Car Cam

[is200 Newbie]

I bought one of these car cameras from eBay (£11)

I bought it for my lad who has just bought his first car so thought for a bit of piece of mind it would be handy for him so I shoved it in my car to see how it worked before putting it in his.

The results are surprisingly very good - the unit will turn itself on (when plugged into the power socket) and off when the cars off so once set there is no messing with any settings. Video is brilliant. The unit is not that big either and fits well under the rear view mirror (doesn't obscure the mirror sensors)

I think I will invest in one as you cant go wrong at this price. The wiring can be hidden through the trim and directed through to the power socket in the armrest which to be honest is pretty useless for anything as it needs to be open when using any charger I have due to the size of the plug (I will need to mod the plug a bit but that wont be an issue)

You could actually fit one on the back as well and leave it there with no need to always having to switch it off and on which would be handy

[toffee_pie]

that seems massive !, when you say the quality is very good, i doubt how good it can get? I got an 0806 and its very good, i mean 2650 x 1080. If its as good as you say for almost a tenner well you cant complain. I took power from my rear view mirror so I have no need to go into 12v outlets.

[ahmed24]

How big is that unit in terms of size IS200 Newbie? i'm looking at ordering a very small one without LCD panel or anything. It's 1080p, comes with a remote and AV output. Since I have two AV input channels on my Navigation screen, the plan is to take the AV output from the dash cam into the Nav screen and use the nav screen as the playback device.

[is200 Newbie]

The unit looks big in the picture - its certainly not the smallest out there but not the biggest ...for £11 you cant go wrong. I have actually seen these for £9 now on eBay...

Like I said I bought it for my lads car as a bit of assurance for him (and us) as he has just started driving - I have still got it in mine and will probably keep it there and get another one for his. The picture quality (bearing in mind the cost) is brilliant - I would post a video of the quality but don't know how to post this up.

The screen on the unit shown in the picture above folds closed so its not as big as in the picture. It outputs to an SD card at 1080 or 720 and can be connected to your pc via a USB lead or alternatively the SD card removed to view video on a separate device. I have it set up to automatically start to record when the car starts and turn onto Battery use for approx. 15 to 20 mins when the car is switched off so it will record when I leave the car etc I am still getting used to it but its a good "little" unit.

Picture below is of the size of it (taken through the windscreen and the other picture of the car is a snapshot from the video it takes, taken at 720.

[toffee_pie]

I wouldn't really trust it at that price myself, this is the 0806 on mine. I cant see it behind the rear view mirror. It does the job well for me, I have looked at a few videos from it.

[omega1200]

the 0806 is a 100 pound piece of kit so its 10times the price but is it 10 times better?

I mean you not trying to watch a film just capture something that happens right in front of you

[toffee_pie]

no point having a camera if the quality is not good, i can easily make out number plates on this and £100 is not much for peace of mind.

[is200 Newbie]

... Just one thing about these dash cams

Something on the tv last night referenced notification on buildings that had security cameras installed on them needing signs stating a camera was in use..

Will footage from a dash cam stand up in court if necessary with no warning on your car stating you are recording the journey?

[PilgrimIS]

I have gone through a few dash cams....all pretty good, cheap and not so cheap... Having one is better than not in my opinion.

Re the warning signs, as long as it's for personal use then no signs are required. If it's related to commercial, such as office buildings or a taxi then notification is required by way of clear warning signs

[ahmed24]

This might be an interesting read: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32622126

[is200 Newbie]

Thanks ahmed

the link explains it straight and to the point.

[toffee_pie]

But the motoring group said it expected this average of the cheapest deals - £540 a year - to increase in the coming months.

£540 seems a tad expensive for the average insurance? Wonder what the average insurance for 250 owners here is? Mine is over £400 i think but I have a load of points, due to drop off my licence in a month.

[agent_dess]

Just renewed my insurance a few weeks back, it was £232... I got 3 points back in Nov 2010.

[toffee_pie]

that seems very cheap but you are in scotland, I expect my renewal to be north of 300 in a few months, else I am shopping around.

[agent_dess]

The irony was when I checked the comparison sites cheapest quote for some unheard company was £279... Needless to say I just quietly paid the renewal cost with the existing company

[is200 Newbie]

£253 with one write off under my belt (no points) and write off was a no fault claim (flooded) - this is with LV

Is coming up for renewal in June and if I put my wife on the insurance even although she will not drive it (which suits me fine) this will come down to £228

[toffee_pie]

Think my 9 points are pushing up my quote...!

[agent_dess]

I got my wife on the insurance even though she's only ever driven it once, she now has her own Clio so she won't be touching my baby lol... Mines with esure.

[is200 Newbie]

just a bit ... and you want an F ... how long before you get into double figures !

[agent_dess]

Toffee_pie what on earth are u doing with 9 points?? U ought be an upstanding model citizen ;) haha

[is200 Newbie]

My wife has only ever driven it once and that was about 5 metres out of the drive - that was enough (I was on edge for the whole 20 minutes she took to do it !!!)

[agent_dess]

I know that feeling, we went to asda and that 5min was a heart pounding journey esp each time she got close to the kerb =| lol

[toffee_pie]

I still want a F, my points not a problem for me, they are gone soon. I had a bad spell a few years back. without going into details :p

I am looking into a F most definately.

[agent_dess]

I'm not sure I would stomach the £480 road tax on the ISF but then again makes me sick to think my current £280 tax is more than my £232 insurance lol

[toffee_pie]

guys, quick question

does the side mirrors on the SE-Ls dim with the rear view mirror? I am not sure mine dims but the rear view does as I see the green tint.

Maybe I am not paying enough attention, just want to check with you guys as you both have SEL models.

re - tax, i am paying almost that on my 250 as its a manual.

*actually, i am sure the F is near the top band @ £500 or so a year.