Dash cameras

Non-Suzuki related topics. Anything can go here.
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KuroNekko
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Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:08 pm
Location: California, USA

bootymac wrote:Do you know what will happen when the memory card is full? I'm hoping it'll continually overwrite old footage so you can just leave it alone until you need it (hopefully never)
Yup, it overwrites. I think nearly all dash cams do this. However, there is a useful feature that allows you to select a segment of video on the cam itself (with the little screen) and lock it. This will prevent just that clip from being overwritten or erased inadvertently.
Also, the camera allows you to make each video clip 1, 3, or 5 minutes long or have the whole recording be one clip. With the 16 GB MicroSD card, the record time is roughly 3 hours at full resolution.

Another thing to note:
It records very well during the day. At night, it's decent but that's with traffic and street lights. On dark roads with nothing but the headlights, it does not accurately capture what your eyes can actually see. For example, last night when I was driving on my favorite road through the woods, a young fox crossed the road in front of my car. The fox was illuminated by my LED high beams above the HID low beam cut-off.
When I viewed the footage later at home, I could not see the fox at all despite finding the segment in the video where I slowed down for it.
In this regard, it's much like any other camera that has a hard time recording low light conditions when a bright light is present (low beams). Perhaps the recording mode can help as I've only tested things in Auto mode, but I'm not that hopeful. However, it's not like it matters for the purposes of having a dash cam.
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
krell
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Location: New York

Kuro ....Here is a review of your cam.....http://www.techmoan.com/blog/2013/8/31/ ... creen.html
Open your eyes, look within. Are you satisfied with the life you're living?
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KuroNekko
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krell wrote:Kuro ....Here is a review of your cam.....http://www.techmoan.com/blog/2013/8/31/ ... creen.html
The video appears to be the same one as I linked earlier. I actually watched a good bit of it before I made the purchase so I knew what to expect in terms of video quality and features.
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
bootymac
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Joined: Fri Jul 19, 2013 1:04 am

KuroNekko wrote:
bootymac wrote:Do you know what will happen when the memory card is full? I'm hoping it'll continually overwrite old footage so you can just leave it alone until you need it (hopefully never)
Yup, it overwrites. I think nearly all dash cams do this. However, there is a useful feature that allows you to select a segment of video on the cam itself (with the little screen) and lock it. This will prevent just that clip from being overwritten or erased inadvertently.
Thanks! That's what I figured from the video review but it wasn't clear to a dash cam noob like myself.

If I do invest in a camera, this is likely the one due to its small size. I like how it's easy to hide and that I can leave it in all the time.

Let us know how you will go about a more permanent install. Ideally I'd like to run the cable behind the A pillar and into the dash, where I can hardwire it into the fuse panel or maybe off the existing 12V socket. A 90 degree USB plug would be nice too
murcod
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Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2012 12:03 pm
Location: Australia

You can buy USB power supplies that can be hardwired under the dash. I've got one under the dash with the USB cable running inside the A pillar trim. On the end of the 3m USB cable I've got a short lead with a 90 degree micro USB plug on it.

In the rear I've got another power supply under the trim next to the rear seat back. Then another 3m USB cable with the short adapter on the end of it.

http://www.dx.com/p/jtron-12v-to-5v-dc- ... 4LrkyjrD08
http://www.dx.com/p/maitech-12v-to-5v-3 ... 4LrnSjrD08
http://www.dx.com/p/dc-12v-to-dc-5v-min ... 4LroyjrD08
http://www.dx.com/p/angle-mini-5-pin-us ... 4LsuyjrD08

Mobius on custom made mount:
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David
bootymac
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Cool. What are you tapping off of for power?
murcod
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Location: Australia

Ummmm.... an accessories feed from under the dash? I can't recall the exact details.
David
krell
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Open your eyes, look within. Are you satisfied with the life you're living?
bootymac
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murcod wrote:Ummmm.... an accessories feed from under the dash? I can't recall the exact details.
Ah, I was hoping for the specific circuit
SamirD
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KuroNekko wrote:I recently bought a dash cam and it arrived today. I bought an Ojocam Pro with GPS after reading an article (more like ad) on Jalopnik.com about some car-related gizmos on sale. The cam was on sale for a short time so I got one given I've wanted a dash cam for a while. The sample videos on youtube were great and the cam had good reviews. It can also video-stamp the time, date, speed, and long and lat coordinates from the GPS. This is great for contesting driving infractions in court if needed.
Options include mic on or off recording, motion-detection recording, and a bunch of other things. It also came with a 16 GB MicroSD card which it records onto.

I've played with my real camera (Canon G9) and iPhone5 for taking some dash videos, but neither are very good with having the lens stay focused on the road. On the contrary, dash cam lenses are designed for the purpose and also have a wide-angle lens. Vibrations are also a big issue with cameras recording dash footage and I think dash cams are designed to account for that. Lastly, non-dash cams are miserable for recording video at night while dash cams appear to record much better.

I'm curious if anyone else has a dash cam in their Kizashi. I know they are more popular in countries like Russia and China given the accidents and high rates insurance/injury frauds they have related to them. I didn't feel like I needed one here in the US, but it was on sale so I got it more for recording drives and the like.

I will post videos if anyone is interested.
I actually thought about this after our rental car got bumped and damaged when we just moved to MKE. It was a couple of hundred to fix the damage, and a dash cam might have been able to identify the hit and run. Without any evidence of the person that hit you, you can't file a police report in Wisconsin. :roll:
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