Which Dash Cam?

I've heard about that. What they do is cut right in front of you and then come to an emergency stop for no reason. People who investigate accidents think that the driver of the rear vehicle must have been careless.

If you feel that you might be robbed or assaulted while you are working, then you should get the inside-the-vehicle surveillance. If you are stricly worried about other vehicles, then no.

There are two basic kinds. One has a central recorder in the boot/trunk and cameras mounted around the car as you please. Police use this system. This gives you a high quality but requires running various wires around the upholstery. The other has small unit(s) that are combined camera/recorder. You mount it and turn it on, no wire to the boot. These are quicker and cheaper, but you have to be careful about the quality of the unit and its image.

If your goal is to deter "accidents", then lots of stickers. If your goal is to put these people out of business, then cameras but no stickers. If you do get them doing this on tape *don't* say anything about it while you are standing there by the road. They might just walk away, be back to work in ten minutes. Let them perjure themselves in court, then pull out the tape. This will make you a hero to your fellow cabbies, and encourage scammers to look for another city to work in.

 

Why do a somepeople want to screw up everyone else

 

Aaaaand the Grumpster gets it in one.

 

OK mate, here are a few to check out, I like them in order of listing!!

1- Smart Black Box | High Resolution Mobile Event Data Recorder

1a - http://www.productioneng.com/FORMgallery2.htm

2 - Trucker Cam Fleet Vehicle Video Dash Camera Digital Recorder GPS

3 - THE VIDEO COPILOT DASH CAMERA/DVR - VC-100 Contents

4 - HD Dash Camera Recorder with AV Out (Up to 32GB - 60FPS) - HD-AV1 -

I like #1, but 1a has a 3 cam version.. the best, I would get the 90º view model, they also have one with a wide angle view!

 

Couple of cabbies on the vectra-c forum recommend this:

Roadhawk in car camera products

either one forward facing(£200), or forward and internal model(£295). includes GPS and G-force info...

 

If you want to try out a really, really cheap dash cam - go for Witness Driving - it's a phone app, costs 99 cents and does just about everything the more expensive systems do - speed, GPS & G-forces.

I've been getting crystal clear footage. I feel naked if I drive without it now.

 

Grumpy, the only experience I have is with professional systems such as Digital Eye Witness. This is used in law enforcement and surveillance. But far outside your price range

The links provided, and the recommendation from the fellow taxi driver, I would suggest you follow

 

For the iphone. Looks nice, but I own no iphone.

Funny i see this thread now, a couple days ago I decided I want a dash cam. Not because I am a cab driver but if I can find one that "records automatically when you start up your vehicle and in a continuous cycle so when the SD card is full it will loop over the oldest files first." like the $175 camera mentioned here I'd like to get it--but for under $100. I'm ok rigging something up. Does anybody know of any cheaper home-grown option?

Also, this thread is a year old.

I just want something I can turn on and forget about in case I ever get in an accident.

I've also been looking into IP cameras for home security. Nifty what a few hundred bucks can get a person nowadays.

$50 buys this, some hit or miss reviews, but it's not specifically set up as an auto-on dash cam:http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B0029631VI?tag=priuschatcom-20 are some well reviewed ones on amazon and quite discreet for no more than $200.

 

I put a Logitech Orbitcam on my dashboard. It connects to a laptop that is on a bracket between my passenger seat and console. The biggest advantage is that I can record very long periods of time. I am able to pan, tilt and zoom with it.

While I haven't had to use it for defense of a ticket or accident, I have pulled a couple clips which I emailed to another driver's employer. One was a delivery truck that was all over the road. Another was a beautiful shot of a deputy running a light that had been red for days almost causing a wreck. His lights were not on.

 

Did you hear back on that deputy? I saw a cop rushing through traffic, going through lights, etc. a while back and he had no lights on himself. I think he didn't realize that at the time and it was pretty unsafe!

 

His video may be of use now to bring it to attention, if it is something he's otherwise prone to often do.

 

Actually, I sent the video clip to the sheriff because as I posted above the deputy not only ran a light that had been red for a long time but nearly caused an accident. A car coming the other way locked up brakes and swerved. The deputy hit his brakes for a second and then continued on.

Did I get an answer? Actually, I did. We are in a small town here. Our sheriff is very approachable. The captain in traffic division was already aware of it because another driver had actually complained about the incident. My video made it clear that the other driver was telling the truth.

Since, like the OP, I rarely have a front seat passenger it is easy to have a laptop on a mount. The Logitech Orbit cam is perfect for this because of its round but hefty base and the pan, tilt & zoom features. It also has a Karl Zeiss lens for great video.

 

I have been using this "clone":
F500 Mini FULL HD 1080P Portable DVR Car Camcorder/HDMI/TV-Out/SD (2.0" LCD) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme
It's OK for casual use but not great. Night time video is worse.

 

could someone review this cam for me and advise if it's good for daily commute ?

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/261003133032...X:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_8051wt_1140

 

haha - price looks good.

How about the specifications: ad says 1080p Full Hd with support up to 32GB memory

( I plan to purchase Class 10 memory card with 32GB memory, class 10 for fast processing)

If I decide to order, it will lake 3-5 weeks for delivery from Hong-Kong, assuming Irish customs won't delay it.

 

I wouldn't buy a cam on ebay without reviews. I've seen a lot of reviews on amazon and a lot of these dashcams basically make up the numbers; like that 1080P may not be 1080P, or maybe it technically is but its picture quality is crap.