Dash Cam,

[Dot]

When I tried your you tube thingy all I got was some fella going on about an I pad or something so I left, what was it supposed to be??

[SteveW]

YouTube sometimes plays an advert whether you like it or not. It will be ok.

[Dot]

OK

[Greynomad]

Scary one, Steve.
I recently bought a Navig[8]r from a post office near Brisbane. $79.00 compared to basic camera (no IR LEDs) at Jaycar at $169!
It seems reliable enough. I have a 16GB micro-SD card in it, but it will take 32GB. That was an extra $20, not included in price.
Rolling recording segments, which you can set to 2-5-10-30 minutes. Once the card is full, it records over the oldest segments in order. I presume they all do that.
Has eight IR LEDs around the camera, so night scenes are quite good.
Camera remains on standby when ignition is off, and activity in field of vision (car passing, pedestrian, etc) triggers a one-segment recording. Camera can be easily rotated to face interior of vehicle, which I assume is when that facility might be useful.
Same if the car is bumped/rocked, one segment recorded.
Records sound in the car... so be careful what/who you discuss with SWMBO while it's operating. That's why I have not posted any video with this...
Good wide field of view.
Quality of video is selectable, which affects how many hours before overwriting starts.
At lowest quality you get 8 hours, but number plates are hard to read unless REAL close.
Highest HD setting (broadcast quality) means 2 hrs on our 16GB card. I have it set in the middle & get 4 hrs with readable plates.
Video is date-stamped with date, time & speed by default. I think there are other selectable details, must read the book again. Not sure if GPS location is available, but street signs in the video should suffice if you don't want to spend an arm, leg & other Vital Parts.
Book says it will only talk to Windoze machines, but I have not had any probs downloading to iPhoto on my MacBook Pro (OSX 10.8.4)...
My only problem is the suction mount. Not enough suction to keep it on the windscreen. Mine is mounted low in centre of screen, with power cord resting on dash, just in case the suction mount lets go (again).
I hope it's a one-off manufacturing fault. Will try for a swap next time we pass that PO.

[pet-els]

With the suction cap, try just a smear of detergent on the cap instead of spit.

PeterH

[SteveW]

Ray, I carry 3 4GB cards so that I can swap out (as the yanks would say) a card when necessary. My unit does 1 minute segments and at Full HD i.e. 1080, 4GB lasts about 45 minutes. I don't bother downloading unless I have a particular need.

At 1080, while the image is far from perfect because of the tiny lens, an enlarged still image gives surprising detail when it comes to number plates and identifying features.

As for the Youtube video, you might have noticed that Channel 10 enhanced it with electrickery. In raw form the video was distant and, of course, with a fixed view. You will notice that the enhancement makes it look as if a camera was focused on the crashing vehicle and that the camera follows the crashing car.

As you have observed, different prices give different options. My only suggestion to a prospective purchaser is to go Full HD with 120 degree view plus the speed and time detail.

[Kelvin12]

Thanks for the input everyone it is appreciated. Looks like the full data version is the way to go. Glad I asked now.

Dirk

[Greynomad]

Peter,
After an examination of the suction cup, it appears in manufacture it was not fitted-up close enough to the rigid base. The cam-lever which should secure it does not reach the suction cup's backing plate, let alone pull it back.

Steve,
I don't download unless I've captured something interesting (following a Ferrarri/Lambo/etc) or idiotic on the road.
Just did a test-download to see if I could, as the book says 'Windoze only'.
Also wanted to check quality of night recording.
All is good, so I just let it overwrite old 2-minute segments until something happens.