Tell me why you love your dash cam?

[reddy]

Reddy, can you explain how that worked? I guess that is my biggest concern with a dash cam and capturing some criminal act(s). At least here in Vegas, our police force doesn't have the time or the interest to deal with small scale mischief. Even if a license plate is visible on the offending car, or the face of the perp who keyed you...our local LEO just shrugs and apologizes.

How do you deal with a minor criminal event after the fact if law enforcement is essentially ambivalent?

Actually the police were EXTREMELY interested. They almost NEVER make an arrest after keying a car, and having the video handed to them on a USB key was handing it to them on a silver platter.

The person who was in the video was known to me, so that made their job even easier. Even so, the police does have mugshots of a large number of the population and they can match in some cases.

Finally, in Texas any damage like this over $2500 is a felony. Obviously keying a Tesla Model S on the left front and rear door and left rear quarterpanel is well over $2500. They don't ignore felonies.

 

[HadoukenZR]

Personal story. Don't own a Tesla (yet) but have it installed in my GTR. Installed Blackvue DR650 2-way dash cam the first week I got my car. Within a month I had someone break into my car to steal my Valentine 1 Radar detector. The dash cam caught the guy scouting my car for 10-15 min before he broke the passenger window. The resolution in the dark garage wasn't great but enough to recognize the thief when he walked up to the windshield.

Long story short. With the dash cam footage I gave to the detective coupled with the radar detector serial number they caught the thief who pawned the radar at a pawn shop. And if you know about pawn shops anything you sell requires you to show your driver license, finger print, all filmed etc..... Apparently he had a long stack of other charges on history and was already on parole. So he's sitting in prison serving 3.5yrs.

Is dash cam worth it? Do I love my Blackvue? Hellz yes!

 

[arcus]

Do you like yours just for the security it offers in cash of accident, horrible drivers, liability protection, etc? Is there more? Not that that's not enough but I'm just wondering if I'm missing anything else.

All of the above, plus it helps to document some trips as well (useful when doing a short video to send to a family or vblog).

I spec'd out a decent setup and a pretty well recommended installer for the DR750S-2CH from Blackvue and it looks like the top of the line plus professional install is going to run near $1000 so I'd like to get some more views about the pros (and cons) of dropping $ on this setup.

It doesn't have to. Search for the group buys on this forum (they keep coming back every now and then). As for the installaiton, if you are half-skilled you can pull it off yourself:

BlackVue DR750S-2CH install - step by step guide

A thousand bucks is an overkill, for sure.

 

[Qbenjamin]

Hey there... Just got my Model S two weeks ago - after having driving my Toyota Highlander Hybrid for over 12 years and 164k+ miles... Let's just say as a tech nerd - I was pretty excited about all the new technology offered - especially in comparison to a car/suv that felt outdated when I bought it (no bluetooth, nav updates w/ 250$ dvds, etc. etc.)

Now I feel like I'm on the cutting edge and loving it... but I'm contemplating getting some more tech in w/ a dash cam but I have some questions...

Do you like yours just for the security it offers in cash of accident, horrible drivers, liability protection, etc? Is there more? Not that that's not enough but I'm just wondering if I'm missing anything else.

I spec'd out a decent setup and a pretty well recommended installer for the DR750S-2CH from Blackvue and it looks like the top of the line plus professional install is going to run near $1000 so I'd like to get some more views about the pros (and cons) of dropping $ on this setup.

Any thoughts you'd like to share would be really appreciated.

Thanks!

-- Schwachs

ps: i know Elon has been talking about offering this as an update since last August's tweet so any thoughts along those lines would be great as well!

$1K for the item plus installation is a bit absurd. It takes about 2 hours to do the install if you're a somewhat novice, as the hardest part is the transition to the hatch door. The rest is simply and "tap and tuck." No way I'd pay that much for the install, especially not when there's several "how to" videos out there.

 

[Schwachs]

Thanks all for the tips on not getting ripped off. The installer was well reviewed but 4 hours of install time does seem really steep given what I'm reading here. I have reached out to some new installers that hopefully aren't so absurd.

Thanks again.

 

[arcus]

Thanks all for the tips on not getting ripped off. The installer was well reviewed but 4 hours of install time does seem really steep given what I'm reading here. I have reached out to some new installers that hopefully aren't so absurd.

Thanks again.

Just come over here, I will help you. Couple of beers will do .

 

[Upscaleman]

As a lawyer, I'll give you all one piece of advice -

If someone else does something stupid, the dashcam is your best friend.

If you do something stupid, your dashcam is now called "evidence" and it can and will be used against you in a court of law.

Caveat emptor....

 

[Schwachs]

Just come over here, I will help you. Couple of beers will do .

Sweet... Do you like any New England craft beers?

I'll start planning my route now.

 

[BigTonyTones]

Just had something happen to me recently. An employee left a shopping cart unattended while she went to do something (all this was in video). Cart wasnt properly secured and as I was driving up, it rolled and hit the side of my car scratching the door and rear panel. I was pretty pissed. Scratches were so deep that it couldn't be repaired without painting both panels.

Tesla isnt a cheap car to repair. The quote was very large and the business owner settled very quickly after showing them the video of the event. Their cameras didn't pick it up and who knows what could have happened without my dash cam.


Another thing happened to my buddy a few weeks ago. He witnessed a hit and run. He stopped and gave the victim the full video of the accident along with the license plate. She was shocked! "Give me the exact model of that camera, I am installing one right away" were her exact words.

 

[BigTonyTones]

Thanks all for the tips on not getting ripped off. The installer was well reviewed but 4 hours of install time does seem really steep given what I'm reading here. I have reached out to some new installers that hopefully aren't so absurd.

Thanks again.

Doesnt seem completely outrageous. $1000 is a bit much. I got my blackvue kit on sale for $280 but normally range for $400. The install does take time to do it right. 2-3 hours sounds about right.
The front camera is easy to do. Its the back one that is a pain. $200-$300 for install sounds about fair.

 

[BigTonyTones]

Doesnt seem completely outrageous. $1000 is a bit much. I got my blackvue kit on sale for $280 but normally range for $400. The install does take time to do it right. 2-3 hours sounds about right.
The front camera is easy to do. Its the back one that is a pain. $200-$300 for install sounds about fair.

Watch my youtube video and just do it yourself. Its not complicated

 

[Daniellane]

I just received my Model S AP2 to DashCam which I purchased on eBay from China via DHL.
I chose it because included a polarizing filter to avoid glare and reflections from the windshield.
I also feel it is more elegant design than the topfit aesthetically speaking. I also checked out the app which seemed much better as well.
I initially tried to order it, however the seller informed me that Tesla had revised the housing for the Model S AP2 mirror several times affectind how well it fit . He had me remove the housing and send him the part number.
Then he ordered that part from Tesla so they could modify their parts for a perfect fit .
After more than a month of waiting he had me re-order it and it arrived today .
I have included photos of all packaging and components.
The packaging and documentation is extremely high quality and well designed.
I will attach pages from the instructions on another post.
I will attach pages from the instructions on subsequent posts
After I have attempted to install it, I will post additional information.
View attachment 245899 View attachment 245889 View attachment 245891 View attachment 245892 .

A snap to install or remove.
No wires to cut. No physical change to vehicle.
Virtually invisible.
see the thread quoted above for more details.
Videos from my dash cam here:
IRO Dashcam Footage - YouTube

 

[FlyingCookie]

I enjoy my DR750 simply because I can pull footage off of it and show my friends how stupid drivers are in whatever area I happen to be in... I haven't NEEDED the footage yet, but I keep several clips on my phone for fun when I'm with friends and the "What's the dumbest things you've seen on the road?" discussion pops up.

 

[BinaryField]

A $1000 installation cost is outrageous. I recently had the two channel DR750 installed for $150 and it was done in around two hours.

Something to note: after using the unit for a while, I'm not really sure that the DR750 is really worth the added cost over the non-WiFi version. The wireless interface + app are extremely slow and I can only stream about ten seconds of video off of it before it gets stuck in an indefinite buffering loop. It doesn't really take any advantage of its wireless capability either, e.g. automatic video upload to your PC. I had to find some custom scripts and unpublished interface information to implement stuff like that.

 

[NeverFollow]

I'm holding off on the 750s for the 900s that's suppose to drop this quarter,
if you haven't already bitten the bullet,
i'd wait for the new 4k cam to get released at the very least it will make the 750 cheaper,
and more resolution is always better,
though we have no idea of that pricing for the resolution yet.

Well, I hope they also include a way to dimmer the night recording for the rear camera.
Otherwise any rear recording at night is useless.

 

[Rahul]

I need one. What's the best place to get one? The last Massdrop expired.

 

[thatisug]

I went with the latest 4k Blackvue, and used the following youtube instructions to install on my own.

Was fairly easy to install, even though I was nervous I would F up my brand new car.. Managed to install it without issue.

I have been lucky enough to not need the Dashcam for myself, however have been witness to several accidents and I pulled over pass along my contact info and subsequently shared the footage to the CHP or Insurance Companies.

 

[LVThomas]

What model and features do most favor? Do most people get the power add ons so it will record with the car is "off" and how does that work on a Tesla? Are instructions in any of the videos mentioned above?

 

[reddy]

What model and features do most favor? Do most people get the power add ons so it will record with the car is "off" and how does that work on a Tesla? Are instructions in any of the videos mentioned above?

In my 2013 S85, I bought a OBDC connector and have that wired to the dashcam. It gets power even when parked for days. No need for any power add ons.

The dashcam is smart enough to know whether you are driving "Normal", parked "P", or and event "E" like noise or motion occured. You set how much memory card space is allocated to each category. When full, you overwrite the oldest files each category.

You can also filter on the Blackvue cloud which file types you want to see.

 

[LVThomas]

In my 2013 S85, I bought a OBDC connector and have that wired to the dashcam. It gets power even when parked for days. No need for any power add ons.

The dashcam is smart enough to know whether you are driving "Normal", parked "P", or and event "E" like noise or motion occured. You set how much memory card space is allocated to each category. When full, you overwrite the oldest files each category.

You can also filter on the Blackvue cloud which file types you want to see.

Thanks for the reply.