- Nov 30, 2022
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Back to the original question ......
I have never given it a moments thought. I have had tge same dashcam (Nextbase, dunno the number but it works perfectly) now for over 5 years on 2 cars.
My screen shield (when I use it) is an external one which, to my mind, is a better option as it reflects the sunlight/UV before it gets to the glass so no solar gain through the screen which is inevitable if the shade is inside.
Lidl/Aldi sell them for about a fiver. I find them pretty durable.
I have never given it a moments thought. I have had tge same dashcam (Nextbase, dunno the number but it works perfectly) now for over 5 years on 2 cars.
My screen shield (when I use it) is an external one which, to my mind, is a better option as it reflects the sunlight/UV before it gets to the glass so no solar gain through the screen which is inevitable if the shade is inside.
Lidl/Aldi sell them for about a fiver. I find them pretty durable.
- Nov 11, 2009
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I’ve got a reflective external sunscreen which tends to be used mostly to keep frost and snow off of the cars screen. My internal sunscreen is something I obtained when invited to the Pensacola air station to watch a Blue Angels display. I don’t use it much as it can move if there’s a breeze and if I have not switched off internal movement sensors it sets the cars alarm off.
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- Nov 11, 2009
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A Quick Look at that bundle’s features tells me that apart from not having a dash cam my car already has those features and more. I wouldn’t want anything more squawking at me whilst driving or manoeuvring. I’ve already got my wife 🙈
I did see that this on the website but having spent years developing what losely can be described as Autopilot Systems for aircraft, putting things like this into the hands of the general public fills me with dread. Air crew are highly trained to use much more complicated equipment for sure, but there is a tendency among a large proportion of the general public that believes they can give up the resposibility for safe driving and place it into the hands of technology that doesn't live up to its promises.
Witness the number of Tesla drivers that believe their Autopilot System is just that and its ok to sit in the back or passenger seat or watch videos on their phones.
As mentioned earlier I was given a Dashcam to evaluate. It retails for about £38 and is a rear view mirror with integrated camera. It clips onto you existing rear view mirror and the forward facing cameras sits to one side. There is a rear view camera included in the kit. The display is part of the mirror.
I'll not go into much details here other than to say its useless. It does produce videos and stills but they are almost unusable unless the lighting and scene is just right.
I'd like to know how it compares with something like the Nextbase 322. For instance if you're driving and the road ahead has about 50% bright sky in the background and the 50% foreground is just road and country side, the exposure of the bit you really want - i.e the road is just too dark. The camera can't cope with such a great contrast range.
As for acting as a reversing camera, the display is virtually impossible to see in daylight. Not to mention the fact that the resolution and image quality of the reversing camera is really bad.
Does the Nextbase 322 had Parking Assistance?
I'll not go into much details here other than to say its useless. It does produce videos and stills but they are almost unusable unless the lighting and scene is just right.
I'd like to know how it compares with something like the Nextbase 322. For instance if you're driving and the road ahead has about 50% bright sky in the background and the 50% foreground is just road and country side, the exposure of the bit you really want - i.e the road is just too dark. The camera can't cope with such a great contrast range.
As for acting as a reversing camera, the display is virtually impossible to see in daylight. Not to mention the fact that the resolution and image quality of the reversing camera is really bad.
Does the Nextbase 322 had Parking Assistance?
To try and mitigate this the "recommendation" I seem to recall was not to aim the dash cam directly ahead but biased downward. Probably as the risk we face on the road are less likely to come from out of the sky than from on the road? The use of a "polarising" filter also helps to a useful extent with glare issues. Better units tend to feature them.
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- Jun 16, 2020
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As I pointed out in #28. The discount applies across the range. Therefore the 322 and 522 being discussed.
The big problem with their new range is they require a subscription to be fully operational.
John
- Jun 16, 2020
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Yes, its not great but then I suspect that most consumer dashcams wouldn't be good in all situations. There are just too many variables.
I even tried looking at the images in Photoshop and no amount of enhancing would improve them sufficiently to be able to read the number plate. In good lighting conditions it wasn't too bad but only at a distance of about 5m.
I even tried looking at the images in Photoshop and no amount of enhancing would improve them sufficiently to be able to read the number plate. In good lighting conditions it wasn't too bad but only at a distance of about 5m.
I decided to try an old smartphone as a Dashcam and got better results. It recorded the video at 1080p and 30fps. The exposure was much better and the image below shows an oncoming vehicle number plate is readable, considering the closing speed was over 100mph. The second image shows a car in front, about 4 car lengths ahead and the number plate is unreadable.
When I find time I'll try the same phone at 2k 60fps and 4k 30fps.
Either way while its interesting its not a practical solution.
When I find time I'll try the same phone at 2k 60fps and 4k 30fps.
Either way while its interesting its not a practical solution.
Not sure but I can't see it being any different from having a normal phone on a mount, hands free. Or a sat nav come to that.
I started before setting of and stopped it when we got home. Never needed to touch it at all when driving.
I started before setting of and stopped it when we got home. Never needed to touch it at all when driving.
- Nov 11, 2009
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Wonder no more HMG provides chapter and verse.Good coverage, but I wonder what the law says about using a mobile phone while driving even if it is fixed?
Using a phone, sat nav or other device when driving
It’s illegal to hold a phone or a sat nav while driving - you'll get penalty points, a fine and can be banned from driving.
- Jun 20, 2005
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Yet driving a car with a massive display which contains all the controls needing finger input is still ok?.Wonder no more HMG provides chapter and verse.
Using a phone, sat nav or other device when driving
It’s illegal to hold a phone or a sat nav while driving - you'll get penalty points, a fine and can be banned from driving.www.gov.uk
Bizarre🙃
If I've read that correctly you can use a touch screen device if it's mounted in the vehicle...fixed sat nav for example or a phone in a windscreen mount. It's just you can't use it if you have to hold it.
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Sam, I have just updated my Nextbase from 19.0 to 30.1 and surprisingly it does have parking assist.
- Jul 18, 2017
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Nope you cannot touch the unit and that includes the Satnav. It needs to be voice controlled as per the legislation.
Using devices hands-free
You can use devices with hands-free access, as long as you do not hold them at any time during usage. Hands-free access means using, for example:- a Bluetooth headset
- voice command
- a dashboard holder or mat
- a windscreen mount
- a built-in sat nav
- Nov 11, 2009
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But your quotes says “ as long as you don’t hold them at any time”. Doesn’t exclude touching a fixed or mounted screen. Not a good idea when driving but not illegal.
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