Dashcam recommendations please.

[benjamino]

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F253615741714 That's the one from the seller I bought from too. Still on the 40% off price. Will grab a pic tomorrow.

[darrenjuggins]

Hi Guys,

Having just got round to fitting the Nextbase 512GW into my Civic, I've been interest to read this thread.

I've taken advantage of Halfords 25% off offer, so cost £119.00 plus hardwire kit, £20, then needed micro blade fuse connector to fit in fuse box, as nextbase didn't include one.

It's left in all the time and after some experience with some less expensive models which stopped working after a few days, i wanted something I could trust and take back to swap if it died on me.

Am looking to add one to the MR2 now i've got the main car sorted, so it's been interesting reading what others are doing. 

good to see everyone is wanting to be safe on the roads and catch others that aren't so good around them.

Cheers
Darren

[Call the midlife!]

Hi Guys,

Having just got round to fitting the Nextbase 512GW into my Civic, I've been interest to read this thread.

I've taken advantage of Halfords 25% off offer, so cost £119.00 plus hardwire kit, £20, then needed micro blade fuse connector to fit in fuse box, as nextbase didn't include one.

It's left in all the time and after some experience with some less expensive models which stopped working after a few days, i wanted something I could trust and take back to swap if it died on me.

Am looking to add one to the MR2 now i've got the main car sorted, so it's been interesting reading what others are doing. 

good to see everyone is wanting to be safe on the roads and catch others that aren't so good around them.

Cheers
Darren

What sd card do you have in it Darren? Nextbase recommend Sandisk but there's a lot of stories about missing recordings. I tried one and it's true, it only recorded to half the card, I've got 2 of the other brand now and never had any problem.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[idnan]

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F253615741714 That's the one from the seller I bought from too. Still on the 40% off price. Will grab a pic tomorrow.

Awesome, thanks for the link!

[benjamino]

Here we go.

[idnan]

Cheers, like the setup 

[darrenjuggins]

Hi Guys,

Having just got round to fitting the Nextbase 512GW into my Civic, I've been interest to read this thread.

I've taken advantage of Halfords 25% off offer, so cost £119.00 plus hardwire kit, £20, then needed micro blade fuse connector to fit in fuse box, as nextbase didn't include one.

It's left in all the time and after some experience with some less expensive models which stopped working after a few days, i wanted something I could trust and take back to swap if it died on me.

Am looking to add one to the MR2 now i've got the main car sorted, so it's been interesting reading what others are doing. 

good to see everyone is wanting to be safe on the roads and catch others that aren't so good around them.

Cheers
Darren

What sd card do you have in it Darren? Nextbase recommend Sandisk but there's a lot of stories about missing recordings. I tried one and it's true, it only recorded to half the card, I've got 2 of the other brand now and never had any problem.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've got a Samsung 128GB Card in (it was one I used to use in my Go Pro - It's a U£ as opposed to a U1 - As for the only recording to an element of the card, I've not noticed that, i'll keep an eye on it though....

As for where to purchase....https://www.7dayshop.com/64gb-micro-sd-cards/filter/uhs-speed-class-3

I find these fast, reliable and offer a good price.

Hope this helps.

Cheers
Darren

[Davey P]

I bought a cheap dash cam from Lidl last year for my VW Beetle, and I've got to say it has been excellent.  I paid £34.99, plus it needed an extension for the power cable because the one supplied was too short, and it also needed a micro SD card (cheap as chips these days, obviously).  I think the cable extension was a couple of quid on ebay, and I already had a spare SD card from one of my GoPro's.

The video quality has been excellent, it's at least as good as my other half's Garmin that cost me nearly 4 times as much... The main difference is the Garmin has got loads of advanced functions that are pretty useless, such as lane assist and collision avoidance sensors (both so annoying they were switched off within the first day of use!).  Anyone need a reminder alarm if the car in front moves away and you don't notice...? No, I didn't think so, lol.

The Lidl camera is pretty basic, it just starts recording when you switch the ignition on, and stops when you switch the ignition off.  No links to satellites to indicate the car's speed, no GPS location data, just nice clear video footage with a date and time stamp on it - Sorted!  There are a lot of menu settings for video quality, brightness, contrast etc, but it recorded pretty good quality video clips straight out of the box.  It does have a G-Sensor, so in the event of a crash the current video is automatically saved.  You can also save video clips manually, so they don't get over-written when the recording loops around after the card is full.  The clips are 10 mins each, so it's quite easy to jump to the one you want after they've been downloaded onto a laptop or computer.

The quality of the camera seems to be rock solid, and it was a lot heavier than I was expecting for the price.  The windscreen holder sticks firmly, and has stayed in place behind the mirror for months without any issues  (I don't bother taking it off at night).

I just need to decide what to do now I've got the MR2.  I'll either swap the Lidl one permanently into "Ruby" and get a different one for the Beetle, or maybe I'll treat Ruby to a new one sometime instead.  One thing I won't do is spend £120 on a Garmin again, when I know you can get the job done for a lot less.

Here are a couple of pics, in case anyone is interested:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/144910262@N07/42599914635/in/album-72157692885277500/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/144910262@N07/41840132920/in/album-72157692885277500/

Here's the view from my driver's seat, so you can see it's more or less completely hidden:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/144910262@N07/42931051574/in/album-72157692885277500/

And here's a sample video from the first time I used it:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/144910262@N07/30182119568/in/album-72157692885277500/

(sorry, the conversation isn't exactly riveting, but this is just a test clip to show the video quality, ha ha!)

[Davey P]

A quick update to this thread, I've now bought another dash cam (NextBase 212G) and I used it for the first time today, so I can compare it to the Lidl version and give a few comparisons for anyone who's interested.  I decided to swap the Lidl one into the MR2, and use the more expensive NextBase in the Beetle, which is my daily ride.

First impressions are that the NextBase camera is slightly smaller, and weighs a lot less than the Lidl. Neither is "better", they're just different.  The mounting arm and sucker pads are smaller on the NextBase, and the wiring is slightly different.  On the Lidl, the power cable connects directly to the camera, but the NextBase has got a GPS receiver built into the powered mounting arm.  The cable stays with the base, and the camera can simply be popped off if required, which is a much more elegant solution (I normally leave the dash cam in the cars at all times anyway, so this is not really an issue for me).

The video quality is slightly better on the NextBase, although to be fair they are both really good.  It seems to cope with direct sunlight better than the Lidl, which seemed to make the picture too dark when the sun was in front.  Today was overcast but with sunny spells, and the picture quality and exposure was very consistent. 

The camera settings and menus are quite similar, but the NextBase has extra information displayed on the video clips, with longitude / latitude / speed / time and date included, whereas the Lidl has no GPS receiver, and only shows time and date stamps.

Installation was pretty easy on both, although the Lidl power cord was too short and needed an extension lead on the Beetle (only a few quid from ebay, so no big deal).  The NextBase power cable was long enough to route around the MR2 with some to spare, so I think that would fit most cars.  The cable routed nicely around the left hand windscreen frame, inside the rubber seal.  It's only visible around the hood clamp, where it makes an appearance for a couple of inches, then disappears again inside the "A" post rubber seal.  (I'll have to be careful not to crush it when I put the hood up...).  I took the glovebox off and routed the cable behind it, fitting in place neatly with cable ties, then while I was in that area I tidied up the horrendous cabling behind the stereo, which was spilling out everywhere (another one of my pet hates! Lol).  The power cable is fitted with a standard cigarette lighter plug, which stays permanently connected.  I will probably hard wire it into the fusebox at some point when I get round to it.  And by that, I mean when my mechanic mate gets round to doing it for me, ha ha!

So, all in all, if I'm honest there's not a lot to choose between the Lidl and NextBase dash cams.  The NextBase was 15 quid more expensive, and on balance I'd say it's probably worth it, just for the GPS functionality, but both do an excellent job.  I hope this has been useful for some of you lot anyway.

Just for completeness, I'll include a few photos, starting with the 2 cameras side by side for comparison:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/144910262@N07/45825510175/in/album-72157686836920395/

This is a driver's view of the NextBase fitted to the Beetle.  As you can see, the camera is completely hidden:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/144910262@N07/46741065131/in/album-72157686836920395/

Here's a view from the passenger's side:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/144910262@N07/45825510965/in/album-72157686836920395/

This is a driver's view of the Lidl fitted to the MR2.  Again, you can see the camera is completely hidden:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/144910262@N07/32865759958/in/album-72157686836920395/

And here's the passenger side.  It's not quite as neat as the Beetle, because the camera can't be mounted directly behind the mirror, and sits off to one side:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/144910262@N07/46741064331/in/album-72157686836920395/

Pretty pleased with both of them though.  Any questions, just ask.

[Chilli Girl]

Thanks Dave, an excellent comparison write up.  That's one of my birthday presents sorted then!

[Davey P]

Thanks Dave, an excellent comparison write up.  That's one of my birthday presents sorted then!

No problemo, glad to help.  You won't be disappointed, the NextBase an excellent piece of kit for the price.