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[Discussion] Dashcam recommendations (lemm.ee)

submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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So I already have a front dashcam (Blueseasky) and it's fine, does what it's supposed to. I want to upgrade to a dual-camera (front and back facing) dashcam, similar to the ones used on rideshares, but something that can be mounted on the actual dashboard. I want to avoid running wires along the headliner and frame, so I prefer to mount my dashcam on the actual dash.

It works for my current dashcam because it's cylinder shaped and the camera lens can be rotated. So I just use a small square of 3M automotive tape to mount it, rotate the lens so it’s angled correctly, then just let the wire run down the side of the infotainment screen and into the 12V port.

Can anyone recommend a good dual-cam dashcam that is flexible enough to adjust the angle of both cameras while it is mounted on the dashboard? Most of the ones I've seen are designed to be mounted on the windshield, so the front-facing camera is typically fixed and faces the road correctly only if it's mounted there. The only way I see this can be possible is if it's a cylinder design with one camera on each end and both rotate.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

way down on the windshield

I used to do that on my previous car, but it was a hassle to put the windshield shade on when parked under the sun. Not to mention the camera getting cooked while sitting between the glass and the reflective shade.

what's wrong with running the wire around the trim up top?

I will admit I’m just lazy. But what I mentioned about the shade cover applies to this as well. I also drive a Subaru and the massive housing for the eysesight cameras behind the rear-view mirror already takes up a ton of space at the top of the windshield. Considering I also need space to pull down the visors, there isn’t much space left to put it without it becoming a distraction.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

That's a fair point with the shade. On my one car with a sensor camera up top (lane keep, maybe also auto wipers), it worked out that the deep-v of the sunshade drooped enough to accommodate the dashcam at the lower end of the sensor. It's high enough that just part of the Garmin 55 hangs below the mirror from my point of view. Even though it's kind of above the shade, I didn't notice heat issues, not even with parking mode.

I certainly take the lazy route first for wiring. The Garmin units come with a short down-facing cable and a long up-facing cable (90 deg micro USB plugs, opposing directions). I do the short one to test mounting location, but have that same car wired "permanently" by shoving the longer cable into the trim gap, loosely hanging along the door seal, and suggestively tossing it over any wiring or brackets I can spot under the glvoebox on ti's way to the cigarette lighter. If you use any soft poking tool like a chopstick, plastic fork, trim pry tool, or popsicle stick, you can get a decent tuck on the wire. I poke the part by the camera back into the headliner maybe 3 times a year and that's it.