Capturing incidents on dash cam on minimum power

[tdi_sports]

I think there’s many users here who use Blackvue, Nextbase and Thinkware. So I thought I’d do a post on these dash cams.
Most use parking mode but have concerns on straining the car battery hence set a specific voltage to shut off the dash cam.

But dash cams can shut off earlier than expected if the car battery falls below the shut off voltage.
Which is why power consumption is important when it comes to saving your battery’s energy.

Blackvue offers time lapse and buffered event recording. Time lapse will condense 30 minutes of recording into a 1 minute file and buffered recording is necessary for recording before an actual impact when your truck is parked. Power consumption is quite high at 365ma per hour with WiFi enabled.

Thinkware offers time lapse and energy saving. Time lapse will record for 10 minutes and make it into a 15 second file and energy saving mode lessens the burden on your battery by going into standby and records only when an impact occurs. Energy saving mode only consumes 8ma per hour.

Nextbase’s Intelligent Parking Mode will shut down everything except the G Force sensor. Nextbase says it can use its internal battery to detect any bump for more than a week. It will switch on and record for 30 seconds and shut down. But there are many complaints on Nextbase’s internal battery. It doesn’t really last long, some saying it only lasts 9 months to 12 months. Most people agree capacitors are the better option.

What is the best option? I think there are pros and cons.

[Blakey]

I had a Nextbase 522GW, (with add on Rear View camera), fitted to my Elegance and have had absolutely no problems. My car is parked up for days at a time, I'm currently on furlough from work prior to going in to hospital for major surgery so my drives consist of taking the wife to the supermarket and pets to the vet if / when required. I've had no battery issues and the dash cam has been recording while parked.

Would I recommend this Dash Cam? Yes, yes I would. Image quality from both front facing and the rear facing add on is nothing short of superb.

[Essjay]

One of the problems with dash cameras that use a battery is heat generation. The fact that the camera is fitted at the top of the windscreen where it could be in direct sunlight means it could get VERY hot, and one thing rechargeable lithium batteries do not like is heat!

In the UK this is probably slightly less of a problem as although we’ve been known to get some very hot weather in recent summer months, it’s not like some of the hotspots of Europe or the USA, where some have been known to overheat and catch fire in extreme heat! That extreme heat can also shorten the life of the battery considerably.
This is why in hotter climes the use of dash cameras with capacitors rather than batteries are favoured.

I have no experience with any of the 3 manufacturers mentioned, but I have used different cameras, and have always used ones with a capacitor!
Incidentally, for those that are wondering why a capacitor is used, it’s purely to store enough charge to make sure when the external power is removed that there is enough power left to make sure the last file is saved safely to the SD card.

Steve