# Cheap in car camera system



## akhbhaat (Apr 29, 2003)

I figured this would be the most appropriate place to put this query, though if it doesn't get enough hits here I will cross post it to the general forum.

Anyhow, lately I've been thinking about getting a cheap in-car camera system. I don't want the bulky/expensive/theft-prone sort of thing I'd use on the track - this will be for use on the street. Reason? Liability. My brother recently got a ticket for "failure to yield" when some girl turning right on red decided to go into the intersection and hit his car in the rear left quarter panel as he was clearing the intersection after a left turn on a yellow arrow. The cop listened to their stories and made a judgment call; my brother lost (what ever happened to exercising caution before entering an intersection? Guess that part of the law isn't taught in traffic school anymore - to cops and drivers alike).

This got me thinking: what if this happened to me? The average American driver is a mindless idiot, and to compound matters I live in the land of the walking (or driving, as it were) dead where sensory acuity has degraded to dangerous levels. I have a shocking number of close calls on a regular basis, and there is always the possibility that I will be unable to avoid a crash. If that happens, I don't want to be the one getting screwed. What better way to cover my ass than a camera showing that the 85 year old man in the Cadillac did, in fact, pull in front of me and leave me no time or space to stop - while the nearby lanes were occupied, making a safe turning maneuver was impossible?

I want something cheap and easy to conceal that won't be a hassle to deal with every time I get into the car (otherwise I won't use it every time I drive, and that would defeat the purpose of having it). Perhaps something I can mount near the rear view mirror, or on the passenger side.

And I can really justify it by using it to record my autox sessions while I'm at it.

So - any suggestions?


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## jvr826 (Apr 22, 2002)

I use a Panasonic Lumix PnS to record my track sessions. It's an older one that only supports a max of 2GB SD card, but the newer models do up to 8GB. It takes great video, Quicktime format, 16:9 resolution at 30fps. It will also do 4:3 at 30fps for about 2x the capacity. I get about 20 mins on a 2GB in 16:9, about 45 in 4:3. I've actually made a DVD to play on my big screen and it is surprisingly watchable from a $150 camera.

I use a CruiseCam headrest mount. It's very easy to deal with and is also inexpensive.

The problem with your need is you want something that will loop on record, for your paranoia ridden daily drive. Or, if it's short enough, I guess you could delete the video upon problem-free arrival and ready it for the next trip.

Oh, and remember, sometimes video footage goes against you. I remember seeing a post about a motorcycle crash. The rider had video and was looking for sympathy about how she was the victim. Most blamed her for the wreck cuz she wasn't exactly riding smart for the traffic conditions.


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## billyk (Jan 17, 2008)

It is very interesting to find this post. At this moment, I'm trying to figure out the problem with my bullet cam setup for autocross. 

My friend had an accident recently with no evidence to support his claim. The next day I saw my sister drove without any caution to an obviously dangerous driver. Then I thought about a recording system for her.

I've done some searches. I spend approximately $300 for my bullet cam setup for autocross instead of $800 for some commercial packages. All camera systems are similar. You need a bullet/lipstick/pinhole camera. Think of it as the lens and sensor of a camera. It just sees and won't record. You'll need to feed the output to a recorder. Of course there are some wire and power issues.

Pinhole camera in the size of a quarter will fit in front of the mirror or right under the rain senor box. You'll be able to find more on eBay.
http://www.jr.com/swann-communications/pe/SWN_SWPDSCEX/

The recording part is the biggest problem. So far i found only one model on eBay that fit the purpose. However, the spec is not good enough (frame rate is only 10fps). The device will "remember settings" after power off. You can set it up once and forget about it. It has Motion detection to trigger recording. So it will start recording automatically. It has feature to loop and refill the SD card from the beginning once it reach the capacity. So you can really forget about it until bad things happen.
http://cgi.ebay.com/DVR-MOTION-SECU...ryZ48629QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Now, all you need is hook up power source from the fuse box and hide the wires. Hope it helps.


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