My first dash camera review .... ( Budget Dashcam )

I have a G1W-H — first dashcam — for now, powered from a one- or two-cell power bank in the sunglasses holder pocket up by the rear view mirror, rather than bother running wire.
Definitely recommend dashcam forum at DashCamTalk.com as the place to go for detailed discussion.

The Yi is a nice little camera and they have been improving it slowly. As an action cam, start up is a bit slow. The Mobius is completely adjustable (RGB) and having two have been very impressed by the picture quality and reliability. The Mobius team still continues to improve the camera with the latest being a wider lens and Motion Detect on USB power disconnect, so you have a parking mode.

Both are great cameras. If size matters and you plan to use it as a dashcam, you can’t go wrong with the Mobius, if you want WiFi the Yi is a nice camera for the price. Remember the Mobius has more options, such as extension lenses, live view apps and capacitors.

Thanks GJHS, I’ll look into the Mobius. Seems like a very capable as well as expandable camera.

Thanks, this is a great idea.

As you find some bargains, you will have us all using dash cams.

youre driving on the wrong side of the road :stuck_out_tongue:

Thats ok , so is everyone else !

Yep , personally I think every car should be fitted with dash cam .. Here in Australia now we have a law that simply states that every home needs a "working" fire alarm .. I would like to see another law that that simply states that every car needs a working dash camera ..

I say this as the insanity on Australian roads has become quite intolerable . Almost every time I get in the car I see people ( drivers ) being homicidal . 30 years ago I might see something once every 6 months , these days if I want to see insanity I just need to go for a short drive ..

When I went to school a couple of years ago ( Back to school - Advanced Diploma in IT ) I missed out on dying or serious injury by one second . Each time by some nutter running a red light and each time they missed me ( passing behind me in screaming tire smoke ) by almost exactly one second . ooooh yeah ! , Australians sleep while driving to work . I think they call them power naps , but if I remember your supposed to stop and nap , not drive and nap !

I think a good 50% of Australian drivers need to go back to driving school , the lack of skill these days is shockingly bad .

For now , ill be playing with budget cams . ( Its fun ) + If I find a decent one ( That would be good )

It's unfortunate that this dash cam was " Poor" , but such is life .. And I purchased it for the lack of reviews on it ( You tube has plenty of dash cam reviews ) ..

Just youtube the camera your interested in , and remember uploading to youtube may suffer image loss ( my video suffered a little image loss - but it is bad in anyway )

So what would be a good budget car camera for the car? Here in Texas we have brutal summers with 100F / 40C temperatures days (same as in Oz), the car basically becomes an oven, Would the G1W with capacitor instead of battery be a good option?

Thanks!
AlexGT

Where its hot , capacitors are the way to go ... As well where its crazy cold ..

The dash cam batteries have a tendency to go and flame out when cooking in a car ( apparently ) , and a lot of folks recommend removing the camera when not in use ( PITA )

I guess it would be nasty to go shopping , come back to the car and find it on fire !

Those li-ion batteries , not just a joy in flashlights ...

Here is a question , does any one know where to buy capacitors to replace li-ion dash cam batteries ?

Some dash cams with capacitors

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=Dash+cam+with+capacitor&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xcapacitor+Dash+cam++.TRS0&_nkw=capacitor+Dash+cam++&_sacat=0

+1 for the G1W-C .
Mine’s been running for more than 6 months. The “estore009” ebay version.

I want to try an Innovv C3 for the bike.

How is it possible that a guy with screen name “old4570” listens to such music @ 1:41!

Alex Debogorski (TV show Ice Road Truckers) figured out the way to rest during 15 straight hours of trucking. According to him, you just close one eye and let it rest, while the other eye does the driving.

Note to road officials:
Alex Debogorski is kidding.

Just to echo, thanks for taking a bullet for the team.

I started out with some crap unit from fasttech that worked only sporadically and didn’t seem to like the heat of California. I kinda figured out that if I didn’t have something reliable, I was mostly wasting my time, so went with a Panorama (which was one of the picks at the time at dashcamtalk) for about $200. It’s been super reliable and (touch wood) hasn’t had to record any personal mayhem. (Though I’ve got snips of other people trying to kill themselves.)

This CAR DVR with fore and rear facing cameras is on sale for $44 now… It has front and rear cameras. Since you figure the $50 limit for budget, figured I would pass this on. It is a non affiliated link and the code is DG30B if you want to check it out…

Link is 404 not found

Edit, link works now

Loosen up my buttons ( Buttons ) , I have a very wide or varied interest in music ..

From classical , to country western , Rock and or Roll , it just depends on the song itself , I either like it , or I don't .

Frankie Lane : possibly the best rendition of Ghost riders

My second Budget dashcam review 2nd Dashcam review

Fixed it

Thanks for the nice review. But for $20, you get what you pay for. I find it hard to believe you can make a video camera at that price point. It’s not going to win any awards for great video or sound. But if I just wanted an accident cam, why would this not be a good choice? Does the looping actually work? What about quality? How durable do you think this will be over time?

All valid questions :

Everything is getting cheaper , especially from China ..

The more they make of something the per unit cost comes down ..

Anyone remember when a 1x DVD burner/player cost north of $1000 , these days twenty something dollars ...

My very first was a 4x NEC that cost $235 ...

I dont understand why cars cost so much ! , the more they make the cheaper they should be ... ( It be a scam )

Yeah , durability would be a consideration , so if every 12 months you need to replace it ? Its still cheap ..

I think the battery and Micro SD card slot would be the weak links , as well serious heat .. ( dashcams die from heat related issues all the time )

Most issues seems to be heat related , unless its a Micro SD card problem .

And most cameras either run properly or dont run properly out of the box , so if you have issues it will most likely be right away .. ( camera not SD card )

And problems down the line seem to be traced back to the SD card or heat .. ( Very generally speaking from what I have read so far )

Obviously other problems can occur , and much like with flashlights , it can be a lottery , even with higher priced cameras

Micro SD card =

These things can corrupt simply by looking at them sideways , I have had micro SD cards corrupt so badly as to become un usable simply by removing them from the device they were in .

Micro SD cards Suk Hard for reliability ..

SD card =

My brother got a $200+ Dash cam that takes a SD card because the Micro SD card is a horrible storage platform .

SD cards are not that great either , I use plenty in my Digital SLR's and from time to time they corrupt for no reason what so ever .. I have had several become un usable after corrupting .

So if you are after serious long term reliability , I dont think any dash camera can offer it ATM . You are essentially taking your chances in an imperfect world .

So just like with anything , it would pay to check from time to time that everything is working as it should ..

I would check weekly to make sure your dash cam is working , let the card fill and then check the camera is over writing non protected files .

SO ? How long before the card corrupts ? , possibly becomes useless ? With Mocro SD ?

It would pay to check , just like with li-ion batteries , otherwise you may be driving around without a working dash cam

I'm considering this quote for my sigline, at least it made my morning :-)