Dash cams. What are you using?

The DB4 appears to be a good camera. I did some searching and it is really a DVR027 or one of it's derivatives. Although it is available elsewhere much cheaper if you buy from Dieselboss your warranty is in the USA not China. I might also add that there are lots of knock offs of this unit. Until recently reviews showed it to be great value for the $. But recently some flaws are showing up. Mostly problems with electrical interference on Sat radios and GPS. The solution is a better power supply + cord. There is also a newer firmware that solves some other problems. It is my understanding that you cannot upgrade the firmware. Many users buy a Square Trade warranty for those cams.

 

Some of the lights 'appear' to flash when reviewed in the video...The "LED street light stops" I mean.
Not sure why that is...and there are a few weird audio issues but again, not sure what that is and I dont plan on having
the audio enabled anyway -so its a moot point.

There is another unit out there I really liked but have not been able to reach anyone and its 3x the cost of this unit.
But it shows a grid during playback of your speed and google location on a map. And IIRC, the video can be encrypted
so only you can play it back (avoid self-incrimination I guess).

I'd also like to look at that blue tiger <?> camera - but again, dollar for dollar and support wise, DB set me up really nicely.

 

How about some pictures of how you mounted it?

 

Here are some comments and clarifications on the last 10 posts or so.

*** This is the full technical version. For the simplified "just tell me what main differences that I'm looking for" version, skip reading this post and go down to the one directly below this one. ***

A. @Brucesmith. I don't know what a DVR-027 is, but I Googled and the most common result (Amazon, Ebay, etc) shows the most popular "body style" of windshield cam currently produced - if I am looking at the same one that you are referring to. This one has a rotating front screen and 6 "IR Led's" on the front. And yes, there are a ton of Chinese factories making versions of that camera. That one is being sold under literally hundreds of different names right now. It appears that the name “DVR-027” was the original one that is now copied to variying degrees of effectiveness. Again, a Google search will reveal pages and pages of the same picture. In our tests over about 6 months we had a couple of flaws that we uncovered as we learned more about the technology, so we stopped with that one. (the driver's were breaking off the rotating screen, the IR "night-vision" did not mean anything in the real world, the "motion detection" only "detected" for about 5 feet, and the low-light (night-time) video was below where we wanted it to be.)
HOWEVER - there are a few out there with this "body-style" that contain one of the higher-end Zoran chipsets, but only a few, so if you care about that then check first. (see Paragraph "E" for chipsets in relation to video quality) You can be sure that there are actual "good ones" and cheesy ones using that body style. It's difficult to sort them so be careful and watch the specs to see which have the right qualities you are seeking.

B. I agree with @flood. Any cam is better than no cam. Best example again is the one referred to in paragraph "A" above. You can obtain it and a memory card now for around $25 - $40. If you are looking for the lowest possible cost, then one of those derivations is a good choice.

C. LED and other types of light technology that are becoming commonly used as stop-lights and can look like they are "pulsing" in videos sometimes. @Handarko refers to this in his post. It all has to do with the "frequency" of the power being used in the traffic lights as related to the frames-per-second (FPS) that the cameras are recording at. The camera can pick it up but your eye does not. For an easy visual example, look at the green traffic light at the 17-20 second mark in the video that @Beer Runner reposted. Then look at the green light at the 1:20 mark. Same camera, two different traffic lights.

D. An "electrical field" (EMF) is generated by all electrical devices. The inside of the typical truck these days has lots of them, especially in the dash area (cell phone, CB, GPS, satellite radio, gauges and lights, QualComm, cameras, etc.) Anything with a "receiver" via which signals are obtained through the AIR is especially susceptible to interference from those fields. "Shielding" is the ability of a device to both KEEP from emitting as much of a field, and to KEEP from being affected by other INCOMING stray fields and frequencies. @Brucesmith makes reference to "interference" in his post and he is also correct. GPS receivers are particularly sensitive to RF fields around them and we have seen cameras have a considerable effect on GPS satellite signal strength. It's also like a "recipe" of what devices are near each other. For example: the Garmin 465T and Dezl 560 are strongly affected by our DB4 and other cameras we have tested, but the PC Miler and Rand units are only slightly affected. And it doesn't matter if either on is plugged into a power charger at the time or not. We continue to play with solutions to mitigate this.

E. As I have said before, the actual real differences on the WIDE variety of cameras that you are seeing pop up all over are the internal video chipset and the features. The lowest cost models (say under $50) usually have the STK chipset inside. These will generally have poorer low-light ability and lower resolution and video clarity limits. They do not record in 1080HD (1920 X 1080 pixels) and most not in 720HD (1280 X 720 pixels.) But don't get me wrong - for the pricing as low as it has dropped, you still have video evidence that is usable in most situations with these cameras.
At the risk of over-simplifying, the "medium-to-high" range cameras will usually use what is called the "Zoran" chipset inside. These will always have multiple resolution settings including 720P and sometimes 1080P. These will have considerably better video clarity and better low-light ability. There is a much higher probability of reading a license plate for example. Also, they record motion with less blur (better clarity at 30 frames per second.)
At the "high-to-ultrahigh" end you will see the Ambarella chipset. This is the one used in the GoPro cameras for example, although they are not the only ones. This chipset allows the camera to record at 1080p (and even higher 4K in some models) and it allows for high-speed recording (more frames per second.) This is why you see the skiers, racers, etc, using cameras with this chipset because they can freeze-frame or play back in slow-motion and have little (if any) blur in the frame. Translated to the trucking world, these would have the highest probability of reading a license plate at 70 mph in a "freeze" frame for example.

F. Features. In ADDITION to the actual video recording stuff above, there are features that some want and some don't. Such features can alter the price dramatically also. These include things like: waterproof, internal battery, web-cam capability, video output (HDMI or similar), audio, motion detection, GPS position recording, multiple cams recording on one card, playback screen or no screen, ruggedized case, and more.

G. Service. What seller is it coming from? Is it a "fire-and-forget" sale? By the way, 99.9% are made in China or Korea. As with most manufactured goods, this will be the case until the U.S. government imposes stiffer tariffs on goods that are made outside of our borders to bring manufacturing back on-shore. But are you able to actually communicate with the seller before and after? Do they even know the actual nuts and bolts of the product you bought from them? Is there phone support, etc.

Final note: there are only a few retailers who even know the actual innards of their cameras because they are plentiful and it is time-consuming to actually do real-world tests. So if you are doing serious research - look for actual video examples, deeper technical info, or even better, a human on the other end of a phone or at least an email. For instance, the specs and video that the Blue Tiger guys are showing on their site imply to me that they have done their homework. Plus they have actual people behind them too. I don't know what they had at MATS as their "sample" but I am familiar with the "style" of camera that they are selling and in my opinion, theirs would be a safe buy in terms of support and technology. (Zoran chip, optional GPS input, shock sensor, HDMI out, full 1080p res.) Credit where credit is due.

Sorry so long (again...) But because the recent explosion of "windshield" or "dash-cams" upon the U.S. (an explosion that happened several years ago in Europe and Russia) there are far more cameras than there are actual BRAND recognition. And even with those, for the outside "shells" there are really only about 10, but the inside component combos that affect quality, durability, and features put that number of combinations into the hundreds. So when folks ask about them, the answer is actually more closely tied to the specifications and the "innards" then it is to a brand. The only notable exception is "GoPro" who have dominated the high-end versions and left the medium and low stuff off their radars.

 

***Current state of "dash" or "windshield" cams - ABBREVIATED "just the facts man" version.***

Features and support (accessibility to the seller) are currently more important than a "brand name" at this writing. The only notable exception is "GoPro" who play in the higher end of the market and charge accordingly. They have carved a large "brand recognition" for on-the-go video recorders, but can also be overkill for the actual trucker world. Waterproof and ultra-high resolutions and frame-rates make this brand more expensive than some drivers care to spend. However, a rule of thumb for just about everything is whether the seller has an actual business that you can speak with. If they do, then you reduce the "crap-shoot" exponentially.

Lowest cost. ($30 - $50)
This driver says, "I just want to be recording some knucklehead cutting me off so I can prove it wasn't my fault. It needs to be clear what happened, but I realize that it may not be so clear what happened in dark areas or be able to read fine lettering, like license plates. I don't need any extra bells-and-whistles and I don't care if there isn't an actual support line. Price is king. If it breaks, I can always get another at this price."
What to look for: Amazon. Pick the one with the lowest price.

Medium cost / more capability ($50 - $150)
What things to look for: Zoran chipset, 720p or 1080p resolutions, motion detection, gps position recording, actual low-light ability - not to be confused with "IR Night Vision," and try for a seller with an actual business and support line.

High-end ($150 - $400)
Some features associated: Zoran or Ambarella chipset, 1080p resolution, motion detection, waterproof, very good low light, definitely a support line, multi-camera capability.

Biggest myth: that "IR night vision" does anything except bounce back off the windshield and put a white spot on the video at night. We learned that the IR's on a windshield-mounted camera do little, usually none, in terms of "lighting up the road." What actually makes the difference is the ability (lux) of the the lens and the chipset to see in low light. IR's DO work for outside mounted cameras to see in darkness, however.

 

Diesel Boss's posts just reinforce my thoughts that he is one great resource for this forum and truckers in general . Thanks. I would add one comment: If one is tempted to buy one of those cheaper units buyer beware. Most of the Ebay sellers are in China and they have zero customer support. The one exception is a seller called estore009. I have sent him questions and they are all answered promptly. He sells thousands of cameras and stands behind the product. BUT if you havea problem there is the PIA of sending it back to China. His units are not clones and his units have the latest firmware.

 

I can't stand to read much more about technical stuff that I don't understand much of anyway. I looked at the multi camera system on dieselboss. Is there a 3 view camera out there some where that records that doesn't cost $1120? How about $300 or $400? I don't need the best, just something reliable.

 

Actually no, there isn't for "$300 or $400" at this point in the evolution. At least not that I know of. BUT, the cost of a full hard-drive style DVR multi-cam system could be cut by more than half anyway. It would depend on what parts that you want to strip away.

For instance: (3 cameras - one in the windshield, one outside on left pointing back, and one outside on right pointing back)

* Use a 4.3" monitor instead of a 7" monitor.
* Use a SD card DVR (i.e. no internal hard drive and no GPS position Google map recording)
* Use CMOS cameras inside and outside
* No quick-disconnect trailer harness (i.e. all three cameras on on the truck and not at the end of a trailer.)

Naturally, by using an SD card and recording 3 cameras, you would not get weeks of video like on a hard drive system. But if you used a good 32 Gb SD card you'd still get about 20 hours before it started to overwrite.

$499

Example picture (up to 4 cameras max)

 

was this video using the DB4 on your site for $89?

 

Yes. DB4 on 720p quality setting. Morning, day, evening, dusk.