Which Dash Cam To Get?

[byan1232]

Hey guys,

I've been looking around for a Dash Cam to accompany my tesla when it gets delivered. I know a lot of people recommend the BlackVue dash cam but its a little too expensive for me. I saw a few on Amazon that are in my price range and was wondering if any of your guys have tried them before? If not, is there any you guys can recommend?

Dexors X7
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rue&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_1&smid=A3G98NJGQ1WI4

Rexing V6
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015CW5GMC?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_2&smid=AZQQOE9NWDY1R

Thanks in advanced guys and of course I'm anxiously waiting for my car to be delivered in March

 

[Electricfan]

I've had a few. Right now I have a Rexing. Its not bad. I've read about Blackvue devices but haven't tried one yet. I don't think there are very many different manufacturers - and they sell their cams under different names, because the Rexing I have now has exactly the same software as the last one I had that broke, and it had a different brand name.

Long story short, the technology is evolving a great deal, and I don't know of a "great" dashcam to recommend at this point.

And, I wish carmakers, including Tesla, would just build the darn things into the car and sell them as an option. I'd sure pay for it.

 

[Fanatic1]

Check out the website blackboxmycar.com. A good description of the Blackvue and Blacksys systems. I think the latter is cheaper. Looks like Blackvue has poor direct support and you should rely on the reseller for better support. You can also go with 1 channel to start I think and add on. Hope that helps. Just setup installation for the Blackvue today here in NorCal.

 

[dsm363]

Dashcamtalk.com is also a great resource. This gets highly reviewed there. Might get this one.
PIER28 | Street Guardian SGZC12RC Dashcam

 

[byan1232]

I've had a few. Right now I have a Rexing. Its not bad. I've read about Blackvue devices but haven't tried one yet. I don't think there are very many different manufacturers - and they sell their cams under different names, because the Rexing I have now has exactly the same software as the last one I had that broke, and it had a different brand name.

Long story short, the technology is evolving a great deal, and I don't know of a "great" dashcam to recommend at this point.

And, I wish carmakers, including Tesla, would just build the darn things into the car and sell them as an option. I'd sure pay for it.

Can I ask which Rexing device you have? Is it the V1 or V6? Also, how does it work at night? Is it clear at night? Also, does it work while the car is parked and you are away from it?

haha sorry I'm asking so many questions. much appreciated

 

[Electricfan]

Can I ask which Rexing device you have? Is it the V1 or V6? Also, how does it work at night? Is it clear at night? Also, does it work while the car is parked and you are away from it?

haha sorry I'm asking so many questions. much appreciated

http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ASAEDK4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

- - - Updated - - -

Can I ask which Rexing device you have? Is it the V1 or V6? Also, how does it work at night? Is it clear at night? Also, does it work while the car is parked and you are away from it?

haha sorry I'm asking so many questions. much appreciated

I do not have it wired into the car. I hesitate to do that because I don't want to put a load on the 12V system. Tesla 12V batteries fail more than other cars, and I don't want Tesla to try to shift the blame to a dashcam, and not replace the battery under warranty.

There is a setting that keeps the camera on for a few minutes after its unplugged. I think I have mine on 30 seconds, as I'm worried about straining its capacitor or battery or whatever it uses to stay on.

The picture is normal 1080P quality. Its pretty good. You can't read a license plate on a car unless you're just a few feet from it, but I don't know of ANY dashcam that can. If anybody has a screen shot showing a license plate on a car 30 yards away please post the picture and the dashcam make/model!

Sorry, I forgot your question about night operation. I leave for work at 5:30am when it is pitch dark and the cam does ok then. I think all 1080P dashcams are about the same picture wise. Could be wrong I guess.

 

[hiroshiy]

Currently an owner of Blackvue DR650GW-2CH, I think this product is just fine and acceptable. I personally feel Wi-Fi connection to the dashcam is not stable.

Does anybody recommend a good looking dashcam without screen, and allows changing frame rate? Our traffic signals are flickering at 50Hz in the east and at 60Hz in the west, so Blackvue DR650GW can't record traffic signals correctly in the west, in Japan.

 

[liuping]

I've had the BlackVue 550 in the past and current have a Thinkware F750. I like the Thinkware a little better overall.

I also have the rear camera for the F750, but have not done the install yet. It's a bit more involved than the front, which was pretty easy.

Really Dashcamtalk.com and the forum there are the best resources for dashcam info.

 

[tinm]

And, I wish carmakers, including Tesla, would just build the darn things into the car and sell them as an option. I'd sure pay for it.

This. A thousand times this!

 

[StreetGuardian]

The Rexing is the same hardware as the B40/A118 which doesn't have the best low light performance. If you want the same form factor but with superior night performance and high heat resistant metal lens holder (with no focus shift) check out the Street Guardian SG9665GC

[video]http://youtube.com/watch?v=IZZw28Vz3i0[/video]

 

[satoshi]

It's expensive, but you get front & rear camera recording, it's also really discreet:

Amazon.com : Spy Tec K1S Dual Car Dash Camera + GPS Logger | Front and Rear 1080p Remote Lens Cameras | 140 Degree lenses | 64GB microSD capacity | Ambarella A7LA70 : Electronics

 

[StreetGuardian]

K1S has some unstable long term firmware/hardware quirks so be prepared. The mic/audio is useless too. Check the Amazon 1,2 star reviews. I decided not to go with K1S after failed testing. If you get one to work, you're one of the lucky ones.

 

[brianman]

This. A thousand times this!

I've said before I'd be happy to pay $1,000 (maybe even $2,000) for a high quality Tesla implementation that meets or beats the BlackVue feature set.

 

[Az_Rael]

Dashcamtalk.com is also a great resource. This gets highly reviewed there. Might get this one.
PIER28 | Street Guardian SGZC12RC Dashcam

I have two streets guardians in my vehicles and one Panorama S in my Volt. The best thing about buying a street guardian from Pier 28 is they and the street guardian guys provide superb customer support. They are working hard to improve the product and actively monitor the dash cam talk forum. I did have an issue with the street guardian and interference with my antenna stack in the Volt, and they bent over backwards trying to solve the issue. They redesigned the power cord and sent me one for free. They then redesigned the unit and exchanged it with me for free. Unfortunately they weren't able to sort out my particular problem, but I was amazed at all the effort they went to to try. I doubt the Korean eBay seller I bought the Panorama S from would provide that kind of support if I needed it.

I love the form factor on the street guardian and bought a second one for our truck (the first one went in the Audi). No issues with it at all in either vehicle, it was just the weirdness with my Volt. They include nice long power cords, have great day/night video quality and come with a lot of features including GPS. They also have regular firmware updates to implement fixes/improvements.

edit: here is the one I own: Amazon.com : Street Guardian SG9665GC v2 2016 edition Supercapacitor Sony Exmor IMX322 WDR CMOS Sensor DashCam 1080P 30FPS + 64GB microSD card + USB/OTG Android Card Reader + GPS (Best Of - DashCamTalk) : Car Electronics

 

[David99]

I have had so many different dash cameras over the years and found the Blackvue to be very impressive and highly recommend it. It is a little pricey. If you want a decent and reliable camera for a small budget, I had great success with this one Amazon.com : Spy Tec STI_G1W-C Full HD 1080P Capacitor Edition Dashcam (Black) : Camera Photo
It has been 100% reliable for me s far and the quality is pretty good. I have the Blackvue in my Tesla but for rental cars I use the above one.

 

[tsarlsy]

I have the Thinkware F750. It's a great dashcam and easy to install on the model S using the hardwire kit. It's bigger than the blackvue 650 but I don't really see it when behind the wheel. Support is amazing.

Note: I can't get GPS to lock when.installed

 

[jimtelsa]

I have the blackvue 550 moved it over from my dodge ram
Simple install took 15 minutes
great images even with the glare
gets a little warm but I have 24/7 recording
with the open power port behind the speaker grill

 

[ww73]

After getting into a minor fender bender in our other car (Fiat 500), we installed the Rexing V1 (no GPS) on both the Model S and the Fiat.

Installation is pretty easy. Just get a long mini usb cable and a usb 12V adapter.

What I like about the V1 is the discreet wedge shape. It's also cheap enough that I can install 2 of them (front and rear) for less than the Blackvue.

Here's a video I watched before making the decision.

I installed the camera to the right of the RVM so it's out of view. Unfortunately it's not easy to pop out the micro SC card so make sure you check that. Don't make the same mistake.

Here's an installation video.

 

[byan1232]

@ww73 thanks for the videos. I think I'm going to try out the V1.

 

[verdee]

I just installed the cobra drive hd. Never had a cam before, so can't compare. It was $99 at Costco and install was roughly the same as any other cam, I used the obd2 port for power.