Looking to get a dashcam:

[SomeBlondeGuy]

I tried searching the forums with the keyword "dashcam", but wasn't satisfied with the results.

What's a good model to get that fits nicely, has front and rear cameras, decent night vision, and won't break the bank?

I hope to avoid any drilling or hardwiring, if possible.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[AV8R]

Have had good luck with Navman by Garmin or Blackvue is supposed to be the best.

 

[nhcowboy28]

I’ve used BlackVue (the same camera) for 6 years. Very reliable/durable. Great quality. Non battery (capacitor) model due to the heat of Texas/Georgia. Never had issues.

Before that I tried a number of “cheaper” ones. They’d always fail at some point within a year (random reboots, just not record, etc). Usually $100 or less.

That’s why I went quality and paid the steeper price for the 2 channel BV.

LOVE IT.

 

[GenesisG70]

Have had many many many dash cams nothing is better than Blackvue and Thinkware.

 

[Stingah]

Best bang for the buck Viofo A129 Duo.

I run the Viofo A119S for years no issues great camera for the price. Slim and compact fits perfect perfect above mirror. Barely noticeable from outside.

 

[Onno P]

Best bang for the buck Viofo A129 Duo.

I run the Viofo A119S for years no issues great camera for the price. Slim and compact fits perfect perfect above mirror. Barely noticeable from outside.
View attachment 22255

Got the same cam but still have to install. Could you please tell me how you connected it?

 

[GenesisG70]

Viofo A119S bought it for my wife's car but died only after couple of months... Have owned Blackview and Thinkware never died on me, think is the Made in China factor.

 

[Stingah]

Got the same cam but still have to install. Could you please tell me how you connected it?

First, get a dash cam hard wire kit on Amazon for $10. Make sure you get it with a 90 degree mini-usb connector for a cleaner look.

Mount the camera to your windshield, run the wire in the gap in the headliner towards the driver door. Remove the door gasket along the A pillar, and carefully loosen the A trim piece. Run the wire under the side-curtain airbag (not over else it will interfere with deployment). Then down the gap you exposed when you removed the door gasket towards the fuse box. There's a 20A fuse marked "spare" that's ignition controlled, run the positive cable there and attach ground to any exposed metal bolt available. I used one inside the fuse box. Test to make sure camera powers on with ACC power. Snap the A-pillar trim piece back along with the door gasket and you're all done. Estimate 30-60 minutes if you take your time. Good luck.

 

[JVsGT]

BlackboxMyCar had a Flash Sale this past weekend. Ended up getting the Thinkware F800 Pro Cloud Dash Cam w/32GB SD card, Hardwired Kit + CLA, Rear Camera for $300.70. Price includes shipping and tax. Going to install myself once it arrives since it's documented on YouTube pretty clearly.

 

[TomLasswell]

I wanna get the BlackVue but I'm just not sure about this being stingy on the cloud option. Looks like Thinkware has a better free cloud option. Those with the BlackVue how's the free cloud experience?

 

[Bill Lesser]

BlackVue 900s 4K with cloud connectivity!

 

[GrizzGrumps]

BlackboxMyCar had a Flash Sale this past weekend. Ended up getting the Thinkware F800 Pro Cloud Dash Cam w/32GB SD card, Hardwired Kit + CLA, Rear Camera for $300.70. Price includes shipping and tax. Going to install myself once it arrives since it's documented on YouTube pretty clearly.

I've just purchased the same model
Which fuses did you connect into as I can't seem to find any info on the Stinger

 

[Silverfox]

I wanna get the BlackVue but I'm just not sure about this being stingy on the cloud option. Looks like Thinkware has a better free cloud option. Those with the BlackVue how's the free cloud experience?

Blackvue Cloud works fine as far as I’m concerned. It does everything they promise for the free option: View the camera live, view clips on the card, get notifications of events (G-Force detection), change settings, upload clips to the Cloud which is 5Gb of space, auto-upload of events to Cloud (separate space so doesn’t use up your 5Gb space but only retained for 3 days but you can move to your Cloud space). I don’t think there is anything else you could want. You only have to pay if you want more advanced features such as multiple cameras in the same account and GPS tracking, although you could effectively GPS track your car if somebody else is driving it by using the Cloud Live View option as it shows a map with the location on it.

 

[MrSmoofy]

BlackVue 900s 4K with cloud connectivity!

HOw does it connect wirelessly to the cloud if your car doesn't have wifi? Seems like the alerts won't work unless you leave your phone in the car as a wifi hot spot.

 

[Silverfox]

HOw does it connect wirelessly to the cloud if your car doesn't have wifi? Seems like the alerts won't work unless you leave your phone in the car as a wifi hot spot.

You will need a WiFi hotspot with a data sim. I use a Huawei travel hotspot that has an internal battery to keep it on whilst parked. It’s plugged in to a USB port in the car so it recharges whilst driving. When I’m parked at home it picks up the home WiFi so doesn’t need the hotspot then.

Even if your car has WiFi it is unlikely that it will be working with the ignition off. My A4 has it but it doesn’t work when the car is off so pretty useless really.

 

[MrSmoofy]

You will need a WiFi hotspot with a data sim. I use a Huawei travel hotspot that has an internal battery to keep it on whilst parked. It’s plugged in to a USB port in the car so it recharges whilst driving. When I’m parked at home it picks up the home WiFi so doesn’t need the hotspot then.

Even if your car has WiFi it is unlikely that it will be working with the ignition off. My A4 has it but it doesn’t work when the car is off so pretty useless really.

Interesting idea didn't think of this. I could wire up a hot spot I have from Verizon Wireless who's my carrier. I could probably hide it somewhere and wire it into a switched power/ground so that it charges like you said when the car is on and then I have Wifi for my Escort MAX 360c and the Blackvue.

I have a Blend mount for my Radar detector trying to figure out how do do that with the camera too. They make a really nice mount for the Escort M1 camera but it sucks compared to BlackVue but I don't want to have a suction cup for the BlackVue

 

[JVsGT]

I've just purchased the same model
Which fuses did you connect into as I can't seem to find any info on the Stinger

I used the fuse labeled "Power" and connected to Red which will power it while the vehicle is on. I also connected the fuse labeled "door locks" to Yellow for parking mode since the locks have constant power. Hope this helps.

 

[bpang1]

Interesting idea didn't think of this. I could wire up a hot spot I have from Verizon Wireless who's my carrier. I could probably hide it somewhere and wire it into a switched power/ground so that it charges like you said when the car is on and then I have Wifi for my Escort MAX 360c and the Blackvue.

I have a Blend mount for my Radar detector trying to figure out how do do that with the camera too. They make a really nice mount for the Escort M1 camera but it sucks compared to BlackVue but I don't want to have a suction cup for the BlackVue

I am getting a Blackvue 590 with the Dual Cameras...I don't think I want to pay for a hotspot for my car but maybe I might if I wanted to check on my car at night. that is the only benefit I see to the Cloud connectivity, which I'm not getting.

For dashcams, I suggest getting anything with the following features:
1. Data backup to a Micro-SD Card.
2. Impact Protection (it turns on when it detects an impact so you can record people hit and running you).
3. Minimum 720P...recommend 1080P...4K would be awesome but not as huge a necessity.
4. Front and Back Cameras.
5. Battery Backup...so it can turn on when it detects impact.
6. WiFi connection to an App on your phone so you can pull videos rather than pull the SD Card every time.

 

[Silverfox]

I am getting a Blackvue 590 with the Dual Cameras...I don't think I want to pay for a hotspot for my car but maybe I might if I wanted to check on my car at night. that is the only benefit I see to the Cloud connectivity, which I'm not getting.

For dashcams, I suggest getting anything with the following features:
1. Data backup to a Micro-SD Card.
2. Impact Protection (it turns on when it detects an impact so you can record people hit and running you).
3. Minimum 720P...recommend 1080P...4K would be awesome but not as huge a necessity.
4. Front and Back Cameras.
5. Battery Backup...so it can turn on when it detects impact.
6. WiFi connection to an App on your phone so you can pull videos rather than pull the SD Card every time.

Another benefit of the Cloud connectivity with the Blackvue and a hotspot is if the car is hit while you are away from it you get a notification sent to your phone alerting you together will a still image from the camera at the time. The camera automatically uploads a video clip of the incident to the Cloud within a minute or so and you can view it remotely in the App. You can also use Live View to monitor the situation.

One thing I would add to your list is Buffered Parking Mode, buffered being the important bit because you get a few seconds up to the impact as well as after.

 

[NoVAGT2]

One thing I would add to your list is Buffered Parking Mode

Do BlackVue cameras have buffered parking mode where the previous period of time (5-10 seconds depending on the model) that led up to the recording is also saved? I think ThinkWare offers this feature.

I also understand that BlackVue's WiFi disconnects your phone from the internet while Thinkware doesn't. Sadly, ThinkWare seems to be noisy (unnecessary alerts) and offers safety features that my car already has (e.g., lane departure).

5. Battery Backup...so it can turn on when it detects impact.

A full up battery or low-voltage detector? (Just clarifying)

Great thread!