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

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…

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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 :-)

I must have really good luck with SD and microSD. I’ve never had a single card corrupt or fail. I use them in the trailcams, depth finders, old phones, and cameras. Around 15 currently in use/rotation from 2-16gb capacities.

I’ve still probably got another 10-15 old ones in the 32-512mb range sitting in old cameras, lol.

I could definitely understand them failing in Dashcams with the massive amount of writing and rewriting going on constantly.

Probably Im to blame partly , for going for untried or unproven cards ..

If you find a brand that works , it might pay to stick with it , I have no brand loyalty so buy what ever the mood takes me . ( Probably a bad thing in memory cards )

ATM all my Toshiba cards are doing relatively well , I dont recall having any corruption issues with them ..

If the information you are recording is super important , it might pay to just buy a premium card ..

But for my MP3/MP4 players I use budget cards ( 2Gig ) and I have lost 2 or 3 so far ( dies after being removed ) as I wanted to change the music ...

Same with my SLR Digital cameras , I think I have lost 4 SD cards in 3 years .. Simply refused to work after a few months of use .. ( recovery was not possible )

Other cards corrupt on a regular basis , so now I format every time I remove images from the cards .. Seems to have slowed down the corruption rate

Clarinda! - just a couple of Ks around the corner from me. Funny to see local footage for a change.

I think impatience plays a big part; there seems to much more "I can fit in there" if you leave even a short buffer zone these days. Then there are the ones who insist on flying up the inside in a lane that is clearly blocked and just expecting you to make room for them to barge in.

Unfortunately incompetence seems pretty rampant too. Drivers who can't keep their car in a single lane or who have no idea of where to find their indicators.

Then there is just plain stupid. My favourite was a chick in her early 20s a couple of years back eating a bowl of cereal with both hands as she drove up Warrigal Road one morning on the way to work.

(As a kid, I remember my dad steering with his knees many years ago so he could fill his pipe, but that was on sparsely populated country roads and he always grabbed the wheel if there was oncoming traffic.)

I look forward to more dashcam reviews as I've been thinking of gettting one myself. Every day you see something that makes you shake your head in disbelief! Could make for some very interesting local "best-of" compilations.

Just one question. If the camera only saves a few minutes of video before overwriting, it may not be much use to you in an accident unless you can actually turn it off. Otherwise, wouldn't you just end up with footage of the aftermath?

There should be a G sensor ! , Im not sure about this one ...

But I have posted a review of the 2nd camera to arrive , and it has a functioning G sensor and locks files so they wont be over written .

ATM I have 2 16Gig Micro SD cards for testing , a CLASS 4 and a Toshiba Class 10 ..

2nd Budget cam is here = https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/34007

Just waiting on two more ,

I bought a cheap dash cam and like many find, you get what you pay for. Yes it works but as per old570’s experience it’s not just worth it as the video quality isn’t what you expect. 720 to 1080 is what’s needed. Probably MP4 too over .AVI

Im doing the budget ones ( not previously tested or results posted )

There is little point retesting Dashcams previously tested and results posted on Youtube ..

What ever you chose . make sure you Youtube the camera first before buying .. Im hitting uncharted waters ! ( Because I want to know )

Anyhow , keep in mind a plastic lens can do only so much .. Want better quality , go glass lens on your camera . But remember , what ever your interested in .. YOUTUBE it and see if you can live with it ...

Also any working camera is better than no camera , your insurance company will love you if you can provide video ( seriously )

Im seriously thinking G1W-c ... ( For a long term camera ) , but I still want to sample the budget offerings ..

Even If I end up throwing them in the trash !

The video quality is still better than 80 % of the Russian Car crash videos we see on Youtube, and better than the $ 26 dollar one i bought from *beep*bay.

Today’s effort with the G1W-C:

This thing has a 120 degrees lens. A 90 degree would give a more true to life perspective.

The video quality seems pretty good, thanks Suncoaster.

That was into the sun, so it’s pretty glarey.
And at night the camera could be better.

I have a dr32, been in use a couple of years but the internal battery has failed and it cannot hold date/time so needs setting each trip now. It was fairly good quality but did freeze a couple of times.

I have just ordered the street guardian (nearly went for GW1 but SG supposed to be better although not so budget) for the front and the Mobius for the rear (and maybe my drone). Both get great reviews on dashcam forum.