-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
What is the best dash camera for the Model S nowadays?
- Thread starter LastPadawan
- Start date
-
- Tags
- Model S
Lookup "install Tesla dashcam" on YouTube. A lot of great info out there. A lot of ways of doing it.
Installation overview.
Over the rearview mirror there is a panel. Pop it open. Inside is an unused plug that offers 24/7 electricity. Tesla made it easy!
Using a fishing pole/metal hanger/etc fish the dash cam wire through.
But the dashcam plug won't match the Tesla plug so you need to order a new $5 plug and cutoff the original dashcam plug, and splice in the new plug.
Wiring the front dashcam is "easy".
Dashcams come with a mini SD card that stores the video. I popped out the card to make sure everything looked good -put it back in - and only plan to pull it back out for an accident.
If you want a rear dash cam then you are in for several hours of work/ pulling trim pieces off the car. I was nervous about breaking pieces, etc. In the end it was my first time and I feel it looked completely professional! I surprised myself!
Good luck.
Last edited:
Of course if the rumor about Tesla basically turning all 8 cameras in the car into dash cams comes true there will be no need to an after market product. (which will pretty much render the BlackView dual channel system I had installed recently superfluous)
I've been using Payver for 3 weeks. I was looking to get a dashcam and when I heard I could contribute to HD mapping I downloaded and started using it. I've also made $15 in the time I've had it, having driven 542 miles so far with it.
To be clear, it is a limited dashcam. It does record continuously at high quality, but to save a video you have to tap the iPhone screen which initiates dashcam mode. It saves the 20 or 30 seconds prior to tapping the screen and also saves the next 20 seconds or so. Once that time is up you have to tap "yes" to confirm and then "yes" again to save it to your camera roll. If there's a crash you have to remember to do that, and to my knowledge there is no ability to detect a crash and save automatically. That being said, it is free and actually pays you to drive.
This is the second reference I have seen regarding the rumor that Tesla is introducing native dash cam feature. Do you recall where you heard this and have any idea on the credibility of it?
I have a Viofo A119 and like it, but am considering getting either another one for the rear, or upgrading to a dual channel BlackVue and moving this one to my wife's car. Would hate to spend all that money and then find out its going to be redundant.
arcus
Active Member
berkeley_ecar
S 90D (fully loaded) delivered 18 Mar 2017
I don't think so. According the likely source of the rumor about a Tesla dashcam capability, it will use only the forward camera. There is no mention of sound, or of its capabilities. The front camera is said to be monochrome, and specialized for its primary purpose of participating in Tesla's automated driving systems, so the usefulness of the video for other purposes is open to question (it might be fine for recording a forward-based accident, but you might not want to use it to augment your vacation videos driving by the Tetons). Will Tesla be storing your streaming video, how would it be accessed, and who would be liable if there are gaps in video capture or a file is lost? (It's a bit difficult to imagine that Tesla would want to get into that potential mess). Who would own the video and who would have access? When would this capability actually be available? Many questions, and much speculation enhanced by wishful thinking, and no real answers. My prediction is that you will continue to enjoy using your Blackvue for quite some time to come. I was gifted a 750 recently, before I had a chance to install my new 650, which I'm selling as a kit. I'm happy to have it: great video and audio, forward and rear coverage, free tools for viewing the video, Wi-Fi capability that can be used with a hotspot for remote streaming (1GB/month for free if you get the right freedompop gadget), open-source tools for downloading video (read more), parking mode that triggers video when the car is disturbed, ...
Last edited:
A known problem with BlackVues is the motion sensing. It is way too sensitive.
Motion Detection in Parking Mode is too sensitive
In Parking mode, whenever it detects movement it will start recording. The problem is, even when the sensitivity is set to it's lowest setting 1(out of 100) it will constantly record.
Once your memory card is full, it will overwrite the oldest file. Depending on the size of your memory card, if it records an important incident in the morning, it could be overwritten by the end of the day.
Motion Detection in Parking Mode is too sensitive
In Parking mode, whenever it detects movement it will start recording. The problem is, even when the sensitivity is set to it's lowest setting 1(out of 100) it will constantly record.
Once your memory card is full, it will overwrite the oldest file. Depending on the size of your memory card, if it records an important incident in the morning, it could be overwritten by the end of the day.
f-stop
Active Member
Yes the over sensitivity in parking mode is an annoyance with the 650. But I have a 128GB card so even with all the extra parking mode clips I find that the card stores several days (maybe 4-6) of recordings, so low risk of overwriting a valid event from same day.
arcus
Active Member
Have you had any luck using the download tool with 750? It looks like something has changed and the cgi script name or path is different than on 650.open-source tools for downloading video (read more), parking mode that triggers video when the car is disturbed, ...
Can you provide a link?
I would like to have a camera I can use to trips. I don't need a permanent install. I've been waiting on what Tesla may offer, but who knows if that will happen.
Another option is I could get a suction cup mount for my iPhone.
Last edited:
berkeley_ecar
S 90D (fully loaded) delivered 18 Mar 2017
Haven't had time to try it yet -- you might want to send along your observations to the author of the tool to see what he has to say.
I purchased a blackvue 750 on preorder. It was shipped a month ago. DHL lost the package and sent me an email confirming this. I sent it to blackvue and the response was we will contact them and get back with you (1 month ago). Then I I contacted them several more times, each time asking them to file a claim for loss with DHL, which is what DHL recommended. They said they would file a claim and get back with me when they heard from DHL. That was two weeks ago. Last week I get an email saying we were glad to help you, please rate our service. Naturally I said I was not satisfied, and I requested a refund. I doubt I'll ever get my money back from blackvue and as upset as I am with their horrible service related to my lost package, I would really love to try out the product. I may still buy one, but it will be damn expensive now as the 500 plus bucks for the 750 with largest mem card will now be double. And... I know if anything goes wrong their customer support is non-existent.
If anyone knows of a similar, hopefully superior product, please let me know. I'm taking delivery very soon and would like to have a dash cam installed from day one. Thanks in advance!
If anyone knows of a similar, hopefully superior product, please let me know. I'm taking delivery very soon and would like to have a dash cam installed from day one. Thanks in advance!
K-MTG
Sunshade Captain of TMC
I recommend purchasing from authorize dealers as there support would be much superior compared to Blackvue's. I used this seller: DashCamBros
BlackVue DR750S Review
Can you file a dispute with your credit card?
Dispute it with your credit card company, you will win. They will ask you if you received your merchandise. Tell them the truth, no, and you are tired of waiting.
Blackvue support sucks.
If you have a problem with the camera you are supposed to contact the merchant you bought it from and they are supposed to request the RMA from Blackvue. When they get the RMA, you send the camera to your merchant, who in turn, sends it to Blackvue. Such a waste of time.
I had to replace my DR650s 2 times for the same problem. After about 3 weeks, the GPS and Wifi would work intermittently.
Blackvue said it could be the windshield has a metallic coating which blocks the signal. If that was true, the problem would have been there from day 1. The second time I sent it back, Blackvue took a full month before sending the replacement to my merchant, which then sent it to me. The replacement they sent me was a single channel not 2 channel. I had to send it back to my merchant and play the waiting game again.
Overall it was 6 months of back and forth before I finally got a camera that worked well.
