ShiftyWolf

Having seen the dash cam discussion from Wiz33's blown tire experience, and not finding a dash cam thread specific to A/S/RS5, I figured I'd open this one rather than go too far OT from the tire discussion.

Other than the Aliexpress, which did have its own thread, what are folks using and how do you like your dash cams? Are you using the plug or direct wiring either through the mirror or the fuse box? If love to hear from others.

Thanks

ShiftyWolf

Snatched from the Holy Smoke, just lost 2 tires thread:

Andy_FL

Just received my Blackvue 750x, 2-channel (front and rear) cameras. Planning direct wire to the fuse box, as I have to hardwire my Uniden also at the same time. My previous (front only) dashcam is a little Anker mini dash cam that was $35 and works fine, but it obviously does not have the resolution of the Blackvue nor the parking features I was looking for in the Blackvue. I did use a mirror tap which was simple and clean. I guess you need to decide what your priorities are in a dash cam - resolution, just general (decent quality). recording, front and rear, etc.

Wiz33

OK I wrote up a long Dashcam 101 post on another forum a few years ago. If you're new and never had a dashcam before. might be worth a read.

When I started looking at installing a Dashcam in my car. I did what everyone probably did, read a bunch of reviews and check on Amazon and varies forum on pro and cons, watched a bunch of "Best Dashcam", reviews, comparison video on Youtube. Even after all that. I went through a few sets of 2 channel camera (from ~$150 to Over $500) before finding a set that I'm satisfied with and had it professionally installed. Then I realize that there are a few things that you can't go by reviews and forums so I figure that I should share my experience. there're also a few features that I felt were always over hyped on varies reviews. (Update Dec 2020. Add some updates as some better technologies got more widespread in the last couple years).

1st) The ability to read a license plate. Just let me tell you now that reading license plate is a MYTH! Yes, I'm sure you have seen a lot of comparison video and how they show freeze frame from varies cameras (even on the same vehicle) and how some camera seems to read plates better than other. The truth is that being able to read a plate depends on so many other factors that it often seems more luck than the ability of the camera. Here's a few factors that will affect your camera performance.

a) Your windshield angle and curvature, how much glass you have to see through and the angle can make a noticeable difference. For clear front and back view. A straighter window like those on a bus or pickup offers the least distortion while a sharper angle on something like a sport sedan might have more distortion and pickup more reflection from the dash . The curvature of the window also matters. It all depends on the curvature of the camera lens vs the curvature of the windshield. The closer match between the 2, the less distortion. But in general, don't count on reading plate at more than 20ft and often less especially for vehicles to the side in other lane.

b) The color, shape and material of your dash surface matter. The flatter the dash and the lighter the color, the better chance that you will get a fair amount of reflection onto the windshield during the day and under bright sunlight. While you eyes tends to automatically dismiss the reflection. They will show up as bright area on the recorded image and may interfere with you ability to read a plate that's right in front of you. (Updated Dec 2020, Some unit now comes with or offer CPL filters that may help in this respect).

c) The speed differential between the 2 vehicle. Speed differential makes a lot of difference. I would say that your chance of being able to read a plate on another vehicle traveling more than +/- 10 mph compare to you is almost nil.

All that said, some unit does work a bit better than others in some circumstances. 4K unit tends to let you read a plate a bit further away and a 60 frame/sec unit tends to have a larger speed differential margin. But compounded with all the factors above, the actual difference (being to read the same license at 25ft vs 20ft or while a car is travelling +/- 15 mph vs +/- 10 mph) is just not something you can depend upon despite all the caught on camera clips you see on Youtube.

2nd) Parking monitor. This is something that I though would be nice to have but turns out not to be that helpful in real use. Here's a few point to consider.

a) Limited angle coverage. Even with a 2 channel setup, you won't have 360 coverage. Also, door dings are the most common form of contact which probably won't be caught on video even with motion/impact sensor. I guess if you end up parallel parked on street for long period of time or overnight. It may come in handy but then you face another problem (see "c" below).

b) Over sensitive sensors mean you'll need a larger memory card if you're parked on the street for extended period. Yes, while most of the brand name units have adjustable setting for sensor sensitivities, they are all somewhat useless in practice. Impact sensors, even set at lowest sensitivity can be triggered by rain and strong winds. Motion is the worst as there is no way to set sensor distance with current technologies. While sensitivity settings may eliminate moving leaves on plants, a person or car moving 20 feet away will always trigger the sensor so if you park at a heavy traffic area, your recording will probably be on all the time. (Update Dec 2020, No longer much of a problem with newer unit supporting storage format other than FAT32 and price of SD cards are pretty much dirt cheap nowadays)

c) Battery duration. There are so many variable that it's really hard to even give a ball park, It depends on how much power the dash cam draws (can vary by a great deal depending on manufacturer), The health of your car battery and size. The age /type of your car (newer car with a lot of constant on electronics may not last as long) and the recording mode you choose. The problem is that even if the unit is set to record only when the motion/impact sensor gets triggered. The video sensor is always on (just not writing to the card) as if you only turn them on after the sensor is triggered, you'll likely miss the incident by the time the sensor power up. While most unit will have a low battery cut off feature (built-in on the unit or as part of the direct wiring kit), it probably won't allow more than 12 hours of recording before it shut off the unit. This means that you might have to implement some sort of aux battery solution which can easily double your cost especially if you're having it professionally installed.

Being able to fully recharge your battery/aux battery everyday may also be a problem if you have a short commute and long period of parked monitor. (Update Dec 2020, Some newer add-on battery pack can now be fully recharge in 45 mins and offer 16 hours of standby time so if you spend that much time in commute each day, you're pretty much covered)

3rd) Driver assistance features. Another item that may sound good on paper while pretty much useless in practice.

a) Forward collision warning. It's not smart enough to know if you're already on the brake and decelerating so it triggers all the time.

b) Lane departure warning. trigger every time you change lanes. My car's built in system will not trigger if you use your turn signal.

In conclusion, If all you need is a system that would show the party at fault in case of an accident. Any dashcam that capture signal lights and pedestrian crossing signal is generally good enough.

Also, you'll notice that I did not mention the brand and model of the varies dashcam I tried as the above problem applies to all of them to varies degree and there are already enough conflicting comparison reviews on the web. I just want to address my views on some of the often hyped features that you see in the ads or reviews.

Wiz33

I went with the Thinkware U1000 dual on the RS5 (has some other brand on the S5 which I left in the car when I traded it in). Considered all the Top Brand and it was down to Blackvue and Thinkware and I picked the Thinkware for some feature over the Blackvue. I went with a dual cam since sometime it can give context if you also have rear footage in case of an incident. Had it install by the same shop that did the S5 and here's some pics






Should have install it a bit to the left and had it all the way up against the top of the windshield as it can block mirror adjustment for some (luckily not me) and it will also be less noticeable.

Wiz33

Deleted

synergize

[QUOTE=Wiz33;25619318]I went with the Thinkware U1000 dual on the RS5 (has some other brand on the S5 which I left in the car when I traded it in). Considered all the Top Brand and it was down to Blackvue and Thinkware and I picked the Thinkware for some feature over the Blackvue. I went with a dual cam since sometime it can give context if you also have rear footage in case of an incident. Had it install by the same shop that did the S5 and here's some pics

My selection after researching dash cams came down to Thinkware and Blackvue too. Chose Blackvue because their cloud works great, the other reason was size and shape. Both are topnotch cams, actually the two best cams available. Here's mine installed on the passenger side. The towel on the windshield is so the cam is more visible in the pic.

Krendor

Wiz33: would you mind listing or DM me the shop that did your install. Looking for a shop I can trust with my car and the Bay is close enough for me if I can trust them with the dashcam install.

a2oc

blendmount, blackvue dr900s 2ch, going thru the fuse box with power magic pro, does a decent job on parking mode if the battery is charged up during driving, but I do have a upsized battery compared to the stock one.

DVE

BlackVue DR900X 1Channel