Does anyone have a dashcam they would recommend

Just wondering if anyone has a dashcam that they like and would recommend? I just had a bad experience with a dishonest person and would like to avoid it in the future.

Thanks!

Curious, not an argument, why do you want one? If it is to record accidents for which you are not at fault, you would need one in the rear window also.

Friend's mother was rear ended by a Clifton police Lt. The cop and the cop's fellow officer both blamed "mom" for backing up into the cop car. "Mom's" passenger said the cop was at fault.

The great majority of insurance scams include a pedestrian launching themselves onto the hood of a nearly stopped car. No idea if that's what happened to the OP, but that's why there are so many dashcams in Russia.

Very happy with the Garmin Dashcam 20. Simple and sturdy and has built-in GPS for stamping location and speed of vehicle, as well as a good microphone. Can be configured to automatically record when the vehicle starts and stop when you turn off ignition. Doesn't help with the rear view, though. Garmin has much more expensive models with a rear-view recording extension, as well.

You don't necessarily need one in the rear, but you might, depending on the situation. Some situations will need only the rear. I don't know which is more likely to help. Probably the front one.

I keep reading that thread title as "Anyone have a dachshund they would recommend?" Very confusing.

Thanks for all the comments. I will check out that Garmin one. My need is because of a dishonest motorist who did run into the front of my car and now says it was my fault. It wasn't a lot of damage but if I could easily record where my car goes, I think it would give me peace of mind.

That's funny Peggy! I would recommend the ones with short legs and a long body!

Just saw a nice little dashcam unit, which is half the cost of the Garmin (doesn't have the GPS co-ords and speed recording, though), but it's very small and light and works in a similar, set-and-forget-way. It's a Papago! GoSafe 272, 1080p HD recording at $109. Both units are available on Amazon at the lowest price that I've seen so far. Good luck!

I hope these things turn themselves on when you turn the car on and start recording. I hope they record video in a circular queue so that oldest footage is tossed first and replaced with new footage. Then when you need something for your records, you pull your memory card out. I don't know that this is how these work, but that's how I would want them to work.

I use a GPS recorder to record my tracks when I take a bike ride longer than three miles. It takes a minute or so to get it going, and it would be great if it didn't take so long, but a bicycle is different from a car.

mcgoey said:
That's funny Peggy! I would recommend the ones with short legs and a long body!

I'm very partial to the ones with long hair.

Sorry for your run-in with the creepy driver.

Tom_Reingold said:
I hope these things turn themselves on when you turn the car on and start recording. I hope they record video in a circular queue so that oldest footage is tossed first and replaced with new footage. Then when you need something for your records, you pull your memory card out. I don't know that this is how these work, but that's how I would want them to work.
I use a GPS recorder to record my tracks when I take a bike ride longer than three miles. It takes a minute or so to get it going, and it would be great if it didn't take so long, but a bicycle is different from a car.

Tom, the units that I've tried do all of the things that you mention, as well as adding other functionality, such as configurability of recording (continuous loop or 1-, 3- or 5-minute chunks for easier sharing of smaller files), accelerometers/shock-detection built-in so that if there is an impact the footage around the event is moved to a separate folders which is not automatically overwritten), ability to take still photos, wireless connectivity to download or access the videos via smartphone or PC without removing the SD card, etc. Some of these are so small and light that they can be removed form the windshield or dash adapter and used on a bike or even as a helmet cam, so multi-purpose.

RobB said:
The great majority of insurance scams include a pedestrian launching themselves onto the hood of a nearly stopped car. No idea if that's what happened to the OP, but that's why there are so many dashcams in Russia.

The last time my MIL was in B'klyn she wished she had one. She was in Brighton Beach visiting her old doctor and this woman, according to my MIL, literally ran into the street and smacked her body against my MIL's vehicle. My MIL said she was going like 10mph, but still. The woman claims she was hit; my MIL said she ran into traffic. The woman was pegged to be a scam artist and has a record from B'klyn to Monsey, and it was cleared up. I will tell her about some of the models mentioned here.

BTW, are they easy to install? Like "Grandma Easy"?

I have been driving to NYC for work all summer and stated using my GoPro as a dashcam. It's a bit of a pain to setup every morning so I ordered the cheapest on on Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Black-Box-Original-Dashboard-Dash/dp/B00FONBG1A/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1439475427&sr=1-1&keywords=g1w. I get it on Friday, I'll let you know how I like it.

I just bought the Papgo gosafe 272 on amazon. I bought a little memory card too (though I wasn't sure if I needed it). The customer reviews were good and I would love to encounter another dishonest motorist with my dashcam running. I think I wouldn't even tell them about it. I'd let them lie and then catch them in it. I also like this dashcam because it has a suction cup to attach it to the wind shield.

One other question... did I need to buy a cord to power it up somehow? Or is it battery operated?

Kibbie - that is some story re your mother in law!

Thanks Blueheeler - for your recommendation

mcgoey said:
I just bought the Papgo gosafe 272 on amazon. I bought a little memory card too (though I wasn't sure if I needed it). The customer reviews were good and I would love to encounter another dishonest motorist with my dashcam running. I think I wouldn't even tell them about it. I'd let them lie and then catch them in it. I also like this dashcam because it has a suction cup to attach it to the wind shield.
One other question... did I need to buy a cord to power it up somehow? Or is it battery operated?
Kibbie - that is some story re your mother in law!

You do need the micro-SD card to record the video/sound files and transfer to your PC, if needed. The SD card should come with a larger adapter to use the older, full-size SD card slot in most recent PCs.

It comes with a power cord to plug into the car 12V power outlet/cigarette lighter, so you don't to purchase anything additional. It has a built-in rechargeable battery, so you can conceivably unplug the car charger and use it as a poor-man's GoPro -- it's small enough.

kibbegirl said:

RobB said:
The great majority of insurance scams include a pedestrian launching themselves onto the hood of a nearly stopped car. No idea if that's what happened to the OP, but that's why there are so many dashcams in Russia.

The last time my MIL was in B'klyn she wished she had one. She was in Brighton Beach visiting her old doctor and this woman, according to my MIL, literally ran into the street and smacked her body against my MIL's vehicle. My MIL said she was going like 10mph, but still. The woman claims she was hit; my MIL said she ran into traffic. The woman was pegged to be a scam artist and has a record from B'klyn to Monsey, and it was cleared up. I will tell her about some of the models mentioned here.
BTW, are they easy to install? Like "Grandma Easy"?

Super easy. Plug and play. Plug in the micro-SD card, plug it in, go into menu settings, configure time/date/timezone, maybe a few more recording options, then just stick suction mount to windshield and plug into cigarette lighter. The unit will turn on with the ignition and turn off when you turn the car off.

I love it blueheeler. Thanks so much. I should have it by Saturday and will report back!

blueheeler, thank you. I'm impressed.

kibbegirl, I'm going to use that term "Grandma Easy." Thank you for that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxOHgm9J3Kg

Check out this review of the papago gosafe from just last month.

I received my Papago dashcam yesterday and am trying to figure out which settings are going to work for me.