Dash Cam Recommendations

I'm also looking at getting some kind of Dash Cam.

I'm fortunate that I haven't personally needed one yet, but hearing of experiences of a couple of acquaintances makes me want that assurance if something ever does happen where the video evidence could help.

Is the VIOFO A119 v.2

See at Amazon for from $ 79.00 to $ 109.00
It sticks with double sided tape to the windshield just to the left of the mirror so that makes it quite inconspicuous. NO DUMB suction cup mount!!! Good picture quality day and night.
A dual front and rear cam is also available.

https://www.amazon.com/VIOFO-Included-Optional-included-Cert...

Dual cam:
https://www.amazon.com/Viofo-Channel-1080p-Camera-Mount/dp/B...

A review with pictures by PCWorld:
https://www.pcworld.com/article/3157440/dash-cam-review-the-...

Another review and the very first picture shows it mounted near the rear view mirror:
http://www.gadget-talk.com/2018/04/10/viofo-a119s-dash-cam/

I also have a GPS connected to it, it's about the size of a SD card container..

I will agree with the Viofo 119 for single or 129 for dual. Best cam I've owned so far. Easy install and very good quality day and night. Very invisible behind rear view mirror as most windshields have that black dot stuff there.

This site is great for dashcam info like poi-factory is for GPS info.

https://dashcamtalk.com/

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Thanks to everyone for their replies and information. A dash cam is something that I am considering and there are so many choices available. It is good to have someone provide good feedback and give advise on these products.

My current dashcam is Street Guardian 9663DCPro model with dual cameras. Just got it and I'm in the process of testing it before buyiing additional one for my other vehicle. I have the direct mount as well so I can have parking mode recordings.

The website mentioned in previosu posts is a great resource to weed out issues, determine needs, see actual footage, etc.

This is my 2nd dual dash cam. For someone new to dash cams, I'll say this, don't go cheap, get one with capacitor, dual cams are better proection but require harder install, same goes for parking mode. Read, read, read. Go with company who provides FW updates and good customer service as well as good track record.

Dash cams are a niche product, there are still growing pains. You're not going to be able to see every license plate during all time of day/night, software is sometimes still buggy, cards may go corrupt, etc.

Think about what you ultimately are buying it for...protection and proof, for hit/run, right of way, vandals, etc. So you really want one with the least amount of issues, if not, its just a toy on your windshield.

Good luck with your journey.

Or another choice would be this one which replaces your rear view mirror to avoid any extra clutter on the dash or windshield..

https://www.gearbest.com/surveillance-camera-system/pp_30013...

thanks for the info!

I should add that this would not work in my car. I have a light sensor that dims the mirror automatically when someone from behind comes with lights ablaze.

So if your car has that too you would lose this feature!

know when 4K will become commonplace? I actually think that at night 1080P 30fps doesn't really cut it, unfortunately. But in broad daylight stopped it's sufficient. In motion plates aren't always simple to read.

about the 4K, but many license plates are reflective and really show up well at night when lit up by your headlights.

I've had a few dashcams and they often don't handle that very well, all you see it bright light reflecting back at you.

The VIOFO A119 has worked well for me for the past year. Two important considerations for any dash cam are that it uses a capacitor instead of a battery if you live in a hot climate, and that you use a "high endurance" memory card that is designed to be written and re-written many times.

In researching dash cams, I was thinking that most of them don't have the resolution or capability to capture license plates.

Then, I wondered if that's really necessary. My main point would be to document a trip, and in case of an emergency, accident or other situation, it would either show my innocence or (hopefully not) my fault.

If something happened, I thought that it would be enough to show a law enforcement officer, insurance agent, or potentially court and that would be enough.

Then I found out from the insurance company (while inquiring on whether the could lower my insurance rate and yes it would) that if I were in an accident, even if the dash cam footage showed that I maintained maximum safety and was not at fault; if they are not able to get the other driver, if in a hit and run situation, then it would still impact my own insurance rates. harrumph.

So, now, I'm looking at one that could provide the highest amount of detail again, and I also like the video while parked feature on some of them.

Here in Arizona the PD will not even bother looking for Hit and Run drivers unless you tell them you can identify, sometimes even if you have the plate number. That is why hit and runs are thru the roof here!

Here's the one I have, and can highly recommend: https://www.amazon.com/R2-4K-Dashboard-Camera-Recorder-Visio...

Buy a Class 10, U3 card for the best write / read performance. Has a fast F1.8 lens for night, and WDR.

I have this cam, and sitting still it's the best I've seen for clarity, however, moving, not so much.

The weak point with this cam is it's ability to turn 360 so you can film yourself. This 'soft spot' allows the cam vibrate, a lot. If they were to get rid of that and make the neck solid it would be a very good cam. I'm thinking of gluing the neck so it can't move and see if it works.

It has all the right specs, although it's not a true 4K picture, but the neck just kills it, for me.

I did test most of dash cam on the market, even the most expensive one, but none of them has capacity of capture the license plate at night due to many reasons: lower resolution, even 4K cannot, we can see the license plate number by naked eyes, but not camera. Plus, in the hot zone area, you need dash cam with capacitor itself. Memory too, should be the good one, normal sandisk ultra from costco will die very early. Hope next year will have some better model. Hope this help

I'm looking for a good dash cam myself and living in the near south where it does get above 90 and stays there for a while, the LiON battery power also turned me off of this unit.

I would agree everything is fine and dandy in broad daylight mine is 1080p 30fps. But cloudy or night forget it. And I don't have 4k but take your word for it. I suppose the only reason we don't use a handycam is the size. But you can get a $25 fat gecko and set it to record on lcd closed. There's no way a dash cam with such a tiny lens can capture the same.

I do find that having a dash cam builds gbs of useless video, and it's like the old days when we used to develop pics. Most of the results are disappointing and didn't see what the human did with their eyes.

actually last week two phila bike cops were out in the suburbs and literally cut me off badly as they weaved through traffic showing off their skill as if it were 1977 "CHiPs" audition. If I were a different person I would post the vid.

I have this card in mine, does very well here in southeastern PA where we often get a string of 90+ degree days in the summer, plus the cam is always on the windshield in direct sunlight a good portion of the day.

Samsung 128GB 100MB/s (U3) MicroSDXC Evo Select Memory Card

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... for having a capacitor it draws very little power. I leave my dashcam on overnight when parked, never have a problem with car battery drain.

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The swivel on mine is quite snug, so not any noticable vibration. Is the tilt screw tightened well?

I use the 128 gig Evo Plus. I have one in my 4K action cam as well. They're a good card.

SB, one other thing about the neck on the Rove unit. There are 2 very small Phillips screws (recessed) on the side you can tighten. You'll need a jeweller's screwdriver.

I hope that solves the problem for you.

Maybe they changed it, I know I read reviews and others agreed it was a weak point, when snug on the windshield can you rotate it 360 degrees?

In other words from pointing ahead at the street back to you sitting in the vehicle without removing it? The following link is to a photo of the cam on the box it came in with an arrow pointing to where the weak spot is, you can even see a gap in the photo, that gap causes the vibration in the videos I've watched from my cam because it wobbles ever so slightly but enough it affects the clarity of the videos.

https://i.postimg.cc/pd1z54Nb/20190914-202839.jpg

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Looking at the photo I posted a link to above, I see what you may be talking about on the opposite side of the neck from my arrow. I'll try to tighten that and see if it makes a difference. I have a small eyeglass screwdriver, it's a phillips head, will that be correct?

I hadn't thought of, or noticed that, especially since some of the reviews on Amazon mention what I've experienced but no solution to the problem.

On mine, it is a phillips head. However, I did use a flashlight, and my reading glasses to make sure.

Aside fom gluing it first, I would try a plastic shim from a scrap of plastic. Get creative before a permanent solution.

yeah suction cups will never stay on. I am about to do the DS tape thing to the cup

There are some universal type mounts called stickycup that you darn near need a jackhammer to get off the windshield, I have them for my Garmins. I haven't seen one yet that would fit my dashcam.

Yes, it was a Philips head, one was very tight, the other not loose but took a turn. Still no difference. Two video links below, the first I show the gap and wobble, I'm making it wobble with my hand in the video but when driving down the road every pebble in the road vibrates through the 2 part neck.

The second video is from the cam itself, starts out with a night video and moves into a day video. On the day video you can see the vibration quite well, and you'll even notice it when I turn onto a brand new surface, road very smooth, I shouldn't have any. When I pull into the parking lot and come to a crawl that's when the video shines.

Two disclaimers, I drive a jeep, not the smoothest riding vehicle around, and the cam video is in 1080p. I have found the 1080 setting to be better than the supposed 4K. I read the technical explanation somewhere but this cam not not really 4K, they pull some kind of upscaling voodoo to simulate a 4K picture, but with only 24 fps it's not better than the 60 fps the 1080 setting uses.

(both of these videos are in 1080HD, choose in your youtube settings)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADneu1s68oY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euahmSskbwg

Prior to this cam I had the same one, a Panorama II, for the past 5 or so years, the Rove R2 4K had promise, had the right specs on paper, it was the first cam to come along and get me to buy. In reality, for me, it's not any better, just a little more customization settings.

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Mine is nothing like that, and has a good deal of resistance to turn the cam. I'd say that mount is defective. Ask for a warranty replacement, or super glue it.

I bought it in April. I already had just the cam replaced as the picture was even worse, fuzzy, poor quality control. I'm not going to bother with it anymore, I'll keep using it for now, but I'm keeping an eye out for the next best AFFORDABLE thing.

Rove has a new cam out, for a little while now, the 4K Stealth. And I'm reading the reviews, some mention the same problem I've been having, it appears you were lucky to get one that is tighter.

Thanks for the tips. I am looking for a dash cam as well.

Good to know. In the market for one myself!

Keep the recommendations coming.

The way people drive these days, it's required.

I could post a new video every day of some idiot doing something idiotic caught on the cam. So much so it's actually gotten boring. I still post the video where someone has gone beyond the usual idiocy.

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isn' this just a rearview camera? I don't see anything about a front camera.

I've glued the gap in the neck all the way around. Seems to have helped so far, after a quick trip to the park with my dog this morning. I'll know better when I get a few different types of driving in.

I've glued the gap in the neck all the way around. Seems to have helped so far, after a quick trip to the park with my dog this morning. I'll know better when I get a few different types of driving in.

I believe that's the name. "As Seen On TV", for about $35-$45. You get what you pay for. Dumpster fodder in my opinion. The battery on mine from brand new would only last about five minutes if lucky. The recording sound is almost negligible. Only bright daylight shots are worth anything. The field of vision isn't so great. I could go on, but why bother?

You might warn the company that picks up the dumpster that it's being video monitored.

IM NOT AT ALL FAMILIAR WITH DASHCAMS
CAN A DASHCAM BE UNITED IN A WAY THAT IT CAN BE USED WITH A GARMIN GPS UNIT TO WORK TOGETHER (GARMIN 55L)IF THAT IS ONE WAY IT CAN BE USED.

Maybe he is hard of seeing

Agreed totally 110%

Are these worth it? I use to have a dash cam but the battery died, and was not replaceable. Considering buying a new one, but don't want another throw away model.

Two months gone by now and the cam still vibrates to be of any real use other than to watch an occasional idiot, would not count on it for detail.

Speaking of idiots .. I've seen so many red light runners it's become commonplace, but most are just a few seconds into the red. This guy, well lets say the light couldn't have been any redder for any longer ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7u0NQPEt4l8

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