Best type of in-car incident camera.

windy200, Aug 17, 4:15am
Hi does anyone have experience or can advise on the best type of in-car incident camera. I probably do 40,000kms a year and I'm looking for something that turns on/off with the key and does good quality recording. with an auto overwrite function, such that when the memory is full it overwrites from the beginning. There are quite a few on Trade Me but before purchasing I'd like some user advice on the best makes and models. Thanks :-)
morrisman1, Aug 17, 4:30am
GoPro video cameras have impressive video quality for their size and just take an SD card. High definition will help read number plates or see faces if necessary. I don't know if they can turn on automatically with the key
petermcg, Aug 17, 7:55am
I have imported quite a few and most do have that function but not all, even the cheapest one can take good video.
philltauranga, Aug 17, 11:46am
I just use a Cannon handy cam mounted up on a multi fit windowscreensuction mount. Need to run an inverter in lighter socket then household charger from there to camera because you cant get 12 volt charger for camera, it really simple to set up plus I can still pull it down and use it as I would a normal handycam. Has to be turned on/off manually and when memory full has to be manually deleted but it all really simple and easy do. Battery lasts 2hrs without charger and 8GB memory card is 2h.45min before it needs deleting and restarting.
jason_247, Aug 18, 5:56am
pretty sure i saw in an old repco mailer the have a mirror attachment that records for 30 mins or so then over writes, auto shuts off to save footage after an impact or when you press the save button

not sure if they still do them though
crzyhrse, Aug 18, 6:07am
I'd like one that records continuously and when a button is pushed saves a clip of user specified preset length including a period before and after.

Anyone know of one!
weaver2010, Aug 18, 6:08am
Ordered a couple through dinodirect pretty good prices as well.But the true test will be the results so will get back to you on that.I have one currently thats borrowed which does the job quite well, lets just say a couple of idiots will reconsider denial of a driving incident after seeing the footage.
grangies, Aug 18, 8:11am
Why would you want to drive around filming everything you do!
aredwood, Aug 18, 9:27am
If someone crashes into you the camera don't lie.
phillip.weston, Aug 18, 9:45am
did you watch campbell live the other night where tourists in campervans and other road users were caught on on-board truck cameras performing crazy stunts and extremely poor driving antics!
i-n-horz, Aug 18, 10:00am
You could imagine the footage from a motorcyclists helmet cam if all bikers wore them.in my own experience a majority of the dangerous footage captured would be of 'close calls' as we have greater field of vision than most road users and quite agile when the need arises but only to a certain point.then the sh!t hits the fan.
windy200, Aug 19, 10:31pm
Lower cost cameras are CMOS video chip which are not so good in low light and slightly fuzzy. Whereas more expensive ones are CCD chip. Trade me ones vary from $80 up to $400. I'll probably go mid range at $200.00
groovebox, Aug 20, 3:25am
Can someone post a link.have scoured TM for ages now - these sound like interesting devices.
rob_rooster, Aug 20, 4:13am
Good thread, I might be keen on one, have at least three drop kicks a day nearly crash into me without fail!
groovebox, Aug 20, 11:16am
@croco1 = thanks very much!
weaver2010, Sep 7, 12:58am
Still trying to work out how to change the date on the screen of mine.Installation software to the PC is not the best but I found way around that if the software is installed then it makes a great webcam as well.
32gb micro sd card gives a very long time for recording already caught an accident in the travels but due to certain legal consequences that footage will never be seen on the internet.However the dickhead overtaking on yelow lines will be on youtube a lot.
croco1, Sep 7, 3:10pm
No software to install on mine, just plug in usb cable to computer and it downloads and saves video, that problem I descibed in the above post about playback distortion dosen't happen anymore, plays back perfectly, date & time I changed on the camera itself thru the on screen menu.
xs1100, Oct 14, 2:00pm
also try eds autos i was out there a couple days ago and he had quite a good set up by the looks