BMW Advanced Car eye Camera (Dash Cam)

[jhbodle]

Had it for 6 months or so now - still great. It just works. I want to hack it so it records 12 hours after ignition off though - 6 hours is too little.

One other thing - it likes you to format the SD card every 3 weeks or so.

[pokerface]

https://www.facebook.com/ArenaScient...77401525641095

Looks like it's made by a company called Arena Scientific, purports to be German designed, China manufactured.

[AYTifosi]

I have the BlackVue 3500, but wish i would have gotten the two channel 6500. If you are getting this for security, front and rear cameras are a must. I may upgrade...

Have had no battery drain issues. The key is choosing the correct fuses.

[Surturminn]

Originally Posted by Hitman999

I think the BMW camera system is very good. It's a neat installation and does the job well. Best place to buy is direct from BMW. I got my installation done by BMW too. That way if there are problems you can go straight back to them.

Website states price on request, do you mind sharing purchase and installation costs?

[CardinalZeus77]

Originally Posted by Surturminn

Website states price on request, do you mind sharing purchase and installation costs?

The cost is £285 + £150 fitting.

[///Pip]

Originally Posted by jhbodle

OK here we go

Pros:
- It is reliable
- It has a parking mode that doesn't trigger any battery warnings
- The BMW logo when it switches on makes it look like a factory installed item
- It has front and rear cameras

Cons:
- It is big and the chrome on the front makes it easy to spot
- The hard ride of the M4 triggers the event capture mode frequently, as does heavy acceleration
- The parking mode only records for 6 hours

I have put black tape over the chrome bits on the front of the camera to make it less noticeable. There is also a hack available to increase the recording time in Park mode and the sensitivity of the Event capture mode, but I haven't tried those yet.

On the plus side, it isn't powered by a battery - it uses a supercapacitor, which is much better. It should make it much more reliable than a battery powered equivalent when it gets older.

Anything else you want to know, just shout!

My rear camera failed within 1 week of installing this.

Head unit prompt "please check rear camera".

Dealer replaced the camera

The digitized lady voice has a Korean accent

[YMB-M3-J2]

Originally Posted by AYTifosi

I have the BlackVue 3500, but wish i would have gotten the two channel 6500. If you are getting this for security, front and rear cameras are a must. I may upgrade...

Have had no battery drain issues. The key is choosing the correct fuses.

What fuse did you pick? Did you get a Magic power pro or any equivalents?

[AYTifosi]

I detailed my installation here

http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...1020799&page=2

Let me know if you have questions.

[YMB-M3-J2]

Originally Posted by AYTifosi

I detailed my installation here

http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...1020799&page=2

Let me know if you have questions.

Thanks i did see your post earlier just didnt put 2 and 2 together. Good write up. Short and to the point. The fuse location and numbers is a big help because as you said above that seems to be the key to no battery issues.

[jwzimm]

I think I am going to go with the BMW Advanced Car Eye myself. I have had a Blackvue previously and I wasn't super impressed. It started to have issues with rebooting randomly and also locking up. I also like the way the BMW unit ties in to both ACC and Constant power and controls its own parking time.

Here's to hoping that ECS tuning runs a Black Friday or Cyber Monday deal!

[Mantii]

Im in the market for one as well. I'm trying to decide between the Blackvue and the BMW Advanced Car Eye.

Is it possible to connect the BMW camera to the mirror for power? Also one other thing that I am not sure was answered before, does it have motion detection like the BlackVue, or does it only turn on after "impact" etc?

Would really appreciate if someone could comment on this. THanks!

[jwzimm]

Originally Posted by Mantii

Im in the market for one as well. I'm trying to decide between the Blackvue and the BMW Advanced Car Eye.

Is it possible to connect the BMW camera to the mirror for power? Also one other thing that I am not sure was answered before, does it have motion detection like the BlackVue, or does it only turn on after "impact" etc?

Would really appreciate if someone could comment on this. THanks!

I don't think it would be good to connect to the mirror as the current draw may be too much. The BMW instructions have you tap constant and ACC power at the CAS module in the footwell. You also need to route the rear camera cable to the rear so you would need to route wires down the a-pillar anyway.

The documentation I have found on the BMW unit says it does have motion detection. The parking mode seems much more intelligent than other systems. It has a built in battery voltage monitor (like the power magic).

[Mantii]

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated. Yeah if it has the motion detection while parked, and not just when getting hit or something, than I may just go for this unit.

[Mantii]

I just talked to my local BMW dealer and they don't have it "yet" and not sure if they can install, but are confident they can, since its a BMW part. Did anyone here have their US BMW dealer install it? Just wanted to get some feedback.

Thanks!

[jwzimm]

Originally Posted by Mantii

I just talked to my local BMW dealer and they don't have it "yet" and not sure if they can install, but are confident they can, since its a BMW part. Did anyone here have their US BMW dealer install it? Just wanted to get some feedback.

Thanks!

I would be curious if any US dealers have installed it too. You can get the installation instructions here: https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/at...5&d=1428352857

[Mantii]

I went ahead and ordered the BMW cam. It will be a while before I get my car and get a chance to install it however (couple months). I'll let you guys know how it goes with the US dealer getting this installed

[motch]

Anyone here have a cam on a convertible? Planning on a ED on a new 435, in June. Want something for both security and accident recording (not to mention, the few times I really open the car up [no pun intended]).

Looking and leaning towards the BlackVue 650 as it looks very small and less noticeable. But like the idea of sticking with BMW stuff.

Since it's a Convertible, no way to have a cam on the rear window. Any other options? Wonder if it's possible to put a rear view camera on the front windshield facing aft?

Is the BMW camera really as big as it seems/looks? My concern will be someone stealing it while the top is down.

Got a long time (7 months) to figure it all out.. but thanks for any help and suggestions.

Always
Motch

[jwzimm]

So I am seriously looking at picking this camera up now. My research has turned up something concerning though. On realoem.com it states the following:

If an AGM Absorbent Glass Mat battery is not installed in the vehicle it will be necessary to retrofit one.
AGM or lithium-ion battery, installation

The last line is what throws me. Is that suggesting that the Lithium Ion battery in our cars is acceptable or not? My first thought was that this noted was provided to ensure folks didn't install this into a car with a normal lead-acid battery that would not work well with the extra current draw from the camera Since our cars have the Li-ion battery that would be even more advanced than the AGM making it acceptable.

Thoughts?

[AYTifosi]

I don't really know what you mean about the AGM glass. I have the Blackvue 3500 - single camera in the front. (Blackvue 6500 for the front/rear) (from blackboxmycar.com - they are really really helpful). I installed the 3500 in both my cars. In retrospect I would prefer the 6500 two channel (front/rear) to capture all the people behind me picking their noses and stuff. If I had a vert, I'd go with just the front camera and figure that it is better than nothing.

If you hook up the camera through the fuse box, it is just piggy backing power. What I have found is that, when I leave the camera plugged in for more than a day, when I start the car I will get a notice on the idrive that there is an unexplained power drain - can't remember exactly what it says. It's just informing me. I have the Power Magic unit, so I trust that if the drain was significant it would shut the camera down. I think our cars are just smart :-)

My car only sits for more than a day at home in the garage, so I just unplug it when I get home. If I forget, it's only day - or the Power Magic unit is on duty. I generally plug the car into the charger if it is going to sit fore more than a couple days. This way there's no issue at all.

The only disappointment in the whole camera thing is that in order to record and store the data, the video is compressed. This cuts down on the resolution enough that it doesn't really capture license plates unless the lighting is great and the other car is pretty close.

[jwzimm]

Originally Posted by AYTifosi

I don't really know what you mean about the AGM glass. I have the Blackvue 3500 - single camera in the front. (Blackvue 6500 for the front/rear) (from blackboxmycar.com - they are really really helpful). I installed the 3500 in both my cars. In retrospect I would prefer the 6500 two channel (front/rear) to capture all the people behind me picking their noses and stuff. If I had a vert, I'd go with just the front camera and figure that it is better than nothing.

If you hook up the camera through the fuse box, it is just piggy backing power. What I have found is that, when I leave the camera plugged in for more than a day, when I start the car I will get a notice on the idrive that there is an unexplained power drain - can't remember exactly what it says. It's just informing me. I have the Power Magic unit, so I trust that if the drain was significant it would shut the camera down. I think our cars are just smart :-)

My car only sits for more than a day at home in the garage, so I just unplug it when I get home. If I forget, it's only day - or the Power Magic unit is on duty. I generally plug the car into the charger if it is going to sit fore more than a couple days. This way there's no issue at all.

The only disappointment in the whole camera thing is that in order to record and store the data, the video is compressed. This cuts down on the resolution enough that it doesn't really capture license plates unless the lighting is great and the other car is pretty close.

I guess my concern is with staying exactly to what BMW recommends. Yes, I know, this is likely very conservative.

One thing that gives we comfort with the BMW unit is that it has both a built-in voltage monitor as well as a fixed time limit for parking mode (6 hours). Those things combined mean that it is not likely to cause any errors or excess power draw. Also, I am going to have it installed at the dealer per the BMW specs so it will tap in to the FEM so the draw will appear to come from that unit anyway.

[AYTifosi]

I'm sure the BMW unit will work fine. I didn't know about it when I ordered my Blackvue. The one thing about the BMW unit is the size and color. The Blackvue is black, is completely hidden when you're inside the car and not very visible outside. I have all the power lights turned off, so from the outside you don't know it's running. The BMW camera might have better resolution. If so, that will make you happy.

[paliknight]

Originally Posted by jwzimm

I guess my concern is with staying exactly to what BMW recommends. Yes, I know, this is likely very conservative.

One thing that gives we comfort with the BMW unit is that it has both a built-in voltage monitor as well as a fixed time limit for parking mode (6 hours). Those things combined mean that it is not likely to cause any errors or excess power draw. Also, I am going to have it installed at the dealer per the BMW specs so it will tap in to the FEM so the draw will appear to come from that unit anyway.

If you dont mind, can you post how everything went with the dealer and how much they charged you? I am interested in this option but need to know the dealers in the US would install and warranty the install.