I have the blackvue dr650gw-2ch and no regrets.
Two channels, so the camera is recording video front and back. The cameras are not big so it hides very well in the car. There is a setting where you can turn off the led recording on light so the camera look stealth. With the powermagic pro, it allows the camera to be on during parking and you can have the setting to be on for 6+hrs, and the camera shuts off when your car battery is below 12v.
I am also a part time college student while part time work, so the price of $400-$500 set up can be a steep cost at first. However, in the long run, I have no regrets at all.
I have gotten so many accidents where people hit and runs my car (including driving and parking accidents), and my deductible is $500. After all the car accident, I never end up paying my deductible for accidents that were hit and run.
In the long run, my investment of $400-500 set up paid off all my hassle. When I file insurance claims, I turn in the video file, and I'm done, the other party can just shut their mouth about lying.

Also, for those who are thinking about buying a budget camera, in my opinion its a hit and miss. For some it can work out for them with budget price efficient cameras, however, some of those camera may not be able to withstand the temperature you are living in. The excessive heat and cold that the camera has to take every day climate and can bring problems.

I like to do it right and pay the price once, rather than paying a budget camera and ending up buying a new one in a short term.
But then again, thats my opinion and pros and cons before purchasing my black box. Its just my opinion, I am sure people have used budget and more cost efficient cameras that works for them perfectly :]

 

Thanks it makes sense. I see you're also in CA, do you happen to live up north? In the Bay Area? Hows the camera holding up so far, with the fluctuating heat and cold here.

And you got front and rear cams for ~450?

 

Agree with everyone that Blackvue is the way to go. Not cheap (especially in Canada with our low dollar right now), but great features, quality and size. Install is DIY but of moderate difficulty if you want a clean installation.

In my experience with parking situations, you won't get much value from any dashcam. Most incidents will happen on the side where even a 2 channel system can't see the plates or impact point clearly. This will be even worse in the nighttime. You will have better luck if your jurisdiction requires front and rear licence plates, but if it's just the rear, your footage won't capture anything useful to catch the perpetrator.

 

Does installing one of these via hardwiring the system into the car's electrical system void the factory warranty? Are there any high-quality dash cans that are able to be installed without hardwiring, i.e., one that can be plugged into an auxiliary port?'

I'm afraid of voiding my factory warranty. :/

 

Generally, you can tap into the fuse box without any soldering or permanent changes to the electrical system, so no warranty issue there. There are many dashcams on the market that can plug directly into the 12V accessory outlet (including the Blackvue systems). On the IS, this is difficult since the outlet is in the armrest.

 

i got it last year for $450 and bought memory card 64gb at bestbuy to replace the 16gb. I believe on blackboxmycar.com has camera more cheaper now.
I live in SoCal, however, Im in the riverside and san bernardino, the heat does reach to 100 degrees sometimes in the summer. The coldest I have had was like 40 degress F.
It has been running perfectly fine with the heat and cold. The only thing that I watch out is if the memory card can take the heat/cold and constant reoverwrite on old videos. But I usually reformat the memory card every once in a while so the memory card can have a longer life span.

 

ditto i tapped myself into the fuse box. it was a decent easy process 3outof10 difficulty.
I have done it to my g37 and is250 without any issues.

 

You can tap the ignition power from connector behind rearview mirror. Clean no need to run the wire to fuse box. There's a DIY thread search around.

 

thank you!

 

I'm actually in the process of buying the same model. Is your car tinted? If so, how well does the rear camera look both in the day and at night?

 

mines tinted 5% "darkest tint" in the rear. Honestly it is not that great during night time of course with the tint. Mostly you can just see the shape of the head lights or taillights that passes by the camera during night. Last time someone hit and run my car while my car was parked. I was lucky to find the car parked several cars away from me, and i was able to identify it by looking at the shape of the headlight and taillight that was shown in the rear camera during night. It was good enough to prove in winning my case.
During day time, it is totally fine, you can see pretty well. I watched these videos that this user and made my decision during the purchase. He has different models and different scenarios. https://www.youtube.com/user/blackboxmycardotcom

 

how much did it cost you to do the install? was it a stealth install?

 

I installed it myself, I would like to share with everyone on my setup. I will try to have a complete video of the setup sometime today.

 

Here it is. My wording is pretty horrible but hope it helps out.

 

imo, i think the blackvue frame rates are too slow, unless you're using the custom firmware that are floating around on some dashcam forums.

i think the better purchase is the thinkware f750.

i'm in the process of buying a dual dash cam as well, and this one gets my vote.