Buying a blackvue in car camera

[Gary S11]

Hi all after looking at the picture quality and the ability for speed, GPS on the blackvue camera I think it's time to up grade my $40.00 special,
Any recommendations on the best place to buy one and which model....
Mines not bad but if I really needed it for evidence it don't think it would cut the mustard. Gary ...note I'm in WA

[BigJon]

I bought mine off ebay. Seems pretty good but the instruction booklet was in Chinese :o.

The English instructions are on the memory card though, so no worries there.
The laptop I am using doesn't have enough grunt to play the videos smoothly so I am waiting until I get home to post some of the footage from my recent Glasshouse Moutains days out.

[DeeJay]

I bought one of these about 8 months ago & it has been fantastic. The only complaint I have is it can turn itself off for no apparent reason, but the light then flashes to let you know. I use it in the company car all the time & I am seriously considering buying another for the Landie..

HD 1080 Vehicle camera GPS logger H.264 HDMI blackbox V1000GS car cam video DVR | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HD-1080-Vehicle-camera-GPS-logger-H-264-HDMI-blackbox-V1000GS-car-cam-video-DVR-/221033947972?pt=AU_Home_Personal_Security&hash=item3376a66344)

I doubt its the same seller & I'm not up to par on downloading videos but here is a screenshot of some dill forcing his way onto the freeway ( he crossed 3 lanes in 3 seconds)



You can see the GPS aerial on the dash below.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/01/1385.jpg

[oldsalt]

A good price on the new DR500 GW Full HD Wi-Fi version here ... NEW BLACKVUE DR500 GW Full-HD Wi-Fi 16GB FREE EMS - ohmyBlackbox (http://ohmyblackbox.com/index.php?id_product=21&controller=product&id_lang=1)
cheers

[gavinwibrow]

A good price on the new DR500 GW Full HD Wi-Fi version here ... NEW BLACKVUE DR500 GW Full-HD Wi-Fi 16GB FREE EMS - ohmyBlackbox (http://ohmyblackbox.com/index.php?id_product=21&controller=product&id_lang=1)
cheers
Anyone know what the powermagic pro additional option is? Looks like free worldwide postage at the moment.

[oldsalt]

Check this forum out - they are pretty good with info on all sorts of cameras/accessories etc... Car Cam Central Forums - Dash Cameras (http://forums.carcamcentral.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=1)
cheers

[Gary S11]

Anyone know what the powermagic pro additional option is? Looks like free worldwide postage at the moment.
Hi thanks for those who replied to my query, I just pre ordered a
Blackvue DR500GW HD Car Camera from radar direct in Perth, I know I could get it cheaper on eBay, I'm paying $390.00 inc 32 Gb, memory card and free postage...and if it dies I'd rather deal with someone in my own state who speaks English, and not some one in Korea...plus keeps the money in WA ....Gary

[Gary S11]

Well the camera turned up this week, pretty amazing bit of gear.. WIFI to my iPhone via free app, excellent clarity, fairly easy to set up, and the mini sd card comes with a reader that plugs into your USB, main hiccup for some reason mines showing my gps position over 200 Kim's from where I am ... I may have to change mines position as behind the mirror it's picking up a lot of reflection from my dash, " it's in a Mitsubishi van " my eBay special ended up on the dash to solve the same prob...still learning ....Gary

[Firefish]

Thanks for the information Gary - I've been looking into buying the same unit from the same outfit in Perth.
Certainly seems like an impressive bit of kit, but a bit of a worry if the GPS is way out of calibration :(
Will be interested to hear how you go with this.

[goingbush]

Anyone know what the powermagic pro additional option is? Looks like free worldwide postage at the moment.


the powermagic pro is so you can run the Blackvue full time, the camera goes into park mode & records when it senses movement, if the car battery voltage gets too low to start the car the magic box turns the camera off.

but I doubt that will ever happen it draws less current than most of the other stuff in our cars thats always on

just forget the powermagic pro and plug the blackvue into a direct 12v lighter socket instead or to the aux battery instead of ign-on socket




Well the camera turned up this week, pretty amazing bit of gear.. WIFI to my iPhone via free app, excellent clarity, fairly easy to set up, and the mini sd card comes with a reader that plugs into your USB, main hiccup for some reason mines showing my gps position over 200 Kim's from where I am ... I may have to change mines position as behind the mirror it's picking up a lot of reflection from my dash, " it's in a Mitsubishi van " my eBay special ended up on the dash to solve the same prob...still learning ....Gary

Mine is the older DR400G HD model, my GPS positions are spot on in the Defender, and I would not have thought because its mounted up high infront of the mirror & with that flat windscreen it dosent really get to see much sky .

the only 'mod" ive had to do is carefully position a thin strip of black tape onto the windscreen so that the speed / date stamp info is visible, like a dark background- otherwise you cant clearly see the info over the white bonnet.

as per screencap below
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/01/259.jpg

[land864]

Is the GPS function a necessity?

Could you use a go pro camera?

[Gary S11]

Is the GPS function a necessity?

Could you use a go pro camera?
Hi I stand to be corrected, I not sure the gopro has a 12v power supply to it and I don't think it works as good in low light, the GPS function is good in that it give a on screen speed read out which assuming you where doing the right thing speed wise can help if in a situation, also to prove via the map where you where at a given time may help to..also mine goes into park mode, so that it only comes on with motion detection,or in the case of impact ..that said my daughters partner used a go pro during a local burnout demo at night and it did quite a good job. Gary

[Bushie]

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/02/1216.jpg

Should give an idea of what they are like on a dark wet night - plenty of extra reflections in this car (work vehicle)

With GoPros I don't think they have the ability to overwrite files once the card is full.


Martyn

[land864]

Thanks Guys

Garry. I see the mgic power thingos etc but can it run off it's own batteries and for how long.
I would like to swap it across a few cars and happy to plug into the ciggy lighter now and again to recharge but not full time.
Also , I have probably read the answer but does it auto turn on when you begin moving and off when ypu have parked for say 5 mins?

PG

[StephenF10]

Hi thanks for those who replied to my query, I just pre ordered a
Blackvue DR500GW HD Car Camera from radar direct in Perth, I know I could get it cheaper on eBay, I'm paying $390.00 inc 32 Gb, memory card and free postage...and if it dies I'd rather deal with someone in my own state who speaks English, and not some one in Korea...plus keeps the money in WA ....Gary

How many hours of HD footage can you fit on a 32gb card before it starts to overwrite?

Stephen.

[Bushie]

At 30fps (HD) it should be around 9hr 30 with normal compression and 14hrs with high compression.


Martyn

[Gary S11]

Hi the " magic" power supply gets wired to an acc, wire. Live batt, wire. And a earth ...you then set it to your battery voltage ( not all are an even 12 v) then when the battery drops below constant battery voltage it will turn off, this stops it flattening your batt, this way when you have the blackvue plugged in after 10 min. Of no movement the camera goes into " park" mode and will only record if movement is detected or impact in which case is comes on for 5 sec before and 115 sec after ....beats me how it can come on 5 sec before impact unless is it physic???? But that what the manual says ...then when you start it goes back to normal recording ....Gary
Ps I'm getting every thing through "radar direct" in Perth and they've been great..I ordered a second bracket for moving to another car, and the magic power, all up $60.00 incl freight

[Toppa]

I've had one for nearly a year now. I love it but it hasn't paid for itself yet like the castle quote.

One thing I will say is over the last few months it's video quality has been deteriorating to a point that it almost unwatchable. After a bit of research I found a thread on whirlpool that talked about a fog covering the inner lens, similar to what you get on the inside of your windscreen.

I took mine appart and cleaned this lens with a cotton bud and lens cloth and now it back to the way it was when new.... Fan bloody tastic !

I thought it was a throw away job. Thanks Mr Internet.

Sent from my GT-I9100T using Tapatalk 2

[needforspeed]

[QUOTE=Toppa;1861075]I've had one for nearly a year now. I love it but it hasn't paid for itself yet like the castle quote.

One thing I will say is over the last few months it's video quality has been deteriorating to a point that it almost unwatchable. After a bit of research I found a thread on whirlpool that talked about a fog covering the inner lens, similar to what you get on the inside of your windscreen.

The blackvue has many problems- especially heat related. I had one........not anymore.
I have since updated to a higher quality camera, with no problems and exceptional HD recording both night and day.
Bought it from a company called Autoptic. High end cameras only.

[goingbush]

had my blackvue dv400 well over a year now, no issues whatsoever, been 55+ in the car parked at times, and also none of the haze on the lens thats been mentioned, still as clear as the day I got it,

perhaps if you had smokers in the car that may be another matter.

only glitch is on one occasion the time stamp got out of sync, dont know how thats possible as it gets time from the gps signal,

what brand 'high end' cameras autoptic are flogging ???

[Toppa]

Cleaning only takes me 5 mins. Ive done it twice now. Non smoker btw. My black disco get super hot in the summer and spends all day in the sun. Not a big deal for me now i know its an easy fix.

[Homestar]

So, thought I'd resurect this thread as I'm I the market for a camera. Being that the last 2 incidents involved people not letting me merge, I want to go for a 2 camera setup. GPS is a must as well.

Now, I've been looking at the Blackvue DR650GW-2CH which fits the bill nicely, but wondered if there are other units around that will do the same job?

Not that I mind paying good money for the right product, but has anyone got experience with other units that will work for me that may not be as pricey?

[999]

Being that the last 2 incidents involved people not letting me merge

C'mon whats the story here? I read it as, I'm more stubborn than you, no one's gunna win this battle, damage all round I say.:rocket:

[Homestar]

The only 2 times I've had drivers dob me in to my company (I drive a company car that has our name plastered all over it) were when I was in a left lane that ended - I indicated, and as soon as I did, those 2 people behind me raced up to fill the gap so I couldn't merge causing me to have to brake hard and take evasive action to avoid them. Both times were up in the Dandenongs where a 2 lane bit of road would suddenly become 1 lane with just a 'left lane ends' sign 100 metres before the bitumen turns into a ditch or embankment. On a freeway ramp or similar, there's no problems as there is plenty of room to wait for the next car to leave some room even while traveling at the speed of the traffic - something I could not continue to do on both occasions I'm talking about here.

Both times a rear facing camera would have clearly shown they were being jerks. ;)

That's in over 15 years of driving company cars in the city - 1000KM a week. I've never damaged or scratched one of these vehicles. I'm not at all stubborn when driving the company car. The reps I work with get dobbed in almost weekly at times, and it has been noted that I don't seem to cause the same grief as most.

I thank you for your concern about me being stubborn, but that isn't the case. :). I'm sure I would have been I more scrapes over the years in over 750,000KM of city driving - more than most do I'm sure (apart from our truck driving friends)

Now I must be off. Got to drive Sunbury - Dandenong - Seaford - Ringwood - Brooklyn - Sunbury today. :)

[999]

Ah yes typical Melbourne. I reckon we are the most selfish drivers out of all the places I,ve driven in. And yeah I used to get a few calls when l drove a company ute.:wasntme: What is it with people?

[gavinwibrow]

Nup - Perth is worse and generally we have less excuses, better (easier to drive) roads I think, and theoretically not so much reason to rush. Now if we could put old brains in young hoons, half the fun of road rage might disappear.
I'm actually still surprised at how many young women still have so little driving spatial awareness - that's not to take away from the many excellent female drivers.
EDIT - sorry off - post but could not help myself

[Homestar]

No apology nessesarily - off topic is my favourite topic. :D