Dash cam advice

[superFoolish]

I couldn't find an appropriate location for this query, but it's kind of computery, so I thought I'd ask here:

I'm looking for a good value dash cam that is worth having (i.e. good enough quality to capture number plates, works at night, etc). My preference is for both front and rear view.

What would the minimum specs be for such a device, and what gotchas should I look out for? Whilst lower price is better, I don't want to waste money on a useless device.

I live in Australia, so I probably won't be able to source specific models that are mentioned, but I'd be happy to see links to the sort of devices worth installing.

Any advice appreciated, including comments on installation issues, etc; I'm not keen on having trailing wires.

Thanks in advance.

[Peltiq]

There is a forum which specialises in dashcams here.... https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/. Cameras are reviewed here....https://dashboardcamerareviews.com/

I have a Nextbase 402G in my VW Golf which was fitted by my local Halfords and I am very pleased with it. The fitters did a good job - all the wires are tucked away out of sight and the power for it comes from a fuse box under the bonnet. The camera clips into a bracket behind the rearview mirror and the windscreen and I remove it when I'm not in the car. Everything records onto an SD card and the quality is fantastic, even at night.

I don't have a rear-view camera though.

Karen

[bungeejumper]

Nextbase 412GW here, and it's been excellent so far - more than enough resolution for number plates, etc. It took about 10 minutes to fit, although I haven't piggybacked mine into the fuse box. (I might get round to it one day.) On my Toyota, the headlining above the windscreen has a concealed cavity for carrying cables, so it's a neat job.

This one records sound as well as images, so it records everything that gets said in the front of the car. (Fair warning!) If you should ever feel inclined to turn off the feature that records your true road speed, it'll do that too. Although I can't for the life of me imagine why anybody might want to do that?

I haven't had to use the video record in anger yet, but it's good to know that it's there, and yes, I've checked that it's all working OK.

FWIW, the specification says that it'll take an SD card of up to 32 gb. But in practice mine works fine with a full 64 gb SDXC, which gives it about seven hours of loop time.

BJ

[superFoolish]

Thanks for this information; much appreciated.

[staffordian]

I've had a Nextbase 212 dashcam for about eighteen months and am very happy with it. The picture is good quality but at night it's not usually possible to read oncoming number plates because their reflective nature means that as my headlights illuminate them, there is a tendancy to just record a bright white glare. In urban areas with good street lighting it is not quite so bad.

I deliberately chose a model without GPS just in case I ever had a bump whilst inadvertantly being a touch over the speed limit

The original one I bought failed after six months with an intermittent problem where the buttons would not work, and the internal battery failed, but a no quibble replacement has performed perfectly since then.

I paid for Halfords to fit it because it was only slightly dearer than buying the hard wiring kit alone, and they did a good job, but I have since swapped the car and found it straightforward to remove the camera from the old car and wire it in to the new one, using a piggyback fuse wire from the fuse box in the car. A Youtube video of a hardwire in a similar model to mine helped, but even without that I'd have been able to do it.

A quick warning about piggyback fuses. There are two or three types of car fuse, and my current Hyundai uses micro 2 fuses whereas my previous Nissan used mini fuses, so when I installed the dashcam I had to buy and crimp in a new piggyback connector. So check first if buying one...

https://www.google.com/search?q=car+fus ... hRQnwxs5aM:

[staffordian]

Another point struck me about hard wiring a dashcam, which most people will be aware of but could catch out the unwary. It is essential to get a hard wiring kit, as opposed to simply cutting off the power supply adapter plug fitted as standard which is designed to plug into a "cigarette lighter" type power socket.

Dashcams run off 5 volts so if you cut off the plug and splice the cable to a live or switched live cable in the car, the 12 volts supplied to the dashcam will very quickly make it an ex-dash cam.

[superFoolish]

What are thoughts on leaving a dash cam in a car when unattended?

Do people try to steal them, or are they too commonplace / low-value to be theft-worthy these days?

[bungeejumper]

What are thoughts on leaving a dash cam in a car when unattended?

Do people try to steal them, or are they too commonplace / low-value to be theft-worthy these days?

Depends on the location, I suppose. And on the thief. If some kid thinks it'll pay for his next fix, he'll smash out your window and remove it, and never mind the profit/damage ratio.

I remove the dashcam whenever I'm leaving the car in a remote rural location for several hours - in the same way that I "encourage" my wife not to leave her handbag lying on the passenger seat "because there's nothing of value in it". Most of the time, though, I just leave it in situ.

Let's face it, a thief would see the dash mount anyway, and would conclude (probably correctly) that you'd stowed the dashcam in the boot. His calculation then would be whether or not he could open the boot and find it before the sound of the car alarm attracted enough attention to make him run away and abandon the attempt?

BJ