Rear Dash Cam

dougie175 · August 2, 2017

Can anyone recommend a budget small dash cam that I can install next to the rear brake light on my IS?

I have a Nextbase dashcam for the front which works great, but often think I should be recording the rear also, can anyone recommend something which is nice and compact that wont break the bank, the cheaper the better but good enough to use as evidence in the event of an accident?

Thanks

Neil E · August 2, 2017

They tend to cost a little more but for a decent image one with a CCD lens is best. It might be worth looking at adapting one from a broken Lexus. The LS 430 has a neat little camera.

dougie175 · August 3, 2017

Thanks Neil

When you say adapting the camera from the LS420 is that the reverse camera but using it is a rear dash cam?

I did a bit of research last night and the Thinkware F50 seems a very good little camera for the rear for sensible money with a hard wire kit http://www.thinkware.com/Products/Dashcam/F50 Im even quite tempted to put my Nextbase 402G into the wife's car and put the full Thinkware F770 front and rear setup in my car instead, seems a very nice neat setup with fantastic results.

matt8 · August 3, 2017

11 hours ago, dougie175 said:

Thanks Neil

When you say adapting the camera from the LS420 is that the reverse camera but using it is a rear dash cam?

I did a bit of research last night and the Thinkware F50 seems a very good little camera for the rear for sensible money with a hard wire kit http://www.thinkware.com/Products/Dashcam/F50 Im even quite tempted to put my Nextbase 402G into the wife's car and put the full Thinkware F770 front and rear setup in my car instead, seems a very nice neat setup with fantastic results.

Highly recommend the Thinkware F770. The time lapse videos store thirty minutes of footage when parked, inside a 2 minute video clip.

I've done an installation write up within the Is sub forum too if you want to take a look.

dougie175 · August 3, 2017

2 hours ago, matt8 said:

Highly recommend the Thinkware F770. The time lapse videos store thirty minutes of footage when parked, inside a 2 minute video clip.

I've done an installation write up within the Is sub forum too if you want to take a look.

Yeah the Thinkware F770 does looks a cracking bit of kit! Just not sure I can justify the cost when there is nothing wrong with the Nextbase 402g I already have installed and I have just spent £550 on a flippin picture this evening as my wife insisted on going on a photoshoot where she had "won" a £150 voucher! Kind of skint now!

From what I can gather the F770 rear camera and F50 camera are quite similar in spec so should serve well enough as a rear facing camera

I will check out your F770 review now

Farqui · August 3, 2017

The F770 is pricey but I too have been pleased with it and I don't use several of the functions e.g. parked or lane departure.

Maybe wait a few months as there's to be a new model released and maybe the F770's will drop in price.

Or as you say just opt for the single channel F50.

Choices, choices.

rayaans · August 3, 2017

Viofo a119 or Spytec A118-c. Full hd and get the job one for little cost. Much more discrete than the likes of nextbase as well

Installed a forward facing one in my sons car. Think it looks pretty smart thanks to feedback from others on here.

dougie175 · August 6, 2017

On 03/08/2017 at 10:21 PM, Farqui said:

The F770 is pricey but I too have been pleased with it and I don't use several of the functions e.g. parked or lane departure.

Maybe wait a few months as there's to be a new model released and maybe the F770's will drop in price.

Or as you say just opt for the single channel F50.

Choices, choices.

The main reason I like the F770 is the lack of screen which I see as a bonus but also because it is a dual camera setup the footage runs in real time, just think it provides very good evidence in the event of an accident, plus it looks very tidy setup on the car. Wish I had done a bit more research before buying the Nextbase in the first place!

dougie175 · August 6, 2017

On 03/08/2017 at 10:55 PM, rayaans said:

Viofo a119 or Spytec A118-c. Full hd and get the job one for little cost. Much more discrete than the likes of nextbase as well

Installed a forward facing one in my sons car. Think it looks pretty smart thanks to feedback from others on here.

They are competitive on cost agreed and do seem to get good reviews, not sure if having the little screen lighting up behind me all the time would be annoying? Can it be switched off?

rayaans · August 6, 2017

1 hour ago, dougie175 said:

They are competitive on cost agreed and do seem to get good reviews, not sure if having the little screen lighting up behind me all the time would be annoying? Can it be switched off?

Yes, the screen can be timed out after 1 min, 3 mins or 5 mins.

I set it to timeout after 3 minutes.

dougie175 · August 6, 2017

1 hour ago, rayaans said:

Yes, the screen can be timed out after 1 min, 3 mins or 5 mins.

I set it to timeout after 3 minutes.

Thats handy! My only issue with them is the power feed is designed to come from the top but I would be installing the rear camera at the bottom of the screen next to or ontop of the the rear brake light. Will be a bit untidy having the wire coming out the top and looping round

J Henderson · August 6, 2017

Yep, the screen doesn't come back on whilst you're driving. I have mine set to the shortest possible setting, 30secs I think.

I noticed on mine that when it's parked, the screen will also light up (and then eventually time-out again) when it detects some movement and records a clip. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not, because on the one hand it might deter some potential thieves or vandals, but on the other, it might just encourage someone to break in and snatch it off the windscreen!

I was thinking along similar lines (Thinkware F50) for a rear camera @dougie175, but I'm loathe to pay about £100 quid for something that's been around now for a few years. Once they come down in price I'll get one though. Underneath the brake light would be ideal in terms of neatness and maximising rear visibility, but I'm not convinced there'll be enough room for it, and what about the view it'll have down there? The field of view these dashcams have can be surprising, but won't the spoiler restrict things a bit?

dougie175 · August 6, 2017

2 hours ago, J Henderson said:

Yep, the screen doesn't come back on whilst you're driving. I have mine set to the shortest possible setting, 30secs I think.

I noticed on mine that when it's parked, the screen will also light up (and then eventually time-out again) when it detects some movement and records a clip. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not, because on the one hand it might deter some potential thieves or vandals, but on the other, it might just encourage someone to break in and snatch it off the windscreen!

I was thinking along similar lines (Thinkware F50) for a rear camera @dougie175, but I'm loathe to pay about £100 quid for something that's been around now for a few years. Once they come down in price I'll get one though. Underneath the brake light would be ideal in terms of neatness and maximising rear visibility, but I'm not convinced there'll be enough room for it, and what about the view it'll have down there? The field of view these dashcams have can be surprising, but won't the spoiler restrict things a bit?

Yeah I would prefer the screen to either be none existent or stay off all the time!

May be worth noting you can get F50's for £75-78 on eBay with either handwire or 12v socket setups. Its still plenty of money but 25% cheaper than £100 if thats what they used to be?

Yeah under the brake light would be ideal very discreet and OEM, however you raise a very good point even above the brake light on my car with the increased height of the spoiler having the camera at the top of the screen may be a better ideal!

Also my windows are tinted, does anyone have any experience with removing these dash cams from the film when it comes time to sell? Have a feeling it could destroy the film trying to pull the thing off!

J Henderson · August 6, 2017

They've been around the £80 mark for a while but I didn't realise they can now be had for that price with the hardwire kit. The last time I was keeping an eye on them, that was another £20-22 to be added on top. Plus I would want to put a bigger card in it.

I'll let you buy one first!

dougie175 · August 6, 2017

1 hour ago, J Henderson said:

They've been around the £80 mark for a while but I didn't realise they can now be had for that price with the hardwire kit. The last time I was keeping an eye on them, that was another £20-22 to be added on top. Plus I would want to put a bigger card in it.

I'll let you buy one first!

Yeah think they have come down in price from when you last looked, hehe thanks I will let you know if I get one, the F50 is the front runner at the moment.

Ideally the F770 would be the ideal setup for me just struggling to justify the cost but I know me Ill think and think about it then realise I want the best I can get and go buy a F770, may as well just do it now really!

dougie175 · August 8, 2017

@Farqui Lee

Couple of quick questions on the F770, is there enough space to fit it to the right of the mirror mount and it function correctly pointing in the right direction?

Also on all the reviews the thing never seems to shut up giving verbal warning about how many people have walked past your car in the night and everything, can all this be silenced? I want the unit to work in the background but do everything as and when I need it?

dougie175 · August 8, 2017

Couple of photos of where I mean and the space available, I'm guessing the GS will be very similar in size and shape

Farqui · August 8, 2017

Hi Robb / @dougie175, it looks like the dotted area in your car is lower than mine so the camera would need to be lower. But your pic's suggest it'll still sit behind the mirror.

Mounting the F770 on the drivers side would mean that the lens is more central to the middle of the vehicle and sit squarely on the screen. As my camera lens is further off the vehicle center line, I have twisted the camera install slightly to get a more even left/right picture.

IF you were to mount the camera on the drivers side then I think it would fit in front of the mirror, even with it angled towards the driver. At least it looks like it should in my car.

However the reason I mounted my camera on the passenger side, was to get it completely out view from the driver and more importantly to keep it MOT compliant. The windscreen is divided into 'zones' and even tho my camera is in zone B, this area is more lenient. As the dash cam is tucked up behind my mirror and out of the drivers view, it's less likely to be an issue in the MOT. Using this install I've not had any issues in the last 2 MOT's, in the GS and my old Honda.

"The Ministry of Transport has strict guidelines regarding the positioning of windscreen 'obstructions' and an incorrectly installed camera could lead to an MOT failure. In short, they deem that objects encroaching more the 10mm into zone A (the 290mm wide area directly in front of the driver) or 40mm into zone B (the rest of the windscreen swept by wiper blades) would be a reason for rejection of a valid MOT certificate. Source: Vehicle & Operator Services Agency (VOSA) - MOT Guide and Inspection Manual for Classes 3, 4, 5 and 7 Vehicles."

Reference; http://www.carcamerashop.co.uk/car-camera-mounts

You can disable all the notifications of each feature the camera has available. The only one I have kept active is the collision warning when a vehicle is too close in front. I've backed off the sensitivity and even then it can get annoying when cars keep cutting back in front of you. It also gets thrown off sometimes when off taking large vehicle like trucks, I presume due to their shadow? But it does help to keep you on your toes.

I don't and haven't used any of the parking features, so can't comment on those prompts but I presume they too can be disabled.

You'll find a few more F700 pic's in my build thread ;)

Farqui · August 8, 2017

Have a measure up and let us know if you think it'll fit.

Ref; http://www.thinkware.com/Products/Dashcam/F770

Muddywheels · August 8, 2017

I have a Thinkware F750 in my Mitsubishi and have updated firmware to F770 to add new features

This was my install for Disco Sport which I transferred to Mitsubishi - install was almost identical

https://www.discosportforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=2511

I previously had 3 Blackvues and they all failed so I will not buy another of their products

This was install of BV in RR Sport

http://www.rrsport.co.uk/forum/topic28640.html?highlight=blackvue

The Thinkware is excellent for covering front and rear views, parking and speed camera alerts and will probably get another for the RC

I did have a problem with GPS lock on Disco Sport due to windscreen type - anyone had this with Lexus?

Farqui · August 8, 2017

No issues with GPS locks here

Muddywheels · August 8, 2017

Excellent

dougie175 · August 9, 2017

Lee I think you are right to put it on the left side even in the IS, as the black dot come down so far the F770 will be half way down the screen before the camera lens would be past the dots, sticking it just below the rain sensor on the left side should have it totally out of sight when driving like my Nextbase and look as OEM and safe as possible. Basically where I have my Nextbase installed at the moment.

Had a measure up and it will easily fit on the right or the left though as its surprisingly small!

Farqui · August 9, 2017

I've sneaked mine into a very similar position and it's well hidden by the reversing mirror, you have to really look to see it.

The odd time you need to punch a button on the camera (e.g. to stop the format card messages) I need to angle the mirror out of the way, press the relevant button and then line the mirror back up again. But that's a small price to pay for a neat and tidy install.

Looking at your mirror it seems further into the cabin than mine, so you may not have any issues working around the mirror position.

matt8 · August 12, 2017

If you're not looking to stick to a budget, the Thinkware F800 is now out. And in September, their cloud camera, which uploads video footage somewhere.