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Dash/helmet cams ?

Jo Mo Ma

Re-Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2022
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Yeah, it's kinda like an oil thread.

Except that every year's Best Of list changes and is,generally, a brand name I've never heard of before and never will again.

Because I felt that the Go-Pro was bulky and made us look like a Teletubby when mounted on a helmet, I adopted another platform which,of course, did not survive.

Since my intended use is for Oh,shit! moments, it still suffices for riding.

Lately, I am driving. A lot.

The stupid,dangerous,oblivious,absurd,illegal,ignorant, obnoxious moves I regularly see on the road leave me gobsmacked.

It's as though the Rules of the Road are there are no rules of the road.

Finally, it is time to stop considering the purchase of a dash cam and buy one.

As with my helmet cam, this is not for Look At Me purposes- it is to provide video evidence.


I have the Garmin Mini in my amazon cart because it is small,seems simple and uses a capacitor.



What are you using?

Is there anything that realistically is dual purpose ?
 
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I think the older Garmin Virbs would do the trick. The bullet shape is much better than that of the GoPro and some models have GPS capability. I have a 60 mile round trip commute into some urban areas and was thinking about the same thing.

The car is easy, use something that can be left in the car and powered by the key. The Garmin mini was top of my list because the other options in the same price range appear to be no-name hot off the boat. The bike is harder because I need to remember to charge a helmet cam or wire the bike for a camera. Innov seems to be the big name but the reviews are hit or miss.

Ultimately I cam to the conclusion that I didn't want to deal with a dash/helmet cam. I am probably going to regret that but oh well.
 
Garmin seems to be made in Taiwan vs the no-name which are all made in China.

However, as I understand it, the software is at least as important as the hardware in terms of apps,phones,etc.?
 
I recently picked up a secondhand Garmin Virb Elite with hopes of using it as a dual purpose dash/action cam. I am scratching my head on where and how to mount it. On the helmet would have less vibration and the camera would see what I am looking at, but on the bike the camera wouldn't weigh my head down, could be powered by USB and I would not look like a dork with a camera on my helmet.
 
What about the cylindrical model that mounts on the side of the helmet? Sony something or another? I had a GoPro Hero mounted the top of my helmet, I eventually removed and sold it as it was more of a pain than what it was worth, to constantly remove, recharge, copy pictures/videos to my computer. It wasn't always reliable either, however since it's working fine for the guy that I sold it to, it was probably the SD Card that I was using in it. I'm sure it looked like the Teletubbies as you said earlier.
 
Garmin seems to be made in Taiwan vs the no-name which are all made in China.

However, as I understand it, the software is at least as important as the hardware in terms of apps,phones,etc.?
Exactly, the dedicated dash cams are designed to run all the time or in loops. Should you get in an accident you have to find the data you want in the loop. Better dash cams can sense accidents while the vehicle is in motion or parked and spit out a video file of like 1 minute before the incident and like 5 minutes after. Action cameras(GoPro, DJI, Virb, etc.) don't do that.

GoPro's software and app wasn't great the last time I used it(2+years ago). I used Windows Movie Maker to make the videos with GoPro footage. The knock-off action cameras had terrible apps.
 
What about the cylindrical model that mounts on the side of the helmet? Sony something or another? I had a GoPro Hero mounted the top of my helmet, I eventually removed and sold it as it was more of a pain than what it was worth, to constantly remove, recharge, copy pictures/videos to my computer. It wasn't always reliable either, however since it's working fine for the guy that I sold it to, it was probably the SD Card that I was using in it. I'm sure it looked like the Teletubbies as you said earlier.
Contour ROAM?
That is my current helmet cam, not suitable for dash use for all the reasons you've mentioned.
 
I installed a Garmin 55 in both my vehicles. They've worked great so far but you have to buy a separate controller if you want the camera to toggle with the ignition. Here's a little video that my Garmin caught last year.
 
ouch !
that hurts to watch...
Quite an intersection drama. The silver car left the scene but the motorcycle tore the car's front bumper off along with the license plate so it only took the police a half hour to find the driver. Doh! As ill-considered as fleeing the accident was, the driver of the silver car appeared to have the right of way. Notice he entered the intersection on a yellow light while the rider entered the intersection on a red. As the deputy told me when he was at my house later looking at the video, the silver car owned the intersection. As for the rider, it didn't help his case by illegally passing the stopped car in front of him on the right.

As I witnessed the accident I thought, 'oh no, that guy's dead.' I got out of my car and ran over to check him out but he stayed conscious, though certainly not moving. I was told later that he suffered only full body soreness and a wrist injury. ATGATT, baby.

I never thought my new dash cams would record anything so dramatic. The deputy was thrilled that the accident was recorded and couldn't believe how clear and crisp the video was.
 
^^ This is why I finally feel the need for a dash cam.

Of course, the video evidence can cut both ways.

Hopefully, I will never need it; the stupidity I see regularly indicates otherwise.
 
^^ This is why I finally feel the need for a dash cam.

Of course, the video evidence can cut both ways.

Hopefully, I will never need it; the stupidity I see regularly indicates otherwise.
Yes, it's only getting worse out there. And if you need further proof (not likely, of course) check out Idiots in Cars
 
It is getting worse out there. Road rage, lack of insurance, outright lying to police and breakdown in enforcement and prosecutions, running from the scene, third world driving habits...it's all gotten worse.
 
It is getting worse out there. Road rage, lack of insurance, outright lying to police and breakdown in enforcement and prosecutions, running from the scene, third world driving habits...it's all gotten worse.


I've enjoyed the luxury of working either at home or close by for several years.

Being back out on the road again has been...eye opening.

What happened to yielding the right of way?

Or the old wisdom of if something is blocking the lane of travel you STOP, you don't swing out into oncoming traffic,full speed?

Or not walking in the actual lane of travel, back to traffic, with a dog on a 20 foot leash?

Forget vehicle and traffic laws, wtf happened to common sense?!

Seems like a dash cam is cheap insurance vs a wrongful death lawsuit when somebody else decides to makes themselve into a grease spot.
 
^^ This is why I finally feel the need for a dash cam.

Of course, the video evidence can cut both ways.

Hopefully, I will never need it; the stupidity I see regularly indicates otherwise.
And that’s why I finally feel the need to stop running red lights. :D

Seriously though, Jo Mo Ma I’ll be interested to see what you settle on because I really want to get something too.
 
And that’s why I finally feel the need to stop running red lights. :D

Seriously though, Jo Mo Ma I’ll be interested to see what you settle on because I really want to get something too.
I was hoping for some encouragement in choosing the Garmin Mini cam...

Probably anything is better than nothing but I'd like to get something that just plain works and is set & forget.
 
I was hoping for some encouragement in choosing the Garmin Mini cam...

Probably anything is better than nothing but I'd like to get something that just plain works and is set & forget.
Aside from typical installation hassles of running cables around the windshield, I haven't had any problems with my Garmins. No forgotten settings, firmware flame-outs, etc. I'll occasionally take a quick look at a video to make sure I haven't knocked the camera out of alignment but that's it.

I bought an inexpensive dash cam from Costco, got it home, and then read on the box that it shouldn't be used in hot environments. I can't think of anything hotter than the dash of a car sitting in California sun, so I returned it without bothering to open the box. Depending on where you live, you may want to find reviews that talk about the camera's ability to withstand heat. Dash cams tend to run hot as it is.
 
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