[GTAcruz]

I currently have 3 dash cams over three vehicles. They’re about 8 years old and it’s about time to upgrade.

Which make and models do you have, what do you like or don’t like about them?

 

[Darth Cruzer]

I currently have 3 dash cams over three vehicles. They’re about 8 years old and it’s about time to upgrade.

Which make and models do you have, what do you like or don’t like about them?

Which ones are you considering?

 

[GTAcruz]

Which ones are you considering?

Something mid grade around $200 - $300. VIOFO, Blackvue, Thinkware etc…
I’ve just started looking, it’s been 8 years since I’ve looked into this.

 

[CaseyH]

I went with the Thinkware U1000; works great. Used the echomaster OBD2 power adapter.

 

[soldthetaco]

I have BlackVue 900X

I got the LTE module (nano SIM with unlimited data plan purchased separately from T-mobile) too so it's connected to cloud (they use AWS) all the time and I can use the app on my phone to access the dash cam.

It's also hardwired drawing power from the fuse box with an add-a-fuse

It's dual channel, front and rear

the image quality is good enough to identify license plates during the day, not so much at night. rear camera is only good for 1080p I think and you won't be able to get good license plate reading.

 

[extdn]

I am waiting for a good deal on a Blackvue DR900X-2CH (probably Black Friday), my main requirements are to have 4k front camera, rear view camera and capability to have parking mode.

I wish you could tap into the car's own camera system similar to Tesla's sentry mode. Sadly it happened a few times that people damaged my (previous) car while parking with shopping cart, car doors etc.

 

[soldthetaco]

I am waiting for a good deal on a Blackvue DR900X-2CH (probably Black Friday), my main requirements are to have 4k front camera, rear view camera and capability to have parking mode.

I wish you could tap into the car's own camera system similar to Tesla's sentry mode. Sadly it happened a few times that people damaged my (previous) car while parking with shopping cart, car doors etc.

Mine hardwired power source has parking mode, but there are limitations:

parking it in direct sunlight in the summer will quickly overheat the camera and it shuts off. So far there's no solution as I tried Thinkware U1000 too, no dash cam can survive that kind of heat as far s I know

also the dual channel only covers front and back, Tesla side cameras are nice

 

[Bravefart]

I'd be interested also. But I think manufacturers would do well to capture from the existing cameras so that we would have a full wraparound "dash" cam at all times... seems like it wouldn't be hard to do, just add a recording loop and some memory, and make it downloadable from Bluelink... They could even have it a chargeable for grabbing the videos and most would pay for that.

 

[Walking Black Bear]

Yep, the cameras are already there - heck, the forward cameras are always on while driving for driver assist anyway! Why not capture those streams onto cheap removable SD cards? The problem with connected services for some of us in the middle of nowhere are the vast, vast stretches of no service.

 

[GTAcruz]

I went with the Thinkware U1000; works great. Used the echomaster OBD2 power adapter.

I like the OBD2 power adapter.I was thinking of hardwiring - but I think this would be a better option.

 

[PITAGinger]

Oh let me get in on this convo, don't have a new vehicle for it yet but have been researching a front and rear camera set up for when I do. Currently have an older Street Guardian that works well in my Fiat. But was debating possibly between
VIOFO A129 Pro Duo or Street Guardian SG9663DCPRO+
any details y'all know pro's or cons on those two?

I live in Central Florida and reviews I read on the previous cameras y'all mentioned said they had issues with the heat but these two faired pretty well.

 

[Daedalus]

Viofo if A129 Pro if you do not want cloud storage, U1000 if you do. I spent the last several weeks researching the dashcams the U1000 is really nice and only 399 with a 4K front and 2k rear camera. I used their wiring harness and a couple of fuse taps. running both cameras and tapping in only took about an hour.

 

[SmoovC]

Blackvue DR900S-2CH, WD Purple 256GB microSD card, Blendmount BBV-2000R rear view mirror mount, B-124X & B-124E parking mode batteries. For cloud connectivity, a Verizon Jetpack; and a ZMI PowerPack 20K Pro for extending run time of the jetpack when vehicle is in park mode.

The jetpack was needed, as it also connects the Escort Max 360c to the cloud. This system has performed flawlessly for over 2 years, and I will be swapping this setup over to the SC.

 

[AndyJones]

I got the LTE module (nano SIM with unlimited data plan purchased separately from T-mobile) too so it's connected to cloud (they use AWS) all the time and I can use the app on my phone to access the dash cam.

Do you know how much data is used per month? And for what amount of use and types of data? Cost please?

 

[soldthetaco]

Do you know how much data is used per month? And for what amount of use and types of data? Cost please?

really depends on how obsessed you are with the cloud functionality.
By default, my dash cam will upload parking and driving impact video clips to the cloud.
Also, every once in a while I'll connect directly to the live view to see who's checking out my SC
and since it's cloud connected, I never use wifi to connect to the dash cam, and all the file transfer, firmware update is done via cloud

Here is my typical month usage
The plan is just a plain unlimited 4g data plan for tablet offered by T-Mobile, I paid $20 per month but it can be more expensive if you don't have other services with them

 

[GTAcruz]

Thanks all.. I end up picking up the Thinkware 800pro two channel with OBD2 adaptor.
Happy to report all the wires tuck in nicely with little effort and is completely out of site. All the excess wires for the rear camera slides in to the C pillar as well.