Decent budget dashcam

[Jonnydread]

Hey folks,

I've been considering getting one for years, but since the sun and dipshits are starting to come out around my area I've decided it's time. Anyone have a recommendation for a reasonably priced dash cam? I don't need any special features or anything crazy, just want to have proof that the person in front of me is an idiot.

Cheers

[Hobbes]

I too am interested in this.

[Pumpytrilly1]

I bought a Garmin one and it's been great. I can grab the model number off the box later if interested. It was roughly $100 + -

I tried some black Friday special dashcams from Walmart and the screen burnt out. It almost caught fire and the car smelt so bad.

[Jonnydread]

I bought a Garmin one and it's been great. I can grab the model number off the box later if interested. It was roughly $100 + -

That would be great, thanks man!

[Pumpytrilly1]

Its a garmin 30 dash cam. Its really simple to use. It has manual save button or shock sensing save feature.

[RuleOfSines]

Want to cover rear as well? I got this bad larry:
Thinkware Q800PRO 2K QHD Dual Channel Dash Cam Bundle — BlackboxMyCar

Works pretty well, and if you hardwire it in, can watch your parked car as well.

A cheaper unit that I used prior, purely to cover my ass in the case of crazies, was a Rexing:
Rexing V1 Basic – Rexing Store (rexingusa.com)

It lasted the year or so I owned the car I had it installed in, did the job fine for $50. Upgraded to the Q800 in my new car so for all know the Rexing would have kept going just fine.

[Jonnydread]

Thanks! I'm not overly concerned about the rear of the car or watching it while parked, but those are good features to know about.

[bored383]

I have good luck with the VAVA hockey puck looking ones. the snapshot button they have is neat. I run one up front, with an aukey in the back hatch window also.

in my experience heat is what kills dashcams. I've been messing with them for some years, because they are useful in getting pics of odd cars for a couple car spotting groups I am in on Fecesbook. I don't mind replacing them the moment they start acting flaky, fwiw. I'll try firmware updates, but if they become unreliable they get retired. so key in my metrics are cameras that are easily dismountable to be removed from the car as needed.

here is also why I won't give up running dashcams . . . the sad end of my 2010 Outback. I dunno how I dodged the already stopped car in front of me - that brief warning I had because I looked in the rearview saved it from being a much worse accident.

[Jonnydread]

Wow that's some scary stuff. Great PSA for dash/rear cams right there. Hope everyone was okay.

[2cBillB]

So glad you are still with us. That is terrifying.

[bored383]

that car in front of me came out unscathed - friggin miracle there. dude who hit me ran away on foot . . . unregistered car - draw your own conclusions. my kids were just shook up and scared - they were thoroughly examined by responding EMTs and had no injuries. I fcuked my back up even worse than it had been trying to do both feet in on a car with no clutch - old training habits resurface when needed - and I strained it bad. and subaru deserves its current safety record, all 4 doors could still be opened after that hit, the passenger compartment was uncompromised

[pghp8ntballer]

It depends on your price range too. We have used 3 different models of Thinkware cams; F50, F770, and I just installed a FA200 just yesterday. They have their own retail and support website but are a top choice from Amazon. The FA200 kit I got was $140 plus tax, includes the rear camera attachment , and the power socket adapter (can get the hardwire kit if you so choose).

The FA200 is one of their newer cams that has wifi capability. The purpose is so you can adjust settings and access/download videos to your phone without having to remove the SD card and use a computer. It also allows you to view the live front/rear cam feeds which are immensely helpful when mounting and aiming the cameras. Many of the Thinkware cams don't have screens (this is my preference). GPS data is available with this but you need to purchase the GPS accessory. I like options. I don't have to pay for things I don't need/want.

The F770 we have was free to me (it was getting tossed when my old employer changed the cams to a fleet style system/company in the fleet vehicles). It predates the wifi function, but it has the built in GPS unit and also came with the rear cam. I think these are no longer made (from ~ 2017 but still HD video). This would have been a much more expensive unit when new... ~ $400 range? Also no screen.

The F50 is a simple cam. No screen. HD video. Optional GPS accessory. No option for rear cam. We are going on a long trip in a month and wanted to upgrade to a 2 cam system hence the FA200 purchase. The F50 was also a freebie like the F770. This thing was probably ~$100 new, likely less?

Ultimately, I am pleased with the Thinkware products. They have been buggy/weird at times but you need to always remember that the high heat and freezing cold temps that are common to all vehicles in the summer/winter can wreak havoc on electronics. I mainly noticed delayed startup in super cold temps. But I do trust the products to be reliable when needed. The PC viewer (Mac and windows versions available) are useful. Nothing crazy cool or overly complicated. The Thinkware Cloud app gets poor reviews on the App Store, but I found it to be simple to navigate and operate and without glitches. This is used for the wifi enabled cams. If you read the reviews, it's clear that people don't understand what a product is and is not designed/capable of doing.

Feel free to ask any questions you like in PM or this thread if you want to know more.