Dash Cams - RV-Dreams Community Forum

FreeToRoam · RV-Dreams Family Member

Dash Cams

kb0zke · RV-Dreams Family Member

Quite a few people in the MH world use them. The specific purpose you have in mind may influence which one you pick, as well as playback needs. Not all computers can access all of the various formats, so finding out which ones your computer can use would be wise.

We'll probably get one one of these days. I'd suggest that if you are into online shopping you check out what tigerdirect.com has. You can do an online chat with someone about compatibility too. If you'd rather see them in a store and talk to a live person you will probably want to go to a Best Buy or similar electronics place.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

In spite of my experiences with cameras, video was never my forte. However, as a thought, you might look at the GoPro cameras and have an extra mount for the second vehicle. The GoPro's seem to be what the "extreme" sports folks use as well as on the consumer use drones. What I've seen of their quality images is pretty good.

Terry

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

A friend just bought the G1W, listed as "Best Bang for the Buck" by http://dashcamtalk.com/. The first one he got was a fake one and he got a refund, dashcamtalk tells you how to tell the difference. Then he got the real thing and so far, he is happy. He is just using it in his car. Around $60.

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Good question, good answers. I've been wondering about them myself.

Sherry

MarkS · RV-Dreams Family Member

The other night a car pulled over and tangled up with my front bumper. I didn't even know he was there until I heard his tires squealing. By then he was sideways in front of the truck, staring at my grill and no doubt soiling the front seat of his car. He messed my bumper up a bit but everybody walked away. I wish I had it on video.

Dash cams are designed to automatically start recording when the car is started. Go pros will work but you have to start and stop them. Because the GPS functionality of some of the more expensive cameras serves no real purpose you can save some money by going with one like the G1W.

FreeToRoam · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thank you all for the great input on the dash cams. We are definitely thinking of the camera as a supplement to photography for filming scenic routes we travel, rather than evidence in the event of an accident. I never have the camera ready for the important stuff when we're driving down the road so the video cam running would be great to capture those moments. So, video quality would be very important to us in the selection of the cam.

TRAILERKING · RV-Dreams Family Member

Years ago there used to be a website called "Ride With A Trucker". It was videos about truckers with Dash-Cams. Man the stuff you would see. A lot of idiot drivers.

NorCal Dan · RV-Dreams Family Member

I have a G1W in my truck. The 12vdc cig plug in my truck is always on, so the cam is always on. Very good video during daylight, not so great at night. I would post some video but I forgot to bring the card adapter with me. The 32gb card is very small and requires an adapter to plug into a computer. The adapter came with the card. And I don't have a USB cable but plan to get one soon. So far I haven't "caught" anything worth sharing ;)

Talensnana · RV-Dreams Family Member

My DH has installed a 1- terabyte, 8 channel DVR that runs on 12 volts. It has a camera that runs straight forward. He tied this in to the cameras that are on the left and right side. We also have three rear cameras. One looking down at the hitch, one back from the RV and one back of the trailer out. They all record at the same time. It will record a month and then writes over itself. The system cost under $200 and he put it together. He also is an engineer. He can review the recordings on the tv in the living room and save anything onto a memory stick. Obviously this is not portable, so we went a stand alone two channel system in the car that records forward and reverse at the same time. And of course he says this is just live mission impossible. If he was at fault he would have no knowledge of a camera system 😊

NorCal Dan · RV-Dreams Family Member

Grabbed a short 20 second video from my G1W so you can see the quality of the video.

youtu.be/baKkpZ4wuLw

BiggarView · RV-Dreams Family Member

That's pretty decent video to this untrained eye. For those that want one of these "man toys" wink , it seems to be just the ticket. Now, hook me up with one of those fancy Phantom drones (equipped with video capability) to scope out campgrounds, low bridges, or other obstacles, great views that would be impossible any other way, etc. and the "geek" in me will be a happy guy. smile

Brian

-- Edited by biggaRView on Saturday 2nd of August 2014 08:32:01 PM

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

biggaRView wrote:
That's pretty decent video to this untrained eye. For those that want one of these "man toys", it seems to be just the ticket. Now, hook me up with one of those fancy Phantom drones (equipped with video capability) to scope out campgrounds, low bridges, or other obstacles, great views that would be impossible any other way, etc. and the "geek" in me will be a happy guy.
Brian

-- Edited by biggaRView on Saturday 2nd of August 2014 08:32:01 PM

That and other out-of-vehicle videography is what makes the GoPro cameras popular. On July 4, our family went out to a nearby amusement center and watched the fireworks. A guy behind us with a drone and camera flew his drone up about 200 to 300 feet to take his photos. He was even able to "pan" the drone around and get shots in a 360 "arc," making it likely that he was also getting fireworks displays from other communities.

I didn't get a good look at his setup, but it looked like he had some kind of headgear, perhaps with a receiver, that allowed him to see what he was filming.

Terry

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

Terry: Like this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9KZ3jgbbmI.

I have friends with nice drones. The DJI Phantom Visions are really nice since the video camera is built in and can be controlled with the same controls as the drone. Got a spare $1200 to $1300? Dashcams are much cheaper than GoPro cameras. But GoPros are really nice.

BiggarView · RV-Dreams Family Member

bjoyce wrote:
...I have friends with nice drones. The DJI Phantom Visions are really nice since the video camera is built in and can be controlled with the same controls as the drone. Got a spare $1200 to $1300? Dashcams are much cheaper than GoPro cameras. But GoPros are really nice.

A guy can dream... The difference between men and boys, is the price of their toys biggrin biggrin biggrin

BiggarView · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bill, that is an awesome video smile

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Not quite the same, Bill.

The guy I watched only flew his straight up to film the show. He kept it right above him at all times.

I probable would have as well, if for no other reason than I could possibly catch the silly thing if it fell back to earth.

Terry

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

Terry: I agree, I would not have flown it into the fireworks. The FAA is/was looking for the guy since he violated regulations, specifically flying the drone within 5 miles of the West Palm Florida airport.

NorCal Dan: That street looks real familiar. <grin>

My friend who bought a G1W said he has already tested the "crash mode", since he accidentally dropped it on the dash while adjusting the mount. Crash mode locks the video file so it won't get deleted.

NorCal Dan · RV-Dreams Family Member

I'd juat like to say that the G1W with a 32gb card cost me less than $80. The Go-Pro is nice but also more $$.

bjoyce: Yep, heading thru Long Beach. Was the shortest video I could find on the cam. For 20+ seconds it was still almost 32mb in size.

Bobc · RV-Dreams Family Member

I don't understand the purpose of the dash cam????
Just a toy or does it have some real use???

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

AS far as real use...the policedept. has been using them for years..

Great for accident re-cap
great for that quick scene photo while driving

in slow motion you can actually see the impact of a bug splattering on the windshield moment for moment as his butt passes his nose in vivid color!!!!!

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Welcome Back, Mike!!!!!

Thanks for that graphic visual that is now occupying my mind.

Terry

NorCal Dan · RV-Dreams Family Member

I don't want to miss the meteor crashing to earth ;)

www.youtube.com/watch

-- Edited by NorCal Dan on Monday 4th of August 2014 10:53:46 AM

BiggarView · RV-Dreams Family Member

NorCal Dan wrote:
I don't want to miss the meteor crashing to earth ;)

www.youtube.com/watch

-- Edited by NorCal Dan on Monday 4th of August 2014 10:53:46 AM

Thing that cracks me up, yeah that meteor is once in a lifetime fluke, but the culture of dashcam vids that has become part of the Russian subculture. In order to capture so many vids of drivers behaving badly and other crazy things, those cams have to be installed in a huge number of vehicles. In the litigous USA, I'd be nervous about having documentary evidence of "crazy". In Russia, A lot of the vids show the drivers and/or the victims get out of their cars and either walk away or if no damage, get into fistfights and other roadrages. Happens here too, but not caught on tape nearly as frequently. Totally bizarre stuff,.

Brian

-- Edited by biggaRView on Monday 4th of August 2014 03:47:31 PM

Bobc · RV-Dreams Family Member

WHY,WHY,WHY??

Just seems Like such a waste of Money to Me, I guess i am just getting Old and hate reliving the Past

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

NorCal Dan wrote:
I'd juat like to say that the G1W with a 32gb card cost me less than $80. The Go-Pro is nice but also more $$.

bjoyce: Yep, heading thru Long Beach. Was the shortest video I could find on the cam. For 20+ seconds it was still almost 32mb in size.

20 seconds and 32MB means a 32GB card will hold 20,000 seconds or about 6 hours of video. Good to know.

BiggarView · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bobc wrote:
WHY,WHY,WHY??

Just seems Like such a waste of Money to Me, I guess i am just getting Old and hate reliving the Past

It's an acquired taste. Like much of todays reality TV we are slowly being programmed to be titilated with video that proves how stupid some people are, and there but for the grace of god... What? Having a video record of the idiot that cut across three lanes right in front of you and ended up in the ditch doesn't appeal to you? You must be unAmerican biggrin biggrin biggrin confuse

I'm in agreement with the first part of your comment, You're not getting old, just having a hard time keeping up with the times.... ain't we all This stuff is what the younger generation thrives on these days.

Or so it would seem.

Brian

NorCal Dan · RV-Dreams Family Member

bjoyce wrote:
NorCal Dan wrote:
I'd juat like to say that the G1W with a 32gb card cost me less than $80. The Go-Pro is nice but also more $$.

bjoyce: Yep, heading thru Long Beach. Was the shortest video I could find on the cam. For 20+ seconds it was still almost 32mb in size.
20 seconds and 32MB means a 32GB card will hold 20,000 seconds or about 6 hours of video. Good to know.

I read if you turn off audio the files are much smaller, gonna try it on mine.

MarkS · RV-Dreams Family Member

Yep the audio has to be off. I talk to myself in the truck. No need to remove all question of my insanity.

The Junkman · RV-Dreams Family Member

Got mine.. But was at Frys yesterday and bought the uniden homepatrol scanner... This thing is cool.. so I'm side tracked for a bit.

Will install the camera tomorrow i hope

-- Edited by The Junkman on Thursday 7th of August 2014 08:16:48 PM

The Junkman · RV-Dreams Family Member

Just installed the g1w-c

Nice piece.. Will hard wire it down the road..

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

Today I wanted a nice dashcam, because I wanted to remember the beautiful drive. After yesterday's snow in the Black Hills we drove Spearfish Canyon today, which is US14-Alt from Spearfish SD south to US85. Even without the snow on the hillsides and trees it would be a scenic trip, but the snow and blue sky made it really magical. Most of the road is two lane with no shoulders, so there are only a few places to stop and take photos. Since I was driving and I am the photographer, we have a few nice photos but a video would have really been nice.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

An update. I bought a G1W-H dashcam in January for $54 from Amazon. I already had a nice 32GB microSD card and tried it, but kept getting errors. Turns out some of the G1W series do not like fast microSD cards, so I spend another $14 for a 32GB Class 4 card from Amazon to replace the Class 10 card I already had. With that card it works great.

A few days ago I saved a video since I almost got in an accident and wanted to remember the incident. A guy passed a bicycle by coming completely into my lane around an almost blind corner at full speed, which forced me to stop.

It is good MarkS turns off the audio, which does not save much space, since in California you are required to turn it off or put up a sign to tell your passengers that the camera records audio.

In Russia almost everyone has a dashcam, since the police are commonly corrupt and the dashcam provides evidence that is hard to fight. I will leave it as an exercise for the reader if they need a dashcam where they drive.

MarkS · RV-Dreams Family Member

I have learned by reviewing my dashcam video that, you cannot trust your eyes. What you think you saw isn't typically what happened.

Bill, turning off the audio has absolutely nothing to do with what's legal and everything to do with my phobia of straight jackets!

BTW, I love my G1W.

-- Edited by MarkS on Saturday 16th of May 2015 11:25:50 AM

Jake62 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Every State has their own law regarding "Consensual Recording." Some States are "one-party" which only require one-party to consent to be recorded. Other States are "two-party" States requiring both parties' consent to be recorded. Also, as many Police Departments have found out, Dash Cams are outstanding technology for the police when executing traffic stops or arrests. But the Police have also found out that indeed the Dash Cam will record the evidence against them when they end up doing something outside their legal authority. No difference for anyone using this technology ... there are just pros and cons like most things.

-- Edited by Jake62 on Saturday 16th of May 2015 06:12:08 PM

TXRVr · RV-Dreams Family Member

FreeToRoam wrote:
Hi, was wondering if anyone uses a dash cam and any opinions on types, models, quality of video, etc. We are more interested in good quality video (daytime most important; we don't drive much at night). Would like to be able to move between RV & Car. Considering how rough most roads are, did you do anything extra to control shaky, wobbly, bouncy footage? Thank you very much.

I have the ProView HD II by Chinavision. It's an excellent camera. Slim, fits in the palm of your hand, and about the length of your hand. It has excellent resolution. The package came with several mounts. I've used in on my motorcycle, in an ATV, and in my motor home. If you are into sports video then the remote control feature is priceless. It costs one-half to one-third that of the name brands mentioned in this thread. There are only two drawbacks. One is that it is shipped from China which takes 2-3 weeks. The other is that the manual is useless. I overcame that by using it regularly and studying the menus on the pop up screen.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

The Proview HD II is more expensive than a dashcam, around $75 to a G1W's $50 to $60 price. It is more a competitor to a GoPro or other action cam, and much cheaper than those.