Looking for a car version of a "Black Box"

[Pyroman]

Hey guys,

does anyone know of any reasonably cheap video camera "black box" for cars?

It would appear my car is fast becoming a car crash magnet, i've had 2 idiots very nearly crash into me in the last couple of months and i wish i had a video camera set up on the dash so i could have a record of the incident. I've heard of an app for iphone and android but i'm after a standalone unit.

Googled and i can see a few but just wondered if anyone had personal experience with anything like this, obviously don't want to set up a "normal" video camera because i'd just end up with hours of footage of me driving, something that detects sudden braking or i can turn on manually if i need.

Cheers

[plexer]

Going to be really expesnive I would think one of the small cams you can get for helment mouting and a large'ish sd card would do the job, yes it would be recording all the time but at least you would have the footage if anything happened.

Ben

[Dos_Box]

Yeah, for a proper one it's not going to be cheap. I found this kit that has GPS and a g sensor as well, but at £295.95 it certainly isn't pocket money prices.

Roadhawk RH-2 Twin camera crash recorder - RoadHawk Driver Safety Camera

[Dos_Box]

What about this on eBay for £29.99!!

1280P HD Car DVR TFT 2.5" LCD IR Camera Video Recorder | eBay

Edited to add feature list:

Features:

Brand New H-198 Portable HD DVR with 2.5" TFT LCD Screen Video recorder/Camera
270 degree rotate swivel lens,120 degrees wide-angle lens
6 lamp tape LED lights night vision and cycled recording
High speed recording and quick light respond
Auto start and record after the vehicle is started
Start recording automatically when turn on the recorder
Preview video files and photos
Support SD card up to 32GB

Technical Specifications:



1)Recording resolution:1280*960/720*480/640*480 pixels

2)Video format: AVI

3)Repeat storage by section:2/5/15 minutes

4)Power source: built-in rechargeable battery or 12V/24V car charger

5)Supports SD/MMC card (from 1GB up to 32GB)

6)Microphone: can record sound

7)2.5inch LCD:270° whirl

8)Mode:Video Recorder/Camera

9)Image Sensor:1/4 color CMOS HD Sensor

10)Support Real Time&Date display on video

11)Recording Automatically After the Power Up

12)High speed recording and quick light respond

13)Repeat storage by section

14)Cycled recording

15)Power inputC5V

16)Power Supplied by Car Charger or AC100-240V(Optional)

17)Microphone:Include

18)Interface:USB 2.0

[jinnantonnixx]

I know Maplin (used to) sell a dashboard camera.

They used to sell a cheaper, camera-only deal, but this is what they have now:
Novus BlackVue GPS Invehicle Witness camera Free Delivery : InCar Security : Maplin

[jamesreedersmith]

CPC - Designed for the job
SMART WITNESS|SVC100|VEHICLE RECORDER | CPC

all the cars at a place i used to work had these.

[JJonas]

What about this on eBay for £29.99!!

1280P HD Car DVR TFT 2.5" LCD IR Camera Video Recorder | eBay

Nice terms and conditions on that item and totally at odds with distance selling regulations!

[MK-2]

Nice terms and conditions on that item and totally at odds with distance selling regulations!

Office Hour: Mon- Fri 9:30AM-6:30PM(GMT+8), Sat 9:30AM-1:30PM (GMT+8)
7. Contact No. 852-35680601

So basically buying from Hong Kong or somewhere like that

[Pyroman]

Looks like i'll go with small permanantly recording camera then!

[sted]

would a cheap payg android phone do the job? its got gps and tilt sensor if theres an app could that be hard wired to car power and do the job

[AyatollahPies]

Yeah, for a proper one it's not going to be cheap. I found this kit that has GPS and a g sensor as well, but at £295.95 it certainly isn't pocket money prices.

Roadhawk RH-2 Twin camera crash recorder - RoadHawk Driver Safety Camera

Looking to get this myself. Yes, it's expensive, but if it proves you had no involvement in causing an accident, then it pretty much pays for its self within a year or two. No more 50:50 insurance decisions where neither party can prove they weren't at fault.

[SteveBentley]

I've seen (but can't find) a unit that straps to the back of the rear view mirror and works on the same basis as Sky+ live pause, where there is a buffer of a certain amount of video. After an incident you want to keep you hit a button and it stops recording and saves what's in the buffer.

[Martin]

Foehn & Hirsch Tiny DV Camcorder 30fps 720x480 for fifteen quid at eBuyer?

mb

[JJonas]

might be worth checking with your insurance company, if you use an approved one you may get lower premiums.

[alan-d]

May be a bit pricey ...... Phantom Ltd - In Car Cameras