I know there are a few threads about dash cams I am asking advice from a different point of view. I live in NYC so my drives are mainly out of the city. I am looking for advice about a good dash cam that's good quality and simple to use. It's more about fun and reviewing the drives. I also am not sure If will direct wire at first. I just feel for the amount of driving I don't need to spend so much money. It's not about the money it's about my usage. I have looked at a few of the threads and i am so confused.

 

Asking here you'll get opinions based on personal experience...hit up this site for advice from people whose only biz is selling dashcams. Sounds like you want something that can be attached to the windshield temporarily and plugged into a power port, with the option to perhaps do a wired installation down the road. Tell these guys what you want, give 'em a price point, and see what they suggest. https://www.blackboxmycar.ca/?gclid=...SAAEgK5pPD_BwE

 

Personally I wanted the best quality pic I could find so I bought a Black Vue DX900, then when the newer version came out (DX970 - DR970X-2CH LTE | BlackVue UK). The original cam I used on another vehicle. I'm sure a cheaper cam would do the job just as well but that what I opted for. Hardwiring was easier then I expected, the lighter socket is down under the passenger footwell so could of equally used that in stead of the fuse box to its left. both cams are able to be hidden from field of view by attaching to the screen behind th erear view mirror

 

I found on Amazon a female cigarette lighter 12V adaptor that plugs into USB C port. Going to try that and see if it works until i decide.

 

Thank you all for the advice, it's been very helpful.

 

I use the Viofo A139 Pro cameras in all my cars. Vortex recommended, 4k, new Starvis 2 sensor. Works great and half the price of blackvue.

 

I'm going to upgrade to the A139 from my A129, given picture quality vs. other brands in the price range.

 

I was wondering about your experience with the heat, both Vortex and RetroCarGuy530 mention the A139 Pro gets very hot.

 

If it's about reviewing the drives I'm assuming you'll be watching them on at least a 27" computer screen. If that's the case you should just stick a gopro somewhere. No matter what the dashcam's resolution is 4k, 8k, 16 super k doesn't mean squat cause they're all using sh*tty SOC and CMOS image sensors.

 

I think Shogunade pretty much hit the nail on the head here. LinusTechTips did a video on all the dashcams on the market last year and the synopsis was effectively that pretty much every dashcam on the market uses the same hardware and manufacturers differentiate themselves by adding features through their apps or bluetooth. GoPro is probably going to give you the best quality, with the inconvenience that comes with that. The TLDR of the video was: Thinkware F70 for budget, VIOFO A119 v3 at mid range, or VIOFO A129+ for front and rear.

 

Actually I haven’t paid attention to this. I’ll check it out and report back. My Cab only has the front camera but my 2 suvs have front and rear cameras.

 

I've had the Viofo A139 Pro 1CH since March and never had it reset due to heat. As long as the camera continues to work properly than getting hot isn't a problem. I do remember early Blackvue DR-900S (also 4K) owners having heat issues (i.e., camera shutdown) for owners in hot climates. These fancy 4K electronics in small packaging create heat challenges. Viofo support in the A139 Pro forum recommends not leaving wi-fi on to avoid extra heat (you only need wi-fi when reviewing or downloading images).

 

The Fitcamx front / rear camera system is a very good solution and appears visually integrated w/ the vehicle, instead of having an aftermarket appearance, including the camera offered by Porsche.

Note that both front and rear should be installed to document idiots causing problems from the rear.

 

The front-only version of the FITCAMX would fulfill the OP's stated requirement: "It's more about fun and reviewing the drives."

I bought only the front FITCAMX since I'm mainly concerned with red light runners which have become endemic. I do wish it had more features such as displaying speed and GPS coordinates on the videos and being able to lock/save a video after an incident to keep it from ever getting overwritten. I replaced the included 64GB no-name microSD card with a 132GB SanDisk Pro Extreme microSD card to get more capacity and perhaps reliability.

I have to wonder how long the FITCAMX is going to survive in the temperature extremes of the interior. But it really is cool that the FITCAMX is always there and that most people wouldn't notice it. I had to modify the Porsche logo windshield sunscreen I bought at the Porsche dealership to allow for the FITCAMX extending downward about 1 1/2 inches further.

I found that it's easy to string video loops of the FITCAMX together with the video editor built into MS Windows. I'll use the FITCAMX to make a night time video after 9XX/Anthony Wong enables my matrix headlights and put the video on YouTube.

 

The Fixcamx already has a three level shock sensor to automatically save / lock impact videos from being overwritten.

The tiny blinking LED indicators have been covered by me with black electrical tape to decrease the chance of being noticed.