[LOFT]

Hello all,

I've done a search and could not find a simple answer to this.

I'm going on a Road Trip soon and would to buy a simple dash cam that sits well on my X5 dash or windshield. Amazon Canada has many options.

Any suggestions or recommendations?

Thanks,

[Kristin Hoover]

The car is equipped with build-in drive recorder via the cameras of the driver assistance systems. If you’d like to purchase an external one, I would recommend Garmin Dash Cam mini 2. The benefits are:

1. Very small in size, almost invisible. For external dash cams, the smaller the better. It doesn’t block your vision. Big one looks clumsy and stupid. You don’t need a screen for a dash cam. Why you need a screen?

2. Although it’s not 4K, video quality is pretty decent in day light. Not impressive at night, but acceptable.

3. Price is good. A little over 100 bucks.

4. Super light weight. If it drops by accident, it won’t damage your dashboard.

Let me see if I can attach some video for you.

[Kristin Hoover]

Please see the temporarily attached video.

https://www.veed.io/view/19338139-11...ue&panel=share

[Celos]

I have a Vantrue X4s in my other car and plan to install one in my X5. 4K and pretty good in low light.

They sell a bundle that has a front and rear camera, but I just have the front one. I did spring for the extra cost GPS mount which replaces the windshield suction cup mount with one that has a GPS receiver.

It can talk to an app over Wi-Fi to transfer video footage, but I just extract the SD card and plug into my laptop if I need the get the video. It auto-locked the relevant file when a family member got in a crash so the G-force triggering works well.

[IftiBashir]

Drive Recorder will not continuously record, so its not a replacement for a dash camera.

Most dash cameras are pretty reliable these days. I have the BMW front and rear, and as long as you don't want all the bells and whistles (wireless connection etc) honestly, any basic dash cam will be fine.

Have a cheap Viofo in my wife's car and it works perfect.

[LOFT]

Thanks everyone...I'm starting to dig a letter deeper into the details.

At first blush the Garmin is nice and compact and it looks like it has a USB connection to the vehicle.

The Vantrue has a battery but does it need to be connected to USB while you're driving? I imagine video quickly drains the battery?

What's everyone's experience here with real world use, recognizing that these are good products?

[nosnoop]

Originally Posted by LOFT

What's everyone's experience here with real world use, recognizing that these are good products?

Almost all dash cam needs a USB connection.
It's meant to be hooked up and record continuously when you drive.

If you want to use it for a single trip and won't need it afterwards, I guess you can get by with an action cam which has built-in battery. But for longer term use, you need a USB power connection.

I have been using Viofo A129 and has been pretty reliable.
I would recommend getting long endurance microSD card to use with dash cam.

[Chuck W.]

I have been using BlackVue cameras for several years. For a front view only I'd recommend the BlackVue DR770X.

[Celos]

Originally Posted by LOFT

The Vantrue has a battery but does it need to be connected to USB while you're driving?

It requires a hard wired connection; the power cable is USB-C. I tapped the rear view mirror power. It has a super capacitor to maintain power for a few seconds in the case of losing 12v due to a crash.

[thara01]

Originally Posted by Celos

It requires a hard wired connection; the power cable is USB-C. I tapped the rear view mirror power. It has a super capacitor to maintain power for a few seconds in the case of losing 12v due to a crash.

You have a video or instructions on how to tap rear view mirror power?

[skyline408]

I have the Garmin Mini 2 on one of my cars, and it's a pretty impressive unit for the price. It's simple - does what it does, and I like the voice commands to save clips or pics. I was able to get a USB tap to my powered rearview mirror, so no need to tuck wires or run any power. Only downside is it only records when the car is running. No recording during parked mode.

I have a new M3, and thought about getting the same camera, but I got a FitcamX instead. I loved how it looks OEM - no power wires to run/hide, but camera functionality is not as good as the Garmin, and the software is a little buggy. It still works fine for what it is. I just take out the SD card when I have to look at footage.

[AbleDanger]

Up front in my X3 I had a Garmin DashCam 57 and a Garmin mini in the rear. They did pretty well, sometimes syncing them both in the app didn't work, and video transfer to phone was slow, but it did work. Quality was pretty good, here's a few from the front cam:

[760Lifan]

This is the Blackvue I had on my X7. Still have it on my Jeep:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=natKcfVTslQ

[LOFT]

Thanks....these are all helpful. It appears that most dash cams are designed for "permanent installation" unless you want wires dangling. So if I buy one for my X5 road trip, I wouldn't be able to easily pull it out and throw it on the dash of car rental for another 1000 mile road trip I have planned.

In fact, it appears that "dash cam" is a bit of a misnomer, in that you need to place it high on the front windshield for optical functionality. And some windshield applications are more permanent than others.

I was hoping for something like my old Garmin GPS, ie. a weighted "sand bag" base that sat on the dash, with the GPS anchored into a metal ball. Ancient history now that everything has CarPlay.

[Celos]

Originally Posted by LOFT

Thanks....these are all helpful. It appears that most dash cams are designed for "permanent installation" unless you want wires dangling.

Yes, I think that's true. I have moved mine from car to car as needed, but when it's in the "other" car, I'm using a long wire that goes to a 12V/cigarette lighter plug, with a liberal use of blue tape to string the wire across the roof and down the A-pillar.

For the car that the camera 'lives' in, I've permanently installed it. I haven't permanently installed in my X5 yet, but plan to use the methods detailed in this thread.