Keeping up with the Russians

Those things are cool. I'm also surprised that they haven't taken off here like in they have in Russia. When the meteor hit they had tons of video becuase of all the dash cams. That's when I learned how common they are there.

They seem like a great idea in case of an accident. How did you decide on that model? I'd have no idea where to start other than just Google.

i've heard this too - cars will back into the car behind them and if you don't have a dash cam, it's assumed the car in the back was guilty of rear-ending.  very common in some of the more broke southern european countries.

I didn't know where to start either, so I primarily used google and read a lot of reviews.  The big selling point on this one for me was the temperature range.  I want a camera I can just leave in the car and not have to put up and take down every time I get in to drive somewhere.

There's another camera that's around $70 that seems to be the most popular one, simply from a cost standpoint.

They're pretty much all made in Korea so there aren't any domestic options in the US that I could find.

Yep, everyone in Russia buys them to prevent insurance fraud.  I think they also get significant discounts on insurance as well.
If you figure a standard camera costs around $70 it's well worth the money to prevent potential fraud or even to have as a "witness" if you're pulled over for running a red light.

In the US the fraud aspect is real, but not anywhere near as prevalent so that's why I don't think there's a huge demand for the cameras.

I'm not overly worried about insurance fraud or even getting pulled over for running a light when I didn't.  I more like it for the nerd factor. 

There have been a rash of car break ins at our local running lake and most of the cameras have a motion detection feature.  Even when the car is parked it will detect motion and record the 30 seconds before and after the motion to disk.  So, it might come in handy for something like that. 

Ah man, I thought this thread was going to be about the Russians seizing the Greenpeace ship recently. 

Just youtube Russian car wrecks. You will see people run into the street and throw themselves at a stationary car landing on the hood and windshield. It is insane!

All those Russian dash cams do make for some great youtube "fail" collections.  

Originally posted by Left Brain Wait a minute here.......we rail on and on about loss of privacy and then put a dash cam in our cars?  You couldn't make it up.

lol, there's a huge difference between individual citizens recording things and the government recording things.  I don't have the power to incarcerate anybody or seize their assets based on what shows up in a video.  The only thing I could use my camera footage for is to make goofy videos on youtube or possibly prove my innocence in an accident or fraud attempt.

Originally posted by tuwood

Originally posted by Left Brain Wait a minute here.......we rail on and on about loss of privacy and then put a dash cam in our cars?  You couldn't make it up.

lol, there's a huge difference between individual citizens recording things and the government recording things.  I don't have the power to incarcerate anybody or seize their assets based on what shows up in a video.  The only thing I could use my camera footage for is to make goofy videos on youtube or possibly prove my innocence in an accident or fraud attempt.

OR.....you could also hand it over when they get a warrant for it because they think there is something incriminating on it.   By incriminating I'm not implying that you will do anything illegal.....but you never know what that camera will catch.  Personally, I don't need the headache.

Originally posted by Left Brain

Originally posted by tuwood

Originally posted by Left Brain Wait a minute here.......we rail on and on about loss of privacy and then put a dash cam in our cars?  You couldn't make it up.

lol, there's a huge difference between individual citizens recording things and the government recording things.  I don't have the power to incarcerate anybody or seize their assets based on what shows up in a video.  The only thing I could use my camera footage for is to make goofy videos on youtube or possibly prove my innocence in an accident or fraud attempt.

OR.....you could also hand it over when they get a warrant for it because they think there is something incriminating on it.   By incriminating I'm not implying that you will do anything illegal.....but you never know what that camera will catch.  Personally, I don't need the headache.

Hello, my camera will be wrapped in tinfoil.  It will be invisible to the police. 

Originally posted by tuwood

Originally posted by Left Brain

Originally posted by tuwood

Originally posted by Left Brain Wait a minute here.......we rail on and on about loss of privacy and then put a dash cam in our cars?  You couldn't make it up.

lol, there's a huge difference between individual citizens recording things and the government recording things.  I don't have the power to incarcerate anybody or seize their assets based on what shows up in a video.  The only thing I could use my camera footage for is to make goofy videos on youtube or possibly prove my innocence in an accident or fraud attempt.

OR.....you could also hand it over when they get a warrant for it because they think there is something incriminating on it.   By incriminating I'm not implying that you will do anything illegal.....but you never know what that camera will catch.  Personally, I don't need the headache.

Hello, my camera will be wrapped in tinfoil.  It will be invisible to the police. 

If you're just looking to hide it from the police Saran Wrap ought to be plenty to get the job done. Save the industrial strength stuff for the big guns.

Holy cow, that was fast.  I just ordered this thing late Sunday night and it was just delivered.  Shipped from South Korea in 3 days, I just love living in the 21st century.  ;-)

(2013-09-25 13.51.32.jpg)

Be careful you didn't get one of the models that also has a camera facing you...... just saying.

Originally posted by mr2tony

Originally posted by Left Brain Wait a minute here.......we rail on and on about loss of privacy and then put a dash cam in our cars?  You couldn't make it up.

And the guy who wears his gun while watching TV at night is now getting a dashcam, yet claims he's not paranoid. Tony, just own your paranoia. OWN IT!

Be careful now, we don't need this getting booted over to the political joe.

It's not paranoid, it's pronounced "prepared"  lol

I pre-wired a power outlet under the dash the other night so it just took me about 10 minutes to install it.  Here's some pic's of it installed on my angry bird (what my kids call my car).

I uploaded a couple of videos.  The quality is decent @2MP 1080P.

I ordered a CPL lens filter for it to reduce the windshield glare during the day.

Daytime video of my wife driving to the gym yesterday:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fLdyRC27dI

Early AM this morning.  My morning commute.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWkJwKej7QE

btw, stupid youtube copyright police are flagging them for copyright because the radio was playing in the background. /facepalm So, they might get pulled in the next day or two.

Trust me when I tell you this......I can't give a percentage, but it is huge.....the police don't give a rats arse if you record us. We've been working under the assumption that you are for quite some time.  It usually helps us A LOT more than it does anyone else.

To say "it can only help you later on" is laughable.