[nibedk]

BHPians - Need a little help in choosing a dual channel dashcam.

Shortlisted the following

- 70MAI A500S PRO PLUS+ DUAL CHANNEL DASHCAM
- DDPAI Z40 GPS DUAL CHANNEL DASHCAM
- DDPAI MOLA N3 PRO DUAL CHANNEL DASHCAM WITH GPS (TYPE-C)

DDPAI Z40 doesn't have CPL filter accessory which is a necessity as the videos wont come out good with all the dash reflections on windshield.

70 MAI A500S PRO PLUS does not have super capacitor batteries which works in more extreme temperature conditions. I do a lot of road travel and need to park under direct sunlight which heats up the car sooner and hence DDPAIs make more sense.

This leave me with DDPAI MOLA N3 which has slightly lower resolution than the other two @ 2K and doesn't seem to have Sony sensors.

Availability of CPL filter tilts me towards DDPAI MOLA N3. Besides all rear cams here are 1080 P resolution so will not make much of a difference.

Please let me know if my assessment is correct or are the other two better than MOLA N3. Should I consider any other models than the 3 short listed.

My need is purely to record in case anything untoward happens and some nice scenery during my trips especially during daytime. Based on my research most dashcams in this range are just about average during night time and rear cams are mostly just to record an event. Night time recording for rear ones are below average.

I am not looking for anything fancy and my requirements are

- 1080 P recording (min resolution)
- Time-lapse functionality
- GPS
- Legible night time recording

[smileline]

Hello everyone

I have a front dashcam (DDPAI Mini3 Car Dash Camera) and wish to have one rear dashcam too, wanted to know what are the options I have to install to have a rear one.

Also how do I install the rear Dashcam without damaging the rear defogger.

Please excuse me for a noob question.

Regards

[nibedk]

Originally Posted by nibedk

BHPians - Need a little help in choosing a dual channel dashcam...

BHPians waiting for your input.

Would also want to know if hardwiring would have any issues? My car is now 8 years old and out of warranty.

Besides its mentioned that for parking surveillance one would need hardwiring. Any plug and play method for using the dashcam and as well be able to use parking surveillance when I need. As in I will not require any surveillance @ home but would want to enable it when I am travelling and parking at unknown places.

My car is still in its stock for and would want to keep it that way unless absolutely necessary. Don't want any type of electronics failure when travelling with family on long road trips. Touch wood never had any breakdowns till date and I would want to keep it that way.

[RPM1706]

Originally Posted by Aviator_guy

Just confirm that Rapid 12v socket turns off when the car is turned off. In some cars, the 12 v socket remains always on which might drain the battery with dashcam plugged in when the car is parked for long time. If that's the case with Rapid, then you might need to unplug dashcam every time you switch off the car.

VW/Skoda cars have this issue. Just why they should have the 12V socket in use even when the car is not running is simply beyond me. To avoid hardwiring, i settled for the 12V socket option in my Skoda Kushaq and had to once face the battery drain situation. After investing in a modern, fairly expensive dashcam, if i still have to remember to pull off the plug everytime, it's totally annoying.

Any VW/Skoda (or others with a similar problem) owners here who can suggest a solution here? Is hardwiring the only option? If so, is there a concern vis-a-vis the warranty etc.?

[fifthgear]

Originally Posted by smileline

I have a front dashcam (DDPAI Mini3 Car Dash Camera) and wish to have one rear dashcam too, wanted to know what are the options I have to install to have a rear one.

One option would be to install a separate dashcam at the rear and provide it power with a USB extension cable if required. However this would be an independent dashcam and you will not get dual channel functionality. If you access the cameras with a mobile app, you will see 2 cameras.

Alternately if the existing front camera supports dual channel, you could get a compatible rear camera with proprietary cable and connect it to the front camera

[nibedk]

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[abhi_tjet]

@ nibedk: I have got a dual channel dash cam from SafeCams, a Pune based manufacturer. It’s working absolutely fine and it’s hardwired. It’s connected to a slot in fuse box which is used to draw the current. So, no wire cutting, etc. I have driven 10k kms after that without any electronic malfunction or battery drain issue.

It provides 1080p recording as well as good night time legibility.

These guys are quite responsive and you can clear your queries before moving ahead, if you wish to

[nibedk]

Originally Posted by abhi_tjet

I have got a dual channel dash cam from SafeCams, a Pune based manufacturer. It’s working absolutely fine and it’s hardwired. It’s connected to a slot in fuse box which is used to draw the current. So, no wire cutting, etc. I have driven 10k kms after that without any electronic malfunction or battery drain issue.

It provides 1080p recording as well as good night time legibility.

These guys are quite responsive and you can clear your queries before moving ahead, if you wish to

Can you share the link to the model that you use? I just checked their website and these cams don't seem to have CPL filters. A must have in Punto as there is quite a lot of dash reflection especially when sun is in your eyeline.

[abhi_tjet]

Originally Posted by abhi_tjet

After delaying the purchase for almost an year, I finally went ahead and got a Made In India dash cam .

Originally Posted by nibedk

Can you share the link to the model that you use?

Hi nibedk , I have quoted my old post from last year. Please refer that. My post contains sample video and some other relevant information as well. Hope this helps.

[Mr.Bentley]

I have used my dash cam in a recent trip to Kerala (attached it to the rental car using the electrostatic sticker). Now I want to extract the footage. My oooold card reader is too slow, its showing >1 day to copy the 107GB data. Any other means to get the videos into my laptop?

I've tried these methods:
1. Directly from MicroSD Card - using a card reader (too slow).
2. Import to mobile phone using dashcam's wifi transfer feature (slow, and needs a lot of space in my mobile)
3. Connected the dash cam to my laptop directly (skipping the base, connected the camera directly using USB C cable) - as expected, its only powering ON the dash cam. (am I silly to try this? )
4. Use a microSD to SD card adaptor and then plug it to laptop directly. - Not working (is it so, always?)

How do you guys usually do it?

[goandude]

Originally Posted by nibedk

BHPians - Need a little help in choosing a dual channel dashcam.

Shortlisted the following

- 70MAI A500S PRO PLUS+ DUAL CHANNEL DASHCAM
- DDPAI Z40 GPS DUAL CHANNEL DASHCAM
- DDPAI MOLA N3 PRO DUAL CHANNEL DASHCAM WITH GPS (TYPE-C)

DDPAI Z40 doesn't have CPL filter accessory which is a necessity as the videos wont come out good with all the dash reflections on windshield.

70 MAI A500S PRO PLUS does not have super capacitor batteries which works in more extreme temperature conditions. I do a lot of road travel and need to park under direct sunlight which heats up the car sooner and hence DDPAIs make more sense.

This leave me with DDPAI MOLA N3 which has slightly lower resolution than the other two @ 2K and doesn't seem to have Sony sensors.

Availability of CPL filter tilts me towards DDPAI MOLA N3.

I think that these would suit my requirements also but I don't see the need of rear camera. GPS is essential in the video feed, and CPL would be a great addition. So tending to settle for the Mola N3 with GPS but without RCam which is 7.7k on Amazon.

Any thoughts?

Surprising that Amazon is charging more than Nexdigitron for the same item. There is almost a 1k difference in price of A500s and Z40

[Aviator_guy]

Originally Posted by goandude

Surprising that Amazon is charging more than Nexdigitron for the same item. There is almost a 1k difference in price of A500s and Z40

It's same seller Nexdigitron on Amazon. Might be charging higher on Amazon to account for commission. Also, you get seamless replacement /return facility on Amazon (not to mention offers, cashback etc) vs directly dealing with the vendor.

[dipdawiz]

Originally Posted by Mr.Bentley

I have used my dash cam in a recent trip to Kerala (attached it to the rental car using the electrostatic sticker). Now I want to extract the footage. My oooold card reader is too slow, its showing >1 day to copy the 107GB data. Any other means to get the videos into my laptop?

I've tried these methods:
1. Directly from MicroSD Card - using a card reader (too slow).
2. Import to mobile phone using dashcam's wifi transfer feature (slow, and needs a lot of space in my mobile)
3. Connected the dash cam to my laptop directly (skipping the base, connected the camera directly using USB C cable) - as expected, its only powering ON the dash cam. (am I silly to try this? )
4. Use a microSD to SD card adaptor and then plug it to laptop directly. - Not working (is it so, always?)

How do you guys usually do it?

I use card reader (point 1). It's a USB 2.0 card reader (480mbps max speed). To copy 256gb (238gb actual) card it takes around 4~5 hours max. Using specialized software to copy files, could bring down the time to ~4 hours. Not sure if your card reader is USB 1.0 (which is 12mbps max transfer speed).

Copying to mobile in any of the methods is way slower than using card reader. Better get a USB 3.0 (future proof ) card reader and copy.

Point 3 I think it works for me in 70Mai dashcam and previously in my Transcend dashcam. Though tried this method only once for 70mai, don't recall now, but some dashcam definitely supports it. Transfer time should be same as card reader. Couple of reasons it may not work, either your dashcam is not switching to storage mode/not support it. Or, your laptop's USB port current supply may be less. Can try other USB port, specially the one which can charge a phone, (sometimes even if laptop is powered down, newer laptops have this feature). This port normally can supply 2amp of current.

Point 4 also works always for all cards I have used. May be the card or the adapter or card slot in your laptop has an issue.

[nibedk]

Originally Posted by goandude

I think that these would suit my requirements also but I don't see the need of rear camera. GPS is essential in the video feed, and CPL would be a great addition. So tending to settle for the Mola N3 with GPS but without RCam which is 7.7k on Amazon.

Any thoughts?

Surprising that Amazon is charging more than Nexdigitron for the same item. There is almost a 1k difference in price of A500s and Z40

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-...ndia-2333.html

Please check this thread and you should get convinced on the need for a rear cam as well.

Especially for any rear end impacts it would be very helpful.

[goandude]

Originally Posted by CosmicWizard

Hi guys, so I got myself a ddpai Mola N3 during amazon's great indian sale and installation and cable routing through roof liner and passenger side A-pillar was a breeze. Now the problem is how to connect with it since phone wifi is already occupied by wireless Android Auto? I tried disconnecting android auto from the car and switching wifi to dashcam's on the phone but android auto relentlessly keeps prompting to re-connect to car wifi and not letting anything to be done with the dashcam Has anyone else faced this problem? Any solutions, short of disabling wireless android auto on the phone everytime I want to connect to dashcam?

Has anyone else faced this problem? I also have AA connected with WiFi to my phone and envisage a similar problem.
Or is it that the need to connect dash cam is only after switching off AA so that important files can be viewed /downloaded.

Originally Posted by nibedk

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-...ndia-2333.html

Please check this thread and you should get convinced on the need for a rear cam as well.

Especially for any rear end impacts it would be very helpful.

Yup after discussing with my better half, decided to go with the dual cam set up.