[Joe-BMW33]

I'm thinking about adding one, but if I'm being honest, it's just for the cool factor. I'm having trouble seeing the value and how I would use. Presumably, most people's desires for one is all about recording that accident to prove right or wrong or to catch the plate of a runner.

Is that it? How are you using it and when has it added value? Just need a reason to be talked into pulling the trigger! I'm not sure recording an accident is enough or maybe I'm not putting enough value on that.

Thanks.

[Dephead2004]

I was in the same quandary. Researched dozens of dashcams. All seem to have disadvantages unless spending a lot of money on hard wiring, battery backups etc. Many are intrusive visually, operationally and electronically.

Saw an article in autoexpress (uk car mag) about dashcams using an old phone. Thought I'd try it to see if it was worth the expense of a fully fitted solution

Very impressed so much so that I might just stick with this alone. Here the police use dashcam recordings a lot but they can seize your camera if they think you are at fault, so it works both ways! They will prosecute video evidence submitted by an observer.

Bought a magnetic holder that fits neatly behind the rear view mirror. Cost £7. Baseus bullet magnetic car holder, black.

Moto G7 power used with navmii AI dashcam software free from playstore. Battery lasts 4.5 hours using the highest resolution in the software. Easy to recharge in car from standard usb c socket. Excellent daytime quality number plates easy to read, adequate night time quality, number plates need scrutiny.

To view recordings, length of which can be varied, just look at the phone's screen.

Happy to answer questions.

[akuwes710]

Definitely useful in accidents to cover yourself, it works both ways though if you're in the wrong.

Before i had dash cam, Someone ran red light with high speed and hit my wife's car, they were nice and apologetic but changed their story when the cop came. We didnt have dash cam, luckily there was a witness who saw everything, felt really bad for us, and gave us his info.

Obviously police report determined that there were 2 conflicting stories without proof, didnt bother to contact witness, and insurance was going to make it a 50/50 fault…, my own insurance didnt put much effort into contacting our witness. Luckily that witness was very nice when i reached to him and connected him to my insurance adjustor, one day before all evidence/reports were due.

I later found that the other party claimed bodily injury & damage, and started a lawsuit… but final determination was that they were at fault (thanks to the witness), we lawyered up and returned the favor.

What i learned: 1. Dont count on the other party to do the right thing, they fuck up your car and give you whiplash injury, and still has the audacity to sue you for shit.

2. dont count on the police or insurance to side with you without any evidence.

Dash cam provides concrete evidence if its caught on footage, this would save you A LOT of headache.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by Dephead2004

I was in the same quandary. Researched dozens of dashcams. All seem to have disadvantages unless spending a lot of money on hard wiring, battery backups etc. Many are intrusive visually, operationally and electronically.

Saw an article in autoexpress (uk car mag) about dashcams using an old phone. Thought I'd try it to see if it was worth the expense of a fully fitted solution

Very impressed so much so that I might just stick with this alone. Here the police use dashcam recordings a lot but they can seize your camera if they think you are at fault, so it works both ways! They will prosecute video evidence submitted by an observer.

Bought a magnetic holder that fits neatly behind the rear view mirror. Cost £7. Baseus bullet magnetic car holder, black.

Moto G7 power used with navmii AI dashcam software free from playstore. Battery lasts 4.5 hours using the highest resolution in the software. Easy to recharge in car from standard usb c socket. Excellent daytime quality number plates easy to read, adequate night time quality, number plates need scrutiny.

To view recordings, length of which can be varied, just look at the phone's screen.

Happy to answer questions.

Originally Posted by akuwes710

Definitely useful in accidents to cover yourself, it works both ways though if you're in the wrong.

Before i had dash cam, Someone ran red light with high speed and hit my wife's car, they were nice and apologetic but changed their story when the cop came. We didnt have dash cam, luckily there was a witness who saw everything, felt really bad for us, and gave us his info.

Obviously police report determined that there were 2 conflicting stories without proof, didnt bother to contact witness, and insurance was going to make it a 50/50 fault…, my own insurance didnt put much effort into contacting our witness. Luckily that witness was very nice when i reached to him and connected him to my insurance adjustor, one day before all evidence/reports were due.

I later found that the other party claimed bodily injury & damage, and started a lawsuit… but final determination was that they were at fault (thanks to the witness), we lawyered up and returned the favor.

What i learned: 1. Dont count on the other party to do the right thing, they fuck up your car and give you whiplash injury, and still has the audacity to sue you for shit.

2. dont count on the police or insurance to side with you without any evidence.

Dash cam provides concrete evidence if its caught on footage, this would save you A LOT of headache.

Thanks guys, this is helpful. I also just moved on many times because of cost, installation issues, intrusiveness where it blocks the view or does not look OEM. That said, this product has gotten great reviews, installation is straight forward and it looks like it came with the car. Cost is cheap.

Watch the video install:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08X3FJ58M...v_ov_lig_dp_it

Part of me is, Why not? Seems super easy.

[2022M550i]

I personally wouldn't bother as i set my car to record events with the onboard 360 cams. Those things would be just one extra aggravating thing in my life that i would have to adjust and maintain.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by 2022M550i

I personally wouldn't bother as i set my car to record events with the onboard 360 cams. Those things would be just one extra aggravating thing in my life that i would have to adjust and maintain.

Yep, if I had 360 cams I would not give this a second thought. "If" a dash cam could be activated remotely when the car is parked, I would be all over it. I am more interested in checking on my car from a restaurant table than recording an accident.

[Dephead2004]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

Yep, if I had 360 cams I would not give this a second thought. "If" a dash cam could be activated remotely when the car is parked, I would be all over it. I am more interested in checking on my car from a restaurant table than recording an accident.

There's another thread here on the post that has reviewed and tried this style. At the end of the day without good resolution your images will be worth diddly squat and therefore the whole enterprise is worthless.

I find it's hard to obtain independent reviews which are either from the manufacturer or sponsored. The key decider seems to me to be the resolution and legibility at night

[tuanies]

I have dash cams in all my cars. I got T-boned in January in my 435i. The X1 that hit me claimed to had a green light, even though I was mostly cleared from the intersection. The cop came, asked for his side, asked if I had a dash cam. I provided the footage, showing I had a clear green, exact moment of impact, and wrote him a ticket. His insurance admitted fault quickly with the provided footage.

Dashcams are like car insurance, its an extra precaution in case shit happens. I'd rather have one than not. i don't care for the parking recording features at all though, which two of my cars have.

There are also moments where I've just posted WTF moments I see while driving, even if there was no accident.

[DealBMW]

Front and rear dashcams-are absolute musts in my area. Too many reckless drivers.
If you have a fast car-you could also record friendly runs for your gram

[PPMKING]

It definitely is useful for accidents in my opinion. I had one guy came into my lane and hit the car head on. He told me of his error. But guess what? He gave a different story on the police report. My video cleared everything up for insurance.

Really look at the dash cam as an added insurance for any accident/incident, that you set and forget until something happens. That includes if you strike a pedestrian who may have ran out into your path. With you driving a BMW, people are going to immediately see $$$.

And dash cams aren't really that expensive. The one I used for the accident was a cheap wired one from best buy- like $40. I like the one you mentioned because it eliminates wires and gives the OEM look.

[RonronEG]

I got one because people in California are nuts. I it's really one of those things where you'd rather have it and not need it then need it and not have it. Small price now to avoid any potential issues in the future.

I also enjoy showing my wife the craziness I see. I got a recording of a few accidents between other drivers, a near miss of a semi nearly side swiping me, lots of wild life (possums, cats, dogs- she caught a deer on hers majestically crossing the street on her way home from groceries), crazy weather, etc. Very entertaining.

I have a FitCamX which after an initial replacment, is working 100% and looks very OEM. She has a Blackvue Front+Rear.

Edit- I see you linked the FitCamX. Couple things of note:
1. Use Samsung branded high endurance cards
2. It's not true 4K, it's interpolated 4K. Basically set it to 1440P (max res supported by the sensor that doesnt negatively impact aspect ratio without additional processing)
3. It's cheaper direct from their website and you can use PayPal for purchase protection.
4. The sound recording from it's mic is VERY good vs others I have heard. I mean unusually good.
5. Have had zero issues with it being powered by the dimming mirror. Records for approx 5 min after car is locked- not significant enough to impact battery.

[cna90]

It's just there to protect against insurance fraud.
Although I have the 360 cameras but I have ID6 so no 360 recording for me.

I got Thinkware F200 Pro. 1080p is more than enough for what is intended.

It came with front and rear along with the hardwiring harness.
Just had to buy the fuse taps and connected it under the dash in less than 2hrs.
Records while parking too. Having had bad experience in grocery parking lot, this is a great plus for me.
They're both really small too.
I hid the front one behind the rear mirror in the centre and only see the rear one off the mirror which is really tiny. When the curtain is up, I don't see that either.

I set it once and forgot about it. I only used it once so far, when there was a hit and run right in front of me; just connected to it with my phone and emailed the video to the driver.

[2022M550i]

Todays drivers are so distracted. Has anyone ever seen Russian dash cam footage? Holy crap! Everyones drunk. They have one speed….foot to the floor and no one seems to have brakes. I can spend a whole day watching that stuff.

[mcasteels]

Just in case there is an issue. Especially with the 530e. Pedestrians do not look when crossing streets. They don’t hear a car, so there is no car. And since there is a law in Belgium that if something happens to a pedestrian and your car insurance needs to pay his/hers medical bill. Unless you can prove you couldn’t avoid the accident and that you’re not to blame.

Wel also have those people faking it. And then this camera is a great help.

I don’t have it for the cool factor. I have it to protect myself and my family from idiots on the road and hustlers.

[Spyder3]

Originally Posted by RonronEG

I got one because people in California are nuts. I it's really one of those things where you'd rather have it and not need it then need it and not have it. Small price now to avoid any potential issues in the future.

I also enjoy showing my wife the craziness I see. I got a recording of a few accidents between other drivers, a near miss of a semi nearly side swiping me, lots of wild life (possums, cats, dogs- she caught a deer on hers majestically crossing the street on her way home from groceries), crazy weather, etc. Very entertaining.

I have a FitCamX which after an initial replacment, is working 100% and looks very OEM. She has a Blackvue Front+Rear.

Edit- I see you linked the FitCamX. Couple things of note:
1. Use Samsung branded high endurance cards
2. It's not true 4K, it's interpolated 4K. Basically set it to 1440P (max res supported by the sensor that doesnt negatively impact aspect ratio without additional processing)
3. It's cheaper direct from their website and you can use PayPal for purchase protection.
4. The sound recording from it's mic is VERY good vs others I have heard. I mean unusually good.
5. Have had zero issues with it being powered by the dimming mirror. Records for approx 5 min after car is locked- not significant enough to impact battery.

Has anyone purchased the FitCamX with the rear camera? I'd like to know how to route the cable and mount the rear camera. What is the difficulty level?

And thanks for the tip to purchase from the FitCamX website, the price is better than Amazon.

[PPMKING]

So I finally installed the Fitcamx. Initial thoughts:

Took 2 weeks to arrive from China which matches the listed delivery time on their website. The direction provided was ok, could've been better. Installation was not too bad, although be prepared to spend time removing the stock cable if you have big hands, and want all the dash cam wires to fit snug after snapping trims back in.

It definitely looks OEM when installed. IMO most wouldn't even know it's there. It can't really be seen outside too. I was concerned that my E-ZPass reader would block the camera view but it didn't. The video quality is decent and good enough to read license plate up close. Also voice recording inside the car is good. The camera begins recording once you unlock the car. The camera continues to record with ignition turned off. When the car eventually powered off or locked with key, it recorded for an additional 8 minutes.

The app definitely needs work. Can't view video on your phone unless you turn off cellular data. Even after doing this playback didn't work. Not a huge deal as I won't be viewing video regularly. Like my past dash cam, I didn't look at images unless something happened. But it would be nice to just view on phone instead of removing sd card to view on laptop.

Overall I think it's worth it as it gives a clean OEM look when installed.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by PPMKING

So I finally installed the Fitcamx. Initial thoughts:

Took 2 weeks to arrive from China which matches the listed delivery time on their website. The direction provided was ok, could've been better. Installation was not too bad, although be prepared to spend time removing the stock cable if you have big hands, and want all the dash cam wires to fit snug after snapping trims back in.

It definitely looks OEM when installed. IMO most wouldn't even know it's there. It can't really be seen outside too. I was concerned that my E-ZPass reader would block the camera view but it didn't. The video quality is decent and good enough to read license plate up close. Also voice recording inside the car is good with this dash cam. The camera begins recording once you unlock the car. The camera continues to record with ignition turned off. When the car eventually powered off or locked with key, it recorded for an additional 8 minutes.

The app definitely needs work. Can't view video on your phone unless you turn off cellular data. Even after doing this playback didn't work. Not a huge deal as I won't be viewing video regularly. Like my past dash cam, I didn't look at images unless something happened. But it would be nice to just view on phone instead of removing sd card to view on laptop.

Overall I think it's worth as it gives a clean OEM look when installed.

Nice, thanks for the review. I am still tempted to get this one as it's so cheap and I agree, it fits right in and looks OEM.

Unrelated, I am surprised you put your EZ-pass right there in the middle of your windshield. Mine is all the way to the top of the windshield/headliner abutting the right edge of the mirror casing. The driver can't even see it. It works fine.

[greid]

What's the best integrated dashcam available?

[PPMKING]

Yeah that's the reason I bought it. Relatively cheap for added protection.

I don't know what is was, but I hated it there. Maybe it's the ocd side of me.

[RonronEG]

Originally Posted by PPMKING

So I finally installed the Fitcamx. Initial thoughts:

Took 2 weeks to arrive from China which matches the listed delivery time on their website. The direction provided was ok, could've been better. Installation was not too bad, although be prepared to spend time removing the stock cable if you have big hands, and want all the dash cam wires to fit snug after snapping trims back in.

It definitely looks OEM when installed. IMO most wouldn't even know it's there. It can't really be seen outside too. I was concerned that my E-ZPass reader would block the camera view but it didn't. The video quality is decent and good enough to read license plate up close. Also voice recording inside the car is good. The camera begins recording once you unlock the car. The camera continues to record with ignition turned off. When the car eventually powered off or locked with key, it recorded for an additional 8 minutes.

The app definitely needs work. Can't view video on your phone unless you turn off cellular data. Even after doing this playback didn't work. Not a huge deal as I won't be viewing video regularly. Like my past dash cam, I didn't look at images unless something happened. But it would be nice to just view on phone instead of removing sd card to view on laptop.

Overall I think it's worth it as it gives a clean OEM look when installed.

I also blacked out the status lights as they are a bit bright when driving at dusk, dawn, or night.

I can't stress not to use SanDisk media in this camera, it just doesn't like it.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by PPMKING

Yeah that's the reason I bought it. Relatively cheap for added protection.

I don't know what is was, but I hated it there. Maybe it's the ocd side of me.

Well at least we share the same OCD in that we both bought EZ Pass black skins to cover up the hideous ivory of the unit.

[430Scud]

This guy is really helpful on both radar detectors and dash cams.
https://www.youtube.com/c/VortexRadar/videos
One takeaway is to get the highest resolution you can afford. And, verify the resolution through reviews...cause some companies lie about their resolution.

But if you are concerned about hit and runs, you need a high res to read a plate in some very dark situations.