Santa's Coming with a Dash Cam.
 

Yes just got a message from Santa asking what's the best dash cam so what's the updates so far...

Indisputable, read on the subject 8 hours a day for a year, and you will conclude the £50 Mobius more here. Main site here. The Wedge is a recent other contender. The dashcam forum is here.

The Mobius and the Wedge use the same processor and CMOS an alternative to techmoan is here with all the usual dashcams listed - here's there take on the Mobius, including all 16 firmware flash's, the manual, the windows software you can get from techmoan, phone & GPS software etc. For myself I wanted discreet, as in leave in the car unseen so a screen [bulk size] would be a hindrance, others of course have differing needs & wants. Remember however that the set up angle / subject / scene in your car will be unknown till you take it in and plug it into the puter, and then you need to position it back in the car exactly right .. .. ham fisted guesswork ! Night vision at this price point is what it is, poor, and that's what you would expect. Better night vision needs a different CMOS image sensor such as the Sony Exmor and that's going to add an extra £100 to the retail price of any dashcam its used in.

Best of luck Goggsie,

Add the comparison of the Mobius & Wedge here Want to make your own different comparisons - here

Some great links there. I might just get one of those ones in the video. 1080 res looks really good :)

The Mobius is an excellent dash-cam. I've been using mine for about 9 months without any problems and it's great value for money. The only negative point about the Mobius is it doesn't have a screen so you can't replay events while in the car. However, the favourite mounting place is between the rear view mirror and the windscreen so you wouldnt be able to view the screen anyway. Unfortunately the Voyager's wipers don't sweep that area of the windscreen so if you choose to mount a camera there, expect to see crap footage when it's raining.
The dashcam forum that QinteQ linked to is full of useful information and good example footage (look out for my contributions under the user name of Error7) but I highly recommend watching some of the reviews on this site Techmoan - Guide to Dashcams

This is an example of footage recorded by my Mobius a few weeks ago He was one lucky rider.

Sorry QinteQ, I didn't realise you'd also linked to Techmoan's site. :o

- no prob Alan. we are both already Mobius users and disciples so we are on the same page anyway
- one word of warning to others, download & view from Techmoans site, not the scraped youtube step-down-quality version

Yes there does seem to be a good following for the Mobius but wondering if Techmoan is getting something out of it all. I was firstly looking on Flee-bay at these sucker on window models, some even have night vision and small 2 inch screen on back. I have however got a sucker pad stuck on my dash for my Sat Nav so prefer that to the screen version. But prices, £12 up to £28 sure isn't much to pay while shops are asking twice or three times that amount. Still undecided and don't know if they all work as good as the next.
Maybe try You Tube for peoples film and what they are using.
AlanC's vids are all you need regarding quality so the extra maybe the night vision and screen.

Any better night vision needs than Alan's camera, and you immediately jump from £50 to the £150 arena. Emergency service digital evidence type CMOS and processing will take you to the £1500 a shot. At our level its about cost benefit analysis as a tool to defend again CFC gangs - the two I've listed will do the job at the right quality outcomes and price point for CFC.

Goggsy, don't be tempted by the cheapo cameras on ebay, even if they claim to be HD or 1080p. The Mobius is THE best quality you will get for the money, believe me, I've learnt from experience. And don't be fooled by the claims of IR night time illumination. It's nothing more than white LED's stuck on the front that just reflect back off the windscreen and white out the lens.

Here is a good example of what I mean for only £8.64 2.5" 270°LCD HD DVR Car Camera 6LED IR Traffic Digital Video Recorder H3C | eBay

Here's another for £15.74 2.0" HD 340 Degree Car Vehicle Lens Dashboard Camera Video Recorder DVR CAM UK | eBay
I actually bought one of these a few months ago just for a laugh and when I complained about the poor quality to the supplier he gave me £6.00 back. :D

Expect to pay £60.00 plus for anything decent with a screen or about £45 for a Mobius. And if you're buying from a UK supplier then expect to pay quite a bit more.

There's plenty of free advice here or on the DashCam Talk forum if you want it.

Edit: Forgot to mention, I prefer to buy direct from reputable suppliers in China but you need to allow 2 to 3 weeks for delivery.

Yes been looking at some of Techmoans vids on You Tube, right enough different types tested. This Mini 0803 tested by him looks good but over me at £68+. I'll continue looking at his vids for a screen model.

#6 expressly says :

I bought the forerunner to that, the 0801 in February last year. It was great when it worked but I had a lot of problems with it and ended up returning it to the supplier, Eprance. I'm sure I was just unlucky with the duff camera but I wasn't thrilled with the service I got from Eprance. That's when I bought the Mobius.

Right, QinteQ, view on Techmoan's Site and not You Tube. Did notice quality of Vid's on You Tube not too good, take it this is reason.
Techmoan mentioned the ability to make out the digits on the number plates in front gives quality of the Dash Cams.
Only thing I don't like about the Mobius is its small size, as my spaniels are good at finding things in my pockets and either trying to eat them or loosing them outside.
Anyway, Techmoans Site.

Night vision and digital HD in a movie format needs a totally different and considerably more expensive photodiode and CMOS than the Aptina AR0330 costing at least 3 times more at manufacturing level. You get what you pay for, Alan's right, the Mobius at the price point is about top~of~the'tree for the money out - if anyone can't live without the the LCD screen for positioning and playback then the B40 A118 is a similar priced but as yet unproven alternative. Its a given that the Mobius and the A118 use exactly the same pair of chips but manufactured by different companies so if I was pushed into desperately needing one with a screen I'd take the calculated view that even as an unproven product the A118 would be worth the risk of the investment.

At the end of the day you choose M8, for myself I know that even some of the are visually out performed by the Mobius, in which case for £300 I could buy 6 Mobius and have 360° visuals for the same price and be left with a spare each for the front & rear door on the house.

360° visuals isn't such a bad idea. Earlier this year I did a short experiment with a wide angle camera stuck on the top of the dash. This was just my cheapo 720p 'keychain' camera but gives a good idea of what can be achieved with just one camera. No doubt a higher position in the car would be even better.

Yes...Emmm...Ahhh...
Here I like this 4 engine helicopter that you can fit a mini camera below and take pictures of your house etc., from hundreds of feet up...All comes back to good small camera again....And lets loop this thread.

What £800 Quad Helicopter forget that...

Thinking more about it Goggsy, if you're on a tight budget and happy to go with non HD quality for your first dash-cam, then perhaps you should just go for one of the cheaper models with a screen. It'll give you chance to get some experience and you'll learn a lot about the pros and cons. Don't forget you'll also need an SD or micro-SD card and probably nothing higher than a Class 6. A lot of dash-cams, even the later models, don't like Class 10.

Incidentally, the best way to use a dash-cam is to have it permanently mounted in an inconspicuous location, not to carry it about with you in your pocket :D

I mounted my Mobius to a 30ft pole to take elevated pictures of my house :p

That's a good pic for a little 808 Al, and costs a fraction of the GoPro HeRo, yet while there's a mile gap on price there was little between them on performance. One of the 280° front and 280° rear cameras in the same case mounted centrally looking fore & aft would take car of most needs.

Yes it's not bad for a 720p that cost me £27.00. That is the 808 #16 which doesn't have 'record on power' but I believe the later models now have that feature. I usually have it mounted to my bike helmet :)
I do agree about using just 2 wide angle cameras mounted centrally. I must find the time to experiment more. Trouble is, when you're retired, the days fly by ;)

Edit: Just checked the price from the supplier I use. It's now £28.68 with the 120° lens: Mini DVR 808 Micro Camera #16 V3-D HD 720P H.264 Pocket Camcorder Video Recorder | eBay

Wow Wow AlanC is that house picture real, from that little black box on a key chain. I suppose after seeing your first vid on her of car travel it is.
Hard to not buy the Mobius and was wondering if it could be connected to my Sat Nav to form the screen part.

Goggsy, I think I may be confusing you, so just to clarify a couple of points: The shots filmed with me inside my GV were filmed with my 720p 808 #16, otherwise known as the keychain camera:
Mini DVR 808 Micro Camera #16 V3-D HD 720P H.264 Pocket Camcorder Video Recorder | eBay

The elevated still of my house was filmed with my 1080p Mobius: Mobius ActionCam Full HD Sports Camera 1080P 30FPS 720P 60FPS Pocket Camcorder | eBay
This is the camera I currently use as my dash-cam.
It's worth mentioning that, although you can take still photo's with the mobius, it's a bit difficult to press the shutter button while the camera is at the far end of a 30ft pole so the picture I posted is actually a frame grab from the video I uploaded to YouTube.

Here's another pic taken in the same way but again, grabbed from YouTube:

The Mobius has an analogue video output which I connect into the DVD player in my GV if I want to replay any events. However, you can not record and stream live video via the A/V output at the same time.
You would really need a dash-cam with a combined LCD screen in order to watch what you are recording.

Nice House AlanC..Nice car as well..
I'm taking notes of your cams...
Looking at the G1W HD1080p that Techmoan says, "The best (insanely Cheap) 1080p Dash Cam. Looks good and its got a screen.
That's my top choice at mo.

Quote:

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Do not buy this camera and expect to get superior levels of build quality and customer service. If you choose to have your camera sent from the Chinese ebay supplier I used, it will take some time to arrive (mine took over 3 weeks to the UK). If you break the mounts you will not get spares. If it arrives DOA your best option might be to bin it, as the alternative would be to send it back to China. I have no idea how reliable this camera will prove to be over time – but like all electronic devices, it will not work forever. Dash-cams have to work for hours on end, often in extreme temperatures, the kind of thing that puts a strain on even the best made cameras.

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QinteQ exits this thread .................................. !

Goggsy, I'm beginning to think that a) you won't be happy unless you have a camera with a screen and b) a decent quality camera with a screen is beyond your budget.
So, like I said earlier, "perhaps you should just go for one of the cheaper models with a screen. It'll give you chance to get some experience and you'll learn a lot about the pros and cons." And the G1W does appear to be true 1080p.
Just be aware of Techmoan's and QinteQ's warnings, and also, paint the chrome ring with matt black paint.

Edit: Thanks for the comments about the house. It looked nothing like that when we bought it 14 years ago. Fortunately I'm a 'Jack of All Trades - Master of None' so I was able to do most of the work myself.

Forgive my ignorance, what exactly does a dashcam do. Seen a lot of topics on the issue on Mercedes and others forums

Follow AlanC's Dash Cam vids on here.

It records your journeys so that in the event of an incident, you can prove who's at fault. Especially necessary these days with the increase in insurance scams. There's plenty of example footage on YouTube or go to this Dash-Cam forum: https://forum.dashcamtalk.com/forums...ded-by-you.10/

Hi AlanC, So I'm going for the Mobius. Just a couple questions. Did you get yours from your link, coming in at £43.84, and taking 3-4 weeks delivery.
Noticed some have different FOV 's, field of view, 90deg, 116deg, etc.,
So what has this one as I can't find it on add.
And what else do I need to setup in car, or will I need to back track your threads.
I have no overheads screens on my LTD.
We may cause interest in this Dash Cam issue so we need answers to fitting etc.

Probably best to go to the manufacturers shop here: HD Camera, Capacitors items in eletoponline365 store on eBay!
From there you will obviously need the Mobius camera.
Plus the Mounting Base Mounting Base Holder and Sleeve for 1080P HD Mobius ActionCam Sports Camera | eBay
Plus any of the following if you don't already have them. (you can get these from the manufacturers shop)
A long USB lead, 3 metres minimum depending on where you plan to mount the camera
A 12v to 5v adapter for the cigarette lighter socket
A Micro SD card, I would recommend a Class 6 with at least 16 gb capacity

And you will also need to decide how you plan to mount it.
You can use:
1. Car Windshield Mini Tape Mount Holder
2. Car Windshield Suction Cup Mount Holder
or you can use my method which is a piece of flat aluminium bent at an angle and stuck to the screen with a rear view mirror sticker which is similar to this:
If there's anything you're not clear about or if you need any more help, feel free to ask.

Alan

90/116° is just the wide angle lens versus standard lens. I've found it to be subjective, some like wide some prefer standard, and that more often than not depends on an individuals sight FOV perception - we each of us see the same things slightly differently.



°

Hi Goggsy, sorry I didn't answer all your questions earlier, my missus was waiting for me to take her shopping. As QinteQ said, the type of lens is a personal choice. The lens on my Mobius is just the standard one.There are some good examples of standard and wide angle here: https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/thread...parisons.3335/
Strictly speaking, you won't need to view recorded footage in your car unless the police ask you to. If necessary I could connect mine to the DVD screen in the GV but generally I remove the micro SD card from the camera and plug it into the card reader on my home PC to playback, or remove the camera from the car and connect to my PC with a USB lead.
One other thing you will need is the configuration software to run on your PC for setting the time & date, updating firmware etc. You can get the software, MSetup.exe, from here: Mobius ActionCam Home
The software is FREE and makes setting up the Mobius a piece of cake.

Have fun
Alan

Edit: You shouldn't have to wait more than 3 weeks for your Mobius unless it gets caught up in the Christmas rush.

Thanks guys, fed up looking at this one, that one, this one best, other better, needs repaired as soon as out box, dizzy lizzy. But Mobius keeps coming out top.
So I'll just follow you along and at least I've no need to find out this and that and tother.
So lets go...

Welcome to the club Goggsy. You won't be disappointed. :)

Not sure if you have found picture problem here, but I've a disc stuck onto my Dash top for my Sat Nav. So if I fit camera to a holder and fit on disc, does the distance 20-30cm from glass, cause glare etc, or does camera need to be as close to windscreen as possible

Last thing, where does this 12v to 5v cigar lighter adaptor come from.

Found the cord 90deg fitting one.
For anyone its: Mini USB 1 Meter DC 12v-24v to 5v 3a Right Angled 90 Degree Converter Cable. £1.42 really...

- careful .. .. too short, 3-4 meter needed, depending on where you fix the camera