What kind of a complete wad do you have to be...?

[Sean]

Do you have to turn it on each time you go out? I'm wondering about those Russian dash cam videos, what they use. I see some hard wired to go on with the key but they all seem expensive.

[Papa_Complex]

Originally Posted by Sean

Do you have to turn it on each time you go out? I'm wondering about those Russian dash cam videos, what they use. I see some hard wired to go on with the key but they all seem expensive.

I mount them when I go out and take them with me when I leave the car. There are relatively inexpensive one and two camera systems out there, though, that you mount and forget. I specifically wanted something that I could swap between car and bike though.

[Turbo Ghost]

Originally Posted by OneSickPsycho

Coolio. Based on the number of idiot encounters I have on a weekly basis, I'm kinda thinking about doing something like this...

Something in our work filters is messing up the site so, I can't link you to it but, on dealextreme they have a section for car DVR's. There are some pretty nice set-ups for $100 or less that mount on the windshield or rearview mirror. I've got a DVR with bullet-cam that was pretty cheap several years ago but, doesn't have the video quality of most of the new ones. I've got a mount directly in front of me in my truck. Thinking about getting one of the dedicated units though. Slap a big SDcard in there and put it on loop recording and you're good for a couple of days. With a 32GB card in mine it will record at highest resolution for a little over 12 hours.

[Papa_Complex]

Originally Posted by Turbo Ghost

Something in our work filters is messing up the site so, I can't link you to it but, on dealextreme they have a section for car DVR's. There are some pretty nice set-ups for $100 or less that mount on the windshield or rearview mirror. I've got a DVR with bullet-cam that was pretty cheap several years ago but, doesn't have the video quality of most of the new ones. I've got a mount directly in front of me in my truck. Thinking about getting one of the dedicated units though. Slap a big SDcard in there and put it on loop recording and you're good for a couple of days. With a 32GB card in mine it will record at highest resolution for a little over 12 hours.

One of the biggest advantages of the dedicated DVR units is that they'll loop record. Once the card is full it will start to overwrite the first file, so that you never run out of space. If you don't need the recording, then you just record over it. If you do need it, just pull the card.

[OneSickPsycho]

Originally Posted by Papa_Complex

One of the biggest advantages of the dedicated DVR units is that they'll loop record. Once the card is full it will start to overwrite the first file, so that you never run out of space. If you don't need the recording, then you just record over it. If you do need it, just pull the card.

Was looking on that site, so many options... Some ridiculously cheap.

[Turbo Ghost]

If you order from there, expect about a month or more for shipping. I'm really liking the dual-camera DVR's! That covers front and rear which covers your ass! I notice though, when they show screen shots, there is a screen-door effect. Does anyone have any idea why? My DVR does the same thing! I've used different cameras with it but, the recording always looks like it was shot through a screen. Also, why in the heck do most of them use TF cards? Mine is an SD card user but, most of what is out there is TF for some reason.

[Papa_Complex]

Originally Posted by Turbo Ghost

If you order from there, expect about a month or more for shipping. I'm really liking the dual-camera DVR's! That covers front and rear which covers your ass! I notice though, when they show screen shots, there is a screen-door effect. Does anyone have any idea why? My DVR does the same thing! I've used different cameras with it but, the recording always looks like it was shot through a screen. Also, why in the heck do most of them use TF cards? Mine is an SD card user but, most of what is out there is TF for some reason.

Can you post a link to an example of the "screen door effect"? If they have a polarizing filter mounted then shooting through tempered glass, like a rear window is likely to be, will result in a sort of grid appearance.

[Turbo Ghost]

I don't have anything available right now but, mine does it no matter what. It's usually used in the open with nothing in front of it. The polarizing filters will usually give you a moire' effect with some color shift if shooting through glass or other transparent media. I made the mistake years ago of wearing polarizing sunglasses in my helmet! It was like living in a skittles commercial! Every reflective surface such as windshields and puddles showed the stress-lines of my visor in a fabulous rainbow!

[Papa_Complex]

Originally Posted by Turbo Ghost

I don't have anything available right now but, mine does it no matter what. It's usually used in the open with nothing in front of it. The polarizing filters will usually give you a moire' effect with some color shift if shooting through glass or other transparent media. I made the mistake years ago of wearing polarizing sunglasses in my helmet! It was like living in a skittles commercial! Every reflective surface such as windshields and puddles showed the stress-lines of my visor in a fabulous rainbow!

Could be a 'pinhole lens' then, which actually means no lens at all.

[Turbo Ghost]

Yup! There's a glass cover over the pinhole and that's it. BUT, I've hooked it up to different cameras and the effect is the same. It's apparently something in the recording device itself.