised by Windows Movie Maker, but i only downloaded the converter software so i couldn't test it previously.

Still, does the job nicely.


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWmICdT4EfE


(Might need to finish processing the upload first)

 

[caLLous]

In my experience 1080p takes up ~120mb per minute on the S2, what sort of lengths of time are you talking about recording for?