That makes sense. However, does that mean the camera has to continuously run (without recording) in Park mode in order to detect that change in image to trigger the recording? This is the same technology in home surveillance camera systems. You designate an area on the image to trigger the recording, and send you an email or text if it's triggered. This could drain the battery if the car is parked long enough and overheat the camera?

Desii, does your BlackVue get hot after a long drive? Another downside about the BlackVue for me is that it's sorta permanently attached. I do like the option to just unclip it and mount it in a different car, just like a portable GPS or radar detector. Also, how is the video quality at nighttime?

 

That makes sense. However, does that mean the camera has to continuously run (without recording) in Park mode in order to detect that change in image to trigger the recording? This is the same technology in home surveillance camera systems. You designate an area on the image to trigger the recording, and send you an email or text if it's triggered. This could drain the battery if the car is parked long enough and overheat the camera?
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The camera does have to have a very small amount of power being sent to it for this to work. Some do have internal batteries (the one I'm using does), but what you do is you use the Power Magic Pro device. If you read about that device (or watch the video review on techmoan.com), you will find that it monitors the amount of draw and when it detects a certain level has been reached, it shuts off the camera so that it doesn't kill your car's battery. It also can be set for a length of time to record for if you don't want it to just stay on until PMP shuts down the camera due to power consumption.

I see no reason why normal operation of the camera would cause the device to overheat. If the inside of the car becomes particularly hot, sure, any electronic device *could* have a problem (read up about the DR400 model) but 1) it takes a LOT of heat for that to happen, and 2) they have added extra ventilation to this particular unit for that exact reason. The guys at CarCamCentral stuck their unit in an oven to test it.

 

You might find this video useful. Gotta love this guy's flipflops. Canadians are entertaining.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuXxE_UGXsw

 

You're bringing up a lot of good points Roseanne and thanks for answering a lot of the questions. Definitely shows you've done your research.

I never thought about the vandalism aspect of parking mode. but i wonder if the camera is able to decipher if it is just a car that is driving by thus causing the image to change versus someone actually touching or doing something to your car.



i have not had an issue with overheating or the camera feeling too hot. Yes after a long drive the camera is warm to touch but so is a cellphone after extended period of use so this is expected.

youre partially correct on the permanently attached part. you can detach the camera from the mount. the mount is attached to the windshield with double sided tape. but you are able to detach the camera its self and store it or hide it. (ive done this before if i am parked in a sketch area and since i dont have the camera hardwired)

you would need another mount and another power cord (granted the one in the s2k is tucked away behind the panels) in order to use the camera in multiple cars. so yes, it can be done.

night time quality is okay. its not HD clear like you would hope, however, it is enough to do its job and can still record peoples liecnes plate numbers and such.

also, earlier Roseanne mentioned software to edit the video and upload on youtube and create a longer video and such. the Blackvue does come with its own software and with the model i have, you can upload directly to youtube through the camera and wifi (no computer needed, but you do need your smartphone)


i opted not to buy or carry the DR400 because of the overheating complantes. granted almost every single person who had those issues said they were in parking mode so the camera was constantly on. I also didnt like the fact that the camera is a light gray color. no clue why they opted for this color

 

also, would you guys be interested in a possible group buy type thing?

 

Yeah, the BlackVue comes with anything you ever need -- the microSD card of appropriate class, software, instructions which are actually decipherable, etc. My generic dashcam required a fair amount of trial and error because the instruction manual -- which looked like it had been translated from Chinese to Greek to some vague form of English -- was mostly useless. I got lucky and Frys had a 32GB Class 10 card on sale the day I went by to get one, but I'm totally on my own on software. But I'm happier that I have it than being without. And the one thing it does do well is *no gaps* between segments. Anyone who has done even a little bit of research on dashcams knows that is a big hairy deal. Anything can happen in a 3 second gap. Doesn't sound like much, but you would be amazed.

On the motion sensor aspect of parking mode: no, it can't tell the difference. All it knows is a percentage of pixels on the screen have changed. So someone just walking by or even a car just driving by will trigger it. Now, that can be a good thing. The Lotus guys who run their cams and post on YouTube ("The Secret Life of my Exige" and stuff) have caught some rather amusing clips of people actually *dancing* in front of their cars. LOL!

I would be very interested to know how long a standard, healthy, S2000 battery could power one of these under typical conditions on "parking mode" before the predetermined threshold is reached. Of course, you get to choose what the threshold is... 11 volts, 5 volts, whatevs. Just decide what you need the battery to have in it for it to still be able to safely start your car and not do any long term damage to the overall life of the battery. I guess we could post on one of the cam forums and see if anyone has timed it in one of their cars.

 

Most of the video clips of the recent meteorite hitting Russia was captured by dash cameras. As someone already mentioned, the US is surprisingly behind in the number of vehicles on the road equipped with dash-cams.

I'm wondering if car manufacturers will start making them an option just like back up cameras. I'm sure the insurance companies will support this

 

Id be interested in a group buy

 

+1 on the group buy.. The main reason for the ones in Russia, is because people often walk into cars with phones and computers, trying to scam people for "destroying" their property. Same with people slamming the brakes to make you purposely ram them for money.

 

+1 for group buy wish we have a dashcam last year, some lady ran a red light and totaled my wifey MDX. Solo driver, change her story so LEO put zero fault on report since there's no third party witness. Also, I wonder if op know anything about Lk-7900 Ace and how are dashcam compare to GoPro or Contour HD? My first thought was to get a GoPro since they so popular here.