Cool thanks. Are you able to use this as a rear cam? Guessing you'll need to mount it in the middle of the rear windscreen
All comments (105)
melted
19 Jul 17#1
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.
centurion
19 Jul 17#2
You can mount this anywhere as long as you can plug the lead into the cigar lighter for power
MrJinxy
19 Jul 17#3
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/
spiderbifida
19 Jul 17#4
Rather *than a battery
Opethian
19 Jul 17#5
You can get these at eBay UK for cheaper. Unbranded G1Ws.
PHILIPE666 to Opethian
19 Jul 17#7
Can't see them on eBay you got a link
jukes21
19 Jul 17#6
Is gearblast safe? not used this site before.
refaey
19 Jul 17#8
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.
api182 to refaey
19 Jul 17#11
I've done a lot of orders from GearBest over the last 12 months and I've never paid import tax on anything! I find as long as you don't mind waiting, go for the free shipping and it somehow 'sails' right passed customs... As soon as you get desperate and go for DHL/UPS etc that's when you get stung, guaranteed.
Few phones, tablet stuff over £100 sometimes too... They tend to just mark the packages as much lower values which is obviously where it escapes VAT... They've been very good in the past too when stuff goes missing en route, they just send another out! (Must be enough profit in it all for them to not really care...)
MrJinxy
19 Jul 17#9
Not genuine chips, look around on web. For sake of £5-£10 might as well buy from genuine source
2 G1W's side-by side. For the sake of an extra £5 get it from E-Prance.
jaydeeuk1
19 Jul 17#10
Gearbest - auto cold.
defard
19 Jul 17#12
Do you have to keep these things plugged in all the time?
idroidmaniac
19 Jul 17#13
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.
MrJinxy
19 Jul 17#14
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.
GreenAndBlack
19 Jul 17#15
Are these difficult to wire in?
damadgeruk
19 Jul 17#16
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.
MrJinxy
19 Jul 17#17
Nope, USB into camera, cigarette end into lighter socket :smile:
Super.Noob
19 Jul 17#18
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.
Misslovely
19 Jul 17#19
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?
Graham1979
19 Jul 17#20
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.
1080p and 5 years old? Must have cost a pretty penny.
ruffedgrouse
19 Jul 17#25
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.
MrJinxy
19 Jul 17#26
I'm not the only one that says it, look at link/YouTube/online
OB1
19 Jul 17#27
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.
PhilipGregson
19 Jul 17#28
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.
barneyonion
19 Jul 17#29
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.
bargainBooze
19 Jul 17#30
Anyone know what courier UK Express shipping (10-20 days) is?
What's the best option to avoid customs?
crusaderrabbituk
19 Jul 17#31
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.
sefgrt123
19 Jul 17#32
yep bought loads off them
bargainBooze
19 Jul 17#33
Do get a tracking number with free delivery?
crusaderrabbituk to bargainBooze
20 Jul 17#55
Gearbest always have a track your order option that ive always had with nearly all my orders.
voodoo85
19 Jul 17#34
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.
phatbhoy
19 Jul 17#36
genuine or clone?
ceanth
19 Jul 17#37
I read somewhere that these dash cams can only take up to 32gb cards.
Is that going to be enough?
OB1 to ceanth
19 Jul 17#41
How long do you think want your recordings to be?
centurion
19 Jul 17#43
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
hasan6958
20 Jul 17#44
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?
dunc360 to hasan6958
20 Jul 17#54
You could splice into an ignition live circuit of you want a permanent connection
Or get a 12v splitter so you can get extra sockets at the front. you wire the lead around the windscreen edge, usually you can gently push the wire behind the A-pillar interior panels so it's hidden and direct it back down to the 12v socket
jambone
20 Jul 17#45
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!
Andaho
20 Jul 17#46
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.
nige182
20 Jul 17#47
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.
tfish
20 Jul 17#48
Fake News.
damadgeruk
20 Jul 17#49
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).
fozzy17
20 Jul 17#50
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..
OB1 to fozzy17
20 Jul 17#52
Only if you do something wrong! In which case I'd hope most would be honest and own up anyway.....
ceanth
20 Jul 17#51
Managed to pick up a few before the deal expired. Any recommendations on SD card?
ssc1 to ceanth
20 Jul 17#53
This, class 10 and 32gb then is it only down to speed?
fozzy17
20 Jul 17#56
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
MrJinxy
20 Jul 17#57
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)
Burr_ger
20 Jul 17#58
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!
Doug_
20 Jul 17#59
Thanks. Just ordered for £21.62. They gave me points which knocked 77p off. Also 3.03% TCB for new customers.
Doug_
20 Jul 17#60
Which SD card would people recommend?
creative_ltu
20 Jul 17#61
got one. through paypal comes out as £23
damadgeruk
20 Jul 17#62
I had one of these (genuine) though prefer my Xiaomi. Currently £29ish here... m.tomtop.com/xia…tml using code DSXYCM
keano666
20 Jul 17#63
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.
damadgeruk
20 Jul 17#64
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.
ssc1
20 Jul 17#65
best budget dash cam.
will this be genuine i.e not fake.
rufnek2kx
20 Jul 17#66
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.
118luke
20 Jul 17#67
– Supports up to 32GB MicroSD cards Grrrrrrrr.....
ssc1
20 Jul 17#68
what shipping should i select?? both free: unregistered or priority? thx
mr.zoli
20 Jul 17#69
Im just wondering the same.. dont want to get stung by costums charges
ssc1 to mr.zoli
20 Jul 17#71
i went for unregistered,
iby_m1
20 Jul 17#70
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...
mr.zoli
20 Jul 17#72
me too
MrJinxy
20 Jul 17#73
Go fo unregistered but add insurance, think its £1.40. Worth it in case it gets lost. They send another free
Gareth79
20 Jul 17#74
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.
melted
20 Jul 17#75
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.
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.
I prefer the xiaomi (had both), £10 cheaper in #57 and easy to change to English according to a review.
gary_rip
20 Jul 17#81
"Sorry,flash sale is over."
gaz_marshall
20 Jul 17#82
Expired
airguitarjump
20 Jul 17#83
£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 :-\
melted
20 Jul 17#84
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
jambone
20 Jul 17#85
Sorry, i didn't realise you were the OP! :grin:
Thanks for a good find
mike1838
21 Jul 17#86
Flash sale is back on. Unexpire this deal!
mrdude
21 Jul 17#87
Sale back on! Be quick
MrJinxy
21 Jul 17#88
Unexpired :smile:
poisondwarf
21 Jul 17#89
Thanks op Good deal...bought...and voted hot :smile:
sheffgrow259
21 Jul 17#90
Any links for decent memory cards for these please?
chris88
25 Jul 17#91
Five days and it still hasn't been dispatched for me.
pedropdx
28 Jul 17#92
still no dispatch for me... hmmm
w00cash666
28 Jul 17#93
No dispatch here either
poisondwarf
28 Jul 17#94
No dispatch here either
MrJinxy
28 Jul 17#95
Mine has :smile:
gryllsbear
31 Jul 17#96
Mine arrived on Friday. I didn't get a dispatch notice, hopefully yours may arrive soon.
MrJinxy
31 Jul 17#97
Mine came Sat morning
chris88
31 Jul 17#98
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.
ceanth
31 Jul 17#99
Not got mine yet. Does anybody have any recommendations for SD cards?
pedropdx
3 Aug 17#100
I had a dispatch notice a few days ago. no tracking information available though although I paid for it. crappy gearbest!
OB1
8 Aug 17#101
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!
sheffgrow259
8 Aug 17#102
Still not arrived, what a crap company
ceanth
8 Aug 17#103
mine arrived today. Proper packaging and all.
ceanth
16 Aug 17#104
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?
chris88
6 Sep 17#105
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.
Opening post
All comments (105)
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.
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.
Few phones, tablet stuff over £100 sometimes too... They tend to just mark the packages as much lower values which is obviously where it escapes VAT... They've been very good in the past too when stuff goes missing en route, they just send another out! (Must be enough profit in it all for them to not really care...)
2 G1W's side-by side. For the sake of an extra £5 get it from E-Prance.
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.
1080p and 5 years old? Must have cost a pretty penny.
Implying that a capacitor is somehow equivalent to (or "better") than a battery is just nonsense because they're completely different things.
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.
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.
What's the best option to avoid customs?
carcamcentral.com/gui…rds
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.
Is that going to be enough?
Or get a 12v splitter so you can get extra sockets at the front. you wire the lead around the windscreen edge, usually you can gently push the wire behind the A-pillar interior panels so it's hidden and direct it back down to the 12v socket
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.
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.
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).
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!
m.tomtop.com/xia…tml
using code DSXYCM
will this be genuine i.e not fake.
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.
Grrrrrrrr.....
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.
ebay.co.uk/itm…Fgy
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.
Thanks for a good find
Good deal...bought...and voted hot :smile:
I get the impression from people that gearbest stuff is genuine, but I'm surprised!
Does anybody know what this symbol means?