Girl's On Film (or, "Betsy gets dashcammed-up")

[Mincey]

After much deliberation and cogitation, I decided against getting Halfords to fit Betsy with front and rear dashcams as I've read horror stories on here and elsewhere about the standard of fitting. I also checked the Nextbase site. They'd fit them for a reasonable price but the 422 and 522 cameras are rather bulky with their screen fixings and I wasn't too keen on that, and how do the rear camera modules which fit to the front facing camera work if you have someone tall as a passenger or a full car? I had a Nextbase NBDVR380GW camera fitted by Lexus Leicester to my IS300h when I bought it, and I  understand that is the standard "Lexus" model. It was very compact and bijou, not too bulky and it fitted nicely on the windscreen. This, plus the notions that Leicester would do as good a job as they did with the IS, and they know the cars and would not screw anything up, persuaded me to pay over the odds to have them fit a front and back camera.

So, this they did yesterday. It took about three and a half hours, and whilst I waited at the dealership I was plied with biscuits and coffee by the wonderful people there. I was also hassled constantly by my boss, despite the fact he was fully aware that I had taken the morning off, having authorised my absence earlier in the week. Anyway, I digress.

You're all wanting to know what the installation looks like, so here we go.

The front:

The back:

A very tidy job, I'm sure you'll all agree. Both cameras run from the same app, which is handy as it would be a little awkward to reach a button on the rear camera. The rear camera is invisible from behind which is slightly annoying. Last week, I had some idiot in a scheissewagen right up my chuff, and perhaps if they had seen a rear-facing camera, they'd have backed off. It's a shame I didn't have the camera then, as I would have shopped and/or shamed the fool. 

This is what I saw in the app:

The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed something. It's easy to pick out the front and rear videos isn't it? I wasn't too impressed when I saw this, make no mistake. Had I been given a duff camera? Upon closer inspection, I discovered this:

Yes, the fitter had forgotten to remove the protective film from the front camera lens. How I laughed! An uncomfortable call to Leicester had been avoided.

I had a constant battle trying to get the camera in my IS to connect to my phone. Either this is a slightly different model (as it has a connector in the back for a lead going to the rear camera which the version in my IS did not have) or the app has improved, as it connects first time every time now. This is just as well because to remove the camera from the car requires the cable to the rear-facing camera to be removed and it all looks a bit snug.

All in all, I'm very happy with the fitting. It's discrete, there are no rattles, the Battery seems to be ok this morning (unlike the ES yesterday in the showroom at LL. Some customers wanted to look in the boot, but a technician with a starter pack had to be called to get some life into the car first!) and the video quality is great. If my happiness does not extend to videos from night driving, I will report back. The night videos from my IS were fine, so I can't see any concerns here. Yes it was expensive (£395 for both cameras plus fitting) but they did a good job. Had I remembered to ask if there was a club discount, my pain may have been eased slightly. Never mind, as they say. I'll chalk that one down to experience.

[royoftherovers]

18 minutes ago, Mincey said:

After much deliberation and cogitation, I decided against getting Halfords to fit Betsy with front and rear dashcams as I've read horror stories on here and elsewhere about the standard of fitting. I also checked the Nextbase site. They'd fit them for a reasonable price but the 422 and 522 cameras are rather bulky with their screen fixings and I wasn't too keen on that, and how do the rear camera modules which fit to the front facing camera work if you have someone tall as a passenger or a full car? I had a Nextbase NBDVR380GW camera fitted by Lexus Leicester to my IS300h when I bought it, and I  understand that is the standard "Lexus" model. It was very compact and bijou, not too bulky and it fitted nicely on the windscreen. This, plus the notions that Leicester would do as good a job as they did with the IS, and they know the cars and would not screw anything up, persuaded me to pay over the odds to have them fit a front and back camera.

So, this they did yesterday. It took about three and a half hours, and whilst I waited at the dealership I was plied with biscuits and coffee by the wonderful people there. I was also hassled constantly by my boss, despite the fact he was fully aware that I had taken the morning off, having authorised my absence earlier in the week. Anyway, I digress.

You're all wanting to know what the installation looks like, so here we go.

The front:

The back:

A very tidy job, I'm sure you'll all agree. Both cameras run from the same app, which is handy as it would be a little awkward to reach a button on the rear camera. The rear camera is invisible from behind which is slightly annoying. Last week, I had some idiot in a scheissewagen right up my chuff, and perhaps if they had seen a rear-facing camera, they'd have backed off. It's a shame I didn't have the camera then, as I would have shopped and/or shamed the fool. 

This is what I saw in the app:

The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed something. It's easy to pick out the front and rear videos isn't it? I wasn't too impressed when I saw this, make no mistake. Had I been given a duff camera? Upon closer inspection, I discovered this:

Yes, the fitter had forgotten to remove the protective film from the front camera lens. How I laughed! An uncomfortable call to Leicester had been avoided.

I had a constant battle trying to get the camera in my IS to connect to my phone. Either this is a slightly different model (as it has a connector in the back for a lead going to the rear camera which the version in my IS did not have) or the app has improved, as it connects first time every time now. This is just as well because to remove the camera from the car requires the cable to the rear-facing camera to be removed and it all looks a bit snug.

All in all, I'm very happy with the fitting. It's discrete, there are no rattles, the battery seems to be ok this morning (unlike the ES yesterday in the showroom at LL. Some customers wanted to look in the boot, but a technician with a starter pack had to be called to get some life into the car first!) and the video quality is great. If my happiness does not extend to videos from night driving, I will report back. The night videos from my IS were fine, so I can't see any concerns here. Yes it was expensive (£395 for both cameras plus fitting) but they did a good job. Had I remembered to ask if there was a club discount, my pain may have been eased slightly. Never mind, as they say. I'll chalk that one down to experience.

Look here James  https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=sticker+rear+camera+operating&crid=NW7KA8M05OIW&sprefix=sticker+rear+camera+operating%2Caps%2C102&ref=nb_sb_noss

 

Can we see some pics of the footage you are receiving ?

£500 approx seems a lot to pay, but in the context of protecting a £40k asset it seems money well spent.

[Mincey]

4 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

Look here James  https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=sticker+rear+camera+operating&crid=NW7KA8M05OIW&sprefix=sticker+rear+camera+operating%2Caps%2C102&ref=nb_sb_noss

 

Can we see some pics of the footage you are receiving ?

£500 approx seems a lot to pay, but in the context of protecting a £40k asset it seems money well spent.

A sticker is an excellent idea - I shall investigate. Now that I don't have a blue-tinted front view, I shall post some video (front and back) of my next trip out.

[Mincey]

Front and back videos as requested and promised (sorry for the delay - had to upload them to YouTube). This one is subtitled "Mincey leaves Tescos at Hampton, Peterborough". Those of you paying attention will notice a black Monaro VXR ahead of me. Bonus points are on offer for a minor, but justified  misdemeanour which some of you may notice. 

Front:

Rear:

 

[royoftherovers]

3 minutes ago, Mincey said:

COMING SHORTLY!

 

Front and back videos as requested and promised. This one is subtitled "Mincey leaves Tescos at Hampton, Peterborough". Those of you paying attention will notice a black Monaro VXR ahead of me. Bonus points are on offer for a minor, but justified  misdemeanour which some of you may notice. 

 

 

BOO, HISS,BOO,HISS!

[Mincey]

4 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

BOO, HISS,BOO,HISS!

Sorry John - I tried to attach the videos here but I think they were a little too big. YouTube came to the rescue 😉

[royoftherovers]

1 minute ago, Mincey said:

Sorry John - I tried to attach the videos here but I think they were a little too big. YouTube came to the rescue 😉

A link James if possible ?

[steve2006]

I fitted mine from the old Celsior the other day in the new Celsior.

I already had the power supply (12Vdc to 5Vdc 1.5A USB) and fortunately managed to find a ignition switched 12V source within the overhead lighting/ ETC panel to tap onto and enough space to tuck it away in the roof void.

Just didn’t fancy removing interior windscreen trim with curtain airbags fitted to get an alternative below dash supply.

[paulrnx]

47 minutes ago, Mincey said:

Front and back videos as requested and promised (sorry for the delay - had to upload them to YouTube). This one is subtitled "Mincey leaves Tescos at Hampton, Peterborough". Those of you paying attention will notice a black Monaro VXR ahead of me. Bonus points are on offer for a minor, but justified  misdemeanour which some of you may notice. 

Front:

Rear:

 

Playing music like that in the car I would think 🤣

[Mincey]

42 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

A link James if possible ?

I've updated the original post 

 

[Mincey]

7 minutes ago, paulrnx said:

Playing music like that in the car I would think 🤣

Harsh! 🤣

[paulrnx]

2 minutes ago, Mincey said:

Harsh! 🤣

Just joking of course 😀

[royoftherovers]

34 minutes ago, Mincey said:

I've updated the original post 

 

Excellent quality James, many thanks.

Have you noticed that irritating reflection, on the passenger side, from what looks like some metal trim on your dashboard?

[Dippo]

Cutting over the hatching on leaving the roundabout to get into the left hand lane?

[royoftherovers]

19 minutes ago, Dippo said:

Cutting over the hatching on leaving the roundabout to get into the left hand lane?

Sadly, Ian, the dashcam is both our friend and our enemy.

[Mincey]

22 minutes ago, Dippo said:

Cutting over the hatching on leaving the roundabout to get into the left hand lane?

Bingo! There was a BMW waiting, so I thought I'd let him wait a little longer.

[royoftherovers]

2 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

Excellent quality James, many thanks.

Have you noticed that irritating reflection, on the passenger side, from what looks like some metal trim on your dashboard?

Bump !

[Mincey]

25 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

Bump !

You're 100% correct as usual John - I hadn't noticed that, it is the "Handori aluminium inlay" isn't it?

[Dippo]

I missed another one! If you check the rear view, you can see the speed limit in the Tesco car park is 10 mph. I rest my case.

I'm just off to the shops to get a life. 

[royoftherovers]

21 minutes ago, Mincey said:

You're 100% correct as usual John - I hadn't noticed that, it is the "Handori aluminium inlay" isn't it?

Looks that way to me James and I find that very sad on modern cars. It does not have to be that way. If HSE can issue guidance re the best way to site a PC or a Desktop, I don`t see why DVLA or appropriate Body cannot dictate minimum standards to motor manufacturers re Ergonomics/Health and Safety.

I was particularly affected in August 1969.when upon taking delivery of my brand new and pristine Chinchilla Grey 120 Beetle and taking it out for its first night drive, I noticed in the Driver`s quarterlight several reflections from the vertical Dashboard display !

As for trying to use a Tesla keyboard whilst driving......................!😒😒

[First_Lexus]

4 hours ago, Mincey said:

Harsh! 🤣

Fantastic choice of music @Mincey😊

The dash-cam footage is pretty good too. I’m considering getting Lexus to fit the same to my (on order) RX, as a) I’d rather they did it for peace of mind, and b) I can’t tell the difference between a screwdriver and a spanner, so I’m certainly not going to attempt anything myself!

[royoftherovers]

2 minutes ago, First_Lexus said:

Fantastic choice of music @Mincey😊

The dash-cam footage is pretty good too. I’m considering getting Lexus to fit the same to my (on order) RX, as a) I’d rather they did it for peace of mind, and b) I can’t tell the difference between a screwdriver and a spanner, so I’m certainly not going to attempt anything myself!

As the Lady passenger said "a spanner is 27/6d and a screw,driver is more than you have in your wallet Sir !"🤣🤣

[Herbie]

13 minutes ago, First_Lexus said:

Fantastic choice of music @Mincey😊

I love the whole 'War of the Worlds' album but that song is one of my all-time favourites; Justin Hayward's voice really suits it.

[First_Lexus]

13 minutes ago, Herbie said:

I love the whole 'War of the Worlds' album but that song is one of my all-time favourites; Justin Hayward's voice really suits it.

I once tried to get some younger people at work to expand their musical knowledge, and that album was one of those I chose. Two problems. First, they didn’t know who Richard Burton was. Second, as an age group they seem fixated by rap music. That’s rap with a silent ‘c’ of course…

Off-topic, but I was watching the youth COP26 earlier. I care about the environment, and know that humanity needs to do something fast about global warming. However, I do object rather to be being lectured and blamed for the current situation - after all, when I grew up in the 1970s none of this was on the agenda at all. All I have been doing is living my life and trying to do the right thing, and being told I’m the problem just because of when I was born doesn’t help! Rant over.

[royoftherovers]

26 minutes ago, First_Lexus said:

I once tried to get some younger people at work to expand their musical knowledge, and that album was one of those I chose. Two problems. First, they didn’t know who Richard Burton was. Second, as an age group they seem fixated by rap music. That’s rap with a silent ‘c’ of course…

Off-topic, but I was watching the youth COP26 earlier. I care about the environment, and know that humanity needs to do something fast about global warming. However, I do object rather to be being lectured and blamed for the current situation - after all, when I grew up in the 1970s none of this was on the agenda at all. All I have been doing is living my life and trying to do the right thing, and being told I’m the problem just because of when I was born doesn’t help! Rant over.

Ed, I have come to the view that many of us take it too personally.

Not one of us is responsible, if any body is its the entire human race. For its understanding and its lack of understanding

There is a multitude of factors which need to be taken into account on the subject of Global Warming. And we know some of them. None of us have been here before and we cannot therefore have experience to draw upon.

We do however have on occasions, common sense. It takes us some of the way, but not all of the way. What we don`t know, we don`t know !

We know that the Planet has warmed up previously, on several occasions.

We know that the Planet has cooled previously, on several occasions.

We know that chronologically, we are currently coming out of an Ice Age

We know therefore that the Planet is warming up regardless of what we humans do

We know that we are adding to the warming process regardless of what we are doing.

We know that millions of tons of methane  are currently being released from the Russian Steppes due to the warming process, thus releasing more co2 into the atmosphere.

We know that there have been at least 7 Extinction Events in the history of the Planet

We don`t know if we are into the Eighth !

We know that the Taxman cometh using fear of Global Warming as justification for Taxation.

My rant is nowhere near half over, but it is time for others to join in., methinks.😉