Explain dash cams to me

[Howlin Mad Murdoch]

I've never had a dash cam, nor seen one in the flesh as it were. So i'm a complete novice.

However, I'm a highways engineer and I need to get one so I can record roads that i'm assessing. Therefore i'm hoping to get a dash cam that can record one or two miles continuously, at approx. 60mph.

Is this achievable?

Also, I don't want it hard wired in, as I need to take it out and put it in a colleagues car if required, so I assume I can just plug it into the USB port for power? Will this be practical/doable?

Front camara only, and looking to spend no more than £150.

[mmm-five]

Do you need a high quality image to pick but road signs, number plates, etc., or just good enough to show the roads you're using (i.e. with GPS coordinates, time/date shown)?

I have an 4K Viofo A129 PRO on my Z4MC (was about £150 in 2021, but looks to have increased since), and the options let you choose between higher resolution at a lower FPS (4k at 30fps), or a lower resolution at higher FPS (1440p @ 60FPS or 1080p @ 120FPS).

The A129 PLUS is cheaper as does without the 4k sensor, so only 1440p @ 60fps and 1080p @ 60fps.[/url] In most cases you'll need to buy a microSD card for the cam...and a second sticky mount if you want to move it between vehicles.

Quality is excellent, and I've seen others that claim 4k or 1440p but the video from them look like they've used AI to over-sharpen everything, or to put 'false' frames in to meet the claimed speeds.

This is the youtuber I used when I was first looking for mine many years ago...

Edited by mmm-five on Friday 28th November 17:43

[mmm-five]

...and to explain some of the terms...

Resolution = how many pixels in the image > how clear the video can be

FPS = how fast the image is captured > how sharp the individual frame can be = the faster the FPS the less blur captured on fast motion

Sensor = the chip that captures the image > Sony Starvis is good, Sony Starvis 2 is better and ups the night/low light performance

microSD card = the storage that the videos are stored on > the higher the resolution / FPS, the more space 1m of video needs

[gmaz]

Howlin Mad Murdoch said:

Also, I don't want it hard wired in, as I need to take it out and put it in a colleagues car if required, so I assume I can just plug it into the USB port for power? Will this be practical/doable?

This may be difficult as most cams are stuck to the windscreen with high-bond tape. Perhaps you could find one that has a separate mount and get an additional mount for your colleague's car, so its just the cam body that moves, or a suction mount. Either that or get 2 decent cheaper cameras, one for each car
https://www.amazon.co.uk/VANTRUE-E1-Pro-Monitoring...

You'll also need a memory card designed for dashcams as they can get hot
https://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-Endurance-Monitor...

Edited by gmaz on Saturday 29th November 16:27

[mikef]

NextBase do a good suction cup. In terms of recording duration, you can get something like a Sandisk 256GB Max Endurance card and record for days on end at 4K resolution

Edited to add - thinking about it, you could have a NextBase 622 with a neat hardwire install in your vehicle (NextBase offer professional installation at a reasonable cost), then have a suction cup and trailing cable for use in other vehicles. The camera attaches to the mount magnetically. My 622 can record in 4K at 30fps, 1440 at 60fps or 1080 HD at 120fps

Edited by mikef on Saturday 29th November 16:30

[Subculture]

I think what you need for your usage in an action cam with image stabilisation and and suction window mount.
A choice from £60 on Amazon + a mount and will get you video better than most dashcams.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/AKASO-Camcorder-Waterproo...

You can start and stop recordings remotely so no unneeded recordings to wade through, and runs off a battery as well as USB.

Edited by Subculture on Saturday 29th November 16:29

[nordboy]

Would something like a GoPro be better for what you want?

[mikef]

I imagine this use case needs a GPS overlay with lat/long and possibly speed. The cheaper action cams may not have that built in (?)

[LunarOne]

I have a dashcam, but it's not a patch on the Gopro I use when I actually want the footage to look half decent. I clip the camera to the windscreen wiper arm and record in 4K using ther Horizon-lock feature. This keeps the picture steady no matter how the car moves over bumps. Because I'm recording for long periods of time, I run a power cable from inside the car, and I also run a microphone into the car behind the rear-view mirror. If I don't do this, I just end up with tons of wind noise and no engine sounds. You would likely need to do neither for your use case. If you want a GPS overlay you can add one using the GoPro Quik phone app

Here's a very short clip from my recent road trip down to the South of Italy through the Alps. Youtube removes most of the detail from the road in compression, but in the original footage you can see every stone in the tarmac.

Edited by LunarOne on Saturday 29th November 19:18