M4 Dash Cam reccomendations?

[tisme]

Here is a sample of a Blackvie cam as fitted to my M3. The quality is pretty good.

[motex]

Originally Posted by SteveSpy

Why is nobody suggestion the GoPro here?

I use the gopro with the app from the iDrive

[G4BR13L]

Originally Posted by motex

I use the gopro with the app from the iDrive

aren't the go-pro and an actual dash cam serving different purposes? A dash-cam is mounted and normally remains mounted and it draws power from the car whilst the go-pro uses battery and needs to be removed each and every time so it does not get stolen or to charge it. Or am I missing something?

[evanevery]

Originally Posted by SteveSpy

Why is nobody suggestion the GoPro here?

Because the GoPro is not a dashcam

[x.shell]

Holy resurrection Batman.

I'll contribute the Mobius Action Cam. Smallest camera. Great picture quality. Full HD 30fps. I have been using this on my F30 for 3 years now. No issues.

[Blackhawk878]

Nice EX-O, where did you tap power?

[AYTifosi]

Ex O, thanks for posting. I did look at the old thread, awesome. I'm going to order a couple Mobius normal lens cams for my cars. You should get a commission!

Couple of questions... I too would like more detailed installation tips (I'm a noob). Did you wire it with the cord it came with, or something else? Where did you hook it up for power? I want to install and forget about it.

Did you pop in a 64gb MicroSD or just a 32gb? Looks like some programming is required to make it loop/overwrite?

Your set up looks really clean. How it is mounted?

I found the dashcamtalk.com forum, so that should help.

Thanks!

[whatheheck]

Here's my setup. Complete DIY

http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1156390

Dan

[x.shell]

Originally Posted by AYTifosi

Ex O, thanks for posting. I did look at the old thread, awesome. I'm going to order a couple Mobius normal lens cams for my cars. You should get a commission!

Couple of questions... I too would like more detailed installation tips (I'm a noob). Did you wire it with the cord it came with, or something else? Where did you hook it up for power? I want to install and forget about it.

Did you pop in a 64gb MicroSD or just a 32gb? Looks like some programming is required to make it loop/overwrite?

Your set up looks really clean. How it is mounted?

I found the dashcamtalk.com forum, so that should help.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Blackhawk878

Nice EX-O, where did you tap power?

Hi guys,

I mounted it by McGuyvering some camera parts and zip ties I had laying around. It's not the best way to mount it, but it is discreet; which is what I was going for. I think on my M3, I'm just going to get the Mobius suction cup mount.

In terms of wiring, I got a long USB cable from amazon and ran it along the A-Pillar rubber seal... all the way to the USB port under the glove compartment. Keep in mind that you do NOT have to take off the A-Pillar to do this. Just peel back the rubber part and hide the cord in there. I wouldn't mess with taking the A-Pillar off due to the airbag stuff under it.

I think the camera can only handle up to 32GB. It might have changed to handle more with a software update. Not sure though. It loops 5 minute clips by default and overwrites the oldest clips. You can change the length of the clips. The best thing about the Mobius is that there isn't a "gap" between the clips. In fact there is a slight overlap. This way, you don't lose any footage incase there is an incident in between clips. You can also protect clips by pushing one of the buttons. Forgot which one.

The Mobius is very versatile. It was started as a community feedback project for RC airplanes (before the drone craze). A youtuber that is popular for reviewing dashcams took a look at it and thought it would make a great dashcam with some tweaks. So the guys at Mobius made those tweaks and released it as a GoPro alternative AND/OR dashcam. There is also a user interface you can download to change it's various settings. It's VERY open source along with a big community that supports it.

I like the Mobius so much, I bought 3 of them. They are so cheap!

[SteveSpy]

Originally Posted by evanevery

Because the GoPro is not a dashcam

How so? You can mount it on your dash. What's the difference??

[G4BR13L]

Because people are looking for solutions that do not require you to each time remove the cam so that does not get stolen and a solution where you don't see cables. Basically a zero friction solution otherwise you might just as well use your smartphone with a mount.

[AYTifosi]

Just installed my new Black Vue 3500 and Power Magic Pro from BlackBoxMyCar.

I always manage to mess things up when I try to get technical. For once I didn't do too bad! They have an install video for the F8x M3/4 series here that really helped.

After trying a few fuses, I figured it out. I installed the battery wire (always on) to fuse 160 and the ACC red wire to fuse 159. It works in normal and parking mode.

Note the Power Magic Pro setting. 1 and 2 up (off) and 3, 4, 5 down (on). The last three is the timer mode and this setting is infinity, so it won't shut off.

I ran the wire under the trim like in the BlackBoxMyCar video above. It was easier than I thought. The A-piller popped out a little for some reason, but should be fixable.

I first put the camera on the passenger side of the rear view mirror, up high. I assumed it would be less visible from the outside. Not! This was a mistake. Not only was it fairly visible from outside the car, both passenger and driver could see the recording lights flash. This position also cut off some of the left side view.

Then I moved it to dead center. This gave it a better camera view as well as completely hid the unit from the driver and passenger view. It also seems less noticeable from outside the car. Here is a test video. The view is dark and gets better. During my first test video the bright sky was pointing at the lens and made the contrast too dark. I'm sure I'll figure that out by playing with the settings.

[stevenc]

For the price, the Mini 0803 cannot be beat.



Here is a sample video, Watch it in HD (Youtube degrades the video, it looks even better on my computer)

[G4BR13L]

Driving around with all these devices looks silly to me, dash cam, radar detector, ...

[DBV]

Originally Posted by G4BR13L

Driving around with all these devices looks silly to me, dash cam, radar detector, ...

Until you get someone hitting your parked car and driving off...

...or get a $300 speeding ticket because you didn't see the cop in time.

To each their own though, right?

[G4BR13L]

To me its like engineers and designers came up with the lines of these cars including details in the interior and then we mess it up with all kinds of devices on the dashboard, front shield, ... Are these devices practical? Hell yes but I'm the kind of guy that would like to have everything out of sight. The dash cam could be something factory installed with a camera in the kidney grill and integrated with iDrive (similar to the GoPro), and a radar detector should also be out of sight using audible signals only.

[AYTifosi]

I am having trouble figuring out which fuse is "always on". Can anyone chime in with what fuse number they used for "always on".

I have tried 161 and 141. Both shut off. It would be easy if I could read BMW's Hieroglyphics on the fuse diagram. Good grief.

------update.

I corrected my post above. Fuse 159 for on/off and 160 always on. Works!

[motex]

Originally Posted by stevenc

For the price, the Mini 0803 cannot be beat.
Here is a sample video, Watch it in HD (Youtube degrades the video, it looks even better on my computer)

Nice!
How long you have been using this camera?

[AYTifosi]

The Mini looked awesome. The reason I went with the BlackVue was because I wanted the parking feature. It didn't look like the mini had that one.

[stevenc]

Originally Posted by motex

Nice!
How long you have been using this camera?

My work car has had a mini 0801 for 2 years and my m4 has had a mini 0803 for little over a year.

I have watched both dealership services on my car in full because the techs always leave the ignition on. Even saw the techs joy riding my car.

One time i let the valet park my car, he disappeared for 15 minutes and then reappeared and parked the M4 in front of the restaurant. I assumed the valet went joy riding so i watched the video and actually he just drove round back and chatting with his chick on his cellphone and then drove round front and parked the car.


Love have a dash camera.

[motex]

Originally Posted by stevenc

My work car has had a mini 0801 for 2 years and my m4 has had a mini 0803 for little over a year.

I have watched both dealership services on my car in full because the techs always leave the ignition on. Even saw the techs joy riding my car.

One time i let the valet park my car, he disappeared for 15 minutes and then reappeared and parked the M4 in front of the restaurant. I assumed the valet went joy riding so i watched the video and actually he just drove round back and chatting with his chick on his cellphone and then drove round front and parked the car.


Love have a dash camera.

I own a GoPro and use it as a DashCam the problem is a good temptation for thiefs ......also does not have the auto function when I start the car, so I will take your comments as a positive recomendation and for $85 not much to loose trying, thanks for the feedback

[evanevery]

Originally Posted by SteveSpy

How so? You can mount it on your dash. What's the difference??

You can mount a Garden Gnome on your dash and it doesn't make it a DashCam either...

DashCams generally have a more targeted level of integrated functionality. Auto On/Off, Motion Sensors, Time delay, GPS and Map Integration, Time Stamps, Rolling Video Recording and Replacement (storage management), Optimized Form Factor, etc...