Dash Cam - anyone bought one of these ?

keithchesterfield2

keithchesterfield2

Joined
Oct 16, 2018
Posts
640
Likes collected
1,650
Location
CHESTERFIELD DERBYSHIRE
Funster No
56,769
MH
PILOTE
Exp
Long enough
Has anyone bought one of these from Truck Guard - and if so - what are the pros and cons of them please ?

DASHCAM 1.jpg
 
They do one that LOOKS like that for My Mazda MX 5. It has 2 cameras.
One looks to the rear and one to the front.
This MAY be like that.
Mitch.
 
Dashcams have become much of a muchness. They are all wide enough angle, all at least 1080p and all work well enough in low light to be useful. And now most of them are even reliable (provided you put an an SD card that they like). All the extras like WiFi, apps for your phone and big screens are useless for what should be a fit and forget (until you need it) appliance. The only thing that -might- be handy is GPS, but only because it means the clock will always be perfectly correct. So just get tiny £30 one that's well rated on Amazon, fit it behind your rear view mirror so it doesn't distract, wire it so it'll come on with the ignition and leave it alone...

[Except check it every couple of months to make sure it's still working.]
 
And remember that if you have one, it will record your dodgy driving as much as that of the idiot in front / behind you, and won't the authorities love that if you had a little misdemeanour.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
I've been using a Mobius camera for the last few years to put the videos on my YouTube Channel but fancy a change.
I've seen the TruckGuard camera and it looks unobtrusive but I can't find any reviews of the camera - that's why I'm asking on here.
I may go for the Nextbase 412GW on offer at Halford at the moment if I can't get some decent reviews of the Truckguard camera.

:france::france::france::france:
 
Guigsy said:
Dashcams have become much of a muchness. They are all wide enough angle, all at least 1080p and all work well enough in low light to be useful. And now most of them are even reliable (provided you put an an SD card that they like). All the extras like WiFi, apps for your phone and big screens are useless for what should be a fit and forget (until you need it) appliance. The only thing that -might- be handy is GPS, but only because it means the clock will always be perfectly correct. So just get tiny £30 one that's well rated on Amazon, fit it behind your rear view mirror so it doesn't distract, wire it so it'll come on with the ignition and leave it alone...

[Except check it every couple of months to make sure it's still working.]
Click to expand...

The gps does more than that. In my Roadhawk HD the gps provides travelling map location on a split screen when replaying in addition to the usual speed , g force etc.
Not the cheapest but an excellent bit of kit.
 
Larrynwin said:
The gps does more than that. In my Roadhawk HD the gps provides travelling map location on a split screen when replaying in addition to the usual speed , g force etc.
Not the cheapest but an excellent bit of kit.
Click to expand...
I've got GPS on mine too. Played with it once. It's bit of a bullet point farkle really. You just need something that records video when you are involved in an incident.
 
Just bought one from Lidl, only for the moho though.

One thing to remember with SD cards is to format them to FAT32

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
keithchesterfield2 said:
I may go for the Nextbase 412GW on offer at Halford at the moment if I can't get some decent reviews of the Truckguard camera.
Click to expand...
We've got a 312GW along with a hardwire kit and anti-reflection lens. Both of these are compatible with the 3\4\5 GW range and would suggest you budget for them as well (if you're going for a 412). The hardwire kit makes it fit and forget if you wire it to an ignition switch source. We were getting reflections off the dashboard of our Ducato and the lens is effective at significantly reducing these.
Having said fit and forget it is recommended you format the sd card (up to a max of 128Gb if latest firmware installed) regularly. It's easy to do with the dashcam in situ.
 
If you buy a cheap or non branded dashcam, just make sure it has a high enough resolution so you can read the number plate on a car in front of you.
If it can’t, ( like cheap cctv systems) when you really need it, it will be useless.
 
Gellyneck said:
We've got a 312GW along with a hardwire kit and anti-reflection lens. Both of these are compatible with the 3\4\5 GW range and would suggest you budget for them as well (if you're going for a 412). The hardwire kit makes it fit and forget if you wire it to an ignition switch source. We were getting reflections off the dashboard of our Ducato and the lens is effective at significantly reducing these.
Having said fit and forget it is recommended you format the sd card (up to a max of 128Gb if latest firmware installed) regularly. It's easy to do with the dashcam in situ.
Click to expand...
How do you "format" it?
 
Just go into the settings and choose format, only takes 30 seconds

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Chris51 said:
How do you "format" it?
Click to expand...
As @Spanner says.
From memory it's in the second menu (press the "Menu" button twice) and it's second line down. Takes a couple of seconds but make sure you've backed up any footage you may want to keep as all gets deleted as part of the process.
 
Format to FAT 32, plug sd card into PC/laptop go into File Explorer then click on This PC look for SD card (may look like a drive) click on it, look at Manage and select format Fat 32
 
keithchesterfield2 said:
I may go for the Nextbase 412GW on offer at Halford at the moment if I can't get some decent reviews of the Truckguard camera.
Click to expand...
Be careful with the NextBase Keith, @keithchesterfield2
I changed to a top of the range NextBase but had problems with the camera. Halfords were excellent and changed it but the replacement also had problems with overheating and cutting out.
Like you, I wanted footage from the end of a drive for my YouTube channel, but the camera kept cutting out after it had been running for an hour or two. Would get to a site/aire and find the recording finished 10km before arriving.
Also, the windscreen mount for the NextBase is articulated and I got a lot of vibration which showed up as shaky video's. Tried assorts to stop it but nothing helped much.
Went back to Halfords and changed back to the latest BlackVue which has sorted the problems.
The BlackVue, like the one in your OP, attaches to a bracket stuck directly to the screen, so no vibration through a longer bracket.

Richard.
 
Seeing so many people having issues with Next Base Dash/Video Cams, even some of the pro vloggers have kicked them into the long grass.
The Sony video camera with built in steady cam function has been demonstrated and recommended, and its very durable with a 2 year warranty also. I think for those wishing to upload video to you tube or create some quality 4K standard video, this may be a worth a look.
Click on the link and then watch demo video.
Amazon product ASIN B01MTA3FFTPS: its £100 cheaper than its predecessor also(y)
Les

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Guigsy said:
fit it behind your rear view mirror so it doesn't distract
Click to expand...

I haven't found one yet with a mount you couldn't mount a large reflector telescope on.
The cameras are small enough but the mounts are like the work arm on the space shuttle
 
TinaL said:
Seeing so many people having issues with Next Base Dash/Video Cams, even some of the pro vloggers have kicked them into the long grass.
The Sony video camera with built in steady cam function has been demonstrated and recommended, and its very durable with a 2 year warranty also. I think for those wishing to upload video to you tube or create some quality 4K standard video, this may be a worth a look.
Click on the link and then watch demo video.
Amazon product ASIN B01MTA3FFTPS: its £100 cheaper than its predecessor also(y)
Les
Click to expand...
Absolutely no use as a dashcam though.
It's a hand held video recorder.
 
pappajohn said:
Absolutely no use as a dashcam though.
It's a hand held video recorder.
Click to expand...
Sorry @pappajohn, have to disagree as its has a standard tripod screw insert in the bottom and can then be attached easily with a standard sucker type of window suction mount.
It can be fixed this way to any smooth exterior surface of any vehicle and be used to shoot video from the side of the vehicle also. Its what is used in some pro shot vehicle demo videos.
Les
 
TinaL said:
Sorry @pappajohn, have to disagree as its has a standard tripod screw insert in the bottom and can then be attached easily with a standard sucker type of window suction mount.
It can be fixed this way to any smooth exterior surface of any vehicle and be used to shoot video from the side of the vehicle also. Its what is used in some pro shot vehicle demo videos.
Les
Click to expand...
My apologies, I didn't realise it was detachable from all that crap hanging off the back of it.
Still bulky for a dashcam though.
And I hope you mean smooth INTERIOR surface... I wouldn't want £400 of camera hanging off my bonnet or roof.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
pappajohn said:
My apologies, I didn't realise it was detachable from all that crap hanging off the back of it.
Still bulky for a dashcam though.
And I hope you mean smooth INTERIOR surface... I wouldn't want £400 of camera hanging off my bonnet or roof.
Click to expand...
With a good quality suction mount it can be stuck securely on any smooth surface interior or exterior like a glass window, or even the plastic caravan type.
The camera body is much smaller than it looks and not very heavy, so bikers & Skiers use it as a helmet cam.
It can be held in the hand or at the end of a selfie stick.
It also comes with a waterproof box that encapsulates the whole camera, but not recommended for use in deep diving conditions.
Its the reliability plus performance aspects thats attractive, plus large storage capability at 4K, the lens is also better than a a normal dash cam.
Its £100 quid cheaper than its predecessor so that makes it worth a look for those who want to create video footage rather than just a device to prove fault in an incident.

I will have to make further enquires about battery charging, I know the guy that swears by it has a couple of batteries that he keeps on stand bye, as he uses it for doing videos of all sorts along with interviews, so will now have to see how the batteries get charged as in separately or inside the camera whilst travelling from a 12 volt switched ignition feed.
Les
 
I have a Nextbase 412GW, not much good for parking security back up battery only lasts 15min. Like all dash cams with WiFi a waste of time as takes too long to transfer files.
The time on it has to be set manually when you change time zones a bit silly when it's got GPS.
They do give you 2 mounts one is a sticky pad job that is small and less intrusive and I like the magnetic mount between camera and screen mount.
 
We stick ours to the BOTTOM of the screen and it sits behind the I-Pad we sit on the dash which runs the TomTom app.
It doesn't block forward vision at all.
Mitch.
 

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Join us

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Back
Top