[batish]

Originally Posted by PrathamTSI7DSG

Can someone recommend a good front and rear dashcam for vw polo.

Some more details would help you to shortlist the cameras. What kind of resolution do you want? Any specific form factor you are inclined towards? A battery one or capacitor based? The most important factor you need to be more specific about, how much budget have you set aside for this?

Good could be Blackvue but it costs upward of 50k. Please mention more details.

[PrathamTSI7DSG]

Originally Posted by batish

Some more details would help you to shortlist the cameras. What kind of resolution do you want? Any specific form factor you are inclined towards? A battery one or capacitor based? The most important factor you need to be more specific about, how much budget have you set aside for this?

Good could be Blackvue but it costs upward of 50k. Please mention more details.

I have set a budget of about 25k and want a battery based and a resolution of 720p would be good.

[Arun_S]

Originally Posted by batish

Okay. In your budget you can get DDPAI MOLA N3 PRO. This is a dual dashcam. But this is in the upper end of your budget. You can also get a decent dashcam good for daily usage in under 4k but it doesn't have GPS.

Also check out DDPAI MOLA N3. It is in your budget and don't forget to buy a SD card along with this. Most of the dashcams don't retail memory card bundled along.

All these dashcams would be a little visible from outside. They are not so discreet. If you want a discreet one which doesn't look like point and shoot camera, then look for wedge type dashcams. You can check Viofo A119 Mini but it is 1.5 times of your budget. If being discreet is not an issue then the others are fine.

Btw, Congratulations for your Honda City!

I did check the reviews for Viofo A119 Mini, it seems there is some
overheating issues in the initial batch.
Would you be able to provide your insight on this?

[4wheeldrive]

Originally Posted by PrathamTSI7DSG

I have set a budget of about 25k and want a battery based and a resolution of 720p would be good.

Try the 70MAI A800. Comes with front + rear camera and you can purchase a hardwire kit and link it to a constant power line for parking surveillance (triggered by motion in the field of view) when the car is parked.
Using this setup in my Fortuner (15 months) and City (4 months), here's some experience:

- The emergency video recording sensitivity should be set to low - else it will record every pothole you go through. This was particularly a problem in the City, not so much in the Fortuner.
- The wifi based transfer is decent. I use iOS and the app works fine. Slower transfer rate than i'd like but liveable. If you want to transfer a lot of files, just take out the card and pop into a card reader
- Parking surveillance is good. I got it for the other cars after someone put a dent in my Polo in the parking lot (that car uses a single Garmin camera). the A800 (F&R cameras) pick up passing people, dogs and of course cars.
- Get the parking kit hardwire done from a sensible electrician. The fool who did it for my City put the kit in the bonnet instead of the dash because he couldnt find a constant power line inside - i'm worried the heat will fry the little box but have procrastinated (it was only installed 2 weeks back and in my absence)

The rear camera cable is long. More than adequate for a Fortuner, so too long for the Polo. I suggest slack it at different points else you will end up with a mass of extra cable stowed in your roof liner at the front which will sag and likely rattle.

All this including the parking kit will cost under 20k and for that you get 4k video

Here's a video showing how not to drive. I should have just let that fool cut in and he ended up driving into the side of my car

https://youtu.be/HIeBPxfLLQ0

[batish]

Originally Posted by Arun_S

I did check the reviews for Viofo A119 Mini, it seems there is some overheating issues in the initial batch.
Would you be able to provide your insight on this?

I have been using A229 Duo, haven't experienced any overheating issues till now. Can't say about A119 Mini as I haven't used it but I can surely say the support from viofo.in has been great, offers 18 months free pickup-drop warranty. Also, there's 1k discount if you pay through UPI/NEFT. Do claim it if you're planning to order.

Also have a look at this thread for review on A119 Mini.

Personally, I'd say if the camera works for 18 months normally, there are very few chances of breaking down after 18 months. Till then it is seller's headache.

Originally Posted by PrathamTSI7DSG

I have set a budget of about 25k and want a battery based and a resolution of 720p would be good.

I see your location as Delhi. I'd strongly suggest not to go for any battery based one. Today, I left my old phone - S8 in my car which was under direct sun. After 4 hours, phone did not start charging and started beeping with a notification for high temperature - 'battery will only start charging after phone cools down.' So avoid battery based ones. If you want recording when the engine is off, hardwire it. Have a discreet, reliable one.

You have set a good budget, you can find any good dashcam in that budget. Go for the capacitor based ones, plus you can even have 4k in that budget. 720p is way too low.

[lsjey]

I'm currently using Trancend pro Dashcam. The resolution and the performance is good in this device. This device served the purpose of capturing the incidents in front of the vehicle. However, my requirements have changed(increased). So I'm in need a better solution for my changed requirements. Here are my requirements:

1. Need to add a camera to capture the rear of the vehicle. I can consider retaining the trancend for the front and buy another dashcam for the rear. However, there are many multi-channel DVRs out there that are appealing.
2. the solution needs to be from a reputable (no Chinese brands please) brand.
3. Needs to have WiFi capability to view live view and to download video clips.
4. Need to have monitoring facility when vehicle is parked.
5. GPS is a nice to have but not mandatory.
6. Should have enough battery capacity to last atleast a day to monitor while parked.
7. Budget I've set aside is around 15K. Can stretch a bit though.
8. Ability to update firmware through bluetooth or Wifi is a nice to have feature.
9. Companion App should be at-least as good as Transcend's.
10. Video quality especially night time videos should be good.

I've been searching for a good solution on Amazon but not with much luck. Please suggest me a good solution.

[sundarsarma]

Originally Posted by PrathamTSI7DSG

I have set a budget of about 25k and want a battery based and a resolution of 720p would be good.

Hi Pratham, Happy that you have decided going for Dashcam. I would suggest you to opt for capacitor based dashcam rather than battery based model. Climatic conditions in our country is so unpredictable and too much much heat would definitely take a toll on battery based dashcams.

Originally Posted by 4wheeldrive

Try the 70MAI A800. Comes with front + rear camera and you can purchase a hardwire kit and link it to a constant power line for parking surveillance (triggered by motion in the field of view) when the car is parked.

I would like to differ here as neither 70mai nor DDPAI has motion sensor and Buffered parking mode.

Also they start recording after 14 seconds after any IMPACT in parking so they will miss the events which led to collision/impact, the actual collision and next 14 seconds ! All are missed !

While, Viofo has premium feature Called Buffered Parking Mode which keeps recording in Cache(temporary) memory and transfers this cache to microSD once Motion is detected and keeps recording for next 30 Seconds or untill event stops.

So one will get entire sequence of events that led to collision, the actual collision/motion and next 30 Seconds !
I have experienced this on both A139 and T130 models.

Also the budget dashcams like 70mai/ddpai doesn't support 256GB Memory card and rear camera is not Sony Sensor. There are much more compromised to make them budget dashcams which can be known by contacting viofo support.

Give any DashCam brand model to viofo support and they will reply you with in-depth comparison with viofo.

Originally Posted by 4wheeldrive

All this including the parking kit will cost under 20k and for that you get 4k video

Just a little bit of budget extension would help you get a Viofo's Capacitor based Dashcams because Lithium Battery based dashcams are potential hazards and its Battery going to die much more early than a super capacitor. Just google it.

[Arun_S]

Originally Posted by batish

I have been using A229 Duo, haven't experienced any overheating issues till now. Can't say about A119 Mini as I haven't used it but I can surely say the support from viofo.in has been great, offers 18 months free pickup-drop warranty. Also, there's 1k discount if you pay through UPI/NEFT. Do claim it if you're planning to order.

Also have a look at this thread for review on A119 Mini.

Personally, I'd say if the camera works for 18 months normally, there are very few chances of breaking down after 18 months. Till then it is seller's headache.

Thanks for your feedback and the link about the A119 Mini Review.

Lot of people are still complaining about the Heating issue, it seems Viofo will be addressing in the next batch of production. Due to this decided to drop the Mini.

Decided to up the budget, what is your feedback on A129 Plus Duo. As mentioned in your previous posts will not go for 4K will stick with 2K.

Thanks,
Arun

[lsjey]

Originally Posted by shri

A video on dashcams from Linus Tech.

https://Youtu.be/4AnyhHl3_tE

Thanks a ton for posting this. I usually check out LTT videos but missed this.

It is really sad that none of the big brands think it meaningful to address the video clarity and quality requirements. This is just like the monitor and TV brands who churn out better spec for the monitor but lull the TV buyer with feature list sacrificing on the refresh rates and other quality parameters.

Regards,
lsjey

[vinodmk]

Has anyone used the NEXDIGITRON A3 Dashcam, if yes please share your feedback?
As per the information on their website, it looks designed by DDPAI based on A2 and assembled in India
Any info on this will help.


Reasons for shortlisting NEXDIGITRON A3,
Budget Dashcam (4.1K including CPL filter)
Removable (can disconnect when giving for service)
Gets decent footage
Super-Capacitor based (as opposed to Lithium battery)

Others that I looked at,
DDPAI Mini Car Dash Camera - Rejected as it cannot be removed
DDPAI MOla N3 (better video quality, maybe slightly better at number plate reading) - Second choice

Not planning for a rear dash cam, may go with one more NEXDIGITRON A3 in the future if I feel it is a must.
Also not planning to hardwire kit as have a covered basement parking covered by building CCTV

[batish]

Originally Posted by Arun_S

Decided to up the budget, what is your feedback on A129 Plus Duo. As mentioned in your previous posts will not go for 4K will stick with 2K.

I haven't used A129 Plus Duo so can't comment on the issues that come with it. I am using A229, have even posted a short review here (VIOFO A229 Duo Front and Rear Dashcam | Review & Initial Impressions).

I would strongly suggest you to go through Dashcamtalk (DCT) forums once. I can't comment on this since I haven't used this particular model. It comes with 18 months warranty, so don't worry about heating. Ask him beforehand, if he is willing to replace it if any issue crops up and what would the case be if even the replacement one overheats.

Again, I'll say, go through about this model on DCT Forums. It'd be more helpful.

[samyakmodi]

just a query - why can't a car's 360 degree cameras be used for dash cam as well?

isn't there a solution for the same?

[tilt]

Originally Posted by PrathamTSI7DSG

I have set a budget of about 25k and want a battery based and a resolution of 720p would be good.

I too recommend the Viofo Plus Duo or the Pro Duo. The Plus Duo may not be available now, so the Pro Duo would ne what I would now recommend.

The Plus Duo is a 2K camera and the Pro is a 4K one with some more "features" but both basically do everything needed.

And no, neither the Plus nor the Pro have any heating issues; and they are capacitor-based, so can easily manage hot climates.

Originally Posted by batish

I have been using A229 Duo, haven't experienced any overheating issues till now. Can't say about A119 Mini as I haven't used it but I can surely say the support from viofo.in has been great, *SNIP*

I second this opinion.

Originally Posted by sundarsarma

*SNIP*

While, Viofo has premium feature Called Buffered Parking Mode which keeps recording in Cache(temporary) memory and transfers this cache to microSD once Motion is detected and keeps recording for next 30 Seconds or untill event stops.

So one will get entire sequence of events that led to collision, the actual collision/motion and next 30 Seconds !

*SNIP*

Also the budget dashcams like 70mai/ddpai doesn't support 256GB Memory card and rear camera is not Sony Sensor. *SNIP*

The buffered parking mode is a good thing to have and it works. Also, there is built-in protection (if you use their hardwire-kit) of protecting your battery, so that it does not drain completely.

Also, the Viofo easily supports the 256GB card, so no issues there either.

Originally Posted by Arun_S

*SNIP*
Lot of people are still complaining about the Heating issue, it seems Viofo will be addressing in the next batch of production. Due to this decided to drop the Mini.

Decided to up the budget, what is your feedback on A129 Plus Duo. As mentioned in your previous posts will not go for 4K will stick with 2K.

Thanks,
Arun

There is no heating issue with the Plus Duo or the Pro Duo.

I use the Plus Duo and have done so for almost three years now; and I am very happy with it. No issues, it just works.

Cheers

[autovarun]

Need help finding a mount for this Dashcam I picked up in Singapore from Mustafa Shopping Center called Braun. The mount has broken in the area where it holds the camera and unable to use it :(

[Arun_S]

Thanks to everyone for their inputs, especially Batish for his valuable suggestions.

I have gone ahead and ordered Viofo A129 Plus Duo.

One of primary reasons was assurance of 18 months support and the feedback in Dashcamtalk (DCT) forum.

I shall update the thread, with a review, once I install the product.