Reliable dash cam?

srichards

srichards

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Just noticed the cheap dash cam I bought has not been arsed to actually record any footage since the last time I checked it. Somehow not deleting what was already recorded off the card after connecting it to a mac seems to have upset it. What is a mystery is that whenever you start the car you can hear it start up so it is making all the right noises but not actually doing anything.

It did work fine for a while but now it doesn't. An unreliable dash cam is not something I want to have.

Any recommendations for reasonable ones that aren't stupid money? It needs to be plugged in and forgotten about. I have it wedged so it gets a wider angle view of the whole screen as the attached to screen view is crap. Rear view mirror ones won't be any good either as I already have a wide mirror clip on thingy over that so there isn't enough room to attach anything else. Plus it means running an unsightly wire down the screen which I don't want either. At the moment the wires are all hidden and it isn't obvious there is a camera in the car.

The one I have is the el cheapo e prance. The actual footage it records is decent so any replacement has to be able to be that standard. It's HD too.

Reviews aren't much help as often reviewers have had them for all of a few weeks. I need to find one that is good for the long term.

Are these transcend ones any good? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Transcend-D...=UTF8&qid=1413658402&sr=8-2&keywords=dash+cam
 
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Don't know what you call cheap, my e-Prance works well and cost just under £90 with a gps module. There's a menu item where you can select whether or not to overwrite existing files and an option to format the card in camera which might cure your 'not recording' issue.
 
I have deleted everything from the card. Unmounted the camera. Tested the camera and it is recording again. I plugged it back in and re-wiped everything and unmounted again so I will check it again to make sure it is still working.

I couldn't find the format in the eprance menu and I don't want to take it out and format it in a mac as that is bound to cause even more bother.
 
Steep said:
Don't know what you call cheap, my e-Prance works well and cost just under £90 with a gps module. There's a menu item where you can select whether or not to overwrite existing files and an option to format the card in camera which might cure your 'not recording' issue.
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I couldn't find it in mine. It has arrow buttons on screen but no physical left right buttons, just up and down. It's truly awful from a UI perspective. I may just buy another card. I may have formatted it when I first got it. I'll have to find the destruction manual which is a bit cryptic.
 
I have 2 Transcend 16GB Drive Pro 200 ( same as your link) dash cams in my Golf 1 up front and the other in the rear window.
There wired into permanant lives so never off and had no issues with operation or quality.

One of my customers who owns a driving school has them fitted and is very impressed.

We both purchased from Amazon..
 
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Only thing that concerns me with the transcend is that it doesn't remember the date for very long. Power is cut when ignition is off and a permanent live isn't an option really. It needs to last a week after it's been charged initially.
 
The date and time from the road hawk come from the gps module. No need for a permanent live. I wouldn't want my battery to go dead for a dash am.
 
I review dashcams and have had most of them for several months to several years. I still have a few blackvues from about 3 years ago which are working fine.

I also have the blackvue dr550gw in my car and it's been there since before its official release and I also have the dr500 in my lorry and again, I've had it since before release which was about 1 and a bit years ago. Never had any issues with the blackvues.
They met not be cheap, but you get what you pay for.
You can see some of my reviews on my site


http://photoix.co.uk/?s=Dash+cam
 
Just checked the card and it is a class 10. Are these devices ok with such cards or do I need a different speed?
 
Nah should be fine. Just make sure you've got looping enabled.

You haven't got an especially hard suspension do you? Some cameras like the road hawk can detect events and then automatically lock the file.
 
Suspension isn't hard but the local roads are appalling. I think it is doing short loops so not many files should be locked.
 
I just use my gopro as a dash cam, but looking to buy a proper one now that I can just leave in the car. The gopro is good but it's not exactly something I like to leave on my dash and it's a pain in the rear to mount and set up every drive.

I've got about £150 to get a dash cam. I wouldn't mind one that records behind you as well but there's so many different ones out there, it's a mine field. I'd imagine the cameras might be better quality if I buy just a front one for £150 rather than a front and rear camera for the same price.
 
Checked it today and the stupid thing has started turning off part way through a journey. I went through all the menus again and it has turned off loop recording again. I have set it all back up. It has the correct time and date so I don't know how other settings have been changed.

Transcend seems the best compromise and has wifi which could be useful.
 
cheers. That Transcend one has caught my eye before on my searches through Amazon, good to see some sample videos. I don't want to buy a dash cam without seeing some sort of sample footage.
 
srichards said:
Checked it today and the stupid thing has started turning off part way through a journey. I went through all the menus again and it has turned off loop recording again. I have set it all back up. It has the correct time and date so I don't know how other settings have been changed.

Transcend seems the best compromise and has wifi which could be useful.
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Iffy power connection possibly, if the camera has no internal battery a minor break in power could do that.
 
Steep said:
Iffy power connection possibly, if the camera has no internal battery a minor break in power could do that.
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It does have an internal battery. It lasts a few minutes I think. The connector is always pushed in properly and it should be of a design that can cope with being in a car otherwise it isn't much good!
 
On a few of my car nut forums the Mobius action camera has a lot of people swearing by it. A lot of great reviews and cheap at only £50ish, depending where you buy.

I don't think they are dedicated dash cams but more of a cheap solution for a person after a GoPro style camera on a budget. There does seem to be a dedicated dash cam on the site but everyone seems to use the action cameras.

http://www.minidvcameras.co.uk/viewcategory.php?groupid=0
 
The dedicated dash cam looks quite good but it is the same price as the transcend which offers wifi connectivity as well which sort of swung it for me. Being able to connect to it with a phone and grab footage or check it is behaving itself without having to take it out of the car and plug it into a computer will save a lot of hassle.
 
good point. I have a few CCTV cameras around my house that's wifi and the fact I can check and change everything using my phone, even whilst away from home is brilliant.
 
srichards said:
The dedicated dash cam looks quite good but it is the same price as the transcend which offers wifi connectivity as well which sort of swung it for me. Being able to connect to it with a phone and grab footage or check it is behaving itself without having to take it out of the car and plug it into a computer will save a lot of hassle.
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Sure the only moment you need to grab footage is when you've had a serious accident. I'd say it is a feature very low down on a prioritised requirements list. Heck likewise I went mad and ordered a 64Gb card for mine. Pointless when it is looping and you only need a few minutes of footage.

Reliability, auto locking of files, GPS to evidence movement, speed, direction or lack there off, and most of all top quality so you can actually read the vrn come rain or shine and night or day. To me those are the key elements of a good in car can to protect yourself.

I basically forget I've got one in mine. I know it is there and can rely on it working in the unfortunately event I need it.
 
I also might need to grab footage when reporting dangerous driving of others. I haven't seen any really stupid behaviour for ages so I hadn't checked it as it is such a pain having to take it out of the car. It's much easier if I can do it via wifi.

The footage from the transcend including at night is really good which is again another reason for getting it.

I thought i could rely on mine too but I was wrong.
 
srichards said:
I also might need to grab footage when reporting dangerous driving of others. I haven't seen any really stupid behaviour for ages so I hadn't checked it as it is such a pain having to take it out of the car. It's much easier if I can do it via wifi.

The footage from the transcend including at night is really good which is again another reason for getting it.

I thought i could rely on mine too but I was wrong.
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Really are you going to be one them? And spend your life uploading it to YouTube as well? Really? Why not wear a gopro as well when you walk about and report on all that as well?

Alternatively you can always apply as a special :thumbs:
 
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