Quick question, in your opinions, which is the best dashcam out there for a car? Have been researching for a while, but figured I'd try looking up some first hand experiences.
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Dashcam for car
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I vouch for the Vantrue N4. This specific model I would recommend is actually one that is used by a lot of ‘Youtubers’ who drive ‘press cars’, and they’ve all spoken highly of this one, I can also attest it won’t overheat if you live in a hotter climate [Which is a known problem with a lot of dash cams overheating because of the placement in your windshield], although it is on the pricey side ranging above ~$250, but you get exactly what you pay for, and this one includes the —parking mode, front and rear camera, and most importantly, night vision— is something these dash manufacturers all brag about, but this one seems to have some of the best in terms of night quality in driving in pitch black.
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I just want to add, insurance companies absolutely love Dash cams, the camera _never_ lies and is always the objective witness.
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Vantrue N4 3 Channel 4K Dash Cam, 4K+1080P Front and Rear, 4K+1080P Front and Inside, 1440P+1080P+1080P Three Way Triple Car Camera, IR Night Vision, 24 Hour Parking Mode, Capacitor, Support 256GB Max https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083V6K8R...abc_EP52V0YEYGK7G5Y7J1QE?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
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To be honest, that's the reason why I am getting one. I was recently in a collision where I was found initially at fault (I wasn't). However, a local business had an outside camera and they were kind enough to give me a copy.
After showing it to the judge at court I was found not at fault and my insurance company was happy with the outcome. Now my insurance company is repairing my vehicle free of any deductible and forwarding all charges back to the other party.
I don't mind paying good money for a good dashcam if it means it'll work even in a hot climate (like New Orleans).
After showing it to the judge at court I was found not at fault and my insurance company was happy with the outcome. Now my insurance company is repairing my vehicle free of any deductible and forwarding all charges back to the other party.
I don't mind paying good money for a good dashcam if it means it'll work even in a hot climate (like New Orleans).
There are so many excellent dashcam. I have two Viofo A119 V3. They do not have some of the bells and whistles of other brands but they have excellent 2K video and buffered parking. They have operated successfully for a year covering a temp range of -35C to + 39 C. Check out https://dashcamtalk.com/
I've had two accidents in the past five years. In the first, I was driving on a road and was slowing down for someone making a left turn. Got hit by a new driver. She didn't slow down at all. She told the police officer that it was 100% her fault. The other was a hit and run on the highway. I got the plate and called the police and they found the car and driver and took pictures of her car and it was clear that she was at fault. So everything covered. I just lost a lot of time getting repairs.
A dashcam would have helped in the second as it would have captured her license plate if I hadn't been able to.
I have thought about a dashcam for sometime. Ideally it would be integrated into the car - I think that Tesla has the option for a 360 degree camera recording system. I don't think that other carmakers offer this feature.
A dashcam would have helped in the second as it would have captured her license plate if I hadn't been able to.
I have thought about a dashcam for sometime. Ideally it would be integrated into the car - I think that Tesla has the option for a 360 degree camera recording system. I don't think that other carmakers offer this feature.
Tesla's Sentry Mode allows for video recording during driving and in parking state. It is standard feature on all Teslas if I am not mistaken.
Been rockin' a Viofo A129 Duo (Pro?) system in my Fit/F-150 for a few months, and it/they has/ve met my expectations (i.e.; recording, storage, functionality, performance, etc.).
Really like how Viofo has enabled-it so that one can have the camera system able to attach to similar mounts in multiple vehicles (I only need one set of duo-cams with the same mounts in each car/truck).
I have (however) noticed regular discrepancies in the Time Stamp, which (from a legal standpoint) poses some potential court-room impropriety, but I anticipate that this will get fixored, over time <smile>
Regards, splifingate
Really like how Viofo has enabled-it so that one can have the camera system able to attach to similar mounts in multiple vehicles (I only need one set of duo-cams with the same mounts in each car/truck).
I have (however) noticed regular discrepancies in the Time Stamp, which (from a legal standpoint) poses some potential court-room impropriety, but I anticipate that this will get fixored, over time <smile>
Regards, splifingate
Seems like two good options. I looked at the Vantrue and saw it doesn't have an integrated GPS, it's an option. That's fine but apparently the GPS antenna is not where it's supposed to be and causes connectivity issues.
Aside from all the manufacturer options, what it really comes down to is ‘field of vision’. You’d want at least a minimum of 140° from the front and approximately 150° from the back. The problem with some of these cameras, they don’t have the appropriate view of how the accident transpired, then the camera was essentially useless in that scenario.
There again, if you purchase any camera, you do want that rear vision from the back windshield, because if somebody is following too close or struck your vehicle from behind, that’s just more evidence showing what happened. I think too many times, people focus on accidents occurring what’s in ‘front’ of us, when you want the maximum degree of visibility from all angles. I’d rather have a lesser picture quality than not having the appropriate angle that actually depicts the entire accident. I can’t stress that enough, this is coming from somebody that has worked directly with DOT accident investigations for years.
There again, if you purchase any camera, you do want that rear vision from the back windshield, because if somebody is following too close or struck your vehicle from behind, that’s just more evidence showing what happened. I think too many times, people focus on accidents occurring what’s in ‘front’ of us, when you want the maximum degree of visibility from all angles. I’d rather have a lesser picture quality than not having the appropriate angle that actually depicts the entire accident. I can’t stress that enough, this is coming from somebody that has worked directly with DOT accident investigations for years.
Minor Correction:
The rear visibility is actually 160° on the Vantrue, not 165.
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Also, One feature I think is really crucial to any type of dash cam, is actually having availability of the footage that can be immediately viewed on your smart phone through the proprietary app. Some of these Dash cams do not have their own app where you can watch or edit the footage, but some do, and I think that’s worth looking into where obviously if you’re in an accident, you know you have your smart phone on you and you can immediately show the footage to the on-scene Officer.
In addition, In most accidents, law-enforcement will make a decision within less than two hours who’s at fault per their investigation, so that said, the quicker they have the necessary documentation that they need, they can watch the footage directly off your smart phone and determine the results (Of course, which will include your written statement). Also, most insurance companies will be calling in less than one business day to receive your initial statement of what happened.
Anytime when you have an auto accident, time really is of the essence, that’s why you see insurance companies calling you so quick to gain your voluntary statement and then of course L.E needs all the information they have in a reasonable timeframe. I just believe that having the footage on your phone, there is no delay of having to send information over to an Officer via email, when they can see the footage right then and there on scene ported from the dash cam.
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Insurance companies can be a pain if they need some time to determine fault. You're dealing with multiple parties that don't necessarily communicate with each other so you have to be the person in the middle providing information from one party to the next. I had to fight this battle on getting a rental - my insurance company offered a subcompact and I wanted something comparable. The other person admitted fault. My insurance company said to do the rental through the other party's insurance - but they didn't have the fault information yet. They contacted their customer who admitted fault and I got my rental.
The problem is where the other party doesn't admit fault. If you have video and/or photos, then it can speed things up.
On the hit-and-run, I drove to the local police station and gave my statement (I wrote it up on my laptop while waiting for the state trooper to arrive) and then he took a bunch of pictures. He went to the other party's residence and found the vehicle and took pictures and his report indicated that she hit me. The insurance company looked a the pictures and made the same determination.
The ability to see the video quickly may help out even if you aren't in an accident as you may record other drivers driving erratically or in an accident or causing an accident where they leave the scene. The information could be useful to the police or other parties.
Great thread, thanks for all the info! I travel quite a bit for business and have been toying with getting a cam for some time.
Do either of the options listed have easy to view/edit capabilities? I want video proof if I get hit, what I don't want is anyone listening to my horrid singing that occurred just before the accident!
Do either of the options listed have easy to view/edit capabilities? I want video proof if I get hit, what I don't want is anyone listening to my horrid singing that occurred just before the accident!
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Quite right. Do you have any recommendations on cams with an app? I don't see the previous two listed here have that.
Something I have been advocating insurance companies to look into in the future, is provide some type of discount or partial reimbursement for customers purchasing Dash cams for their vehicles. It would make their workload so much easier, if they actually advocated for consumers to purchase Dash cams. I totally understand that not everybody has the budget to purchase a dash cam or maybe they just don’t care to, but they are almost necessary when you’re operating a motor vehicle on the roadway in terms of not necessarily just protecting yourself from falsity, but the camera the is objective witness that tells everything. When you look at accident investigations, (which obviously you experienced yourself), they are a timely process, and having the actual footage of what happened, not also expedites the process, but even can be used for any civil disputes for like injury claims, ect.
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I don’t have any recommendations yet, but I’m also looking into a secondary dash cam that has the app to view footage. What I would do, try researching Amazon, that will be your largest vendor that will have the most options, and they will list directly in the listing if it has a designated app that you can immediately view the footage on your smart phone. Once I do some research this week, I’ll post back here for you which I think might be some of the better options.
Ive been through a few!
Currently my BMW has cameras all round it for a 3D view - I can manually save video clips, or if it senses a collision it will auto save the video for me, capturing all 4 sides of the vehicle. However, I like to have an 'always on and recording' camera as well so for that I'm using the BMW Advanced Car Eye 2.0, since I managed to get it installed when I bought the car. Although it has lots of extra features (that I rarely use) its pretty much the same as any standard dash cam! lol
I also have a VioFo A119 in my wife's car (front only).
Currently my BMW has cameras all round it for a 3D view - I can manually save video clips, or if it senses a collision it will auto save the video for me, capturing all 4 sides of the vehicle. However, I like to have an 'always on and recording' camera as well so for that I'm using the BMW Advanced Car Eye 2.0, since I managed to get it installed when I bought the car. Although it has lots of extra features (that I rarely use) its pretty much the same as any standard dash cam! lol
I also have a VioFo A119 in my wife's car (front only).
I'm thinking about getting a dash cam that mounts on the rear view mirror. Any good suggested models?
That sounds like a good outcome however I wonder for average crashes what % of the time would a dash cam show enough to address blame in a collision? Would you mind describing the accident, and would a dash cam in thi case have shown whose fault the collusion was? I’m thinking for a lane change issue if the cam shows you in your lane, that would be good.
a number of Viofo users have noted that the GPS time stamp is 1 hour off. It seems that this is due to the dashcam not compensating for Daylight savings time. I should be in GMT -7 but have the dashcam set at GMT -6. This fixed the problem for me. I anticipate that when we next change the clocks, I will set it back to GMT -7.
A couple of points re editing and viewing the video files with Viofo cameras. The A119V3 does not have wifi capabilities nor an app. To view the footage I have to remove the SD card and view them on my computer where I am able to playback and edit them. I was seduced by the true 4K video ( some are not true 4K, they use some form of upscaling) of the A129 Pro which has wifi capabilities and an app that works well to immediately view files on a phone or make changes to Menu settings. However I had problems viewing and editing the files on my Mac so returned it and picked up my 2nd A119V3. It was a while ago and it might have been fixed but it is something to keep in mind.
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My criteria was different. I wanted something that was "good enough" but inexpensive enough that it would make it less likely someone would smash my windows in to get it.
I went with a Roav A1. Withstands high temps and I can pull off clips wirelessly with my iPhone.
Mine lets you turn off audio recording. I had the same thought!
I went with a Roav A1. Withstands high temps and I can pull off clips wirelessly with my iPhone.
Mine lets you turn off audio recording. I had the same thought!
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I'm in the market for one and I've not yet settled on what maker but I'm thinking that I'll forgo the front/back camera set up, partly because I have a pickup truck and how well it will be with having it on the back window. Plus the cost, both the purchase price and the installation cost (as I'll not be trying to wire this up myself). Third reason for maybe just getting a front facing dash cam is that in Massachusetts (not sure about other states) running into the rear of a person is 99% of the time the fault of the person driving into the rear of the other car. AFAIK I'm not getting any added benefit to protect my interests. There are some dash cams that record the inside of the cab and that may be enough to catch glimpses of any action that may occur in the rear of the truck as well
Price range maybe in the 200 ball park
Must haves:
Decent night time
Ability to send the video to my phone
No subscriptions
Ability to manually save the recording
Large SD card size to ensure long-ish recording loop
Nice to haves
Inside the cabin recording
Side images or extra-wide
4k is a nice to have but not must have
Price range maybe in the 200 ball park
Must haves:
Decent night time
Ability to send the video to my phone
No subscriptions
Ability to manually save the recording
Large SD card size to ensure long-ish recording loop
Nice to haves
Inside the cabin recording
Side images or extra-wide
4k is a nice to have but not must have
This is one of the ones on my short list
Thanks for this line