Dash cam solutions?

[Whoey]

Thinking about implementing a dash cam for road trips, given that there's been a few WTF moments on my last two trips. I could probably use either my Nexus4 or my old Motorola Defy... Given the right app of course. Anyone else have experience with this sort of thing? Would an app do or should I look at some sort of integrated simple system?

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[comis]

I am not too sure using a phone as a dash cam is the best idea.  I have tried using my Samsung S4 to record a small journey, and the phone keep getting really warm and cutting off about 12-15min mark.  A designated dash cam probably could endure higher temperature, loop back when the memory is full and some nicer one probably even have G sensor to detect the crash and prevent accidental erasing.

[Whoey]

I was looking at this:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hovans.autoguard

Also, if I use my old Defy, it's not being used as a phone or anything else, so it should be fine to record, plus I already have a nice car mount for it.

[powernoodle]

I too am looking for a dash cam, but a fixed, permanent solution that records automatically when the vehicle is started.  There appears to be several good options in the US$200 - $300 range.

[Essexman]

I am not too sure using a phone as a dash cam is the best idea.  I have tried using my Samsung S4 to record a small journey, and the phone keep getting really warm and cutting off about 12-15min mark.  A designated dash cam probably could endure higher temperature, loop back when the memory is full and some nicer one probably even have G sensor to detect the crash and prevent accidental erasing.

I like that idea, not really looked at these before, they do seem a good idea.

[detron]

never looked into it,  but I just installed the app,  thanks for that one!

[derekmac]

I've been wanting to get something for offroading, but don't want to spend the money on a GoPro.


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[comis]

You guys probably may have browsed thru this site, but it does offer some footage of these dash cam day and night time.  I think it would be nice to see the footage before buying, since it will not too useful if the resolution is too low or too much glare at night, and can't read the license plates from the footage.

http://dashboardcamerareviews.com/category/favorites/

I am not related or associated to this site or any of the camera in anyway.

[dks]

I have a couple of these classic cheap cameras, that come with a variety of mounting options.




The picture is good, but the battery life is about 15 minutes only. But, you can connect them to a power supply for more runtime.

There is no screen but you can connect it to a computer etc. so as to adjust where it is pointing.

I have used them in  cars and on bicycles.

[Whoey]

You guys probably may have browsed thru this site, but it does offer some footage of these dash cam day and night time.  I think it would be nice to see the footage before buying, since it will not too useful if the resolution is too low or too much glare at night, and can't read the license plates from the footage.

http://dashboardcamerareviews.com/category/favorites/

I am not related or associated to this site or any of the camera in anyway.

Looking at that there seems to be quite a few reasonably priced options, and also some really premium ones that are way out of what I would be willing at this point in time. I would think that most of the screen less ones would be better to setup and leave in place vs mounting/unmounting a phone. That being said I am planning to try the free app first (there's a ~2eur pay option to remove the ads, which is not unreasonable for what it appears to offer)

My thought initially was to capture some of the near accidents committed by others on the road... so I can share their stupidity with the universe

[Reinier]

I have a very cheap dash cam (no-name, about GBP 40.00 on eBay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251477743021) which performs rather well. Picture quality is good, G-sensor works, recording loops if SD card is full (you can prevent files from being overwritten). No GPS though.
It's not installed in my car at the moment because I had it with me on our last vacation in Canada/the US. And of course I've seen several incidents/accidents happening since

Edit:
The G-Sensor of gravity sensing system, when the car collision, recorder can locking clips at the time automatically that make sure not to cover and delete.

Good to know 

[Whoey]

That's one of the ones I looked at via the link comis posted.

I saw a number of them on amazon.co.uk starting at 20GBP, coming from Hong Kong, that won't deliver to Spain 

Seems fleabay might be a better option:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Full-HD-1080P-G1W2-7-LCD-Car-dash-Cam-DVR-Camera-Recorder-G-sensor-Night-Vision-/151360793976?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item233dce6d78

[Reinier]

You should find a European seller. Mine came from the UK, shipping was only 4 pounds

[Whoey]

I do usually look for European Union sellers first, and prefer to pay them a little more to both get it earlier, and avoid being hammered for import duties... negating any savings... it was just an example that there are plenty out there at reasonable prices... plus the blue matches my car

[PTRSAK]

I have a couple of those branded as Navig8r.
Cost AU$ 65 plus card. They work really well. I have one in the work truck and one in my 4WD. 1080p video, I have 8GB class 10 cards in them and the video is nice and clean.
Much better than the 720 cam I had before.

[Lichtbote]

My thought initially was to capture some of the near accidents committed by others on the road... so I can share their stupidity with the universe

Be carefull with that - a few days ago i´ve seen on TV that there was a court decision that such material is not allowed. A lawyer had one of those cams in his car, filming those near accidents and other situations - and was gone with it to court to get "them" punished. The court decided that such filming is not allowed (and so can´t be used) as it violates the personal rights of everyone filmed without his OK.

I don´t know if that was a german only decision, or if it may be based on some EU-laws. You better check that before spending the money.

[Whoey]

actually, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashcam

Dashcams are forbidden by law in Austria,[6] Switzerland[7] and Spain. In Australia recording on public roadways is allowed as long as the recording does not infringe upon one's personal privacy in a way that may be deemed inappropriate in a court of law.[1][8]

well that makes it a lot easier... 

[ryan1835]

i keep thinking of getting one but just haven't bothered to take the plunge yet, i do ALOT of miles during the week for work and have had some very near WTF are you doing moments!

[PPCAPache]

I bought myself a Navman MiVue 358 as I was a Channel rep and was driving a lot, it records to MicroSD card (I have a 32GB installed), I am no longer working so gave the 358 to my wife s site it's working full time, have capture some WTF moments. There is also a GPS version the 388.

Sent from my Nokia Lumia 930 via TapaTalk.

[comis]

actually, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashcam

Dashcams are forbidden by law in Austria,[6] Switzerland[7] and Spain. In Australia recording on public roadways is allowed as long as the recording does not infringe upon one's personal privacy in a way that may be deemed inappropriate in a court of law.[1][8]

well that makes it a lot easier... 

I am glad to check that before buying one.  Otherwise, it will be   

i keep thinking of getting one but just haven't bothered to take the plunge yet, i do ALOT of miles during the week for work and have had some very near WTF are you doing moments!

I think it may worth a while to look into that, I remembered seeing a lot of wild things while driving.  Once I was even caught in between a robbery car and bunch of police cars. 

[zoidberg]

I have a couple of those branded as Navig8r.
Cost AU$ 65 plus card. They work really well. I have one in the work truck and one in my 4WD. 1080p video, I have 8GB class 10 cards in them and the video is nice and clean.
Much better than the 720 cam I had before.

That isn't too bad a price really. I wouldn't mind one in the truck. I often see stupid drivers and stuff.

[Whoey]

This thought originated a long time ago, but mainly a few weeks back we were returning from visiting my mother in law (1h drive north of where we live), and we were nearly home. A few exits from home (where you can avoid paying the 2.10eur road toll by exiting onto the old highway vs the "autopista") we were happily cruising along, and in front of us a car and in front of the car a tractor trailer. The car moved into the exit lane, signalling and everything, and at the last minute the truck braked hard, and swerved into the exit lane at the last second just missing the divider and the car...

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.9205464,-1.836171,18z?hl=en

have a look at the street view there, I'm pretty sure the truck missed the last divider by a metre or so... I think the poles had been knocked down previously... in any case they're meant to fold.

[Reinier]

Were you planning on making vids like this one? http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/this-is-the-luckiest-biker-youll-see-today-2014-08-20

[Whoey]

That was the idea... Sadly due to Spanish privacy laws it's illegal to record in public places without permission prior to recording. Wonder how that works for newscasting and paparazzi... AFAIK they do not ask permission to record the beaches...

sent from my Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft

[jzmtl]

That was the idea... Sadly due to Spanish privacy laws it's illegal to record in public places without permission prior to recording. Wonder how that works for newscasting and paparazzi... AFAIK they do not ask permission to record the beaches...

sent from my Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft

How's that even going to work? If taken word to word it essentially bans all photography in public places and all surveillance videos. 

[bmot]

That was the idea... Sadly due to Spanish privacy laws it's illegal to record in public places without permission prior to recording. Wonder how that works for newscasting and paparazzi... AFAIK they do not ask permission to record the beaches...

sent from my Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft

How's that even going to work? If taken word to word it essentially bans all photography in public places and all surveillance videos. 

I'd say it only becomes a problem if the person that's on the video/pic complains.

[comis]

This thought originated a long time ago, but mainly a few weeks back we were returning from visiting my mother in law (1h drive north of where we live), and we were nearly home. A few exits from home (where you can avoid paying the 2.10eur road toll by exiting onto the old highway vs the "autopista") we were happily cruising along, and in front of us a car and in front of the car a tractor trailer. The car moved into the exit lane, signalling and everything, and at the last minute the truck braked hard, and swerved into the exit lane at the last second just missing the divider and the car...

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.9205464,-1.836171,18z?hl=en

have a look at the street view there, I'm pretty sure the truck missed the last divider by a metre or so... I think the poles had been knocked down previously... in any case they're meant to fold.

It looks a little scary since the splitting area is not that long, and I could see it may become a problem if people are driving fast and don't want to miss the exit. 

That was the idea... Sadly due to Spanish privacy laws it's illegal to record in public places without permission prior to recording. Wonder how that works for newscasting and paparazzi... AFAIK they do not ask permission to record the beaches...

sent from my Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft

How's that even going to work? If taken word to word it essentially bans all photography in public places and all surveillance videos. 

I'd say it only becomes a problem if the person that's on the video/pic complains.

I think the conflicting idea is you probably could owe a dash cam, and no one probably will ever know about the filming.  And the only time it may come in handy is someone in front doing something illegal or immoral, then the video may become useful evidence.(However, I don't know know whether it can be used as evidence, since it is 'illegal' to film)

[Lichtbote]

It´s OK to use them here in general, let´s say to document a overland road-trip, to remember it - same as with pics you take on holyday.

But it´s not OK to film persons on purpose without their allowance, neither directly nor generally, as for the a.m. traffic problem documentation - that´s illegal and can´t be used on court.

[Whoey]

Some googling turned up cases where people have been fined a few thousand euros because their security video surveillance caught a few cm of a public walkway.

Spain has messed up laws sometimes... Like it's not illegal to download music and video (TV/movies), just to upload it. Also we pay a media tax on all hard drives/blank CDs/USB sticks that is to cover lost royalties for pirated media. Only top earners get those royalties, the low earners are entitled to nothing.

I don't understand how the privacy laws only affect what is convenient to the law. A while back there was some talk of making it illegal to film police during protests (doing things they shouldn't be). Seems to be a lot of double standards like that with laws.

sent from my Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft

[bmot]

Some googling turned up cases where people have been fined a few thousand euros because their security video surveillance caught a few cm of a public walkway.

Spain has messed up laws sometimes... Like it's not illegal to download music and video (TV/movies), just to upload it. Also we pay a media tax on all hard drives/blank CDs/USB sticks that is to cover lost royalties for pirated media. Only top earners get those royalties, the low earners are entitled to nothing.

I don't understand how the privacy laws only affect what is convenient to the law. A while back there was some talk of making it illegal to film police during protests (doing things they shouldn't be). Seems to be a lot of double standards like that with laws.

sent from my Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft

The Netherlands have a similar law on downloading, though I do believe they're trying to get that changed... We also have a similar payment system. There's a "home copy charge" on each thing that could hold and play music: phones, blank cd's, computers...