blackbetty14
Senior Member
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2014
- Posts
- 2,701
- Reaction score
- 1,425
- Location
- CT
- Ram Year
- 2024
- Engine
- Hemi 5.7 VVT/Etorque
Hey Guys,
This is my first Dash cam. Installed on my new 18 Laramie CC. We recently had a guy who the cops were after and he would go up and down all the streets in my area (including mine) and check the doors of every car to see if they were unlocked. He found the keys of a neighbors car (the car was unlocked but the guy left the keys to a different car he was "watching for a weekend") inside it. The guy clicked the fob and stole the other car. Cops found the car a few days later but this is something that preluded my search for a basic dash cam to help with small instances like this as well as protect myself in a form of an accident or ticket of some sort.
Being on a budget always I researched many many many dash cams in all price ranges and fucntions/features. I wasn't sold on a dual camera setup as the rear cameras are usually a lower res like 480/720p. I want 1080 or better basically and found that its better to run 2 single lense 1080 instead of a dual camera with a lower res rear camera.
Heres what I know I wanted:
1080p or better resolution
Decent nighttime video quality (better imaging chip)
Less than $150
Must have a parking mode with motion detection
Must have a decent storage space or allow higher SD cards
Smaller size preferably without a screen for discreetness and lower power consumption (for the final battery operated setup)
Looped video recording
I wanted to test and see if I like it before going all out. After many youtube reviews, youtube videos, Amazon reviews and lots of blogs & google searches of cameras being compared/tested and recommended I landed on one that fit the bill, so ordered on amazon for $110 shipped prime and threw it in last night at 10:30pm. The wire isn't fully run but the camera is mounted and fully operational. Finding the correct spot was a PITA as I wanted it to get the best view but my 18 Laramie has the high beam dectection, GPS, automatic wipers and all that crap. The front center of the windshield is full of crap so placement wasn't the easiest, especially with all the "blackout" on the front windshield. I settled on a spot (pass side) All the way at the top of the windshield. It gets a good view of most of the front of the car ( i lose alittle on the driver side but its still pretty good) and its hidden and out of the way. I tested many areas with the camera running to see the video output. The camera has very small lights on it and putting that in my field of view would have been annoying so driver side was out of the picture. Its in the perfect spot I feel and allows the wire to be hidden easily and cleanly.
I decided on the Goluk T3 for the following reasons:
1.) 1080p but allows me to select 480/720 for custom modes like snapping videos of cool things or parking mode
2.) Small and no screen, minimal lighting, black color to blend in
3.) Automatic Parking mode (20 min and goes to sleep)
4.) Motion detection automatic 12s recording (when not in parking mode) I can disable with App easily
5.) $110 shipped
6.) comes with 32GB SD card but allows up to 128GB, incase you guys are wondering the high endurance special cards for all dash cams are NOT cheap. Expect to pay $30+ for one in the 16-32GB range. So that means the camera is really only costing $80.
7.) Has a upgraded image sensor (not as good as some of the high end cameras but its decent)
8.) Super low power consumption (no screen) and it was rated at like 1 amp or something while recording (uses a 1amp DC CIG adapter) and much much less in sleep mode
9.) I can easily turn off the MIC or activate when needed via the App.
All in all, I'm happy with the camera, I was looking at the reving V1 4k but didnt like that bulky size and screen etc. Video quality is good on the phone when I download the video (takes less than 1min per 12s video at 1080p). It could be alittle better which I think the 1440 or higher would be better but its good enough for 90% of the stuff it will be needed for, I can make out license plates when close. The wide lense makes people look much farther away than they actually are. So a car at 10ft looks like 30ft. The chrome ring around the lense is the only thing that gives it away. I will be applying vinyl or paint over it to make it dissapear.
The final setup will have the cameras running off a 20,000mah power bank that gets recharged via the cig lighter or the USB port. This will allow the Camera/cameras to operate for a few days without touching the Car battery. Also it will only cost me $30-40 for the power bank vs the $250 one that you have to be hardwired into the car circuitry (which is bad for draining a car battery over time) I can park this thing for a few days 2-3 at a time without moving or starting it so I wanted an option to help not drain the battery at those times.
Attached are a few pics of the camera and where it is installed and a few videos of it operating. Night time is during motion dectection which caught a car driving up the street at like 1am. Others are of me driving to work this AM. Hope this helps you guys. I figure its a good thing to have for multiple reasons. The Camera lense is able to rotate 360* so I can also video tape inside the car or back view of the car/inside by just turning it in the mount (like when you bring your truck into service!
lol )
Videos
night time motion sensor
Daytime driving
This is my first Dash cam. Installed on my new 18 Laramie CC. We recently had a guy who the cops were after and he would go up and down all the streets in my area (including mine) and check the doors of every car to see if they were unlocked. He found the keys of a neighbors car (the car was unlocked but the guy left the keys to a different car he was "watching for a weekend") inside it. The guy clicked the fob and stole the other car. Cops found the car a few days later but this is something that preluded my search for a basic dash cam to help with small instances like this as well as protect myself in a form of an accident or ticket of some sort.
Being on a budget always I researched many many many dash cams in all price ranges and fucntions/features. I wasn't sold on a dual camera setup as the rear cameras are usually a lower res like 480/720p. I want 1080 or better basically and found that its better to run 2 single lense 1080 instead of a dual camera with a lower res rear camera.
Heres what I know I wanted:
1080p or better resolution
Decent nighttime video quality (better imaging chip)
Less than $150
Must have a parking mode with motion detection
Must have a decent storage space or allow higher SD cards
Smaller size preferably without a screen for discreetness and lower power consumption (for the final battery operated setup)
Looped video recording
I wanted to test and see if I like it before going all out. After many youtube reviews, youtube videos, Amazon reviews and lots of blogs & google searches of cameras being compared/tested and recommended I landed on one that fit the bill, so ordered on amazon for $110 shipped prime and threw it in last night at 10:30pm. The wire isn't fully run but the camera is mounted and fully operational. Finding the correct spot was a PITA as I wanted it to get the best view but my 18 Laramie has the high beam dectection, GPS, automatic wipers and all that crap. The front center of the windshield is full of crap so placement wasn't the easiest, especially with all the "blackout" on the front windshield. I settled on a spot (pass side) All the way at the top of the windshield. It gets a good view of most of the front of the car ( i lose alittle on the driver side but its still pretty good) and its hidden and out of the way. I tested many areas with the camera running to see the video output. The camera has very small lights on it and putting that in my field of view would have been annoying so driver side was out of the picture. Its in the perfect spot I feel and allows the wire to be hidden easily and cleanly.
I decided on the Goluk T3 for the following reasons:
1.) 1080p but allows me to select 480/720 for custom modes like snapping videos of cool things or parking mode
2.) Small and no screen, minimal lighting, black color to blend in
3.) Automatic Parking mode (20 min and goes to sleep)
4.) Motion detection automatic 12s recording (when not in parking mode) I can disable with App easily
5.) $110 shipped
6.) comes with 32GB SD card but allows up to 128GB, incase you guys are wondering the high endurance special cards for all dash cams are NOT cheap. Expect to pay $30+ for one in the 16-32GB range. So that means the camera is really only costing $80.
7.) Has a upgraded image sensor (not as good as some of the high end cameras but its decent)
8.) Super low power consumption (no screen) and it was rated at like 1 amp or something while recording (uses a 1amp DC CIG adapter) and much much less in sleep mode
9.) I can easily turn off the MIC or activate when needed via the App.
All in all, I'm happy with the camera, I was looking at the reving V1 4k but didnt like that bulky size and screen etc. Video quality is good on the phone when I download the video (takes less than 1min per 12s video at 1080p). It could be alittle better which I think the 1440 or higher would be better but its good enough for 90% of the stuff it will be needed for, I can make out license plates when close. The wide lense makes people look much farther away than they actually are. So a car at 10ft looks like 30ft. The chrome ring around the lense is the only thing that gives it away. I will be applying vinyl or paint over it to make it dissapear.
The final setup will have the cameras running off a 20,000mah power bank that gets recharged via the cig lighter or the USB port. This will allow the Camera/cameras to operate for a few days without touching the Car battery. Also it will only cost me $30-40 for the power bank vs the $250 one that you have to be hardwired into the car circuitry (which is bad for draining a car battery over time) I can park this thing for a few days 2-3 at a time without moving or starting it so I wanted an option to help not drain the battery at those times.
Attached are a few pics of the camera and where it is installed and a few videos of it operating. Night time is during motion dectection which caught a car driving up the street at like 1am. Others are of me driving to work this AM. Hope this helps you guys. I figure its a good thing to have for multiple reasons. The Camera lense is able to rotate 360* so I can also video tape inside the car or back view of the car/inside by just turning it in the mount (like when you bring your truck into service!
lol )Videos
night time motion sensor
Daytime driving
