Get a car camera

Submitted: Thursday, May 09, 2013 at 18:38
ThreadID: 102108 Views:3490 Replies:10 FollowUps:16
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I am now considering a car camera for my new car which I get last month, not familiar with these products, can any guys give some suggestions?

Just found this mini one but now sure about the quality, any guys used similar ones?
http://www.szswill.com/car-camera-hd/car-dash-camera-d310.html
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Reply By: Barbera72 - Thursday, May 09, 2013 at 18:58

Thursday, May 09, 2013 at 18:58
I still would get a GoPro witch gives you more options. You can mount the camera also outside with a suction mount and is waterproof and dustproof.
Some of the older models are fairly cheap now.
Check this video for some mounting options:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XApfT4GBRLM&list=PLvd7ePjMDUyWbGMctWpkXFq2K-Z1-DkF7
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Follow Up By: Barbera72 - Friday, May 10, 2013 at 14:47

Friday, May 10, 2013 at 14:47
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Reply By: olcoolone - Thursday, May 09, 2013 at 19:30

Thursday, May 09, 2013 at 19:30
I would highly recommend the Blackvue DR400G HD as a fantastic car camera.

The advantage of a true dedicated vehicle mounted camera over an action camera like Contour, Go Pro, Sony AS15 and more is a camera like the Blackvue has a continuous loop that will record over and over so no need to consonantly clear the memory card, has adjustable G sensor and if activated will store video 5 seconds before the impact and after into a separate secure file, it can start recording when you start the vehicle and stops when you turn the vehicle off, has parking mode that starts recording when it detect movement and is very small and easy to hide and has GPS function for location and speed viewable from a computer.

I also have a Contour +2 that i use as a helmet cam, the Contour +2 has GPS so you can record your location and speed viewable from a computer.

I would say a camera with GPS is a must and I believe the Hero and Sony don't have GPS data logging.
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Follow Up By: didjabringabeer - Thursday, May 09, 2013 at 21:19

Thursday, May 09, 2013 at 21:19
I will back the Blackvue.My son has one in his vehicle, it will do all
you want from a dash cam. good play back program, only
downside to me is no screen. Me I have a Gopro3 black and a OTEK
both good. But if buying again it would be the Blackvue.
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Follow Up By: olcoolone - Friday, May 10, 2013 at 15:35

Friday, May 10, 2013 at 15:35
The new Blackvue DR500 has WiFi connectability so you can view it from a smartphone, my DR400 doesn't have that feature.

My Contour +2 has it but I never used it other then for setting up the camera on my helmet.

On any of these cameras with screens I don't see the real advantage of the screen...... everything is too small and when played back through a computer it shows heaps more information.
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Reply By: Rockape - Thursday, May 09, 2013 at 19:36

Thursday, May 09, 2013 at 19:36
For the price you won't get better than these.

LINK
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Follow Up By: Rockape - Thursday, May 09, 2013 at 19:40

Thursday, May 09, 2013 at 19:40
Yes! I own one and have had more failures from the others that you can poke a stick at.

Many of the others lose the picture quality after a while.

This cheap camera seems to just keep good quality with few problems.

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Reply By: mountainman - Thursday, May 09, 2013 at 19:50

Thursday, May 09, 2013 at 19:50
another one is onsite camera australia.
had a blog or something on a current affair.
but i was on youtube or something, or lcool and a link came up.

yeah everything is overseas these days, but this company backs its products.
and full 12mnths warranty, and a wide variety of options camera wise.
ive seen the footage, both in day and night and the quality is unreal of footage taken..

mind you they show up customers videos of idiots on the road, and you kind of get side tracked, thinking are their realy this bad drivers on our road..

camera's are very well priced 349 or soo.. that gets you nearly the top of the line camera, yet to be properly released to the market, soo its new, up to date technology.
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Reply By: Member Bushy 04(VIC) - Thursday, May 09, 2013 at 22:46

Thursday, May 09, 2013 at 22:46
Hi, Alie Ree I use an $80.00 camera from Super Cheap and it works fine, the only thing that I have changed was the SD card (15gig instead of 4 gig)
Hope this helps.
Bushy.
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Reply By: Dingojim - Friday, May 10, 2013 at 07:29

Friday, May 10, 2013 at 07:29
Nothing like recommendations from people who have proven the product, I ended up with skinned knees and elbows, yes I came a gutser, bought a Navig8r HD after viewing video of this gadgets recording. Wish they had told me the recording had been digitally enhanced and the recording I got was very much inferior. Not the first time, and probably not the last, that I've blown my brass on expensive toys but boy do I love getting a little bit back with a not positive review on Product Review Australia.Cheers.
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Follow Up By: olcoolone - Friday, May 10, 2013 at 15:43

Friday, May 10, 2013 at 15:43
Have to agree, when I bought the Contour +2 I had concerns about wind noise from the inbuilt microphone seeing the camera is mounted on my motorbike helmet...... I was really surprised how little wind noise it picked up and how i could hear other noises around me clearly.

Video quality of both my cameras (Blackvue and Contour) are very high quality and nearly as good as my $3000 Sony HD camcorder...... the downfall is they chew through memory and battery at an astonishing rate.

We use our cameras for safety when driving so we can not get accused of something we haven't done or caused....... and especially speeding.
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Reply By: Member - Alan H (QLD) - Friday, May 10, 2013 at 08:15

Friday, May 10, 2013 at 08:15
Quality video plus GPS references for position and speed

Blackbox camera

Alan
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Follow Up By: Dingojim - Friday, May 10, 2013 at 13:05

Friday, May 10, 2013 at 13:05
Hi Alan, which model are you using ? Just looked at their site and they list 3 GPS models. Thanks.
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Follow Up By: Member - Alan H (QLD) - Friday, May 10, 2013 at 13:56

Friday, May 10, 2013 at 13:56
Actually I am only thinking about getting one myself but know of a couple of people who have the ITB200HD and they swear by them for both video record of a drive and have also used them to defend themselves about alleged speeding and one used his to note what happened to his vehicle while being "serviced" . It was stationary for a long time (yet claimed to being worked on) and was used to collect lunches.

Service was confronted with lots of denial until shown the video. He has found somewhere else for services now.

It appears that these give HD video plus have the GPS and mapping etc to record journey.

Alan
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Reply By: Member - evaredy - Friday, May 10, 2013 at 15:29

Friday, May 10, 2013 at 15:29
I have the Itronics IBT100HD, it is an excellent camera, it will record while you are driving, giving speed and location via GPS. It comes with a 32 gig memory card, so there is no need to purchase one.
It will also record in Park Mode, for this feature, you need the little power box that you can purchase for approx$40, it is very easy to install. I have O experience with electrics and had it up and running in 20mins.

The power box has a couple of wires that you simply connect to your fuses, pull the fuse out, pop on the wire and put it back in. You can configure the amount of time you want to camera to record while you are parked and you can also configure the min voltage, so if the voltage drops it will automatically turn the camera off so the battery doesn't drain.

You can change various settings from within the software, things like the percentage of Parking footage v's driving footage v's event footage, this allows you to select which files are overwritten first.

Clarity is very good and it can read plates quite well, night footage is also one of the best I have seen in a CMOS camera.

http://www.autoblackbox.com.au/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=81
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Reply By: Barbera72 - Friday, May 10, 2013 at 16:08

Friday, May 10, 2013 at 16:08
Looks like you are just looking for a inside black box. If this is the case I withdraw my suggestion about the GoPro. Too bulky and invasive for that sole purpose.
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Follow Up By: Member - John D, Wandong (Vic) - Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 11:48

Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 11:48
Have to agree, I bought a GoPro black edition to record a trip we are taking in June!
Whilst testing I found that the standard battery last approx 1hour before recharging, and for your usage it is not recommended!
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Follow Up By: Barbera72 - Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 13:44

Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 13:44
with the gopro you have the option, if you're using it inside the vehicle for the whole trip, to plug the USB cable to the cigarette lighter and get continuous power and record until the card is full.
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Follow Up By: Member - John D, Wandong (Vic) - Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 14:23

Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 14:23
Hi Barbera 72,
I have a cable that came with my GoPro that is used to charge the on-board battery, plug one end into the camera and the other end into a USB port on the pc.



I actually tried to record whilst charging, but no go!
I also have a USB socket on the car radio.

If anyone can inform me on how to record video while the camera is plugged into the car radio USB port (which will be then charging the camera), I would be very grateful...won't have to buy a Blackvue dr500gw!
John
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Follow Up By: Barbera72 - Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 14:53

Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 14:53
I have a GoPro2 and an aftermarket USB socket plugged to the cigarette laghter and I can record while travelling with no problems. If I choose a lower resolution video I could film for hours before i fill my sd card. But the recording will not work if the camera is plugged to a laptop or pc. I don't know how this would work on a GoPro3.
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Follow Up By: Barbera72 - Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 14:55

Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 14:55
This is from GoPro official website:
"Using the Camera While Charging
You can simultaneously charge and record with the HD HERO Original and HD HERO2 cameras. To do this, you can use the supplied USB cable. Use that to connect your camera to a USB wall charger or auto charger that outputs 5V and 1A. You cannot record while the camera is connected to a computer."
No mention of GoPro3
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Follow Up By: Member - John D, Wandong (Vic) - Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 15:32

Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 15:32
Thanks for that, I will follow up and see what happens, will let you know if it works for the GoPro3!
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Follow Up By: Barbera72 - Sunday, May 12, 2013 at 15:39

Sunday, May 12, 2013 at 15:39
I confirm you can use the camera GoPro Hero3 and all its functions while plugged to a cigarette lighter outlet. So same as per hero and hero2. But not if plugged to a pc or laptop usb.
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Follow Up By: Member - John D, Wandong (Vic) - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 17:19

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 17:19
I went and bought a cig lighter/USB charger, and you were right, it does charge and record at the same time!
I had to drill a hole in the side of the clear plastic camera holder so that I could plug the USB lead into the port on the side of the camera, works fine now...very happy and thanks to all for your help!

John
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Follow Up By: Barbera72 - Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 19:10

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 19:10
You shouldn't have drilled a hole in the camera case. Now is not weather and water proof anymore. They sell a skeleton cage to use with plugs and chords. Anyway, glad you can now use the camera the way you wanted.
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Reply By: Dorothy W - Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 23:06

Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 23:06
What is the sole purpose of you installing the dash cam? Since you are referring a HD camera, they might cost quite a lot. You can prefer buying a used one (albeit in good condition) from many online sources like http://www.automotix.net/accessories/ which will provide you with high end model for the cost of a mini cam along with a warranty and free shipping. These sites also provide good discounts and buying from them prove to be beneficial at times.
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