Dash cams

Does any car model offer factory equipped dash cam. I only know of Tesla doing it.

Reply to
Cameo
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A dash cam only affords proof of an accident occuring at the front. It doesn't cover both sides and rear of the car. If you get rear ended, a side collision, or a theft (thieves aren't going through the windshield), the dash won't show any of those.

I know a guy that uses his old smartphones as dashcams. However, I have to wonder if all those phones in his windows don't make for candy to thieves walking up with a spring-loaded punch to get through the side windows ... and everyone now is wearing a mask due to Covid. That apps can record audio, too. Didn't see if the Tesla setup includes audio.

The 2019 Tesla model 3 has 8 proprietary cameras: 3 in front, 2 each side, and 1 rear; see

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's also a interior camera above the windshield rear-view mirror to record what goes on inside that, for now, you have to opt into; see
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At their price (cameras aren't available until you get to the Long Term model at $47K), they can offer the option because those buying a Tesla already have deep pockets. I saw nothing about their system uploading the videos or pics to an online storage service via 5G. The videos or pics can be transferred to a USB drive, but it has to be used at a different computer to view them. So, if the car gets stolen, so does all the footage, and you have nothing to show who might've take the car or where it might be. If the car burns up, the USB drive could get incinerated. Even the smartphone dashcam apps allow uploading to online storage.

Tesla is designing toward an autonomous vehicle. Other car makers are less inclined. The C7 Corvette ($44K) has a dealer-installed dashcam option: 3 cameras - frontward at bottom of rearview mirror, 2 curb camera in front fenders near the front grill.

No point in looking up any others since you don't mention what is YOUR budget for a new car.

Reply to
VanguardLH

Just because the dash cam would not record all types accidents or intrusions, it still could be useful.

Reply to
Cameo

Then how about using an old smartphone collecting dust in a drawer? I was going to do that with my old smartphone, but my aunt, who has the same one, had hers bust (the battery got pregnant and split the phone apart) because she left it on the charger all the time, so I gave her my old smartphone. It's been a couple years since I was looking at using my old smartphone as a dash cam, so I'd have to check which apps are good ones nowadays. I remember looking at Autoboy, DailyRoads Voyager, and a couple others that I don't remember now. Which is best might've changed over the last year or two. I didn't like leaving a smartphone dangling on my windshield to tempt thieves to record while I was gone nor having to remount it everytime I returned to the car.

Reply to
VanguardLH

Smartphones don't have the video looping feature dash cams have. On the other hand, it seems that even the oldest phones can record better videos, especially in the dark, than most dash cams I've seen. I never figured why a dash cam costing a couple hundred $s can't be made with better lenses. The incremental cost couldn't be that much.

Reply to
Cameo

That wouldn't be a limitation of the smartphone, but of the app. The ones I looked at had looping (i.e., continuous recording with a user-configurable length based on available memory and resolution). They also would upload the videos to online storage instead of hope the phone with it's internal SD card or a USB drive survived a crash, and obviously provided access to video after theft of the device.

Reply to
VanguardLH

I don't think the lens is the problem- it's the sensor/processor.

Reply to
Wade Garrett

Still, the incremental cost of a better sensor shouldn't be such a hinderance.

Reply to
Cameo

What mobile app could do that?

Reply to
Cameo

Already mentioned in my 2nd reply, but not an exhaustive list.

Reply to
VanguardLH

As with home security cameras, get one with IR LEDs to see in dim lighting, like before you decide you need headlights. The best sensor won't work unless it has some light to sense. Wide view lets you record more than just straight ahead.

The best dash cams aren't cheap. Look at the prices mentioned at

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Up to you whether you take a digital SLR camera on your vacation, or one of those cheap pocket point-n-shoot kiddie cameras. There are price points all over the place depending on what consumers are willing to pay and what quality and features they want. Better quality costs more, and a lot more than just the incremental difference for a "better" sensor since "better" is subjective.

It's not just the type of sensor. It's also the size. The larger the sensor, the higher the image quality. Better sensors also have higher pixels density. Along with a better sensor, the logic must handle the higher data volume and at speed. More data at slow speed means so much tearing that the video is likely unusable, especially in a moving car.

I'm sure, to you, that a better sensor would only be incrementally more expensive. Doesn't work that way. Plus a marginally better sensor (more pixels, larger sensor, faster processing) means you'll probably not notice a difference. You'll want a much better sensor to be visually "better" to you.

Reply to
VanguardLH

Oh, sorry. I missed it. I'll take a look at it.

Reply to
Cameo

IR won't illumanate far ahead and it might reflect back from the windshield glass.

Reply to
Cameo

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Windshields are not designed to trap IR as does greenhouse glass. There is some reflectivity, but the same applies to the light from outside that you use to see the road. The windshield does have a layer of plastic, and I didn't bother to check absorption and reflection for it.

I doubt there would be dash cams with IR LEDs if they were ineffective. Also, not everything that happens to your car occurs at speed. For example, the G-sensor in a smartphone can be used to detect collisions along with break-ins while the car is parked.

I suspect a much larger sensor would pickup more light under dim lit conditions. Yep, size does matter. Typically die cost is not linear with increased size, but more like exponential. I didn't dig into the costs for various sizes of CMOS sensors. CMOS rather than CCD works better under low-light conditions.

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That notes CMOS sensors range in cost from $4 to $10. Might not seem like much to you, and would qualify as an incremental cost, but would result in a camera with lesser quality, features, sturdiness, and other traits getting priced out of its market target. Besides the cost of the sensor, other parts would have to become more robust which also raises the cost of the product.

There are dash cams that have high quality for video and good reproduction under dim lighting, but they are not incrementally more expensive, but more like explosively more expensive. You can get a better dash cam *if* you're willing to pay the much higher price. Plus, dash cams are not designed to substitute as cameras. They are not to record your vacation as you travel from resort to theme park for viewing later with high quality video replay. Instamatics were popular years ago, too, despite picture quality was poor.

Reply to
VanguardLH

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