Best Dashcam for Model S

[IndyToronto]

You can access the camera through a browser, I believe the default IP is 192.168.1.254. I was able to get the luckycam app to work on my AP1 version and android phone. I wired it to always on power then put a wireless remote switch between the cam and power so I could turn it off an on with homelink (On/off takes up two homelink spots on the switch that I bought.) That gives the ability for always on when I want it...

Where do you get a permanent +12V line? Is there a pinout of the mirror connector? Thanks.

 

[IndyToronto]

FWIW, if anyone uses IRO Dashcam and you can't get luckycam to work, try youmera. I use this app on iOS and it appears to work so far. I couldn't find a way for luckycam to always work. Also, the IP address of WIFI_PRO is at 192.168.0.1 unlike others who may have it at 192.168.1.1.

 

[David.85D]

no go. Still dead. At least the out-of-warranty repair fee is only $50 plus shipping to Korea and all the delays...

Just following up in case anyone is interested. Paid $40 (in addition to the $50 repair fee) to ship the Blackvue to Korea for repairs on 11/20. Just got a text it is in customs in Korea on 12/5 (hope it doesn't get stuck there - should be no duty on an item returned for repair). At this rate, it will be more than a full month for the round trip.

 

[David.85D]

FWIW, if anyone uses IRO Dashcam and you can't get luckycam to work, try youmera. I use this app on iOS and it appears to work so far. I couldn't find a way for luckycam to always work. Also, the IP address of WIFI_PRO is at 192.168.0.1 unlike others who may have it at 192.168.1.1.

About to try this. These choices scare me! Need someone decent working in this area! On the Apple App store, Youmera has three total reviews with an average of 3/5 stars. LuckCam has 16 total reviews with 2.2/5 stars. For Reference of how bad the big players are, the Blackvue app has 2/5 stars with 390 reviews, and the Thinkware app has 2/5 stars with 94 reviews. The only camera app that doesn't seem to stink is OwlCam (3.7/5 stars, 368 ratings) but that's a subscription based service.

 

[rooter]

I'm wondering the status of the 360 degree camera system? Seemed like it was beta some time ago. Is a release-grade version ready yet?

 

[IndyToronto]

About to try this. These choices scare me! Need someone decent working in this area! On the Apple App store, Youmera has three total reviews with an average of 3/5 stars. LuckCam has 16 total reviews with 2.2/5 stars. For Reference of how bad the big players are, the Blackvue app has 2/5 stars with 390 reviews, and the Thinkware app has 2/5 stars with 94 reviews. The only camera app that doesn't seem to stink is OwlCam (3.7/5 stars, 368 ratings) but that's a subscription based service.

Unfortunately for me, luckycam does not work for my IRO but youmera does. I tried luckycam on an android phone as well.

There's not much I need to do other than see what's been recorded and download specific clips down to the the phone/ipad to watch. If there is something compelling, I can swap microSD card and access the clip(s) on a laptop anytime.

 

[rjElec]

Argh. The next person really needs to start at $100 and find the limit.... you get 5 chances to submit an offer on eBay

I started at 100 and finally got it for $165+$15 shipping + tax.

 

[Scott1620]

Where do you get a permanent +12V line? Is there a pinout of the mirror connector? Thanks.

12v constant is in the spare plug under the square plastic thing in the headliner a few inches back from the mirror. That panel easily pops out.

 

[TeamC]

Great info on this thread. I think I'm going to go with the IRO. Installation seems easy and the camera is out of the way.

 

[Rogue Synapse]

I went with the IRO for my AP1 car, bought it a couple of weeks ago but actually just installed it yesterday. Installation was very simple although actually snapping the thing into place was harder than I thought. It definitely looks like it’s supposed to be there, like it’s OEM. I’ll post more later when I’ve had a chance to use it more. I’m using the Youmera app which picked up the camera automatically without any need to configure anything, shockingly.

 

[braoudap]

Great info here. The IRO sounds intriguing, but everyone keeps mentioning AP1 and AP2. I have an older MS that doesn’t have AP. Will the IROs not work on non-AP Teslas?

 

[David.85D]

Great info here. The IRO sounds intriguing, but everyone keeps mentioning AP1 and AP2. I have an older MS that doesn’t have AP. Will the IROs not work on non-AP Teslas?

It replaces one of the covers on the rear view mirror (which is why it looks so stock). You’d have to figure out if the cars with no AP have the same rear view mirror trim as AP1 cars.

 

[BrokerDon]

I went with the IRO for my AP1 car, bought it a couple of weeks ago but actually just installed it yesterday. Installation was very simple although actually snapping the thing into place was harder than I thought. It definitely looks like it’s supposed to be there, like it’s OEM. I’ll post more later when I’ve had a chance to use it more. I’m using the Youmera app which picked up the camera automatically without any need to configure anything, shockingly.

How do you like your IRO camera now that you've had it installed for ~ 10 days?

 

[Rogue Synapse]

How do you like your IRO camera now that you've had it installed for ~ 10 days?

Pretty good. I know IRO uses third-party apps to access the video so it's not really fair to judge them on that, but the Youmera app is pretty straightforward. I really like the look of the camera, for sure - you can only see it from the outside of the car, but it looks like it's supposed to be there. The video quality seems good in different lighting. The resolution is a little limited at only 1080, so you can't really make out license plates unless the plate is right in front of you, but I knew that coming into this and I'm fine with just having a reasonably high-resolution account of any incidents or interesting drives. It would be perfectly good enough video quality to establish fault in an accident, for example.

 

[BrokerDon]

Pretty good. I know IRO uses third-party apps to access the video so it's not really fair to judge them on that, but the Youmera app is pretty straightforward. I really like the look of the camera, for sure - you can only see it from the outside of the car, but it looks like it's supposed to be there. The video quality seems good in different lighting. The resolution is a little limited at only 1080, so you can't really make out license plates unless the plate is right in front of you, but I knew that coming into this and I'm fine with just having a reasonably high-resolution account of any incidents or interesting drives. It would be perfectly good enough video quality to establish fault in an accident, for example.

Where / how did you connect the IRO to 12V power?

I have a March 2015 built P85D so thinking the power wiring should be the same...

 

[Rogue Synapse]

Where / how did you connect the IRO to 12V power?

I have a March 2015 built P85D so thinking the power wiring should be the same...

You remove the front of the rearview mirror assembly. There is a wiring harness that pops out in there containing power/info for the rearview. The IRO dashcam has taps that insert into the existing wiring without having to remove anything from the harness. Then you put the dashcam on in place of the OEM front cover of the rearview.

 

[Rogue Synapse]

Thought I'd show some videos of a few different lighting conditions with the IRO. The sun glare and dashboard reflection is pretty prominent but still the images are OK. I haven't tried out the polarizing filter that they included with the camera.

Edit: huh, I can't figure out to make the videos fullscreen so you can actually see the resolution...

 

[Russell]

Thought I'd show some videos of a few different lighting conditions with the IRO. The sun glare and dashboard reflection is pretty prominent but still the images are OK. I haven't tried out the polarizing filter that they included with the camera.

Edit: huh, I can't figure out to make the videos fullscreen so you can actually see the resolution...

Click the word vimeo and it opens the video at their website. There you can choose fullscreen.

 

[Mikado]

No offense but all those cameras look like generic junk.

The IRO dashcam is the nicest one since it's actually made for the car, is easy to install, and looks OEM.

Just install mine over Christmas! Did it 10 mins. No hard wiring. Looks like it is part of the car. AP1 for me.

 

[Kandiru]

Finally, the IRO is here, a camera that does not make your car look like a carnival ride and does not involve complex wiring. Getting one ASAP.