Recommend me a dashcam/dvr

[Edwood]

Read section A and think about the definition of the devices this applies to. The term FUD is appropriate here since you are trying to misrepresent the law to spread fear, doubt, and uncertainty. It's perfectly legal to record hours of video in your car.

Misrepresent? In California? LOL, yeah, OK. Just covering all bases here, if someone were to use a dash cam recording an incident that went to court, you can bet your rear end that ALL the dash cam footage evidence would be thrown out if it were a model that was capable of recording video based on the Section A critera. And I wouldn't be at all surprised if a recorder having some of the features in Section A would be considered applicable.

Some of the Dashcams mentioned in this thread are covered under Section A.

[Edwood]

Read section A and think about the definition of the devices this applies to. The term FUD is appropriate here since you are trying to misrepresent the law to spread fear, doubt, and uncertainty. It's perfectly legal to record hours of video in your car.

Misrepresent? In California? LOL, yeah, OK. Just covering all bases here, if someone were to use a dash cam recording an incident that went to court, you can bet your rear end that ALL the dash cam footage evidence would be thrown out if it were a model that was capable of recording video based on the Section A critera. And I wouldn't be at all surprised if a recorder having some of the features in Section A would be considered applicable.

That said, I think it's better to have dashcam footage regardless of the possibility of it being ignored. Better to have and not need (or can't use) rather than not have it in the first place.

[Futurecollector]

Thanks for the link.



The amazon unit is a replica unit of the one i'm selling. here's a photo for reference. It's almost identical on the exterior, but it records in standard resolution, or "HD" but it stutters as it records.

Here's the actual unit from amazon:




I love the gopros and mainly use that for my memorable recordings. but for a dash cam for everyday commute where u just need it for that "one time" video to avoid complications from an accident/liars, an actual dedicated DVR is much better.

That's not my start screen,
I don't get any shutter at all
The video quality seems to be on par with the YouTube videos you posted....

I like the ease of using my contour camera since I can grab it real quick and run with it if need be, I've been using the cheap o dash cam for about 4 months and the only complaint I have is the crappy suction cup mounts...

[elsolo]

The 30 seconds thing:

If you have a sign posted inside the vehicle, it doesn't matter.

It is so the driver and passenger are not subject to continuous secret video and audio taping by the "owner" of a car, which for most people is the bank.

Any continuous looping DVR is fine, it will over-write the footage unless "saved" by a triggering event, like pressing a button or getting in a wreck.

I am not a lawyer, but that's my take on it.

[esskay]

Wondering if anyone has any new favorite products for this? Thinking more seriously about installing one...

[Brianguy]

I run this one...$65 from ebay mounted to top edge and center of my windshield so as not to block my view and the rear cam on top of my CHMSL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X16kiyDtTms

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LCD-HD-720P-...item1c2fd0a418

That's a nice looking setup. I was reading the comments on the vid and they were having issues using a 32gb class 10 card. What size and speed card do you use in yours?

[JimWest]

Here's one:

http://store.komando.com/p-1754-the-komando-dash-cam-premium-edition.aspx

video demo on the link also.

[stilagrrl]

Here's a video from yesterday that I caught on the dashcam I purchased from itsboosting:

http://youtu.be/dgnuu7r9ZxI

It was on 280 South between King St and the 101 split in San Francisco. I saw a blue Ford Escape in my rearview mirror coming up on my left at very high speeds. He was driving on the shoulder when he flew by me. I counted a total of seven police cars chasing him, including two unmarked cars.

I checked the web, but couldn't find anything about what was going on. I can't imagine there would be seven police cars chasing someone for speeding/reckless driving, so I'm assuming the driver of the Ford Escape was involved with something more nefarious.

[the86d]

Here's a video from yesterday that I caught on the dashcam I purchased from itsboosting:

http://youtu.be/dgnuu7r9ZxI

...

I am not sure I would have chosen the bob-and-weave (left-AND-right-line wobbler, the whole video) on straight portions of road that many times was the best video to post. It looks like the driver with the camera is high, people doing this cause accidents around here a lot. You would think that a signal light would reflect off the shiny cars around more if it were in fact used... Do you have a Chargers bolt on the back of you vehicle, or something that states Alumni?

[navin r]

I've got this one from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/2-5-inch-Monitor-Dashboard-Accident-RECORDER/dp/B005680BX2/ref=sr_1_19?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1373302367&sr=1-19&keywords=dash+cam

I've got it fastened directly to the trim over my windshield so it's very small when the screen is folded up. It is not a high quality unit but I have it connected to a wire that is only on when the Jeep is on. When I start the Jeep the cam starts and then it shuts off when the Jeep is off so you don't have to think about it too much; it's always on if you might need it.

I'd buy a higher quality one if I could find one that works like this one.

[stilagrrl]

I'm not sure what you mean by bob-and-weave. I changed lanes once when I saw the first police car approaching and stayed in that lane until the lane ended and I had to move into the left lane. I changed lanes again when I saw the unmarked car approaching, then returned to the lane I was in. I guess that's two bobs and no weaves.

I'm totally lost when you talk about signal lights reflecting on shiny cars. This is on HWY 280 and 101, there aren't any signal lights.

Also not sure what Charger bolts and Alumni stickers are in reference to.

[naeco81]

I looked into this myself and decided to just use my cellphone to reduce clutter around my dash. Here's what I use personally:

Samsung Galaxy Note 2
iMagnet magnetic vehicle mount
Autoguard Pro via Google Play store

I have it set to automatically start recording at 1080p resolution once my car bluetooth connects - basically when I start my car. It stops recording when it disconnects - basically 15 seconds after I stop my car.

It automatically detects collisions (via shock sensor) and archives those videos permanently. The rest of the videos will be automatically overwritten at the storage threshold you set (mine is set to 20gb).

I recommend you don't turn on record audio because that locks your phones microphone open and you cannot use it for anything else - like making calls. The audio would mostly be what you are saying anyways so not that helpful. I also turned off the GPS feature as I only wanted a recorder and this significantly cuts down on battery usage.

It hardly affects my overall battery life but the Note 2 has a phenomenal 2+ day battery to begin with so it may be more of an issue for other phones - I just don't know.

Pros: Very low cost ($30ish), HD quality recording, easy to use - requires me to do nothing: just slap the phone on the magnetic dock as usual and start the car.
Cons: Depending on how you mount your iMagnet you won't get as good of a view as if you had a dedicated dash cam angled perfectly in a permanent install. I've tested it out though and I am perfectly happy with the footage it captures. You can see the road and all cars which is what I wanted.

[esskay]

What do you guys think about front facing only vs. front & back facing cams (some come with two cameras)?

I was reading on dashcamtalk and for an economical set up some recommend just running two separate units, one in front and one in the back.

[Brianguy]

I run this one...$65 from ebay mounted to top edge and center of my windshield so as not to block my view and the rear cam on top of my CHMSL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X16kiyDtTms

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LCD-HD-720P-...item1c2fd0a418

I bought this setup from a different seller for $55. It works well and with it mounted behind the rear view mirror, all I see are the two wires running up to my headliner. The image quality on the main camera is alright, the rear cam isn't too bad. I like the auto on and off feature (if you have a plug thats only active when the car is on). The lights on top of the unit are pretty annoying at night but I'm going to stick some tape over them.

[hermosabeach]

Durability

I run this one...$65 from ebay mounted to top edge and center of my windshield so as not to block my view and the rear cam on top of my CHMSL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X16kiyDtTms

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LCD-HD-720P-...item1c2fd0a418

Now that you have had this unit for a while, how has it held up? Battery life, image quality?