dashcam, do you use one?

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Can anyone recommend a dashcam with front and back cam which is easy to install too?

I've seen those ones where it's one dashcam at the front but it's got two cams on it so it records both directions
 
landyzoner said:
How much do they go for mate?
Is it hard wired or through ciggy socket?
Click to expand...

They are expensive but worth the money as the quality is good. They are full GPS recording as opposed to a visible screen, although you can attach one if you really need to see on a screen where you are going!!! I prefer to look through the front windscreen.:)
I now use mine via the ciggy socket as I do not want them running all the time. I did have one hard wired with the additional optional kit but decided to have it removed and just use the ignition connection. It's a personal choice.
If I want to review any part of my journey, I put the sim card into the computer and view it there, full size. As mine is fitted, it is just fit-and-forget unless I want to review it or need evidence of a situation. The higher the sim card capacity the more is kept before it 'reloops' .
 
I've got a next base hard wired in the front. Haven't got anything at the back. I'd hope cos of the fish eye lense my road position, speed etc would be covered by the front and worst case if I need to swing it round I can.
 
Got a Yi off e-bay, really good images but the menu is in chinese (doh!). App is in English but never press "reset" as it all goes back into Chinese...
 
rob1miles said:
Got a Yi off e-bay, really good images but the menu is in chinese (doh!). App is in English but never press "reset" as it all goes back into Chinese...
Click to expand...

A Top Tip :)
I have a Yi camera as a spare or fit into my car but haven’t got around to it yet. very small so will tuck in behind the mirror easy, the feature i like is you can view the footage to a mobile or tablet via bluetooth so very much quicker than the next base camera i have in my disco that uses wifi to download load to camera or tablet... so slow.
 

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landyzoner said:
Can anyone recommend a dashcam with front and back cam which is easy to install too?

I've seen those ones where it's one dashcam at the front but it's got two cams on it so it records both directions
Click to expand...
Nextbase, I have the 411, the 511 is a bit bigger but does the same. Front and back record to different filenames on the memory card which makes it easier to find them. They have a very neat magnetic attachment so switching between cars is easy, if expensive in screen mounts (which each have the gps unit in them). I got a good deal on the camera and two more base units in Halfords with a Trade Card, and am pleased I went there because the first camera had a fault - swapped no problem.
 
boguing said:
Nextbase, I have the 411, the 511 is a bit bigger but does the same. Front and back record to different filenames on the memory card which makes it easier to find them. They have a very neat magnetic attachment so switching between cars is easy, if expensive in screen mounts (which each have the gps unit in them). I got a good deal on the camera and two more base units in Halfords with a Trade Card, and am pleased I went there because the first camera had a fault - swapped no problem.
Click to expand...
Well, that fault didn't come back, but I have a new one. And Nextbase's attitude is fecking ridiculous.

Since I've had this new one I've been poking the 'protect' button every month or so to gather some gems for the thread (which I can't find) that suggested posting clips for your entertainment. I went to get them off the card the other day. Nothing there. The only protected stuff is hours of the empty car while parked. Nothing's hit it, the weather wasn't shaking the car, no idea what's been triggering it, but it's not surprising that it flattens the car's battery after a couple of days if you forget to take it out. (It is meant to be left in to record accidental damage). Anyway, it appears that it never resoponded to a button press.

Nextbase make a big thing of saying that unless you use their own micro sd cards they won't honour warranty. Stinks, guess how much they charge for theirs?

Anyway, here's the bit that wound me up just now. Michael from tech support has just told me that i should regularly format the card, as 'it's an essential part of maintenance'. What an utterly ****e bit of design. Actually, it's not design really is it? We're buying prototype crap and doing their testing for them. The thing overwrites most of the card every few hours anyway.

Buy something else. Probably equally flawed but their support may have an even better sense of humour.
 
boguing said:
Well, that fault didn't come back, but I have a new one. And Nextbase's attitude is fecking ridiculous.

Since I've had this new one I've been poking the 'protect' button every month or so to gather some gems for the thread (which I can't find) that suggested posting clips for your entertainment. I went to get them off the card the other day. Nothing there. The only protected stuff is hours of the empty car while parked. Nothing's hit it, the weather wasn't shaking the car, no idea what's been triggering it, but it's not surprising that it flattens the car's battery after a couple of days if you forget to take it out. (It is meant to be left in to record accidental damage). Anyway, it appears that it never resoponded to a button press.

Nextbase make a big thing of saying that unless you use their own micro sd cards they won't honour warranty. Stinks, guess how much they charge for theirs?

Anyway, here's the bit that wound me up just now. Michael from tech support has just told me that i should regularly format the card, as 'it's an essential part of maintenance'. What an utterly ****e bit of design. Actually, it's not design really is it? We're buying prototype crap and doing their testing for them. The thing overwrites most of the card every few hours anyway.

Buy something else. Probably equally flawed but their support may have an even better sense of humour.
Click to expand...
Same^.
Some really random stuff gets saved.
 
Interesting.
FWIW Which? dashcam best buy top 7 scorers are all Nextbase models.
But scores are between 72 & 77%, main cons being lack of instructions, high price & only 3 out of 5 stars for night time video quality.
 
I've been through all of the protected video and it seems to have partially captured just one of maybe a dozen events that I've asked it to. The partially captured neatly misses a van actually pulling out in front of me.

All the other protected stuff was from 'G' events. There are a few speed humps and dips in the road that I regularly pass and it's got a lot of those, but since I deleted as I went through them I can't say that it got all of them. I have my doubts since I only came across maybe three that featured my removing it from the car.

I think I'll press for a replacement, and will monitor it more often, but I don't have high hopes. If @Ratae's Which? report is correct, then a) I wonder how many of their users/testers actually checked how often it remembered anything useful, and b) it doesn't hold much hope for any of these things actually getting the one really important one that we buy them for.
 
I looked when I saw your post. And yes, I sometimes wonder just how thorough they are.
 
boguing said:
Well, that fault didn't come back, but I have a new one. And Nextbase's attitude is fecking ridiculous.

Since I've had this new one I've been poking the 'protect' button every month or so to gather some gems for the thread (which I can't find) that suggested posting clips for your entertainment. I went to get them off the card the other day. Nothing there. The only protected stuff is hours of the empty car while parked. Nothing's hit it, the weather wasn't shaking the car, no idea what's been triggering it, but it's not surprising that it flattens the car's battery after a couple of days if you forget to take it out. (It is meant to be left in to record accidental damage). Anyway, it appears that it never resoponded to a button press.

Nextbase make a big thing of saying that unless you use their own micro sd cards they won't honour warranty. Stinks, guess how much they charge for theirs?

Anyway, here's the bit that wound me up just now. Michael from tech support has just told me that i should regularly format the card, as 'it's an essential part of maintenance'. What an utterly ****e bit of design. Actually, it's not design really is it? We're buying prototype crap and doing their testing for them. The thing overwrites most of the card every few hours anyway.

Buy something else. Probably equally flawed but their support may have an even better sense of humour.
Click to expand...
Roadhawk and several other high end camera suppliers also suggest to format the memory cards regular. The newer Roadhawks can do it themselves automatically. Reason being the file system can become corrupted over time when it's constantly writing new files over old ones.

Roadhawk also say the same about memory cards. There's a lot of fakes on the market. They get too many complaints caused by memory cards that are not up to the job. Also a lot that don't perform well enough for constant video recording.

SD cards are more robust and faster than micro SD. Some only state read speed rates on the packet as they know the write speed is poor. I use a Sandisk Extreme with 60 meg bit write speed. Tests ok with H2testw memory card tester anorl. I have bought far too many memory cards over the years that have failed, so I only buy from shops like pcworld now.
 
Hippo said:
Roadhawk and several other high end camera suppliers also suggest to format the memory cards regular. The newer Roadhawks can do it themselves automatically. Reason being the file system can become corrupted over time when it's constantly writing new files over old ones.

Roadhawk also say the same about memory cards. There's a lot of fakes on the market. They get too many complaints caused by memory cards that are not up to the job. Also a lot that don't perform well enough for constant video recording.

SD cards are more robust and faster than micro SD. Some only state read speed rates on the packet as they know the write speed is poor. I use a Sandisk Extreme with 60 meg bit write speed. Tests ok with H2testw memory card tester anorl. I have bought far too many memory cards over the years that have failed, so I only buy from shops like pcworld now.
Click to expand...
I know that the rewriting is the excuse they use, but it's a bit shabby and smells of poor firmware to me. If it's card wear causing the problem then they should be refreshing like SSDs do. These things are just glorified video cameras and Joe Average should just be able to get on and use it, and not be faffing about 'maintaining' it. BTW, I've asked them about this two week instruction. Is this for @Hicap phill doing his fifteen mile overtakes 8 hours a day, @goonarmy crawling round the M25 to a site and back, or the @NorfolkBird driving to church once a week?

I only use high end SanDisk or Samsung for the same reason as you, but if Nextbase weren't so keen on flogging their high margin 'own brand' they'd publish a list of approved cards - just like other manufacturers do.
 
boguing said:
I know that the rewriting is the excuse they use, but it's a bit shabby and smells of poor firmware to me. If it's card wear causing the problem then they should be refreshing like SSDs do. These things are just glorified video cameras and Joe Average should just be able to get on and use it, and not be faffing about 'maintaining' it. BTW, I've asked them about this two week instruction. Is this for @Hicap phill doing his fifteen mile overtakes 8 hours a day, @goonarmy crawling round the M25 to a site and back, or the @NorfolkBird driving to church once a week?

I only use high end SanDisk or Samsung for the same reason as you, but if Nextbase weren't so keen on flogging their high margin 'own brand' they'd publish a list of approved cards - just like other manufacturers do.
Click to expand...
I walk actooly and I only go every 5 weeks, to help with maintenance :cool:
 
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