Dashcam w/ PVR Recommendations?

[harver]

The only downside to this is that you will unfortunately loose any kind of parking protection if the car kills power to the USB ports when the car is off. To get around this I have a C4 attached to my either my rear wing mirror or my visor and I power it with a USB power bank.

 

This way the camera is independently powered while the car is parked up and off.

 

I use a Jackery brand Giant+ with a 12000mAh battery

Amazon ASIN ASIN: B00EA1P8OI

 

Did you car charger port to power the Jackery power bank? Since 12000mAh will need a long time to charge in full, I wonder do you need to take it out to charge when you at home.

[CheckYourLights]

I charged it when it first came in inside the house.

It seems to last awhile I am just now down to the third bar, and I have used it outside the car since I wear my C4 around from time to time.

 

http://i.imgur.com/hFigno0.jpg

Here it is charging an AMK5000S I just got in.

The tape is to cover the Red blinking light because I had it behind the hood outside the car. I'll make a post to talk about it a little below.

[CheckYourLights]

Okay so a few days ago electronics vendor GearBest was kind enough to provide me an action camera to take a look at. The Amkov AMK5000S

 

Being a car person even though this is an action camera I instantly stuck it on the black plastic shroud behind the hood of my 2015 Legacy using some 3M Dual Lock Tape.

 

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05/11/595b48e65794d442963de31e1f1608f7.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05/11/acb0a803fc373f8a365155bbd0c982eb.jpg

 

I'm going to experiment with moving it around. I stuck it in the corner to get an idea of what it would look like there. I did not touch any settings yet so the time stamp is incorrect.

 

Also the tape is to cover an LED that blinks red while the camera is recording. It's better to be safe then sorry when it comes to blue or red blinking lights of any sort outside a car.

 

I have been toying around with the idea of mounting cameras outside of the car for awhile now. I tried a few other models and decided to give this one a shot.

 

It uses the Sunplus 6330M Chipset. I was a little worried about it at first because Sunplus chips are known for showing up in old DVR-027 knock offs, but to my surprise this is a decent chip. I have tested it in the Innovv C4 as well as this Amkov AMK5000S

 

The camera supports WiFi with playback while recording which I have yet to play with as I just got the camera.

 

There is a decent selection of mounts along with a water proof case.

 

I took this one and removed the 3M stick pad.

http://i.imgur.com/iWcUhqx.jpg

 

I replaced it with 3M Dual Lock Tape (That you can find on Amazon [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Scotch-Heavy-Duty-Fasteners-Inches-RFD7091/dp/B00347A8GM/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1431373757&sr=8-14&keywords=3m+dual+lock]here[/ame])

 

http://i.imgur.com/EmGJj8M.jpg

 

This way I could still get a strong hold and move the camera or take it off and toss it in the car or in my pocket if I need to go inside and not have to worry about it getting stolen.

The other piece is on the black plastic behind the hood. They hold a lot better then Velcro.

 

The camera records in .mov format. The camera records in 1 min segments out of the box. I will look to see if them is a setting to change this, but I prefer the 1 min looping so I can save clips I want faster and use less space. Videos can always be put together or cut further using a program called Registrator Viewer. It is what I use to edit all my DashCam videos.

 

Here is a 1 min clip straight from the camera. I only ran it through Registrator Viewer to mute the audio because all you can hear is wind noise.

 

Bitrate is a little over 17MB

Audio is Mono

 

YouTube clip (might still be uploading)

 

I'm going to test out the WiFi function in the coming days. It will be kind of neat to see what the camera sees as a passenger while going down the road.

 

If anyone is looking for a GoPro type camera, and wants to save some money while still getting a good picture this might be something to look into. Maybe for someone who does track runs and does not want to drop a lot of a camera but wants to get some footage.

 

If anyone does want to give it a try you can save about 9 dollars by using Promo code AMK5000S at GearBest

Here is the link.

http://www.gearbest.com/action-cameras/pp_169231.html

[CheckYourLights]

Wanted to bump this again. Thanks to a poster on DashCamTalk I bought two Blacksys CF-100 cameras on Amazon. They are currently[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Blacksys-CF-100-2-Channel-Camera-Sensor/dp/B00LBQGKX8/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1433512676&sr=1-1&keywords=B00LBQGKX8] 90 dollars without GPS [/ame]and [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Blacksys-CF-100-channel-dashboard-camera/dp/B00KFYG0K0/ref=aag_m_pw_dp?ie=UTF8&m=A38ENTINPXP68V]100 dollars with. [/ame]

 

Now while I am not a huge fan of 720P for a rear camera I bought two of these and am shooting to be able to put what was the rear cameras in the side windows and put the two 1080P cameras in the front and back window.

 

http://i.imgur.com/VphgKtx.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/NUUZkyZ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/yYWafiz.jpg

 

The camera has a Cortex A8 (800 MHz) Processor and a Sony Exmor CMOS Sensor a combo I have never tried before myself, but the camera is made in Korea and Korean cameras tend to be of better quality over others.

 

The field of vision is 130° for the front camera and 120° for the rear.

 

If you hook it up with a battery protection device and wire it to an always on fuse it has a parking mode with buffering so it does not miss anything. It will record 10 seconds before and 20 seconds after motion is detected.

 

Most 1080P front and rear cameras cost around or over 300 dollars. So I could not pass up paying under 200 and making my own 4 camera system while still keeping 1080P recording in the front and rear.

 

Even if you only pick up one and have 720P in the rear having something back there is better then nothing, and if you were looking at a B40/A118 for only a few dollars more you can pick up this with a rear camera. The only downside to some might be the little bit larger front camera size, the no screen, and the windows application to change settings because of the no screen

 

I'm hoping to get it installed in the car this week.

[Dispatch20]

^very slick! That's a good price for a dual camera recorder. Too bad I already snagged A118s for my cars.

[parad1mg]

Wanted to bump this again. Thanks to a poster on DashCamTalk I bought two Blacksys CF-100 cameras on Amazon. They are currently 90 dollars without GPS and 100 dollars with.

 

These are not getting really good reviews online. I guess the selling point for these is the price (for a unit that has two cameras).

 

 

I'm undecided on what to get between the A118 and the M0805.

[CheckYourLights]

These are not getting really good reviews online. I guess the selling point for these is the price (for a unit that has two cameras).

 

 

I'm undecided on what to get between the A118 and the M0805.

 

Having played with them a little I can say that they are not bad from a camera standpoint. I think it is more of an issue with the having to use the program that comes with the camera to watch both videos unless you split them because they are two videos in one file stream.

 

For someone just starting out looking for a decent camera for a great price these would be a way to go.

 

Also I always recommend the Mini0806 over the 0805 because indicator LEDs are way to bright on the 0805. 0806 also comes with a CPL filter and has a 10 second screen off time where the 0805 has a 1 min time out.

 

Lastly the new 0807 is due to come out in July

See here

https://forum.dashcamtalk.com/forums/mini-0807.156/

[parad1mg]

Looks like the 0806 that is sold at Amazon does not come with a CPL filter and the minimum screen off delay is 15 seconds, not 10. Then again, the variety of these "0806" units are different from different retailers.

 

Have you tested any of the following:

-Street Guardian SG9665GC

-KDLINKS® X1

-Panorama S

-PAPAGO GS200-US

-Spytek K1S

[fishbone]

Dashcamtalk's take on it

https://dashcamtalk.com/blacksys-cf-100/

[CheckYourLights]

Have you tested any of the following:

Street Guardian SG9665GC

Not personally, but this is a very popular camera. It has the look of a B40 with better hardware inside with the Sony sensor for better night time video.

You can see a side by side here

-KDLINKS® X1

The KDLINKS one has the same hardware inside as the G1W and B40. I don't think it is worth it myself. for the price they ask you can get a Mini0806 or for a little more you can get the SG9665GC

-Panorama S

This one is an older model I think. I believe the II and G are out now

-PAPAGO GS200-US

This one I do own myself. It comes with a rear view mirror bracket. The bracket is a bit hard to get onto my 6th gen mirror without a fight. I also have to make sure I don't cover my auto dimming mirror sensor with it. I ended up having to buy a suction cup mount for it . Something I feel should have been included, but was not.

Also it comes with an angled USB plug and if you try to use a straight plug (I swap cameras often) the camera will bend it because it sits so close to the windscreen.

You can read the little write up I did on this camera here

-Spytek K1S

I don't own this one, but Techmoan on YouTube did a review of it. from what I understand the firmware needs some work.

 

I hope what I can provide helps. If you need anything else just ask.

 

I own a

G1W

GT680W

Vico TF2

Vico WF1

Vico Marcus 3

Innovv C3

Innovv C4

G90

G95A

Mini080/3/5/6

Blacksys CF-100

Papago Go Safe 200

 

I should be getting a Lenovo V5 in soon.

So if you have been looking at any of these and have questions i'll do the best I can.

 

My 0806 came with a CPL and I was under the understanding most do. One seller has it on amazon for 10 dollars prime [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VAP3YFM/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_3?pf_rd_p=1944687502&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00S556AQU&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1SARECVVW3QT3SP0NAX4]here[/ame]

[CheckYourLights]

Just bumping again. I got a Lenovo V5 in the other day to put through the paces. Once you get past the Transformers look it is not to bad of a camera.

 

Here is a little bit of a look at it.

 

Gearbest really thought I should take a look so going with my the more information the better motto I gave in and had them send me one.

 

You can purchase it here

 

I was a little worried at first because I asked for it to at least be a black one, and when it showed up there was a silver one on the box, but a black one was inside.

 

The packaging is rather nicely done

http://i.imgur.com/zx7j4mU.jpg

Oddly enough the Transformers point is driven home a little further with the yellow 5th Gen Camaro that looks a little like the one from the movie.

 

This is a Novatek 96650 based camera with a 120 degree lens. I have been using it for the past few days, but because of the coming holiday I have been a little behind and have a few different projects going on. (This as well as a few other camera projects most of you know about)

 

The packaging features a Lenovo licensed sticker this is the first time I have really noticed a seal of approval like this, but I might have missed it on other cameras.

http://i.imgur.com/L73efyK.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/LwbSV9H.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/3Irqxg7.jpg

Mine did not include a GPS so I can not speak to how well it works.

I have a GPS from an A7 camera, but I am guessing it would not work on a different chipped camera, and it would not do much good review wise anyhow because it would not be what goes with the camera.

 

http://i.imgur.com/Os5iNiu.jpg

While the shape is not what most people would like it is not as bad as I had feared. If I color in the eyes I don't think it would be to bad. Still most defiantly a little out of place looking but again I expected much worse. Also again the packaging is very nice. That is a black felt/foam like thing around the camera to protect it in the box.

 

http://i.imgur.com/H5o0SLn.jpg

The camera comes with the normal fair as expected. There is a cord with a car lead and a USB cord, what is nice about this one is it is the first 9655 camera I have used that has a Micro B end so I can swap cords with more of my other cameras and phone if need be.

 

There is also a threaded mount, and I'm okay with that since there are a lot of aftermarket choices I believe there are 3M thread mounts but only a suction cup was included with mine. I'm happy though. The mount choice could have been way worse.

 

I have 77g on my food scale

http://i.imgur.com/mAtuBc0.jpg

So a little over what the box claims at 69.

 

http://i.imgur.com/UljZV7Y.jpg

I'll have to get a night time picture, but another nice thing about this camera is that the buttons have a dim red glow at night where the lettering is, and there is no flashing so I don't have to worry about getting pulled over and hearing an officer give me a hard time because my DashCam blinks red and blue.

 

http://i.imgur.com/czmrY4X.jpg

I was a little unsure about how I would feel about the lock button placement at first. I have gotten used to it, but it still feels just a little strange. I have used it about 5 or so times.

 

http://i.imgur.com/uiL9QWL.jpg

HDMI and Micro B USB on the other cheek here as well as a reset button on the chin.

 

The thing that really has me excited about this one is the 30 second screen off time. That is the most low I have seen in any 9655 camera.

 

 

The camera seems to lock files into a separate folder named RO

I was unsure how I would feel about the lock button being on a cheek and not with the other buttons, but I have seemed to gotten used to it.

 

Files sit as

 

Card Root>CARDV>MOVIE

>RO

Bit rate is a total of about 12.3MB so a little on the lower side for a 9655 camera

Loop is 2/3/5 mins

There does not seem to be an HDR On/Off setting and the resolution does not say anything about HDR like the Mini series cameras

 

The lamp setting causes the eyes to light up. There is also a setting to make the eyes flash that I have not seen in any other camera. The eyes seem easy enough to color over. More then likely something that I will be doing once I finish taking notes and writing up.

 

The lens surround is black so that is nice. I'd rather just have to color over the lamp eyes then take a camera apart to black it out like some of us have done with our G1Ws

 

The current firmware on my device is 140612A the menus look like many other 9655 devices.

There does not seem to be any plate stamp on this one as well

YouTube Clip 1

YouTube Clip 2

[andrew_l_s]

I've been looking at getting the BlackVue DR650 2ch setup with a power magic pro for a while now but really don't want to spend $360. After some research and coming across this thread, I'm thinking the Mini0806 is a what I'll go with.

 

Parking mode is important to me as I'll be in a somewhat hidden lot for school. I do want some sort of shutoff so I don't end up with a dead battery if parked for an extended period of time. I found this ([ame=http://www.amazon.com/Spy-Tec-Dash-Camera-Vehicle/dp/B00S73FE8A/ref=pd_bxgy_422_img_y]Amazon.com : Spy Tec Dash Camera Vehicle Hard Wire Kit - Micro USB Compatible with Mini 0806, Mini 0806 and Mini 0803 | Car DVR Camera Recorder Dashboard Dashcam | Black Box Video Recorder : Electronics[/ame]) as a "frequently bought together" item under the Mini0806. Would this do what I need? Or should I spend a little more and get the power magic pro? How long would you estimate it could record for before the voltage drops too low and power is cut?

 

Also, I was thinking about doing a rear cam at some point as well. Would it be easier to run wires along the headliner or down low by the door sills? Should I run both in parking mode or just the front, as I always back in against a curb when possible? Would another 0806 be a good choice for the rear, or would one of the older models suffice and be cheaper?

 

Is amazon a safe source for non-knockoff mini cams? Or is there a better source?

 

Thanks

[CheckYourLights]

You would use that and wire it to a power magic pro type device. That just allows you wire to a fuse that has always on power because the 15 legacy turns off power to the ports when the car is off.

 

Also if parking protection is a serious concern you are going to want to look at a camera that offers pre-buffered parking mode so detection does not miss anything.

 

If you plan to just leave the camera on and recording the whole day at school then the mini 0806 will be fine. The 0806 may advertise parking guard feature but if I remember correctly the bracket to enable this feature was never released.

 

I beta tasted a Mini 0806 before release and was promised one a few times and had never gotten one.

 

Anyhow if you are looking to leave the camera on the whole day at school and not use detection you are going to want a BDP you can find different models here

https://dashcamtalk.com/battery-discharge-prevention/

 

There is also this BDP as well

https://shop.pier28.com/index.php/accessories/panobdp-hard-wire-kit.html

 

If you want a camera with decent detection with out recording the whole day or missing anything you will want to use something with pre-biffered parking mode. I believe the Panorama X2 does it

 

If you are looking to get away cheap the BlackSys CF-100 might be the way to go.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LBQGKX8/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00LBQGKX8&linkCode=as2&tag=dacata-20]Amazon.com : Blacksys CF-100 2-Channel 16GB Full HD In-Car Camera Dash Cam (Sony 2M CMOS Sensor) : Car Electronics[/ame]

 

If you are still set on the Mini0806 Amazon can be okay, but you need to make sure under the listing it says sold by Spy Tec or another DashCamTalk well known vendor.

[andrew_l_s]

Thanks for the info! After some more research I'm debating the importance of parking mode. Since the camera is still running, just not writing to the sd card, it seems like the power savings are minimal. Do you think I could get 6 hours of constant record time with the 0806 constantly before the power magic pro would kick it off? Since it's USB powered I could add a battery pack quite easily to extend it if needed.

 

Also looking at the BlackVue dr600gw. My only concern is interfering with EyeSight as it's over 4.5in wide. Think it would be an issue?

 

Thanks

[ssbtech]

I have the 550 2ch model - the power magic pro is set for 12 hours, and I'm toying with the idea of 24 hours. The voltage cutoff feature is too low to be useful before draining the battery too low.

 

I have my 550 mounted on the rear-view mirror support (custom made a bracket, didn't like the stick-on one) and don't have eyesight, but I doubt it would be an issue.

[fishbone]

If recording with the car off is a consideration, wouldn't it be worth looking into a secondary rechargeable power source?

[andrew_l_s]

BlackVue DR650GW-1ch + PowerMagic Pro install:http://i.imgur.com/uPJwOXP.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/bZ6xNjl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/31cKGo3.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/VYRBavB.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/mlebP2c.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/te1NaHm.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/5RXPhVk.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/zHkeLB3.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/HUCLUO3.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/WPo1mk5.jpg

[Mehilovich]

Thanks for the helpful info in this thread! Specifically CheckYourLights for the great advice and expertise, and andrew for your super helpful pictures and instructions!

 

Luckily I haven't had any issues with hit-and-runs, but I've always been worried about not getting a proper claim because someone lies or disputes what I've said, and I don't have a witness around to vouch for me. I'm considering doing this, but probably not for a few months after I take delivery. I'd specifically be interested in a camera I could completely hide behind my rearview mirror, and never see. A kind of "set it and forget it" type of solution, where I only have to worry about it if I actually have an incident. I'd be interested in a parking solution, too, but isn't a "must have".