Cheap Dash Cam Suggestions

[Dasher]

Afternoon all, I'm in need of some advice if you would be so kind.

 

Having had some close calls with idiots on the road lately I have been toying with the idea of buying a dash cam, only problem is I know naff all about them. I don't want one that replaces or covers my rear view mirrior, but I do want one with a screen, night vision, and that can be plugged into a car power socket. Also do cameras have the ability to keep recording when left parked, i.e. over night? Oh and as I'm a skin flint my budget is sub £40.

Any suggestions or other ideas very much welcomed.

 

Regards

 

Dasher

[team tractor]

Spend less than £90 and it'll last a month if your lucky .

I've a nextbase from halfrauds and it's been brilliant.

I leave it running 24/7 and it's helped lots.

 

I had a guy break testing me but I was 5 car lengths easily in a 30. I followed him and he started yelling at me about being too close.

I said to him to wait and we will watch it together

He shook my hand and said sorry and said it was his mistake lol.

I think he was after crash for cash but I was miles away

[old'un]

I brought one of Aldi dash cams about a year ago and am well impressed with quality, don't think they have them at the minute but they do have them on sale a couple of times a year....https://www.aldi.co.uk/maxtek-1080p-dashboard-camera/p/077433146990000

[Lloyd90]

It could save you thousands of pounds in a claim but you want to spend the bare minimum?

 

Fair play if you can get a quality kit for that much but I think your expecting a lot for not much.

[welsh1]

£20 works with no problems.

[rovercoupe]

£16 off fleabay and had them in 2 cars and both have worked fine, one needed a reset after being sat for a few months but is still working now.

[guzzicat]

£16 off fleabay and had them in 2 cars and both have worked fine, one needed a reset after being sat for a few months but is still working now.

+this too, over a year no problems, (haven,t needed it tho)

[Dasher]

Thanks for all your comments. I understand what you mean Lloyd90 but the fact is anything is better than nothing!

Anyone prepared to put a link to ebay for the one they use please?

[welsh1]

Thanks for all your comments. I understand what you mean Lloyd90 but the fact is anything is better than nothing!

Anyone prepared to put a link to ebay for the one they use please?

Here's mine,I did change their power cable for one with a usb connection as i have removed my cigarette lighter sockets and replaced them with usb power points, i find it gives a good connection.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HD-DVR-2-5-TFT-LCD-Screen-Portable-Car-Dash-Camera-Recorder-FREE-16Gb-and-P-P-/263017831582?_trksid=p2385738.m2548.l4275

[Dasher]

Cheers welsh1

[Breastman]

Is there a particular reason you don't want one that clips over the rear view mirror? Until recently I'd been using a £30 Chinese one of those for a solid 3 years without issue. If you get one that's obvious its there i.e. the type that stick to your screen with a suction pad and then hag down half a foot you're taking just as much chance of your car being broken into to steal the camera itself! In the budget range the rearview mirror version is the best way to go for a covert camera. I only replaced it as I got a newer car so was willing to fork out for a better camera.

 

FYI Although some cameras have a small internal battery it will last 5-20mins max without juice from the cigarette lighter socket (most cars only power this when the ignition is on). If your cars socket is powered even with the ignition off then the camera will stay on but you obviously need to be wary that it will be draining the battery. You can get a battery monitoring/camera management box like this to stop the voltage going too low but obviously it costs almost as much as you're willing to spend on the camera and you need to be able to wire it in;

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Power-Magic-PRO-for-BlackVue-Vehicle-Recording-System-Brand-New-Fast-Del-/192207585726?epid=1407577285&hash=item2cc07701be:g:4bQAAOSwIQdZNFwA

[Dasher]

Is there a particular reason you don't want one that clips over the rear view mirror? Until recently I'd been using a £30 Chinese one of those for a solid 3 years without issue. If you get one that's obvious its there i.e. the type that stick to your screen with a suction pad and then hag down half a foot you're taking just as much chance of your car being broken into to steal the camera itself! In the budget range the rearview mirror version is the best way to go for a covert camera. I only replaced it as I got a newer car so was willing to fork out for a better camera.

 

 

I have light sensors built into the rear view mirror.

[manthing]

You need one that uses an SD card as memory if you want to store images, I think most do.

I bought some £20 jobbies from the Bay of Evil with some SD cards and they where all useless.

Chucked them in the bin and got a Nextbase 412(?) from Halfords, after 11 months and 23 days I got it replaced because of a known battery issue, the good one now gets swapped between car and van after I bought a 2nd base great bit of kit.

[Schmitty]

I bought an apeman action cam from amazon for £60. It is a cheaper version of the gopro cameras but having tried both I can't see a discernible difference in output.

It can be set to use as a dashcam and cycle record for various timescales, the usual is 3 minutes for dash cams. I can also use it (although I haven't yet) out in the field to record shooting etc. It can also be set to self activate when it sees movement so could possibly be used as a trail cam.

All the go pro accessories fit too

 

Meant to add ... I can view the camera live via my smartphone if in range of the camera wifi.

Edited July 1, 2017 by Schmitty