Dash cams is GPS speed logging really worth it?

[muso]

I am looking at dash cams after seeing the benefits with insurance, police etc on TV. I have narrowed it down to two models both DOD both full HD 1080P

The DOD LS300W seems to have the best video quality especially at night but no GPS logging (so no record of your speed)
The DOD LS430 is also good and has GPS logging to record your speed, but lacks the wider angle lens and the superior video quality of the LS300W especially at night (night time video is outstanding with the LS300W and pretty average with the DOD LS430)

Is it completely necessary to have your vehicle's speed displayed in the video footage? In some instances it could be a life saver but what if something happens which your insurance company needs for evidence (eg other driver in the wrong but no witnesses) but your own video footage speed indicates 61 kph in a 60 zone = no insurance and no case.
It's really a no brainer Don't Speed but 1 km over and probably no case to argue!

So is the gps speed logging worth it?
If the DOD LS430 (which has GPS logging) had the superior wide angle lens and night time quality of the non gps LS300W model I'd buy it in an instant but it doesn't.

[The Monty]

I have a Navman Muvie 388 or whatever it is. Has GPS, G-Force and speed and sound.
Can be very good for getting you out of trouble. Can also be very good at getting you into trouble. Just be weary of the ones you can de-activate the sound/speed/etc when you need to.

[muso]

Cheers Monty Yours sounds a bit like a G-tech, can it log 0-100 kph times? (useful in Turbo fords )

When you say be weary of the ones which have speed deactivation etc do you mean steer clear of them?

[trentski]

GPS speed won't be admissible in court if you think it might get you off a speeding ticket. Get the one with the better camera.

[block58]

I have a dodgy Chinese one (GS1000) and while you can turn off speed display on the actual video, it will always be recorded into a separate data file, so it is still accessible.

[mik]

I guess it would not hurt to have the speed logging, myself i'm pretty keen on getting a camera to record trips after recently being hit from the side while stationary, it occurred to me after the event the the bloke who wopped into me admitted guilt, if he had not,
it may have been a bit more involved to get the event sorted.
even if it did not capture the vehicle wopping me , it could add to the evidence i was stationary and not at fault.

[carwant.com.au]

Have a look at the car camera from Honeywell. I have one in my car and it's great. They have two models, a standard and HD. More importantly, they are discreet and it's from a recognised brand. For me, it was worth the extra money.

http://honeywellcarcamera.com.au/

[jpd80]

Actually, some employers are finding that dash cameras modify the way their employees drive - for the better
because they know that all actions are being recorded and can be reviewed if any incidents occur.

I like the idea and far from the Orwellian "Big brother is watching" I think most people are comfortable
with having a camera witnessing what is going on in the public arena. How good is it to have evidence
that can be replayed to police and insurance companies vindicating one's own actions.

[muso]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Actually, some employers are finding that dash cameras modify the way their employees drive - for the better
because they know that all actions are being recorded and can be reviewed if any incidents occur.

I like the idea and far from the Orwellian "Big brother is watching" I think most people are comfortable
with having a camera witnessing what is going on in the public arena. How good is it to have evidence
that can be replayed to police and insurance companies vindicating one's own actions.

From an employees perspective it is brilliant I don't mind cameras in the public arena either, they catch criminals and free the innocent
One would only be bothered by a camera if they were planning to do something illegal!
Just check out the footage on tv lately where road ragers are deliberately reversing into the victim :( without a dash cam that could be tricky if the 'road rager' says you ran into the back of him! Then you have the fraudsters making out you ran them over to put in an injury claim....yes cameras certainly get my vote

[muso]

Hey thanks everyone for your informative advice and opinions, I have purchased the DOD LS300W without GPS Logging, I wanted the clearest video result over GPS. I looked at the Honeywell which didn't look too bad at all either.

[trentski]

Originally Posted by mik

even if it did not capture the vehicle wopping me , it could add to the evidence i was stationary and not at fault.

the video footage will show pretty clearly that you were stationary, the gps speed info wouldn't add any value in the situation you described. What would be useful is GPS location, so you can prove you were where you said you were, and at what time.

[muso]

Could have really used this Dash Cam about an Hour ago
White Mercedes decided to invent it's own lane and over took a whole line of cars (including mine) using the emergency stopping lane which ended abruptly then the Mercedes cut in front narrowly missing my car as the lane run out :(
Now let's wait for this Dash camera I'd love to put drivers like this on youtube but I don't think it's legal

[trentski]

Originally Posted by muso

I'd love to put drivers like this on youtube but I don't think it's legal

Quite legal to post footage like that on youtube.

http://www.artslaw.com.au/info-sheet...aphers-rights/

[revcore]

I've got a Uniden iGO CAM 300 and it works great....I have it so it turns on when you start the car and turns to stand by mode when the car is off so it will start recording if the car is knocked while it's parked.
It's only a cheap one but it works great and I have no worries with recommending it for people wanting a budget in car camera.
http://www.uniden.com.au/australia/p..._300_index.asp

[muso]

Originally Posted by trentski

Quite legal to post footage like that on youtube.

http://www.artslaw.com.au/info-sheet...aphers-rights/

Thanks Trent

[Full Noise]

I’ve only just found this thread. I don’t usually reply to these but you can Forget about the LS 430 if you want an accurate GPS speed reading. I tested one a while back and the speed was out anything between 8 to 25 Kph at 100 Ks. Wide screen display is nothing more than a gimmick. The 300w is much of a muchness as well. I’ve been using DOD products for a few years, mainly the 550 and I can assure you that DOD, as a company are an absolute pain in the arze to deal with.

Don’t believe any of the BS on their website with their night time demo shots either. They are all tested in Taiwan and there is no darkness there. They have a zillion street lights so night time resolution is very different than Australia.

[muso]

Originally Posted by Full Noise

I’ve only just found this thread. I don’t usually reply to these but you can Forget about the LS 430 if you want an accurate GPS speed reading. I tested one a while back and the speed was out anything between 8 to 25 Kph at 100 Ks. Wide screen display is nothing more than a gimmick. The 300w is much of a muchness as well. I’ve been using DOD products for a few years, mainly the 550 and I can assure you that DOD, as a company are an absolute pain in the arze to deal with.

Don’t believe any of the BS on their website with their night time demo shots either. They are all tested in Taiwan and there is no darkness there. They have a zillion street lights so night time resolution is very different than Australia.

I compared the DOD LS300W on youtube with others like the Gs1000 orange menu etc. The videos were AFAIK private users of these devices. The DOD LS 300W came out as a clearer video result than the others of similar price range in both day and night footage.

[Full Noise]

Originally Posted by muso

I compared the DOD LS300W on youtube with others like the Gs1000 orange menu etc. The videos were AFAIK private users of these devices. The DOD LS 300W came out as a clearer video result than the others of similar price range in both day and night footage.

I’ve tested both and they were pretty much the same for me. Either way, the unit you have should work well.

[naddis01]

Can people post up some pics of their cameras installed? How do you power them without having a cord hanging down to the ciggie lighter?

[block58]

Originally Posted by naddis01

Can people post up some pics of their cameras installed? How do you power them without having a cord hanging down to the ciggie lighter?

I have my cable going into the roof lining, down the a pillar and under the dash where I have wired it into behind the cigarette lighter. That way the cigarette lighter can still be used.

[Full Noise]

Originally Posted by naddis01

Can people post up some pics of their cameras installed? How do you power them without having a cord hanging down to the ciggie lighter?

Leads are pretty easy to hide. I’ve hidden the lead in my Fairlane, but in the truck, I have then looped over the sun visor and secured behind the phone as I’m in and out if it every day. If I was in the truck for a week at a time, I would do a better job. I have some new adhesive clamps for leads but I haven’t had a lot of time to mount them. I’ve taken the leads down for this pic.



I’ll eventually get a around to doing a better job of hiding them when I get the time.

This pic is with the leads secured behind the phone.

[Dusty1]

FWIW Catch of the Day have cheapies on sale for $60.

Is it possible to fit one in the rear window?

[Full Noise]

Originally Posted by Dusty1

FWIW Catch of the Day have cheapies on sale for $60.

Is it possible to fit one in the rear window?

If you’re stupid enough to buy cheap crap, don’t b1#ch when it doesn’t work, or worse, when something happens and you think you’ve got it on a an SD card, only to find that you don't, you’ll think about the absolute bargain you got with a cheap POS cam.

You only get what you pay for.

[muso]

Hey wicked photos of the truck Full Noise Good rig you have there

I've also heard that you have to use class 4 minimum SD cards I think and the dash cams don't come with one you have to buy it separate.

And Dusty1, Full Noise is right about paying for what you get, often when you get a cheapy it will barely perform it's intended function and even if it does it will probably break or fail, spend the $60 on something else instead or put it towards a quality dash cam....been there done that

[Full Noise]

Originally Posted by muso

I've also heard that you have to use class 4 minimum SD cards I think and the dash cams don't come with one you have to buy it separate.

I only use class 4, 32 GB cards. I’ve changed from Lexar to Kingston as some of the Lexar cards were causing the DOD cams to freeze.

[muso]

Cheers Full Noise, where do you buy the class 4 32 Gb Kingston cards? I've been told to stay away from Ebay!

[Ben73]

I don't have speed or GPS recording on mine.
I cant be bothered buying a camera just for the car, so I use my Go Pro with an adhesive mount stuck on the dashboard.

Just good old fashioned Sound and Video. Wide angle lens is great. 720, 960 or 1080 recording is great too.

Night time is good enough to see other cars doing stupid things, I just can't expect to catch plate numbers unless you are pretty close to them.

[muso]

I thought about a Go Pro because my 13 year old son wants one but I want to be able to pick up rego numbers if needed.

[muso]

For what it's worth DashCams Australia have been really good in that after paying for the DOD LS300W I attached a note enquiring about the LS300W Plus model and what the plus stood for. They replied telling me that the 'Plus' model has an additional feature where you can have your rego plate number displayed on the film.
The plus model is out next week and costs a bit more but as an act of good will they gave me the 'plus' model for the price of the old model which was pretty good I think

[muso]

After using it today driving in and out of town I can say that the 1080P wide angle video footage clarity of this dash cam is absolutely stunning when viewed on a large screen, it is relatively easy to use (once set up that is)
I got a 16 Gb class 10 Sandisk micro sd card from office works for $19.95 works very well.

It has the feature so you can have your rego plate number marked on the footage, however it only allows for 6 digits when many Aust rego plates are now 7 including mine, hopefully a software update will address this.

Getting home and being able to check each 3 minute video loop of your journey in full HD is really good, a woman swerved out of her lane on south rd almost side swiping me then beeped at me, when I got home I could see that she veered out of her lane and I was in my lane and didn't veer out of it, silly woman now she's on film on my hard drive. I love these drivers who are clearly in the wrong but toot their horns at you anyway