Bought a new Dashcam - IMPRESSED!

[rich1068]

Looks good that. I've been thinking about some sort of dashcam for a while. How is it powered/wired?

[Mr-V70]

I've just ordered one too! Thanks for the recommendation.

Sam

[A lex]

I have an Ambarella E-prance 0801 in my car.

Hard wired in to the drivers side fusebox, turns on/off with the ignition and all cables hidden away.

The camera itself is reasonably well tucked away by the centre mirror. There are lots of crap cameras about so be careful, but the 0801 is

1) Cheap
2) Very reliable
3) Very good day time quality
4) Small

the only downside is that newer Ambarella models do better at night, although the 0801 is more than adequate.

Can definitely recommend it, and hard-wiring with a 'piggy back' fuse is very, very easy.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/E-PRANCE-Ori.../dp/B00IKEVSOU

[Dirty Rooster]

Dashcam is getting tempting,
but this thread is recommending one at £140 that the OP has had for a day,
another thread is recommending a £50 one.

Is it still early days for dashcam development or are they now mature?

[A lex]

Originally Posted by Dirty Rooster

Dashcam is getting tempting,
but this thread is recommending one at £140 that the OP has had for a day,
another thread is recommending a £50 one.

Is it still early days for dashcam development or are they now mature?

Mature.

I had a couple a few years ago and they were crap.

As a price/features compromise the 0801 I linked to is absolutely excellent.

[Ducklakeview]

Originally Posted by rich1068

Looks good that. I've been thinking about some sort of dashcam for a while. How is it powered/wired?

Comes with a 12v to MINI (not micro) USB, so I've fed it from one of my 12v to USB supplies in the car and tucked the cables behind the headlining & down the pillar.

Originally Posted by Dirty Rooster

Dashcam is getting tempting,
but this thread is recommending one at £140 that the OP has had for a day,
another thread is recommending a £50 one.

Is it still early days for dashcam development or are they now mature?

I had a "cheap" one for around 3 years, not perfect, but did the job, however no logging of GPS/speed etc. New one is EXCELLENT and a whole different word of quality..

Mike

[Ducklakeview]

On these, I actually have 1 brand new, sealed one for sale - I ordered another for the van, BUT with hindsight, I decided not to use it, s my van does not have deadlocks, and as there is no rear mirror, it sticks out like a sore thumb in the middle of the screen. Not wanting to get the van window smashed AGAIN, as some nice chap did a few years ago when he spotted the sucker mark from my old Tomtom, which I'd removed and put out of sight..

Anyway, I'm going to order a tiny, bog std camera for the van that I can tuck away at the top, and use my old Snooper Pantera by fixing it to the steering column.

So, as I'm outside the 7 day return, I was going to Ebay the Snooper. It's still sealed and unregistered and comes with lifetime database updates, and of course a copy of the original receipt for warranty purposes.

Was looking for £125 incl next day special delivery if anyone wants it... RRP on them is £149.99

Mike

[John_C]

At the cheaper end the "ones to have" are apparently the Mobius or the Mini 803 (an upgraded version of the 801). The quality is very good indeed and the 803 can do GPS if you want that (although do be aware it's a double-edged sword )

www.techmoan.com is a great resource for dashcams

This is some footage from my Mobius which I use in the track day car to review my lines etc - whack it up to 1080p in the youtube settings and keep in mind that they use hefty compression so the original is a lot less blocky

http://youtu.be/uly6knuJIho

[C320]

Any chance of posting a picture of what it looks like installed, there is quite a big plastic box (light & windscreen sensors?) behind the mirror. Where did you mount the camera? Beneath this or to one side?

[Ducklakeview]

I have the actual suction pad on the black portion behind the mirror, I'll pop out and take a pic now, but it's dark out there...

Mike