Dash Cam for Safety

http://dashcamtalk.com

these guys also helped heaps in my decision and I joined their forum

Anyone have experience with Garmin's new VIRB?

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/cOnTheTrail-c531-p1.html

While not specifically designed as a dash cam, it looks like it could be used for this purpose.

It charges through USB therefore you'll be able to plug it into the vehicle.

You'll get about 16 hours recording from a 64 Gb card so there shouldn't be any need for recycling recording or record looping to over write old files and the card would never fill up, but you'll have to remember to delete the files on the card before it gets full. You'll get 1 big video to look at compared to a dashcam which breaks the recording into manageable segments of about 1 to 5 minutes each, which can be locked so they wont be overwritten.

Temperature range seems Ok

It's full HD which is a must if you are going to look at registration plates numbers. With full HD you will be able to see about 80% of them depending on light conditions.

It is not discreet in size, it quite big and will need to be put away when you park.

Lastly it is a great well known brand

The dash cam I bought is again up for grabs on Woot today albeit minus a few of the different mounts that came with mine, like the window suction cup. It may still have them but they are not listed in the offer like they were when I bought it.

http://tech.woot.com/offers/pyle-720p-or-1080p-hd-sport-acti...

1) Finevu NEW CR-500HD 16gb Full Hd Record Car Vehicle Black Box Recorder Camera Racing 1920x1080p@30fps w/SONY CMOS Sensor

2) LUKAS LK-7900 ACE 8GB + GPS : Full HD(1080p@30fps) Dash Cam Video DVR GPS Recorder Black Box

both have good reviews on Amazon.

Here is another one

BlackVue Wi-Fi DR500GW-HD 16GB Car Black Box/DVR Recorder

Thanks for your input! I'm hoping to multitask by using it as a helmet cam as well.

I had one in my car for about a year. I got pulled over in October, the officer said that the camera was obstructing my view and gave me a ticket. The camera was installed behind my rear view mirror and took up no additional visible space. He also searched my entire car for "weapons", but I think he was just looking for probable cause to search my vehicle and used the camera for that purpose. I live in Chicago, IL and have never had any problems before but I was told by the judge that the officer was correct and that even one of those air fresheners you put on the rear view mirror would give them a reason to stop me. I'm not sure about the local laws in your area but I would advise checking before spending money on a cam and not being able to use it.

I bought a cheap Chinese unit almost two years ago. I used to run it quite a bit and caught many amusing traffic incidents that could have been put on America's funniest video's but overall I found myself not using it much over time. I suppose with all the wacky drivers I probably should fire it up again.

ya gotta be carefull

The great thing about these cams is there's no 'film' waste, I keep mine rolling all the time and just delete at the end of the day if I didn't catch anything interesting. Today I caught this (0:21) in my suburban Philadelphia neighborhood, not a familiar site for this neighborhood.

(be sure to change the youtube setting to high def)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXGZBHPNaDM

We have these, but looks like you are in a more populated area....

My Christmas present came today and I received a Vehicle Black box DVR X3000. As previously stated I wanted one I could use for my riverboat and this is the right size. I did not want a camera that transmits a video as some people recommended for I would have to carry the remote control and a receiver with a video screen.
I have read that some people did not like the idea that some cameras did not have enough clarity to read some license plates so I went outside and cleaned off my cars plate and then went across the street and took a movie of the car. I looked at the movie and it was not a clear shot of the plate but there are no plates on a lake and if you are looking at license plate in a crash, it usually means you are running up the tailpipe of the car in front of you.
This camera will be enough to see who ran the light or stop sign.
This also has an interior camera and as I watch football in another dark room, I can see myself with only the light from the computer.

A good idea in this litigious country. Just looking for one of quality with a low costso I can cover all directions!

Very often, not the case. Many states have front plates. You can have a minor head-on accident, or one from the side, where the other driver was at fault and fled the accident scene. Without his plate number, your chances of catching him are very minimal.

If you're talking prior to an accident, it won't do you any good if he flees the accident scene in his vehicle and you couldn't read his license number.

In many cases a cheap dash-cam in a motor vehicle isn't a usable dash-cam unless it can display a readable license number.

RT

If I needed to see a license plate I would save to the computer and do a screen capture and enlarge the photo to see the plate. Photoshop can do wonders. Someone would have to explain why the damage to his/hers car that looks like the one in the film.

Cool turkey

we have cams and they make us retrain most of the time because of following distances and everything else. They save us from fraudulent claims as well.

The camera needs to be recording in 1080P HD Video, 720P is Ok but anything less just isn't good enough.

The next thing is be careful of look alike cameras, for example if we look at the camera which I purchased which was the

"Mini 0801 Ambarella A2S60 Chip Car DVR Blackbox HD 1080P OV2710 G-sensor GPS"

There are at least 6 that I know of which look almost the same but are of a lesser quality, they are different cameras in their own right, they don't claim to be the same camera, but they look the same, so be sure to read the specifications.

Take a look at http://forum.dashcamtalk.com/threads/how-to-identify-a-fake-... this site has a lot good advise. Another good site is http://www.techmoan.com/

is not the best but my 3 minute recordings on the SD card are in amazing 1080p. You never know why you need one until you do.

The other day this woman tried to run me off the road, twice! Not sure if it was intentional or incompetency, but at least the camera would have recorded it if I had one. I'm looking to purchase in the very near future.

This past week I installed a small "A8" model dashcam in my Jeep Wrangler. So far, it seems to work well. Hopefully it will never be needed due to an accident, but it should provide some great off-road videos...

This has been a fun read. I can already feel the money burning a hole in my pocket. I will be looking into a dash camera now myself and investigating the links to suggestions later.

For me - I'd protect my family first. Surrounded by an angry and unlawful mob, I would get my family to safety FIRST and deal with the consequences later. The lawyers can argue the details but no one can bring back a loved one.