I got a 32gb class 10 Transcend for a dashcam three years ago, just the normal all black one, still working fine too.

I believe nand flash is usually rated for about 100,000 write cycles, so if you drove enough to fill the card once a day that should manage about 273 years. Although realistically due to file tables etc, it will fail a lot sooner than that.

You can mount this anywhere as long as you can plug the lead into the cigar lighter for power

Currently 41% off this dash cam. This is the newer model with a capacitor rather than a battery. Much better technology in my opinion, usually found in high end models. Renowned model, great reviews. Full details here - dashboardcamerareviews.com/g1w…08/

Rather *than a battery

You can get these at eBay UK for cheaper. Unbranded G1Ws.

Is gearblast safe? not used this site before.

I've used them many many times but mostly for items cheaper than £50 and they're absolutely fine.

Delivery takes around 2-3 weeks.

As far as I know, anything more than £18 and you'll be stung by customs and VAT. Obviously this is not GearBest's issue but worth mentioning. That being said, I've ordered items worth £30 and even £40 sometimes and didn't have to pay customs or VAT.

Not genuine chips, look around on web. For sake of £5-£10 might as well buy from genuine source

Gearbest - auto cold.

Do you have to keep these things plugged in all the time?

Never had an issue with orders over £50. Made 5 orders around £80 and been fine no worries. I think aslong as its not DHL its ok.

Yes, it will not power without a source. A capacitor is safer as will not overheat/explode in a hot car, plus batteries always end up dying anyway.

Are these difficult to wire in?

If you want to use it then it will need power. Battery/cap is not designed to keep the unit powered for more than a minute or so.

Nope, USB into camera, cigarette end into lighter socket :smile:

Same with me, had ordered several items from them with no delivery issue as long as you can wait 2-4 weeks. As apoi182 & idroidmaniac mentioned, just don't use DHL/UPS delivery as they will DEFINATELY charge you on customs. I once had a phone that died on me and they replace it without much hassle. Only downside was that I had to post it back and it took 2 months before I received the replacement phone. Apart from the very slow after sales service, I can't really fault them much.

So, if this is a normal dash cam why highlight decibitaror or whatever. Its not a latest camera then is it, to summarize what's so special?

REMEMBER YOU NEED AN ENDURANCE SD CARD FOR HD DASH CAMERAS.

Normal cards are not designed to be written to with such high volumes of data and over a prolonged time. It will burn out and often shows no error on the camera but only when you plug it into the PC or try to watch the footage.

Recommendation please!

Source?

Hi. I have been using my dashcam (similar to the one posted here) for about five years with the same sandisk sd card. No issues yet.

All electronics have capacitors. What you really mean is "externally powered" i.e. not wireless.

Implying that a capacitor is somehow equivalent to (or "better") than a battery is just nonsense because they're completely different things.

I'm not the only one that says it, look at link/YouTube/online

These devices need a backup power source so that they can finalise recordings even when the power cuts in a crash.

They can either use a rechargeable battery, or a capacitor. Some people (including me) believe a capacitor is better for this purpose, in the hot environment of a car windscreen.

I have purchased a couple of the E-Prance ones from Amazon. After a while the selection switch fails. Dismantled a and tried to replace the button switch, but impossible to find an equivalent size.

How to spot a fake.


Review


Great cameras - I have bought and installed 4 of these. Battery powered one I have has lasted fine. In hotter and colder climates capacitor models are recommended.

Anyone know what courier UK Express shipping (10-20 days) is?

What's the best option to avoid customs?

I've ordered plenty of times from gearbest, and only got stung with customs when choosing dhl as mentioned. Free delivery options the way to go.

yep bought loads off them

Do get a tracking number with free delivery?

Same here (have Mobius cam since early 2014) and no issues. Also use a capacitor in the mobius for overheating reasons.

The OP means it has a super capacitor instead of a lithium battery. * One or the other is required to allow the camera to empty its file buffers, close files and shut down cleanly when the power is cut. This model probably also uses the super cap rather than a separate battery to keep power to its clock, which is not ideal.

Lithium batteries don't like the extreme temperatures that can be reached in a black cased camera mounted in a car windscreen, and can easily get above the maximum recommended charging temperature, although a cheap chinese camera will probably charge them anyway.

I just replaced the lithium battery in a G1WH dashcam, it was still working after three years and hadn't gone puffy which the can do, but its capacity was down a bit and the camera got stuck in a boot loop after about 20 seconds when I powered it up on its internal battery. Obviously I soldered in as low capacity liion battery as possible to replace it.


*some fake capacitor versions do have a battery.

genuine or clone?

I read somewhere that these dash cams can only take up to 32gb cards.

Is that going to be enough?

32gb is plenty. They only record for a few minutes at a time then save. 32gb stores about 7 hours before overwriting the first saved videos. I have a cheap ebay G1W which on first inspection was terrible build quality but it does what it is supposed to. Just plug it in and get ok quality video

Is there an alternative way to power this? Cable straight down the windscreen to the cigarette socket wouldn't look good and usually only have 1 socket available at the front?

I'm confused, are you saying the gear best ones aren't genuine chips or the ones on eBay? Can you possibly give me the link for the one you believe to be genuine - thanks!

I currently have one of these, I'm actually on my second, but I'd not recommend it... not because it doesn't work well, because it does - my first one lasted a few years, and I replaced it with the same about 2 years ago because I just wanted to get it replaced ASAP and it was way cheaper than the first one I bought about 5 years ago...

I did research into them only after I had ordered a replacement G1W, and wish I had got an A118C instead... The G1W hangs quite a lot from the windscreen, and can be tricky to get positioned perfectly... the A118C is just better designed... It took the best value title away from the G1W on dashcamtalk.com/ - when my G1W eventually gives up, I'll be replacing it with the A118C.

The Xiaomi camera that you linked to was the Xiaoyi Yi Smart Dash Camera, that link from LordKelly is for the Mijia Car DVR Camera, which are two different models. I believe the Mijia is newer but not sure how the two compare functionally.

I do know the Xiaoyi would be intended for the global market so has English language, however the Mijia is intended for the Chinese market, it has Chinese language only, however I have read there is an update that adds English language to that too.

Fake News.

Sorry, didn't notice. I have a Chinese language version (English firmware is available for some though not mine) though it's not a problem for me.
Update :the unit I linked in #57 is easy to change to English, the GearBest linked unit states Chinese language only (may have an English language firmware though not all do).

people walking blindly into a monitored state, as much as these can help you, it can also be used in evidence against you, you better be whiter than white, I wouldn't have one for free..

Managed to pick up a few before the deal expired. Any recommendations on SD card?

you must be mad, before you know it, it will be compulsory, is that the world you want to live in, there are already cases of people using video evidence to report drivers, let the police do their job

The eBay ones are not, ones that are cost more then the link I have provided. Why would I post up a fake and recommend an alternative X)

SD cards like any storage have a maximum read/write life cycle. With dashcams they are consonantly loop recording large HD files to the memory card and so it will eventually fail. Its worth checking your footage every so often and if you see corrupted videos (they may seem okay until you actually view the video). If so then that is the first sign of the card is failing as it has corrupted sectors.

On the other hand you can buy a brand like Kingston who provide life time warranty then you can get it replaced for free once you start getting bad sectors. Just dont tell them its been used in a dash cam as they will not replace it and they will tell you that they are not designed for dash cams. They are aware that dash cams are killing their cards!

Thanks. Just ordered for £21.62. They gave me points which knocked 77p off. Also 3.03% TCB for new customers.

Which SD card would people recommend?

got one. through paypal comes out as £23

I had one of these (genuine) though prefer my Xiaomi. Currently £29ish here...
m.tomtop.com/xia…tml
using code DSXYCM

As the other comments say, be careful with these, there are lots of fake ones knocking about. I bought mine from amazon g-tech about 2 years ago for £25, it was £45 but i had a voucher. It is a very good camera with pretty good quality for the cost, reviews are also good hence why i went for this to start with. It does require constant connection to a power source however. There are also videos out there which will show you how to check to see if the one you have is a fake, it is rather simple but does involve splitting it into two parts to look at the chip inside.

It's only a matter of time before these are compulsory. Until then, I'll use one to help protect against the growing number of idiots on the road. The police are already struggling due to lack of funds, they couldn't be present for all occasions though they can if you use a cam.

best budget dash cam.

will this be genuine i.e not fake.

I bought one of these a couple of month ago. It was about the same price (give or take a few pence) and absolutely well recommended. The pic quality when set to 1080p is really good and on par with the high range expensive dash cams. You can easily read registration plates at a reasonable distance. It's difficult to keep attaching and removing from the stand, so once it's on and fixed to the windscreen, it's best to just leave it there. The LED for nightvision is rubbish, but even without it, night time footage is decent too.

With regards to Gearbest, I've bought loads from there over the past. I add on shipping insurance and select the standard shipping option. Never been asked to pay customs/duties.

– Supports up to 32GB MicroSD cards
Grrrrrrrr.....

what shipping should i select?? both free: unregistered or priority? thx

Im just wondering the same.. dont want to get stung by costums charges

So far, I've purchased 2 Xiaomi Redmi Note 4s, a Redmi Pro and a Redmi Note 3. Also purchased many cases and screen protectors and various other things. Order delivered on time and in excellent condition and exactly as described. Good experience so far...

me too

Go fo unregistered but add insurance, think its £1.40. Worth it in case it gets lost. They send another free

A really easy and tidy way to power them is a "piggy back fuse" into a circuit which is switched with the ignition (radio or cigar lighter socket is usually best). They usually come with a butt splice crimp connector which most people should be able to do, one of the very cheap crimping tools will work fine.

I'd disagree, it is better to remove the camera from its mount and take it indoors to check the micro SD card as there are loads of places in a car for a tiny micro sd card to get dropped into and permanently lost.

Even if you don't need to view the footage it is a good idea to check the card is ok and quick format it at least once or twice a year.

Regarding the led, I'd recommend a bit of black electrical insulation tape over the white led lens cover to help make the camera less noticeable through the windscreen. You will never want to use as it would just reflect off the windscreen if you turn it on.

hard wire kit:

ebay.co.uk/itm…Fgy

Fair point. I actually ended up snapping the little lever that is meant to release the cam from the stand whilst trying to release it because it was such a tight fit, so the only option for me now is to take the stand off from the windscreen if I was going to do that. Much easier to take the SD card out only.

Agreed with the electrical tape over the LED.

Also to add, the cable is quite long as it is. If you have a cigarette socket that you can dedicate to this cam, have a look at youtube how to wedge the wire in between the roof lining and door panel etc. Takes very little time and expertise and it can save you a few bob.

This one or this one gearbest.com/car…_de

Thanks .. I was looking for one ..

I prefer the xiaomi (had both), £10 cheaper in #57 and easy to change to English according to a review.

"Sorry,flash sale is over."

Expired

£33.77 now... was going to buy it as well for the original price but thought I would wait till after lunchtime. should always stick to impulse buying :-\

Replacement windscreen mounts are pretty cheap, I bought a new one for a G1WH recently for about £1 as the sun had got to the plastic bit that attaches to the sucker (still using the original as the superglue is holding). I don't think it ever had a catch on the g1wh I got,or if it did it broke off years ago, but I bookmarked a few including this that does and looked like it might fit:- ebay.co.uk/itm…154

Sorry, i didn't realise you were the OP! :grin:

Thanks for a good find

Flash sale is back on. Unexpire this deal!

Sale back on! Be quick

Unexpired :smile:

Thanks op
Good deal...bought...and voted hot :smile:

Any links for decent memory cards for these please?

Five days and it still hasn't been dispatched for me.

still no dispatch for me... hmmm

No dispatch here either

No dispatch here either

Mine has :smile:

Mine arrived on Friday. I didn't get a dispatch notice, hopefully yours may arrive soon.

Mine came Sat morning

I emailed them and they said that they have no more stock and no more will be in for another 2-4 weeks. Weird because I ordered it when it was still showing 160 in stock.

Not got mine yet. Does anybody have any recommendations for SD cards?

I had a dispatch notice a few days ago. no tracking information available though although I paid for it. crappy gearbest!

Mine has turned up - I surprised that it doesn't mention the manufacturer or model number on the box, in the instructions, or on the camera itself.

I get the impression from people that gearbest stuff is genuine, but I'm surprised!

Still not arrived, what a crap company

mine arrived today. Proper packaging and all.

Finally got mine up and running. All is well however I have a red sun symbol on the screen. I can't seem to find it mentioned in the manual and cant find any information about it online.

Does anybody know what this symbol means?

Finally came yesterday. In all that time I still didn't get a memory card. Not sure if I should get a endurance or just a class 10. Cheapest endurance card seems to be £17.