Vehicle camera / Dashboard camera recorders

[BehindBlueI's]

Resurrecting this old thread.

BehindBluel's wrote in March 2020 that he purchased this camera https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...title_o01_s01?

I am thinking about buying one for my new used Dodge Ram with a camper, and wonder if it is still operating and how it has lasted.

Anyone else have any other suggestions re front and rear cameras?

Thanks.

I had to replace the mount. It lost it's stickiness/air tightness and would fall off after a few days. I bought a new suction mount and no issues there. The battery doesn't hold much charge, and it draws a surprising amount of power if you leave it plugged in to a battery source. I leave it plugged in to a keyed source and don't really care how long the 'sentry mode' lasts, I just want it for driving.

Other than those minor issues, no concerns or problems.

[karandom]

A very timely bump as a reminder to get a dash cam stat.

Thankfully no contact was made, but this could have turned bad fast and I'm glad I would have proof this guy was the aggressor.

I was driving on 93 North into Boston and this area almost always has traffic ranging from stop and go to max 40 MPH most days. It is rare to reach the speed limit for this section of highway.

I noticed a guy in a Dodge Challenger SRT behind me start to make animated hand motions for what I assumed was general frustration with the disaster that is this section of highway. I commented to the wife about him and laughed. Apparently he was mad at me for some reason. As we continue to drive he starts flashing me and carrying on like an idiot. I'm confused as there is no way to go faster given the traffic, but after a few minutes of behaving like a moron, I moved over a lane to let him harass the next guy. Apparently he was mad about this so he pulls over in front of me, brake checks me and slows to almost a complete stop. After trying to get into an accident with me he accelerators away and almost spins his car causing another accident and proceeds to drive like an ass into the distance.



Get a dash cam!!! It definitely felt more intense in person then on video. As was said before, don't let perfection be the enemy of good enough. Mine is a Aukey DRO2 unit that isn't listed on Amazon anymore that I bought back in July of 2020 for around $60.

If I wasn't quick on the brakes, I would have rear ended him when he brake checked me and would have looked at fault without video proof.

[HeavyDuty]

A very timely bump as a reminder to get a dash cam stat.

Thankfully no contact was made, but this could have turned bad fast and I'm glad I would have proof this guy was the aggressor.

I was driving on 93 North into Boston and this area almost always has traffic ranging from stop and go to max 40 MPH most days. It is rare to reach the speed limit for this section of highway.

I noticed a guy in a Dodge Challenger SRT behind me start to make animated hand motions for what I assumed was general frustration with the disaster that is this section of highway. I commented to the wife about him and laughed. Apparently he was mad at me for some reason. As we continue to drive he starts flashing me and carrying on like an idiot. I'm confused as there is no way to go faster given the traffic, but after a few minutes of behaving like a moron, I moved over a lane to let him harass the next guy. Apparently he was mad about this so he pulls over in front of me, brake checks me and slows to almost a complete stop. After trying to get into an accident with me he accelerators away and almost spins his car causing another accident and proceeds to drive like an ass into the distance.



Get a dash cam!!! It definitely felt more intense in person then on video. As was said before, don't let perfection be the enemy of good enough. Mine is a Aukey DRO2 unit that isn't listed on Amazon anymore that I bought back in July of 2020 for around $60.

If I wasn't quick on the brakes, I would have rear ended him when he brake checked me and would have looked at fault without video proof.

What an asshole. And one of the reasons I avoid I-93 south of Boston.

[John Hearne]

I bought an XL F150 that didn't have a backup camera. I ended up buying a unit that replaced the factory rear view mirror. It has a forward facing camera and a rear facing camera to mount near the license plate. The camera takes a micro-SD card for recording and you can view the saved recordings on your cell phone if you install the app.

Overall I'm happy with it with some caveats. The camera has a lead you can tie to the reverse lights to angle the camera down. The angle is extreme and only useful if you're trying to connect a trailer. I ended up disconnecting the reverse trigger as it made the rear view camera useless for backing. If the wire run weren't so long, I've thought about putting a switch on the dash to trigger that wire so I could have the option to aim the camera down when needed. Had I known when installing, I could have easily run a wire.

There are two power wires, one for constant 12 volt (+) and one for an ignition trigger. If you're doing a quick install and tie both to constant hot, it will drain your battery all the way down. I wired it properly and haven't had any more problems.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Casey]

After using the Garmin 35 since early 2017, a couple months ago I upgraded to the 66W and added a Mini in the rear window. Having WiFi connectivity to both is quite nice, although the download speed is dreadful. The app allows you to do picture in picture when downloading (see below). My dislike for the 66W is that the windshield mount is not as solid as on the 35. Specifically, I'm referring to where the mount interfaces with the camera. On the 35, there was no play in the mount at all. On the 66W, there is just a tiny bit of wobble. In actual use, this does not seem to cause any shakiness in the recorded video, but it is still a minor annoyance to me.

Ran this combo until October of last year. The only issue I had with it was that the sync between the two cameras would get out of whack. Not sure if that was because the Mini lacked GPS and therefore lost track of time, or something else. No issues with heat baking either of the cameras despite my car being parked outside 24/7 in South Florida. Anyway, I switched vehicles in October 2021 and for now I am running just the 66W in the front. I have a 57 on the way which will take the 66W's place in the front windshield, and the 66W will move to the rear window. The 57 has a 140° FOV compared to the 180° of the 66W (and its successor, the 67W). The fisheye lens adds a bit of distortion, which I'm hoping to get away from with the 57. Overall, I'm happy with the quality of the Garmin lineup.

Sample footage:

https://youtu.be/EhTlqvaEDt0

https://youtu.be/l7y2tXiqqaw

https://youtu.be/z5v6qqnxPYE

https://youtu.be/x8Rdpm43FIU

https://youtu.be/oGYfkY2PWzQ

[wrmettler]

BehindBluel's -
Thanks for the response. I'll probably pick up one.
I put a shell on the back of my PU and can't see behind/beside in the mirrors very well.

[RJ]

Resurrecting this old thread.

BehindBluel's wrote in March 2020 that he purchased this camera https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...title_o01_s01?

I am thinking about buying one for my new used Dodge Ram with a camper, and wonder if it is still operating and how it has lasted.

Anyone else have any other suggestions re front and rear cameras?

Thanks.

Not sure if Costco is in your area, but my wife and I were in looking for something else and noticed they had rear license plate cameras. Might be something of interest if you haven't decided to buy already:

https://www.costco.com/car-electroni...&reloaded=true


Since I changed vehicles recently, I was interested in maybe buying a new dash camera to replace my ROAV C1 Pro. I looked at current options but didn't finding anything better. So I just reset the C1 Pro and installed it on the front window of the truck with some heavy duty double back black Velcro. I could not get the ROAV slide-on mounting pad off the old car, so I had to leave it. I hope this pad keeps it in place, but I'm concerned about the high heat on the windscreen. We'll see.

The C1 Pro still works well enough, I set it for 1,440 x 30 fps recording at 1 min intervals. A drawback is the video down load from camera to phone takes real time (a 1 min recording takes about 1 min to download to my phone.)

[EMC]

I'm looking heavily at the Garmin mini 2 dashcam. The appeal being the higher probability of reliable software support and the tiny form factor over most of the other generic chicom options on Amazon.

I'm less concerned about its 1080p resolution. Should be good enough for my needs.

[Simong]

Whatever you do buy a good quality reliable unit that also has good night vision capabilities.

For that one time (or more) that you will really need this device to do it's job, spend or actually invest a little more and get a good unit.

[Casey]

I'm looking heavily at the Garmin mini 2 dashcam. The appeal being the higher probability of reliable software support and the tiny form factor over most of the other generic chicom options on Amazon.

I'm less concerned about its 1080p resolution. Should be good enough for my needs.

This is a lengthy—but thorough—review of the Mini 2.