Journey recorder/dash cam recommendations

[xoggoth]

Those video recorders you put behind your windscreen to record accidents.

Brought one from Amazon for about £17, screen started breaking up and went white after less than a minute. Sent it back and got a different model, a whole £19!!! That lasted 2 days before failing completely but it was long enough to convince me they are excellent gadgets if I can find one that's reliable, it gave a good clear picture and, on the PC, reading number plates was no problem.

Ok, I'm a cheapskate, but am prepared to pay more for one if I was convinced it would be any more reliable. The ones from Maplin are twice the price but look like exactly the same models to me.

Anyone got one they can recommend?

[BigRed]

+1
see lots of Russian videos on utube, searching for a camera in the UK they are either dirt cheap (<£20) or expensive (>£100). The last three accidents I had last year, no-one stopped to act as witness even though there were other cars about.

[Spacecadet]

Cojak was after one of these recently

[northernladuk]

I would love to get one of these... The awful driving I see in the hour long trek ether way is just beyond belief sometimes. My other half thinks I will just end up trying to be a road vigilante and forever submitting it to the police and getting frustrated so I haven't bothered.

Just be careful if you want to use it as evidence in an accident or something. If the footage you send in shows you speeding or anything else untoward in the journey up to the accident you could end up invalidating your own insurance or hand them a case on a plate. Very low risk of course but always one to bear in mind.

[Scruff]

I bought this one and its very good...

2013 New Firmware DVR207GS HD720P IR Car Vehicle Dash Camera Cam DVR G-Sensor | eBay

[xoggoth]

Thanks scruff but that's what is puzzling me, hover over your link to magnify and then look at this Amazon one for £13!! Looks so similar, is that just coincidence or are this Chinese company just repackaging very similar cheap devices to different markets? Was I unlucky that mine were so unreliable or were you lucky?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/HD-VEHICLE-R...ref=pd_cp_ce_1

[northernladuk]

Well the boxes look the different... The ebay one goes on about comparisons to DVR027 which seems inferior but I can't see a number on the Amazon one. Maybe check it is the 207 on Amazon?

EDIT : Looking at the specs the Amazon one max is 1280 x 960 whereas the Ebay one is 1440 x 1080 as well.

Got some cool stuff for sale that ebay seller. Wouldn't buy any of it but would love to have a play with it all...

[NickFitz]

Thanks scruff but that's what is puzzling me, hover over your link to magnify and then look at this Amazon one for £13!! Looks so similar, is that just coincidence or are this Chinese company just repackaging very similar cheap devices to different markets? Was I unlucky that mine were so unreliable or were you lucky?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/HD-VEHICLE-R...ref=pd_cp_ce_1

What usually happens is that the Chinese companies sell the items, singly or in bulk, to Del Boy types who flog them through online stores. If you fancy a Plan B, it's possible to get the goods at a very good price indeed. The trick is to find reliable sellers.

Luckily, they can be found - doubtless with a load of chancers too - on AliExpress.com - Online Shopping for Electronics, Fashion, Home & Garden, Toys & Sports, Automobiles from China. The good thing about dealing through them is that they are a reputable company in the US who hold your money in an escrow account, and only release it to the vendor when you have confirmed receipt of the goods and that they are as described. Otherwise you can get stuck into their disputes procedure, which the vendors don't like as it shows up on all their selling pages; so they have an interest in making sure you get what you paid for. And, as they're factory prices, you as a reseller can stick a decent markup on top. However it's worth spending time checking the site thoroughly, as often the same item is available from a number of resellers at the Chinese end, each with different levels of markup at their end.

For example, here's the 720p version of that camera at a wide range of prices: Wholesale DVR207 - Buy Low Price DVR207 Lots on Aliexpress.com

Seriously, if Del Boy was around today, he wouldn't be getting dodgy hairdryers from the back of a lorry: he'd be buying this cheap stuff from China in bulk, then flogging it on Ebay and Amazon. I've seriously thought about it as a sideline myself. Two hundred luridly decorative iPhone covers at about 30p each, flog them online for two quid a go, stick an extra quid on the delivery charge? Lovely jubbly

As an experiment, I ordered a couple of items for about a tenner each from there last Boxing Day. The Chinese company acknowledged the order by email within the day, and the goods arrived by post within two weeks, and were as described.

EDIT: one more tip is to put the model number into Google: you'll often find a YouTube video somebody has uploaded when they've bought one. Here's one for the DVR207:

[NickFitz]

There's a forum for dashcams! DashCamTalk Forum

[northernladuk]

There's a forum for dashcams! DashCamTalk Forum

Time for a CUK holiday