I have been thinking it would be a good idea to use a dash camera with all the stupid drivers that we have around Atlanta. The dilemma that I have is that I normally drive 4 different road cars, and I don't want to go through the trouble of wiring up 4 different cars for dash cams. So, I've been thinking that one of these personal body cams with a 10 - 12 hour battery life could be attached to the mirror or a windshield mount to serve as a dash cam.

Has anyone else tried something like this?


I'm not interested in capturing any high quality video with this, just the minimum video quality to show fault in case of an accident, with long battery life to avoid wiring anything up.

Thanks for any info.

 

I cannot see why it would not work, but I am sure over time you will tire of taking off and putting on the cam each time you change cars. Or, forget.

And we all know the time we forget is the time you wish you did not forget (something happens).

 

I bet you can rig something up, but I don’t know if the hassle is worth it to swap every time you go drive. Do you share cars with other partner? Do they get their own camera they are expected to swap and turn off/on manually every time they get into a car? Do they want to do that? Seriously, just buy a dashcam and wire it up using either the 12V aux port by the glovebox or the OBD2 port if you want the easiest installation. I like the OBD2 port, takes about 10 min to route the cable along the headliner/a-pillar, and powers off automatically after 30 min. The video quality will be better, the functionality of it will be better, and it will be seamless existence that doesn’t depend on additional effort. I’ve got the top end BlackVue 4K 2ch in the Taycan, and a 4K front/rear VIOFO in my RS3, but on Black Friday decided to try VIOFO’s least expensive model for the 911, a single channel 2K camera that was $99 on sale ($149 regular). It’s working great imho, for the cost it can’t be beat https://www.viofo.com/products/viofo...b-microsd-card

hooked it up with this OBD2 adapter: https://a.co/d/6PBBZZ9

Seriously, 15-20 min install, super simple. Never mess with it again.

 

I am not certain, but I seem to notice in the news that the body cam is an unreliable video tool.

 

I believe the biggest downside, besides the hassle of changing it when you change cars, is, you’re not going to have a rear view that shows those inattentive/texting drivers crashing into the back of you.

 

Check this out.
https://www.thedashcamstore.com/dash...r-rental-cars/

I think this is what you are looking for.

My next cam will be from Blackvue. They have them now so they will activate when the car is bumped in a parking lot or something. And all the video is stored in the cloud so you can get to it remotely.

 

FWIW - I am not really interested in all the security features, etc., a dash cam offers. I want to shoot video while driving, fun roads, events & simply driving the city with the, as mentioned, dumb drivers in any city.
I use my iPhone. The stability is remarkable and I found a lot of mounting options on TEMU, yes, TEMU.

 

FWIW - I am not interested in all the security features, etc., that the dash cam offers. I simply want video while driving; back, fun roads, events like a Porsche Parade, etc.
I use my iPhone. The stability is amazing and there are multiple mounting options available on TEMU, yes, TEMU. Most were like $6. The phone is all I need.

 

I tried something similar once, but the field of view wasn’t wide enough and battery life was a pain. Also had issues with it overheating in direct sun through the windshield.

 

Considering you can get a 4K dash cam for under $100 and the only hookup needed is a wire to any 12V that can be routed in less than 5 minutes, I just dont understand why anyone would consider a battery operated camera. Battery makes sense for a body cam. Police have to walk around and don’t carry an engine with alternator in their pocket, but it’s different installing a cam in the car. You have full 12v power, from several access points (accessory ports, OBD2, fuses, or hardwired wherever) that are very easy to access. Installing an inferior quality camera, not designed for the application, incapable of reading license plates, is just a waste of time and money.

 

Interesting idea! But a police body cam you’re hot swapping from car to car seems like a misapplication.

Battery powered is a bad idea.

Dash cams in my use case work best when I can completely forget about the dash cam. I can go months without ever thinking once about my dash cams. No charging, no swapping. No futzing.

I go with one camera hard wired, in each car, that I can forget about. You asked about 4 cars. I have 4 cars with dash cams wired in. I have 2 Porsches I swap radar detectors between and I forget all the time and it’s a real pain in the rear. (this past weekend I got 50 miles toward Seattle and realized I’d forgotten to get the radar detector out of the 911.. for example)

I have Blackview DR900x / DR970x, these are high resolution cameras and resolution is indeed important. I power them with mirror taps for power or custom harnesses you can buy from various vendors depending on the car / platform that go into the overhead console -- so wiring is easy and factory looking -- and mount them with the Blackvue windshield mounts that are stuck on to the glass (not the metal contraptions that hang from the mirror which I’ve found obstruct visibility bc I’m 6’4).

I go front camera only. No rear cameras is certainly a ‘hole” in my strategy here.. It’s a compromise because I don't want to run wiring and pretty much I’ve decided if someone rear ends me, the evidence is less important because it’s likely going to be determined that it’s their fault. (not bulletproof... but a risk I’m willing to take).

Parking mode is great. The cameras stay on in the cars for an hour or two after I park each vehicle. I do not run the optional battery backup systems that allow for longer parking mode, its a wiring mess and the cameras all have a low voltage threshold and timer to turn off after the car is turned off and have never drained a battery. (so, to be clear, if you park the car, and 8 hours later, someone bumps your car, the camera will not capture that). Blackvue notifies me if someone bumps the car or if there’s something that happens while the car is parked when I restart the car with an audio alert. I love this. Then I watch the footage and usually it’s a garbage truck banging about emptying a dumpster 25 feet away.

Blackvue has had some annoying app issues in the last few years but I never use the app. I don’t ever look at the footage - It’s only there if I should have an issue.

 

Use the right tool for the job. Forcing a square peg in a round hole is doable, but is a lot more work than it's worth.

Setting up a real dashcam has a near-immediate ROI once you factor in carrying your camera around between cars, setting it up, tearing it down, making sure it's charged, etc etc. The motorcycle community here falls into the same trap, just with using action cameras instead of dashcams.

 

I’ve got a Garmin Mini II. This camera is small and unobtrusive. It would be easy to buy a few extra windshield mounts and put one in each car. The camera easily snaps on and off of the windshield mount, which is about the size of a nickel. The camera can be powered by a 12V cord that plugs into a lighter socket. It wouldn’t be as clean as a permanent installation, but it would work well and it would be easily portable between cars. I think it would work better than a body cam.

 

I used a chest-mounted cam once for a track day, and while it gave a cool point of view, the wind noise was crazy and the angle wasn’t ideal for capturing traffic. I ended up switching to something with a better mount and stabilization. If you’re looking into camera options that can handle rough conditions, check out https://www.insta360.com/blog/tips/b...r-cameras.html — some of those have surprisingly good stabilization and clarity.