Anyone have a dashcam they really like?
- I don’t care about screens
- I’d like something I could mount to my dash
- I’d like something that can record audio
I was trapped in my car recently and berated by a neighbor, so I mostly want something I can use to record that sort of behavior in the future. Otherwise, it’s just he said/she said.
Thanks!
Edit: I ended up with a VIOFO VS1 Mini. I installed it last night and so far so good. The only annoyance was that my EZ-Pass(toll road transponder) was already mounted right where I wanted my camera, so that had to move. Also, I still need to pretty up my wiring. I’m feeling a bit more confident driving in the neighborhood. And I checked, can download video with the app no problem.
I wanna put a camcorder from the 80s on my roof
That’s sounds wickedly retro-brilliant and I love it. Would it use full-size VHS tapes, or those dinky ones that fit into a full-size converter?
Full size,I’m thinking of the big, over-the-shoulder kind.
This website was a great resource when I was shopping for one. They are based in Canada but ships to the US where I am so I ended up buying from them as well.
I live in Australia where the temperatures get insane and destroy most electronics left in cars.
I have a Viofo A229 PRO 3CH, it has a module that faces forward, and a separate camera that gives a view of the inside of my car as well as some of the outside sides, and a third camera on a long line that is mounted on my rear window that has a view of the rear.
The images are clear, I can read licence plates easily day and night, and after being in two accidents it gives me peace of mind that I am protected in court if someone hits me again.
I ended up ordering a VF-VS1 VIOFO VS1 mini. It seemed low-hassle, and I’m happy with audio + front video.
I don’t have any recommendations, but just want to say: The cheap $100 -ish dashcams are about as good as the $300 ones. Because theres only like 2 manufacturers that makes the sensors for the dashcams and its all the same quality.
Linus Tech Tip Video you might wanna watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AnyhHl3_tE
According to Linus: THINKWARE F70 or VIOFO A119 v3
My parents just have random no name brand dashcams on their cars lol 👀
I’ve been rocking an Amazon bluskysea Chinese thing for 6 years, has covered me in two accidents where the other driver ran into me. I’ve got hours of footage of dumbass drivers I should go through one day
I have an Aukey something-or-other in my minivan that’s followed me through three cars now… Planning on getting a Viofo dual camera for my wife’s Highlander.
Biggest thing to look for in a dashcam is a supercapacitor instead of a battery. Lithium-ion batteries aren’t well-suited for extreme temperature swings that most cars see.
One final thought: GPS is neat, but can and will absolutely be used against you in court: “oh, see OP was going 37 instead of 35; if OP wasn’t speeding, then this could have been avoided entirely”
I have a Viofo A229 and like it a lot; I also have had a cheapo one that didn’t have any issues. I upgraded after my sister got hit by a box truck, using a same cheapo one. It survived and got good enough video, I just also wanted to get a rear facing one.
I think the big thing I found in my research was get one with a Starvis 2 sensor, as it has better night performance. Otherwise, get one that matches your price range and feature set. Most will do well enough anymore.
I believe this is the same one we have. App is kinda slow but works, and for most stuff we’ll just put the sd card in the computer at home.
Front and back cams have been very clear during day and night. Watched a lot of comparison videos beforehand, and viofo was better than most expensive ones and reviews were all mainly positive. We’ve had it for over 2 years now.
Yeah, they’re a little tricky because the model numbers change based on the number of cameras, despite generally being the same individual components. But I love mine too. Also got a hardwire kit so I don’t gotta deal with the cigarette lighter cord. Took me about 2 hours of planning and watching YouTube videos cause I’m thorough, but it was a fun afternoon project.
We got the twin cams, and with the vehicle we put it in, everything tucked nicely right under the trim. The initial plan was to hardwire it to get images while parked as well, but now the car doesn’t go to the sketchier area it did then so we never got around to it.
I couldn’t get that to work. Despite being plugged into accessory, it would remain on at all times, and I didn’t want to end up with a dead battery from it running 24/7. I’ve never been too worried about parking modes either tho.
Its been a bit since that video came out. Interested if anything has changed.
Eh, aside from better resolution, dashcam tech doesn’t really have much advancements like more expensive tech. A dashcam with a quality sensor and a quality SD card is really all you need. Stay away from GPS logging because it can bite you in the ass.
I bought this one off Amazon recently for $79 USD (currently has a 20% discount too) Anyski 3 channel 5GHz (can’t link here because comment gets removed).
Reasons I liked it:
- it mounts to the window and won’t do that thing where it gets knocked out of place in the event of extreme force such as getting rear ended. You’ll see a lot of YouTube dash cam videos where the camera goes up after the car has been rear ended because it wasn’t on a fixed mount like this one but a swivel. Avoid swivels if possible for this reason.
- has a total of 3 cameras, 1 facing the street, 1 facing the cab, and 1 facing the rear view window behind the car
- the rear view camera is not necessary to hook up so you could just do the main unit with 2 cameras and still have a camera, just smaller POV, of the back
- the sound quality was decent for interior of the car
- it had a WiFi hotspot feature so you can remotely connect using your phone to easily and quickly grab videos and not have to mess with the SD card (but you still had that option if you wished)
- the video quality is really good
I think it might meet your criteria.
I’ve put a couple Viofo dash cameras in family cars and overall been happy with them. Just about every camera I’ve seen records audio, but the quality can vary. The first camera I had years ago, a Z-Edge Z3, really needed to have a low cut filter on it; I think engine and road noise were reflected and amplified by the windshield so the bass frequencies kind of drowned out everything else. Probably still good enough to record an angry neighbor if they’re shouting but you might not get everything. A camera with an interior view like a taxi or ride share driver might use may have better audio, but I’ve never tried one of those.
- I’d like something I could mount to my dash
You want something that can mount on top of your dashboard, not to your windshield? Despite the name, most dashcams are designed to mount to the windshield, but in some states/jurisdictions attaching anything to the windshield is illegal (I think Virginia is like this). Looking for something designed to mount to the dash might narrow your options but also make picking one easier. I suspect the audio might also be clearer if you’re not mounting the camera directly to the windshield.
For Virginia: dashcam can be mounted on the windshield so long as it’s behind the rear view mirror. It can’t block the space between the mirror and the dash. I don’t think police will pull you, they never pulled me for it in the years mine was mounted that way (only a little below the mirror), but state inspector will move it to the side or tell you to move it. My current BlackVue is completely hidden by the mirror so no problem.
I’m mostly worried about wiring and having a distraction in my field of view, so mounting behind the rear-view mirror might work. I already have a parking tag there, but there might be space for both. Thanks!
Generally mounting it behind the mirror or as close to that as possible is ideal so it’s not really in your field of vision, but you can still look at it without too much effort when parked. Be sure that wherever you mount it has the lens looking out through an area the windshield wipers will clear, otherwise the camera will be useless in the rain.
The ideal solution with the power cable is to hardwire it to the fuse box and tuck the cable behind your trim, but that takes effort and being confident that you can do that without damaging your trim (tools to make that easier can be purchased pretty cheap online or someplace like Harbor Freight). Sometimes cars have electricity running to the mirror for functions like auto-dimming or built-in garage door openers, and some cameras are designed to tap into that. That can be really easy and clean looking, almost stealthy. Try searching online for your car model and dashcam if you think that might be an option.
Barring that an easier, if uglier, solution is to get a bunch of adhesive cable clips and route the cable from your 12 volt outlet up your dash and around the edge of your windshield. Be sure to tuck the cable as close as possible when in the footwell so feet or bags don’t dislodge it. Sometimes the adhesive on the clips will fail and the cable will fall, though. Or if you’re really lazy like me you can swap out a shorter cable and let it dangle down vertically from the camera to the outlet. The cable is really pretty thin and I’ve never found it distracting, but it’s not for everyone.
I’ll probably go the long-cable route. It’s a 2008 car, so I’m not winning any style points anyway. I’ll ask my mechanic if they could hardwire it next time I’m in.
Thanks!
It sounds like a mobile app or knockoff GoPro style action cam might work better. That way you can point it out the side if needed and the audio quality is likely to be much better than a dash cam.
For budget dash cams, I’ve had good experience with the 70mai brand. Keep in mind that on most dash cams, if you get one without a screen, you will probably have to install their app to change settings.
I thought about a mobile app, but something that consistently records is better than relying on my faulty memory.
I’ll take a look at 70mai, thanks.
It sounds like a mobile app or knockoff GoPro style action cam might work better.
Bad idea. Its always better to have a dedicated device for something crucial like collecting evidence. I mean its the reason we don’t strap random gopros to cops.
If you DIY, you could potentially:
- Forget to press record
- Forget to manage the files and to delete old files allow room for new ones
- It coulds stop recording due to overheating, because it wasn’t designed to be recording for the entire duration of your drive.
I have a GoPro knockoff (Akaso V50X) for my motorcycle helmet, it can do loop recording. As long as I remember to hit “record” 😂
Otherwise it’s been really dependable. Caught my in-laws’ neighbor flooring it past me one morning in his Ferrari. He knows me, so it was intentional, but still.
I bought this camera in December of last year. Tinkered around with all the settings. Bought an SD card that was ultimately way bigger than I needed, but I have zero complaints about the camera itself. The video is high enough resolution that you’ll probably have enough detail to work out what happened. The wide FOV helps catch stuff that happens a bit left and right of the front of your car. The audio is great (if you aren’t blasting music like I always am).
I wouldn’t recommend mounting it to the dash itself as that will result in a very low angle for the footage, but it’s your car. Do what you gotta do. I mounted mine behind my rear view mirror so I cannot even see it while driving. I used the included adhesive cable management clips to run the cable along the edge of my windshield and eventually had it drop down to my cigarette lighter charger. It’s not a “professional” grade install, but it’s meant for function not beauty.
The mic will definitely pic up your own audio (again if no music is blasting) but I don’t know how well it would pick up audio of someone outside the car. I would imagine with no music playing and a window down or door open you would be able to catch a conversation.
The app and getting videos off the camera is a little bit of a hassle but once you do it a few times it gets easier.
I’ll do my best to answer any questions if you have any about that specific model. It’s the only dash cam I have ever bought so I have no real comparison to work from, but the few people I have shown it to liked it more than theirs so take that how you will lol.
I hadn’t thought of mounting behind the mirror and running wiring along the edge of the window. That makes sense, thank you. I’ll take a look at your suggestion. 😊
If you do end up buying the camera just be aware that you need to buy a properly rated SD card to go along with it. I stupidly bought a massive card so now I have basically a rolling month+ of driving on there at all times. Cut into1 minute chunks lol.
Though it has been nice being able to mark moments by hitting the button on the camera itself (it just marks the file and moves it aside so it won’t get written over later). Downloading the files from the camera to my phone takes ~5 minutes to get the camera linked to my phone and download the 1 min file. Thankfully it’s only for emergencies or if I saw something crazy so I don’t have to do it often.
