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Posted

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

Posted

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

Posted

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 input:DC5V

 

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

 

17)Microphone:Include

 

18)Interface:USB 2.0

Posted
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

Posted
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
Posted
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.

Posted
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.
Posted

The company i used to work for had 3 vans and one of the CPC cameras in each one and they have saved more than their cost in insurance premiums over 2 years, and have proved effective in proving blame in the case of accidents. I highly recomend them.

 

They can feel a bit big brother though as they will also trigger a record save in the event of erratic driving or going through big potholes!

 

Regards.

Posted
I'm sure it's completely legitimate, but I can't help but refrain from visiting a site called dogcamsport, whilst at work.

 

It makes me think of Stan Collymore not playing Football. ;-)

 

Lol yes it is and one of the main suppliers of decent bullet cams etc... from what I can see.

 

Ben

Posted
How would a dashboard mounted camera pointing in the direction you are driving help if someone crashes into the back of your car? Surely you would need two cameras? :confused:
Posted
How would a dashboard mounted camera pointing in the direction you are driving help if someone crashes into the back of your car? Surely you would need two cameras? :confused:

 

The general rule of thumb is that if a person crashes into the rear of you, they were too close to you and it would be classed as their fault. If you have a camera that is pointing forward, it would still record the driving conditions in front of you which you could still use as evidence that you did no wrong.

Posted
The general rule of thumb is that if a person crashes into the rear of you, they were too close to you and it would be classed as their fault. If you have a camera that is pointing forward, it would still record the driving conditions in front of you which you could still use as evidence that you did no wrong.

 

This would not help if you crash when changing lanes and you did not move into a gap large enough to give the car behind you sufficient stopping distance. The front mounted camera does protect you from scammers moving into your lane in front of you and suddenly braking though ... but doesn't cover if you do it. A frequent cause of collisions on dual- / multi-lane roads is people changing lanes and there being insufficient stopping distance, forcing other drives to have to take evasive action ... having a rear camera can make a big difference here too.

Posted
This would not help if you crash when changing lanes and you did not move into a gap large enough to give the car behind you sufficient stopping distance. The front mounted camera does protect you from scammers moving into your lane in front of you and suddenly braking though ... but doesn't cover if you do it. A frequent cause of collisions on dual- / multi-lane roads is people changing lanes and there being insufficient stopping distance, forcing other drives to have to take evasive action ... having a rear camera can make a big difference here too.

 

No it wouldn't help in all cases, but it would still give you an upper hand over not having any camera in your car, in a lot of accidents.

Posted (edited)

It could also help record others committing a crime as shown below.

 

 

This video, and the attitude of the woman in it is truly shocking. (Not gory or anything)

 

Edit: Rather convenient that it was filmed, but for obvious reasons, this wasn't staged.

Edited by AyatollahPies

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