Dash Camera Choices?

I had something like this once in a while with my old charger, but it was due to it being a dual port charger. If I turned on the car with both the phone and the camera plugged in the juice wouldn't be enough for the camera to fully startup. I had to make sure my phone wasn't plugged in when I started the car. Once the camera was fully on I could plug it in without any issues.

I now have it on a dedicated 5v3a circuit so it doesn't have that issue as far as I've seen.

Also, and this may be super important, I didn't replace the battery with a capacitor. i haven't had any issues with the battery to justify it.

 

Anyone have pics of removing the headliner to run the wires for the rear facing camera? I have a TRD Pro which is similar to the OR on the headliner since we have the crawl controls up top and no sunroof. Any help would be appreciated as I'm thinking of installing the Thinkware 770 front and rear facing cameras but would like to do a clean looking install without damaging the trim and headliner.

 

I have P&T on my OR so I have sunroof. I merely went down the C pillar, forward along the drivers side wire channel (thresholds just pop up), and up the A pillar. I was already hardwiring to the dash fuse box so just as easy for me to do it this way as go over the headliner.

 

Thanks. When you tapped into the fuse under the dash, were you able to close the cover back or did you have to leave it off? I'm looking at the fuse tap but looks like you have to keep the fuse cover off if you use that? I'd be worried if hitting the fuses with a knee or something.

 

I left it off. It hasn't been an issue to date. Never say never of course, but I'll wait for it to be a problem before I solve it.

 

Lol thanks. Appreciate the help.

 

I went with this. Still waiting for it to arrive. Cannot beat the price with the promo code.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/1080p-gopro-knock-off-on-sale-at-40-amazon.465723/

 

i use the thinkware F770. I have a topper on my truck, wired the rear cam through the firewall below the passenger seat, and used some plastic tubing to protect it. comes back up by the tailgate so I have the rear cam on the rear window of the topper. works perfectly, can capture parking lot hit and runs too since its hardwired to a dash cam battery (cellink battery b) and 1080p front and rear.

check out my youtube channel for bunch of reviews.

i was gonna make a top favorite dash cam list this week, my quick run down on choices are:

1. thinkware F770, high end 1080p front and rear, great parking mode, discrete design.
2. blackvue dr650s-2ch, like the thinkware F770 but only 720p in rear. it does have some features that make it stand out tho including a cloud feature if you have internet in your car, and its easier to use parking mode because it doesn't need to be hardwired (it can just use an always on socket or cellink b with the included 12v cig adapter cord, where the F770 requires an ACC/BATT connection.
3. street guardian sg9665gc, 1080p30 front camera only, but its one of the best in video quality especially night quality which is important to many people.
4. a119, cheaper camera, follow up to the wildly popular a118c which was my prior favorite cheap camera along with the G1W-C but no point in getting either of those years old models now. A119 has decent quality video, allows up to 1440p30, or 1080p60.
5. mobius, still awesome, it is years old but really reliable and cheap. its so small it would make a great stand alone rear camera that won't get annoying in your rear window.
6. street guardian sgzc12rc, decent 1080p video quality, stand out feature is a remote lens separate from the DVR, which makes it very discrete when installed in your window, the DVR can sit in your glove box. Also a "parking mode" using motion detection similar to the blackvue and thinkware. its not AS good because its motion only, no g shock detection parking mode, but the video is buffered like the blackvue/thinkware. what that means is when it detects motion, it has 10 seconds prior buffered that it saves, plus an additional 20 seconds, so unlike cheaper cameras, you don't miss anything with the detection goes off.

heres my thread i posted with many of the reviews: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/dash-cam-reviews.445879/

and my sig has several links.

 

I assume I need a hard wire kit or find a 5v reducer to attach to a mini USB cord?

 

I went with the Blackvue 2 channel 650 w/power magic pro....

 

nice looking install. care to upload some rear footage samples? curious to see how it looks with the truck bed.

my tacoma has a topper, so I wired the rear cam of my thinkware f770 to the rear window. I was afraid a rear cam on the back of the cab might not get a good view of cars behind me (like if I was rear ended, whether or not you can make out a license plate).

 

I will see if I can figure out the downloading of footage as I am just getting to know the features and workings of this one. I actually have changed it around a little as I didn't like the wires going up the windshield and now are in the rear-view wire cover.

 

was it hard getting the wires in there? seemed like such a tight fit so my wires just go along side the wire cover.

to download the footage you can either put the memory card into a PC and explore the folders to find the videos you want, or you can just download the iOS/android "blackvue C' app that will let you transfer files to your phone, which you can then upload on youtube directly or transfer to your PC.

 

Getting the wires in was not a real issue just took the mirror off and it was kind of easy. I will take some picks later when I get home so you can see. I have the app loaded just really have no time to explore the functions.

 

I got this (75% off black Fri):
http://www.cobra.com/products/dash-cams/cdr-895-d

Did a minor modification to this mount:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AJMYYAK/

Then hard wired it into the truck to turn on with the ignition. It works great, and mounts in the go pro spot. Has front and rear camera and is small so it doesn't take up much space.

 

I still really gotta make a video showing my thinkware F770, since I have a topper, and wired the rear camera all the way to the back window of the topper. but its so COLD now I am too lazy to stand out in the cold. Maybe I'll have time this weekend.

 

Jon - I can upload some rear camera footage from my F770 install if you wish. No topper but it'll show the truck bed and the effect of the off-center mount due to the rear window setup.

BTW, do you have any suggestion for dual-camera aware software? I have the Thinkware software and it's okay but I'm not seeing where there's any easy way to export video while stripping GPS and/or audio info?

 

I typically just dump the files on my PC and use windows movie maker if I want to just mute a video or upload a basic clip, and export it to a file type set for youtube 1080p. Registrator viewer is the best dash cam software I have used but I don't think it allows picture in picture for dual cams, you would just have to watch the videos separate. I don't know if any of the 3rd party viewing software supports dual cams displaying at the same time for export.

I have used VSDC for when I want to put two clips together side by side or picture in picture but TBH I thought the software was very confusing compared to premiere.

 

Thanks. I never do video stuff beyond some short something on my phone so I've not played around with this stuff before. I have iMovie on my macs so I'm sure I can use that.

Hmm.. just ran across this package that claims PiP support, let me check it out. https://dashcamviewer.com/

Edit: Mac version doesn't yet support F770, and looks like Windows version requires some hacks to make PiP work.