I’ve tried searching to see if this had been addressed earlier, but to no avail, so forgive me if I’m repeating a topic.
As background, a few weeks back, my husband’s car was totaled and all the witnesses claimed he ran a red light. Fortunately for him, there was a state trooper with a camera and the video proved that the witnesses were wrong. Now I’m just concerned enough that I’m thinking we should have dash cams in our vehicles.
I’ve gone to several review sites and tried to make sense of what they were saying, but it quickly got over my head. My info needs are simple, I think.
Front (and maybe rear) unit with reasonable resolution
Simple installation and operation
Easy to stop and save evidence of an accident
No subscription required to store video, no requirement to connect via phone to the cloud (I have a limited data plan because I don’t want or need streaming away from WiFi)
No fancy features, not cheap crap but not crazy expensive (I’ve seen prices from $50 to over $800!)
Does that all make sense? I’m looking to cover my butt while driving, just in case. Could I expect to get the answers I need from a sales person? Did I miss a website called Dash Cams for Dummies? Can anyone among the Teeming Millions help me?
Dash cams are generally too small to feature internal storage, so they require some sort of external memory, such as a micro SD card, to save footage. Problem is, most don’t come with said memory card included; you need to buy it separately or upgrade to a bundle that includes one. Always check to see if the model you’re considering requires and comes with a memory card, and purchase one if necessary so you can use the dash cam right away.
I’ve been thinking about them as well. About a month ago, the New York Times Wirecutter section ran a review of dash cams. Their top-rated one isn’t cheap at about $360 but it includes a front and rear camera and there’s an option for one with a cabin camera. (I’m usually alone in the car, so that’s not important to me.) I’m trying to decide whether to buy one.
I’m not bothered by the lack of internal storage, since it makes it easy to remove the memory card without needing to remove the camera.
BTW, I kind of wish that the auto manufacturers included USB power points near the rearview mirrors so it’s not necessary to string the power cable along the headliner.
Great timing, I also have been considering getting a dash cam but haven’t really started researching.
I did see a recommendation that if you live somewhere with high temps to periodically download video to make sure the SD card and camera have not been damaged and is still recording clear footage.
A point worth noting if you have an accident while equipped with a dashcam: If the video exonerates you, great; if it incriminates you, tough luck. If legal proceedings ensue, you probably don’t have the (legal) option to decide whether you want the video to be available. Suppressing it can be considered “spoliation of evidence”, which can be taken as showing that you believe the video proved you to be at fault.
Some folks want a video record of any interactions they have with a cop at their window during a traffic stop. The catch is that many/most dash cams stop recording when external power is cut off (as when you shut down the engine).
Many cars have buttons on the mirror for garage door remote control, or auto-dimming of the mirror. In these cases, 12 volts DC is available at the mirror, and you just have to sort out which wires are +12V and ground, and then splice in one of these:
I have one of these, and it works fine. I did something similar from the powered subwoofer in my trunk for a rear dash cam.
Depending on how modern your car, all the electronics and power stay live for several minutes after the engine shuts off. Unless you get out or lock the doors from the outside. The old key on / key off distinction is sooo 1980s.
Cabin cameras may also catch useful evidence for a vandalism event, an attempted carjacking, etc. It’s not just about Uber Ppassengers Gone Wild
Some features you may or may not want (depending upon how you drive, where you park, etc.)
GPS / speed - is your foot made of bone or higher density lead? If you routinely drive at or below the speed limit this can help you; if you have a lead foot; well the accident is now partially your fault because you were doing x miles over the speed limit; you might even get a ticket if the cop sees that info.
Interior facing - do you always drive with two hands on the wheel & eyes forward or do you eat/drink/shave/apply makeup/read the newspaper/read your phone/reply to text/emails/have conversations with the kids/people in the backseat & make eye contact via the rearview mirror/try to control your crazy dog/air drum tunes/other/etc.? if you do anything but the first item in this list you may not want proof that you were not paying 100% attention to driving.
Powered ‘hot’ or ‘cold’ (only when ignition is on)? Do you live in a sketchy neighborhood & are you concerned about vandalism or is your car mostly in your garage in a gated community?
Field of view - wider is better; some of the cheaper cameras won’t even cover to the A-pillars while others will do a 180° or even more view.
Do you want multiple cameras & if so, can they be synced to give you a seamless view? Even if you have a inward facing camera up front it’s looking thru your full interior before it can see anything out the back & can it see anything out the back due to roof slope? How well does the rear camera do with (your probably) tinted rear window?
How well does it do at night? Usually the higher resolutions are better at this. If it dims for bright head/tail lights then it’ll be too dark to pickup anything else.
Display - does it have it’s own display or does it pair to your phone. Note, most that do have a screen have tiny screens; hard to make out any detail on them if you want to, say, show a cop on scene.
Storage - does it save locally, to a microSD card or to the cloud? Is limited online free storage good enough or do you want to pay for longer storage. Garmin will give you 24 cloud storage for free but you need to pay them for longer access. 24 hrs doesn’t get you even a weekend away.
How to save Can you/do you want to talk to it or push a button to save a clip. Do you know which button?
Ease of setup How easy is it to setup/set the date & time? Is there an app or just a couple of buttons like your old VCR that was almost always blinking “12:00” I had one that would occasionally lose date/time & reset back to it’s default - Jan 1st, 2015. Good luck trying to find something when you get home if the date/time isn’t correct.
Setup Many/most allow you to set the clip length. Do not make it too long/big. If you ever need to email a clip (to your insurance co); you would need to edit/trim it down first to be able to get it to them. They can also be set to automagically delete the oldest clip. If you save every little cool thing you see, you won’t have much storage left on your memory card but if you don’t then that crash that you witnessed but weren’t a part of may be gone from your card if it was a the beginning of a long weekend away.
This is definitely not an issue as far as I’m concerned - I saw in one of the reviews that apparently some people use these cameras to record road trips for posterity. That never occurred to me. I’m just looking for something to show that I didn’t run the red light, that guy pulled in front of me without signaling, then jammed on the brakes, that guy rammed into my trunk while I was sitting at the light… stuff like that. Also why I don’t care about a cabin view.
And we park in a garage, so neighborhood vandalism isn’t even on my list of concerns. I’m looking at this as a witness just in case, especially since we’re older now and onviously shouldn’t be allowed out on the road. So, one trip, one errand at a time, then I can erase what’s stored and start again the next time. No cloud needed.
I guess that’s why the reviews make my head hurt - they discuss features I don’t need, don’t want, and in some cases, just don’t understand. So I appreciate your explanation in plain English!
Usually you can tuck the cable underneath the trim. The trim is typically plastic with a bit of flex that allows you to push the cable underneath. If you were wondering about your car specifically, get a USB cable and see how easily it can be tucked away.
So, one trip, one errand at a time, then I can erase what’s stored and start again the next time. No cloud needed.