Dashcams.. (Car) Questions and recommendations?

[bikertomm]

Hi all..

As much as I hate them, if you can't beat them, join them, etc.

So I keep saying it and finally getting round to it, I've researched many forums/websites etc (Techmoan, dashcamtalk etc) but the amount of variety available to buy is just mental. 

I was hoping to spend say £50 - £100 on one, the main thing is I'd like it as discreet as possible, as it will stay attached. Hopefully behind the rear view mirror. Not fussed about having a screen on the back unless it's worth it and turns off. So long as it loop records onto 2/3 minute sections on an SD card and you can save sections by pressing a button, and I can put into my laptop to read it.. I don't mind!

Wondering if anyone has one on here that does the job and can recommend it, save me reading through about nine thousand reviews.

Can anyone see any problems with my idea of using the rear cig lighter to power it? Main question is if I leave it plugged in, does my car stop power to it when I turn engine/ignition off? As I believe some dashcams will turn on/off automatically with this. (I'm going to go test this now) Don't want to hard wire it in just yet I'll see how I get on with it.

Here's how I reckon I will run the cable in my head lol, I rarely have anyone in the back so won't be an issue. I will need a bloody long cable though - ? Actually it's only what 3 metres at a guess. Hope that's not an issue. Also I'm not sure what to use to attach it to the roof on the way round. Something decent must exist out there! Unless it's possible to just feed it through the sun visor, handle above window, etc.

https://i1145.photobucket.com/albums/o520/bikerrtomm/1a_zpske83fi3n.jpg

https://i1145.photobucket.com/albums/o520/bikerrtomm/2a_zpsa74iladi.jpg


Then down the pillar behind the headrest.. along the floor or under mat and up.

https://i1145.photobucket.com/albums/o520/bikerrtomm/3a_zpsghvconkb.jpg


Anyone able to shed some light on whether this is viable haha?

Also any recommendations? I keep seeing the 'mini 08' being suggested for being discreet. I don't mind having a small screen so long as it turns off when driving I suppose.

Cheers!!
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07' Honda Hornet now full powaah! My guide on performing an oil change!

[Rogerborg]

Might help us to help you if you said what car it is.

https://www.techmoan.com/guide-to-dashcams/

Recommendations are down the right.

Smallest one that comes highly recommended is the Mobius.

https://www.techmoan.com/blog/2013/7/8/the-mobius-camera-the-do-it-all-mount-anywhere-1080p-micro-c.html
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[RhynoCZ]

Looking at the air vents, I'm going with a BMW E46.
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[bikertomm]

^ Winner. E46 3 series.

Kind of hoping to hear from people that have them installed and can recommend them, as good as that techmoan bloke is, still too many to choose from.
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07' Honda Hornet now full powaah! My guide on performing an oil change!

[BakesBeans]

[Dave500]

I've got a Nextbase 202 dashcam (was £51 at halfords). It's a little big but it does the job very well.
Oh and if you get a Nextbase hardwired into your car you could get up to 12.5% discount on your car insurance.
I was tempted to buy a £20 one off ebay but I thought fuck it, hopefully I will never need it but it's nice knowing that it's a decent one.
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Bye bye Z hello Versys

[t121anf]

Möbius was my choice.

Can even have a remote lense to properly hide it.

Getting one for the rear sometime soon.

[Minty]

Yeah, get the thing hard wired. Just look for a switched live connection somewhere, wire and forget.

I am getting my car done and have identified the cable I need to splice behind the glove box.

Edit - beware cigarette connectors that have a permanent live. Your camera won't auto switch off and will drain the battery.
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My fingers smell of your mum.

[defblade]

I got this one.

Sits nicely behind the rear view mirror on the passenger side. Currently not wired in as the cheap 5v adaptor is interfering with DAB reception, and I miss Planet Rock Will soon be back on hopefully once the decent adaptor arrives...
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Honda Varadero 125cc => Suzuki Bandit 650 33bhp => 77bhp =>
BMW K1200R Sport 163bhp => Aprilia Shiver GT 750 95bhp

[UncleFester]

MioMiVue 568 - got me a £40 discount on the Aygos insurance. Fitted a 64Gb SD card into it and hardwired the power cable into the car.
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2017 Z1000SX

[waffles]

I have a Roadhawk DC-2 fitted behind my rear view mirror, the cable runs under the roof liner and down behind the plastic by the windscreen then under the glovebox down to the 12v socket.

It automatically saves the minute before an incident (you can adjust the sensitivity, mine used to go off due to rapid acceleration) and the only way that can be deleted is by taking the SD card out and manually removing them on a computer. The rest of the time it records then overwrites that as and when it needs to. It also has a button so you can press to record an incident yourself and any routes are plotted using GPS to log location, speed etc.

Its a bit above the price range you gave though but I would recommend it mostly for its ease of use. Unbox, fit, ignore it unless you need it.
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Theory test - 19/8/09, CBT - 11/10/09, MOD 1 - 16/8/10, MOD 2 - 27/10/10
Past rides Yamaha XT125X, Triumph TT600, Honda XR250
Current rides Suzuki GSXR 600, Honda MSX125

[finniee]

My mum has https://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/gg-groupon-goods-global-gmb-h-24-2022 for £29.99, Quality is not bad however it does not have best of footage at night.
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Honda CBF125

[Ben90]

I've been looking at dashcams and the Mobius looks like a good camera that produces some decent night time footage. It seems cheap at first but by the time you add a mount, hard wire kit and micro SD card the price is about £70 all in, still cheap for a decent camera IMO.

To OP, just find a switched live at the front of the car (one that supplies power only when the ignition is on). If you don't want to chop wires then use a fuse tap to 'hard' wire it in to a known switched live in the fusebox:

https://contentinfo.autozone.com/znetcs/product-info/en/US/bsm/BP-HHH-RP/image/3/
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Yamaha FZ6 S2

[owl10]

Hardwire it in properly,

Preferrably running cable behind headlining and down the a pillar, into dash behind glovebox.

It doesn't take long, its not too hard or expensive to do, and looks a damn sight better.
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DanceLikeAMonkey says: "An infinte amount of web pages available
Yet I still end up reading crap like that"

[bikertomm]

Thanks for the suggestions so far chaps. Still yet to test my cig lighters if they turn off or not, I will do this tomorrow!

I found a relatively good UK based website if anyone else is interested.

https://www.carcamerashop.co.uk/

Certainly ok for research purposes!

I still haven't found 'the one' yet but the '08' mini series is looking good.

Not worried about hard-wiring just yet as I'll see how it goes!

Cheers.
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07' Honda Hornet now full powaah! My guide on performing an oil change!

[diesel dog]

I use the Transcend 200. Nice bit of kit but the original mount is pants and I opted for the smaller suction mount. Both me and the Mrs have one and it's been the best and most reliable one to date.

[Ste]

I'd want more than a two or three minute loop!

Do what owl10 says about running the cable down the A pillar into the dashboard behind the glove box.

[Ben90]

[iooi]