Cheap Rear View Camera

[EastAngler]

Hi - Anybody have any experience of using a cheap E-bay sourced camera as a permanent rear view - ?

Seller has said it's OK to use it in permanent rear view mode, but what wire would I need to connect live feed to?


Thanks

 

[Cheshirecat57]

Have to be honest, I've stopped buying cheap stuff off e-bay. Got sick of sending stuff back that doesn't work
Just scroll down to the "Business Sellers Info" on your link ........

PS- Seller says Moon is made of Cheese as well

 

[EastAngler]

I know what you mean but some of the stuff is great value. I am an angler and many of the e-bay versions of branded gear are as good as the original, sometimes better and for some they come from the same factory and even use the same branded packaging and labels with a sticker over - but at half the price.

 

[TCG]

i agree with @Cheshirecat57
Buy correctly = buy once these are the guys
buy one of these and connect up the monitor to an ignition live... sorted
[IMG]https://www.parkingcameras.com/store/skin/reboot/images/slider/PM33W-Slider-B.jpg[/IMG]

 

[grumps147]

I installed a system based loosely on this wireless kit, bought components off Amazon individually ..

I also bought a cheap dvr that I fed the camera feeds through before passing to monitor.

It worked fine, though you did get the odd interference on the wireless and picture break up for a second or two occasionally.

I must admit though that I did it to see what benefit there was (we already had a factory fitted reversing camera) to giving extra rear view vision with the added provision of extra evidence to support the forward facing dash cam images in the event of an incident, and as a temporary system before getting a more professional system installed.

I found personally it helped me, and it has aided my decision to get a more permanent system installed (I will have any video feeds fed via a dvr though).

Here’s one on Amazon built into the monitor, there are many that are just the dvr you will find with a bit of searching if you want a mirror mounted monitor.

Cocar 7 inch Car Truck Quad Split Monitor with Built-in DVR Video Recording 4 Channels Quad Display Front/left/right/back RCA Input for Trailer Camper Motorhome - 12V-24V LCD Screen Amazon product ASIN B06Y3RP6LJ

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[Stealaway]

Not sure about the screen but the cameras are cheap as chips on eBay - direct from china

 

[138go]

I have taken some of these cameras to bits and to be honest there is not a lot of difference between them. A CMOS chip with a square hole in the top is the basis of most of them. There is a black plastic piece that fits over the square hole with a lens in it that can be adjusted. A small circuit board and a few extra chips and some sort of housing. Apply 12v to power it and you get a signal to drive a display. Some come with infrared LEDs but there is a new generation of cameras that can see without them. Paid about £20 for mine and works very well. The only problem I had with a permanent one as a rear view camera was the picture flashing as you passed street lights or cars behind. Got fed up with it so disconnected it and used mirrors.

 

[tonyidle]

I use mine as a permanent rear view. I bought this camera:



............ and this monitor:



Picture quality is superb.

 

[Jev88]

DRW electronics. They will help at the end of a phone and use Sony ccd chips in their cameras. They supply kits pre packed with cables etc...
You can usually find him at the major shows too where he instantly swooped my clip on screen for a new one.

 

[Lenny HB]

Hi - Anybody have any experience of using a cheap E-bay sourced camera as a permanent rear view - ?

Seller has said it's OK to use it in permanent rear view mode, but what wire would I need to connect live feed to?


Thanks

That one is too wider Angle lens for a rear view. You need about 9O°.

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[34127]

Have to be honest, I've stopped buying cheap stuff off e-bay. Got sick of sending stuff back that doesn't work

I am of the same opinion, everything I have bought has been useless. On one occasion I wanted to send a faulty display back because it was blowing a fuse and they wanted me to send them a video of the fuse actually blowing when I switched on the camera. I am surprised at the number of people who pay mega bucks for there motorhome and are then happy to add cheap chinese electrical components that have little or no quality control and in some cases are potential fire hazards.

 

[Stealaway]

If you look carefully you'll see many cheap Chinese products relabled as premium British or German products. GoPro is a perfect example.

 

[tonyidle]

If you look carefully you'll see many cheap Chinese products relabled as premium British or German products. GoPro is a perfect example.

I asked a regular stall-holder at one of the shows last year why his kit was so much more expensive than could be bought from Chinese sellers. He said it was the same stuff but his value-add was the after-sales service and buyer help he provides. And that's fair enough. Avtex TVs are a good example of that mind-set. They're no better or worse than many other TVs and will be constructed from Chinese components or built in China. But their exceptional customer support makes their prices acceptable and makes for a good business model. Both these examples will almost certainly have to stand the cost of guarantee failures. So there's a choice: you can pay what is often less than half price & accept zero support; or you can pay a business based in this country who will offer excellent support and a guarantee. There's nothing wrong with either choice.

 

[Cheshirecat57]

I asked a regular stall-holder at one of the shows last year why his kit was so much more expensive than could be bought from Chinese sellers. He said it was the same stuff but his value-add was the after-sales service and buyer help he provides. And that's fair enough. Avtex TVs are a good example of that mind-set. They're no better or worse than many other TVs and will be constructed from Chinese components or built in China. But their exceptional customer support makes their prices acceptable and makes for a good business model. Both these examples will almost certainly have to stand the cost of guarantee failures. So there's a choice: you can pay what is often less than half price & accept zero support; or you can pay a business based in this country who will offer excellent support and a guarantee. There's nothing wrong with either choice.

Totally with this

Not “China” per-se that I have deserted
It is lack of customer support

I drive a Chinese built car at work with the best aftermarket support You could get....so not against China

 

[Richard n Ann]

The design has a lot to do with quality of course. If it's designed and tested by a brand name company then built in China it's good. It's the unbranded stuff that is designed for the Chinese Market to be made as cheaply as possible that is crap. If some western companies, which let's face it, aren't proper electronics companies, want to put their name on it and give after sales support that's up to them but it's still cheap crap.

Such companies like Sony, Samsung etc would never destroy their reputations by selling Chinese crap as their own.

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[34127]

I bought a cheap chinese fuse box and binned it after finding some of the blade fuses were a loose fit and some of the contacts were tarnished. I also bought an 18v dc power supply and the pcb was extremely poor quality. In my opinion both of these products were a potential fire risk. I have a family member who occasionally travels to China and he confirms there are decent equipment manufacturers and also the 'knock off' shops producing cheap rubbish. It is a gamble as to what you are buying. If you buy from a recognised trader then you have some come back in the event of a problem, if you buy cheap direct from China via Ebay or other sites then you are on your own when things go wrong.
As said before it doesn't make sense to pay a lot of money for a decent motorhome and then try and say a few quid by filling it with potentially dangerous products.

 

[34127]

The design has a lot to do with quality of course. If it's designed and tested by a brand name company then built in China it's good. It's the unbranded stuff that is designed for the Chinese Market to be made as cheaply as possible that is crap. If some western companies, which let's face it, aren't proper electronics companies, want to put their name on it and give after sales support that's up to them but it's still cheap crap.

Such companies like Sony, Samsung etc would never destroy their reputations by selling Chinese crap as their own.

That sums it up well.

 

[Lenny HB]

I do both buy some cheap stuff and pay a lot for good stuff it really depends on the application, if it's just to play with I go for the cheap, if it's got to last I pay more.

The problem with the cheap stuff is you never know what you are getting. Dash cams are a good example, loads of cheap ones look identical to ones 4 times the price but what is inside are far cheaper components and the spec they claim is a joke.

Even when the product is the same the cheap ones quality pass level will be far lower than the branded one. So you may get a very good one or you may get rubbish, with the branded one it will always be good.

 

[138go]

Even when the product is the same the cheap ones quality pass level will be far lower than the branded one. So you may get a very good one or you may get rubbish, with the branded one it will always be good.

I think I may have to disagree with you on that one. I had an Alpine SatNav that you could connect a camera to. Like a fool I bought their very very very expensive camera thinking it would really be the dogs bollocks. How wrong can you be. Everything connected up and working and off we went. It rained on the way home and when we got back the camera was no longer working. Sent it back and refused a replacement because it had been damaged by water. After many heated exchanges they flatly refused to do anything or answer emails.

 

[webby1]

I think I may have to disagree with you on that one. I had an Alpine SatNav that you could connect a camera to. Like a fool I bought their very very very expensive camera thinking it would really be the dogs bollocks. How wrong can you be. Everything connected up and working and off we went. It rained on the way home and when we got back the camera was no longer working. Sent it back and refused a replacement because it had been damaged by water. After many heated exchanges they flatly refused to do anything or answer emails.

I would find it more annoying to pay top dollar for something that then let me down......................at least if you take a punt and buy a cheapo you are not expecting too much.

I take the point about the fire risk but as above you have no guarantee that an expensive branded product will be any better or offer better customer service.

Buy cheap................................buy thrice.........................and still save money

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[Glas Robin]

Over the years I have bought dozens and dozens of pieces of Chinese tech online - everything from simple cheap components to phones, electric scooters and in this case rear view camera sets.

I have very rarely had a problem of any kind, and the savings I’ve made over the years significantly exceed the abortive cost of the occasionally binned item.

The quality and service has improved greatly over the past decade. It is easy to find Chinese products that are CE marked these days.

If I’m in a hurry I will usually pay a little more and buy the same item from a UK-based eBay supplier so delivery is a couple of days.

In terms of the OP’s question, I have recently installed a permanent rear view camera with double-view recording dashcam, and full screen 10inch mirror monitor using the below items... it’s a good couple of hundred quid cheaper than the “branded” or “UK” (Chinese!) products and it works flawlessly. The savings will pay for my second leisure battery, or a solar panel set up, or more probably quite a few bottles on plonk in the van in the summer.

£55. Dashcam rearview mirror. Fullscreen full-HD, with dual view recording. Includes a waterproof rear view camera with 6m of cable:



£9. 5m cable extension for the above:

Amazon product ASIN B07R22TGN8
It’s taken me a couple of hours to fit - mostly in removing trim and floor panels in the cab to route the cable and connect to the switched cigarette lighter supply.

 

[Minxy]

We have a monitor* (Ebay) that fits over the existing mirror which is the 'natural' place to look for a rear view so no extra 'clutter' on the dash or windscreen, the camera is a simple cheapo one from Ebay which I mounted under the rear bumper with a plastic 'box' round it to give it protection from weather, stones etc. The smaller monitor on the bottom left is one we had already and is a spare just in case the original one ever plays up (I think it frightens the mirror one to keep working!). Only extra we needed was a bit more cable to run the lead from the camera to the front of the camper - we just plug it into a 12v socket rather than hard wire it, works perfectly for us. (*There are various monitors about on Ebay so make sure you get one that has the image across the whole 'mirror' rather than just on half of it as some are.)

Details on the below web page tell you how I fed the cabling.

https://globecarcampscoutinfo.yolasite.com/services-and-av.php

 

[34127]

[QUOTE="

The quality and service has improved greatly over the past decade. It is easy to find Chinese products that are CE marked these days.

.[/QUOTE]

And do you believe that the CE marks are genuine.

 

[Glas Robin]

[QUOTE="

The quality and service has improved greatly over the past decade. It is easy to find Chinese products that are CE marked these days.

.

And do you believe that the CE marks are genuine.[/QUOTE]

In general, as much as I believe the CE marks of “branded” products of Chinese origin are genuine - ie most of the time, yes. And to be honest, unless it is a mains powered device, whether the CE mark is legitimate or not, it’s unlikely to be a safety issue.

I can only speak as I find, and have had very few issues buying Chinese products online over many years. Others may be less lucky or may prefer to pay considerably more for the same products with the comfort of a “brand” name and someone to complain to if it goes wrong. Each to their own.

 

[tonyidle]

We have a monitor* (Ebay) that fits over the existing mirror which is the 'natural' place to look for a rear view so no extra 'clutter' on the dash or windscreen, the camera is a simple cheapo one from Ebay which I mounted under the rear bumper with a plastic 'box' round it to give it protection from weather, stones etc. The smaller monitor on the bottom left is one we had already and is a spare just in case the original one ever plays up (I think it frightens the mirror one to keep working!). Only extra we needed was a bit more cable to run the lead from the camera to the front of the camper - we just plug it into a 12v socket rather than hard wire it, works perfectly for us. (*There are various monitors about on Ebay so make sure you get one that has the image across the whole 'mirror' rather than just on half of it as some are.)

Details on the below web page tell you how I fed the cabling.

https://globecarcampscoutinfo.yolasite.com/services-and-av.php

Agree with that & also look for the highest resolution. There are two versions, one low, & the other a lot higher.

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[BRASH]

Having read all of the above arguments, I'm considering one of these (see below).

Seems better than some of the cheaper Chinese efforts, a British company too (tho possibly Chinese parts), over 123,000 positive feedbacks on ebay, digital signal so should be a clear, interference free picture and at 85 quid it's not a lot to lose if it goes tits up. The only slight reservation I have is the small/ish 4.3" screen but I could live with that I suppose.

I'm interested in your thoughts. Cheers!!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Maypole-...m2acab9a9b4:g:IooAAOSwjaBcxBt9&frcectupt=true

 

[Minxy]

Having read all of the above arguments, I'm considering one of these (see below).

Seems better than some of the cheaper Chinese efforts, a British company too (tho possibly Chinese parts), over 123,000 positive feedbacks on ebay, digital signal so should be a clear, interference free picture and at 85 quid it's not a lot to lose if it goes tits up. The only slight reservation I have is the small/ish 4.3" screen but I could live with that I suppose.

I'm interested in your thoughts. Cheers!!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Maypole-...m2acab9a9b4:g:IooAAOSwjaBcxBt9&frcectupt=true

That screen is too small IMV. We have a wired 'Chinese' Ebay camera and monitor (bought separately) that clips onto the existing rear view mirror which works a treat, we do carry a spare little camera around as we had one go silly once so just carry a spare which, of course, since then hasn't been needed! We also have a small monitor too which we already had so have that as a spare too.

I'd rather have Chinese Ebay gear about a quarter of the price including cabling and have spares, than just rely one set-up for something like this and certainly go for wired rather than 'wireless' which some have said can suffer from interference. It's not difficult to wire them in and run the cables and you have to have power sources for them anyway so the only cabling you save doing with a wireless one is from front to rear of the MH/camper, which is easy enough to do.

 

[Glas Robin]

I agree with Minxy.

 

[RobL]

Hi - Anybody have any experience of using a cheap E-bay sourced camera as a permanent rear view - ?

Seller has said it's OK to use it in permanent rear view mode, but what wire would I need to connect live feed to?


Thanks

There are some excellent RF Cameras on Amazon with a large screen for around £70. Fitting to a van conversion is easy,coachbuilt a bit more difficult.

 

[Lenny HB]

Maypole are a well known automotive distributer and don't normal stock crap so quality should be ok.
Although no way would I fit a wireless one. With a wireless camera you still have to get power to so just as easy to fit a wired one.