Info on Dashboard Cameras?

[Dave S]

Anyone know something about dashcams and the like?

Someone has put a dent in our company bakkie, and as I am normally the driver I'm held responsible, but I didn't do it. To avoid such issues I have been asked to install a dashcam, but i don't know anything about these devices?

[ians]

I am also looking into installing rear view for hitching up the boat and to make sure I don't drive into anything, driving a panel van has its challenges and a dash camera, for 2 reasons one to monitor where my vehicles travel when I am not the driver and how the person driving the vehicle is behaving. I have done a little research and found lots of info on price check.

I want to install LED strip lights in the back of both the vans on the back doors and in the back to improve visibility at night, when trying to find something or loading and uploading equipment.


found this interesting

http://www.carcamcentral.com/reviews/dash-car-camera-guide-buyers

http://dashcamuk.com/dash-cams.php

http://dashcamtalk.com/#

why you need a dash cam

http://www.youtube.com/embed/5RAaW_1FzYg?autoplay=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0

scary to think I travel this road everyday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6WsnoZUTBw

There are some crazy things happening out there, I must see at least 1 accident a week on the road.

[IanF]

Have you seen the footage of the pinetown acciden it is the second video. This was taken with a dashcam video. The guy who shot this works for rock solid industries and sell webcams heard him interviewed on the radio yesterday.

[ians]

There was another accident just a little further down the road on the same day, 3 vehicle pile up, maybe the cops should spend less time hiding behind cameras and spend more time doing actual traffic control and management.

[ians]

I don't know what is more dangerous in this country driving on our roads or being attacked sitting at home. The bottom line is maybe it is time government looked at the big picture.

I have a code 14/EC license and spent 2 years driving trucks, (this is my personal opinion) I don't believe the brakes failed, it seems the driver tried to change gears and couldn't re engage the gears which resulted in the truck running out of control, if the truck was in a low gear there is no way it would have been travelling that fast, you cannot use the brakes on a truck like you do in a car they cannot stop a fully loaded truck, the foot brake is only used to bring the truck to a stand still, the air brake is used with the gears, that's the sound you hear when a truck is slowing down on a hill. There is a lot of talk about interviews with the driver etc.

This is not the first time this has happened, it happened at an off from the N2/Higginson highway off ramp, where a truck came through the robot and took out a BMW, I watched it happen, the scary part, I was sitting in the lane on my own on the bike, there where cars next to me in the other lane so the truck driver chose my lane , I heard the truck coming he had his air horn going, I managed to move out the way, the only reason I am sitting typing here right now was thanks to his air horn.

[Dave S]

I managed to get a cam yesterday, not an expensive one, but has dual view (front and rear). I think I'll get a better one soon to put in the family car. But the one I got should be fine for the bakkie. No, I'm not going to post vids of my bad driving.

You would be surprised to see how many silly mistakes we make when we drive, you notice them when you view the vids.

[flaker]

Hi Dave S, would you mind filling us up on cost ,installation etc. is the driving recorded? i take it it should as video record on the earlier post. Thanks

[Smoky]

i am considering the HD Hero 3 Silver Edition!

Electronics&Gadgets
HD Hero 3 Silver Edition

[ians]

I have a hero 2, which is equivalent to the hero 3 silver edition, personally I wouldn't waste my money buying one of these cameras, battery life is ridiculous and the cost to add on items is just as bad. I have all the bells and whistles from a suction cup to a pole mount, both dive and normal lens. I made a deal with someone, would never waste the money.

Unless you do extreme sports which involves fast movement and rough conditions or under water filming, the camera gets extremely hot in the casing. I have been filming fishing trips on the boat, it must be the worse 11 meg camera I have ever used to take a pic, the video footage is good when it works on a clear sunny day, as soon as the conditions change so does the picture quality. I have a iphone 5 (as I am sure some of you will remember) in a griffin survivor case (phone would be trashed by now if I didn't ) which I use to control the Go pro and to shoot video, quality is awesome and the pics even better and you get a proper water proof case. You also get a case which you can mount like a go pro.

https://www.facebook.com/watershot.sa

You can also get a skeleton case which will prevent the camera from getting as hot, which is also handy because you can then plug in an external power source, and a Wi FI hard drives which have a 7 hour battery life to stream video footage, problem once again you gona break the bank ( around R5000 - R6000) investing in all this gear. If you start adding wi fi back pac and remotes, keep adding thousands , not just hundreds.

Sometimes I play with the go pro and put it on the dash just to experiment, to see the effects of filming as it gets dark and under bad light conditions (it sux) the pic looks like grains of sand all over the screen

[Dave S]

Hi Dave S, would you mind filling us up on cost ,installation etc. is the driving recorded? i take it it should as video record on the earlier post. Thanks

The one I got is the "Neoline X3000 (CVWL-143)", set me back R690.00 + R300.00 for a 32GB Class 10 SD card (on BidorBuy). It just mounts to the windscreen (behind rearview mirror) on one of those suction devices. It has an internal battery so I don't need to keep all the cables plugged in, but I do need to remember to switch it on before I drive. If it is plugged into the lighter socket it starts recording as soon as the car is switched on. I will eventually wire it in permanently and hide the wiring in the roof lining, and then I will also have the GPS logger and speed indicator functionality. Here's a link to the UK Review.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WwuZn8J6IA

[Dave S]

There are far better cameras available than the "El Cheapo" I bought, but they do get a bit pricey.

[Smoky]

There are far better cameras available than the "El Cheapo" I bought, but they do get a bit pricey.

Good day Dave S,

I think you did good!

I took your advice and had a look at the Youtube. I must say the man doing the review did a fairly good job. I would also use the GPS as it gives you speed and this can well win an argument when asked where you speeding or not. My concern however is not the device but the theft of the device during a accident. My friend lost his phone, GPS and car radio while he was unconscious?

superglue comes to mind?

[Dave S]

General theft is not a concern as you just unclip it and take it with you, but if you're in an accident and incapacitated, it isn't just the camera that will be stolen... After all this is Africa.

[Jason F]

Hi there,

If you are looking for an excellent dash cam, invest in a GS1000. It is a full HD 1080p dash cam with a built-in gps logger. I bought one from Top CCTV in Cape Town, and im very impressed. They have a video on one of their websites that shows you the quality of the camera as well as how the software works..
They do shipping as well...and their pricing is good. So contact them if you are interested. I must admit, got excellent service from them as well.

[Didditmiself]

Hi there,

If you are looking for an excellent dash cam, invest in a GS1000.

Price?