SlickRSM

I'm looking into getting a dash camera for my car. I was assulted by a police officer this past weekend and wish I would have had one. Plus I think it would be a good idea if I was ever in an accident.

I know nothing about them, I was just wondering if anyone has one or can point me in the direction of a good system?

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

I have this one and like it a lot. Right now I'm just trying to figure out a better solution for hardwiring it as opposed to having the cord hanging down:

reyoasian

iTrader: (2)

blackvue dr400g-hd is one of the best dash cams on market right now, however price is issue

I personally got something from a local partshop for $100 taxes in and is more than enough

BrooklynNY

uhhh good ole' NYPD?

IS250TW

iTrader: (3)

+1 on blackvue dr400 hd
it has GPS and speed indicator
1080p quality HD

Jetfire

iTrader: (3)

I use a blackvue dr400g. Small, discreet, has GPS and excellent video quality in daytime and night. Only drawback is the audio quality isn't the best.

Also if you run the power from the cigarette lighter, there isn't power when you turns of the car, so parking mode doesn't work. I'm gonna hardwire mine, just been too lazy. I just hid the wires pretty well for now.


Check out my pic for lulz. Was waiting to make a left turn when some guy decided to puke.

J3ffrey

i got one off of ebay for 60 bucks, 720p real nice and small, only records when the car is on and in motion.

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

How much are people paying for this Blackvue? Because the only place I found it sold online was selling it for $400.

The one on Amazon I linked to above is also 1080P and is only $60. The main difference appears to be that the Blackvue has GPS/speed indication. For my purposes, I simply want a dash camera that will turn on when I turn on the car, record continuously (looped recording), and then turn off when I turn off the car. That's exactly what the Amazon one does. The main reason I want it is to have video in case someone causes an accident or does something to me or my car. If someone cuts me off and causes an accident, or someone backs into me and tries to claim I hit him, and I have video of it it's going to be a quick and easy discussion with the insurance company.

The main difference between the $60 Amazon camera and the $400 Blackvue camera is GPS/speed indication, but consider that there's absolutely no chance that speed indication would ever hold water in court or in arbitration. Video of an accident will help exonerate you and show evidence of fault. But no insurance company or court would ever put any stock in the MPH reading that a dash cam provided. They'd argue it wasn't calibrated right, it was doctored, it was added after the fact, etc etc.

I'm not saying you shouldn't buy the Blackvue. But if you're buying the Blackvue expressly because of the GPS/speed indication and because you think this will help you in proving your speed to an insurance company or court, I strongly believe that this information will be totally useless in that context and will therefore in no way justify a $340 price premium over one without GPS.

Now, if you're using the GPS/speed indication for your own purposes or just for fun or something, by all means go for it. But I think for a lot of people a much less expensive camera without this feature will do just fine.

SlickRSM

I guess all I'm really looking for is a just the camera, dont really see the need for gps since my Lexus has it and so does my iphone. Speed indicator dont really need so much either

mixa86

I been wanting a dash cam for using as proof when dealing with cops. I got screwed over once to many tmes!

monet33

iTrader: (1)

anyone know if there's a constant 12v power in the dome/sunroof wires?

KillaIS250

iTrader: (1)

Does it work well enough at night too?

greg0126

iTrader: (2)

Calvin would you mind uploading a couple of sample videos from your camera to YouTube or something?

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

Yes there is. There are two options for hardwiring in that area - one is the dome/sunroof area and the other is the rearview mirror. I highly recommend the latter as I think it's easier. The power comes on with the car turning on and cuts out when the car's off.

I have my radar detector hardwired into the wiring harness supplying power to the rearview mirror, and it's extremely easy to do. No cutting/splicing of wires needed so it's completely reversible if you need to sell your car or remove it. Check CL for a huge thread titled something like "valentine one hardwire", those are the instructions I used.

As a side note, the dash cam I linked to is only 5V, so don't hardwire it directly to the 12V in the car. I'm currently trying to figure out a solution to hardwire it by essentially taking apart the included cigarette adapter (which converts 12V to 5V) and using the guts, but I haven't gotten to that yet.

I'll try and take some videos and upload them. I haven't been using the dash cam for a few weeks because I removed it to hardwire my radar detector and have been out of town a lot, so I haven't gotten to putting it back in. But I've been happy with the quality of the videos for the price. I will say that it looks like the Blackvue's video quality is probably superior (even though they're both billed as 1080p), but the much lower price point of the Amazon one justifies it for me.

J3ffrey

Here's video from my 720p 60 dollar ebay special. Make sure you switch it to 720p

This video shows an ******* stopping to chat with her friend 2 cars ahead of me. I simulated my horn because I didn't want me cursing on youtube.