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Is The Thinkware F200 Better Than The Nextbase Duo HD?

We often get asked ‘which is the best dash camera?’. This is a hard question because it will always come down to personal needs and preferences. That being said, a comparison over at Auto Express did a good job of deciding which is better: the Thinkware F200, or the Nextbase Duo HD.

Thinkware F200-2CH

       

The Thinkware F200-2CH is a great front and rear dash camera system, providing high quality at a low price. Coming in at £169.99, while boasting HD recording from both ends, built-in WiFi, and a time lapse feature, it is a pretty impressive camera.

Features

Video Quality – 1080p HD Front, 720p HD Rear

Price – £169.99

WiFi – Yes

GPS – Optional Antenna

Time Lapse – Yes

Viewing Angle – 140°

Parking Mode – Yes

Screen – No

SD Card – 16GB Card Supplied

Memory – Up to 64GB

Nextbase Duo HD

          

The Nextbase Duo HD is also an affordable front and rear dash camera, with impressive specs. It records at 1080p HD from both lenses, hasbuilt-in Wifi, and a GPS magnetic mounting system. However, is slightly more expensive, at £199.99.

Features

Video Quality – 1080p HD Front and Rear

Price – £199.99

WiFi – Yes

GPS – Yes

Time Lapse – No

Viewing Angle – 140°

Parking Mode – Yes

Screen – Yes

SD Card – None provided

Memory – Up to 32GB

What Was The Result?

“The F200 takes it here… it has a better field of vision, which will be more important when capturing incidents.”

“We put the two devices head to head, focusing on recording abilities and quality, ease of use, plus price.”

“We captured a good amount of detail with the front camera; it adjusted for exposure well and we could read licence plates and road signs easily.”

“The lens picked up licence plates from a good distance , and offered a better field of vision than the Duo, so we could position it anywhere we liked in the rear window.”

If you would like further advice or book an installation, please click here, or call 01865 957191 to speak to one of our experts today.

 

 
 
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Young Drivers Getting Unfairly Treated

Young Drivers Getting Unfairly Treated

New research has found that almost 30% of 18-25-year olds involved in a car accident were either wrongly blamed or struggled to prove their innocence.

 

The study, carried out by Nextbase, found that younger motorists often admit to fault at the scene of an incident, even if they are the victim. Richard Browning, director at Nextbase, commented: “With research showing that a large proportion of young drivers are getting blamed for accidents that may have not been their fault, a dash cam can act as a witness to help prove innocence. “Research shows that the older you get, the worse your reactions are, however younger drivers are still getting penalised with sky high car insurance costs.”

Nextbase has partnered with MyFirstUK insurance to offer up to 30% off premiums to young drivers when a Nextbase 312GW dash cam has been fitted in the vehicle. Unlike having a black box, drivers aren’t curfewed or monitored, but given the freedom to drive with confidence.

Furthermore, when a dashcam is fitted in vehicles alongside a black box, findings show that 67% improve their driving over a three-month period, compared to when just a black box was installed.

Nextbase says its research shows 85% of those with a black box would happily opt for an alternative to save money

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The Best Dash Camera For Driving Instructors

The Best Dash Camera For Driving Instructors

It has become increasingly common for driving instructors to have dash cameras in their vehicles, not only to ensure they have increased safety when on the road but to use as a teaching aid during lessons. However, for a dash camera to be used by a driving instructor there are a couple of special requirements. The first is a camera that has Wi-Fi, this allows a Wi-Fi enabled mobile or tablet to connect to the camera allowing you to review previously recorded footage. This can help the instructor explain what a student did wrong and how to improve. Another must have feature is the ability for the camera to run silently. This is to ensure that learners are not distracted or disturbed during lessons and tests by the camera beeping or ‘talking’.

These requirements rule out most dash cameras as although Wi-Fi connectivity is becoming increasingly popular, it is still not a feature the majority of cameras have. Even fewer cameras can be configured to run completely silent, with the camera producing no noise what so ever. Due to these requirements, the BlackVue DR750S dash camera is what many driving instructors purchase due to its ability to meet these specialist requirements. This camera can come as either a front only or front and rear camera system.

BlackVue DR750S FeaturesBlackVue DR750S-2Ch

Both the front and rear camera record in 1080P Full HD, meaning the footage produced will be crystal clear. The DR750S has built in GPS and Wi-Fi for use with the smartphone app and comes with cloud compatibility allowing you to view your camera remotely. The GPS allows the vehicles location and speed to be overlaid onto the footage. Alongside these features, the cameras sleek cylindrical design means it is very discreet and will not be an eyesore for the driver.

When connected to your camera over Wi-Fi, you can change camera settings, review previously footage and watch the camera live. This can be useful if you want to use the dash cam in driving lessons, as you can easily find the footage and play it back to the learner.

The DR750S also has the availability of parking mode recording when hard-wired. This will result in the camera recording when either motion or an impact is detected after the ignition has been switched off, offering you peace of mind when you are not in the vehicle.

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Do dashcams make good vehicle CCTV systems?

Do dashcams make good vehicle CCTV systems?

It’s a saddening (and maddening) state of affairs, that many people see fit to needlessly damage other peoples vehicles. From tyres being slashed to paintwork being keyed, we’ve spoken to many customers who are suffering at the hands of vandals, and who are looking for a solution and we get asked almost daily whether dashcams can offer protection against this type of problem.

Just recently, as you may have seen in the mainstream media, the driver of an Aston Martin Vantage innocently parked their car in a Tesco’s car park, only to return to find their car scratched, with a reported £9,000 worth of damage. Fortunately on this occasion, the driver had a BlackVue dashcam installed and images of the vandal quickly went viral, resulting in a 48-year old man being questioned by the police.

So that’s it, case closed, dashcam footage helped to catch the vandal, so they work, right?! Simply choose a product from our wide range of cameras which offer parking protection and your troubles will be over, right?!

Well, yes and no. Dashcams are definitely an option if you’re looking to protect your vehicle and capture footage while it’s parked, but they do have some limitations and there are some things to consider, depending on what you’re hoping to achieve, which we’d like to highlight to ensure that you find the correct product for your needs.

The difference between motion detection and parking protection

Even the most basic dashcams seems to have some motion detection functionality nowadays, and this enables the camera to be switched to a mode where it will monitor activity within it’s view, and if detects any movement, it will start to record. When it no longer detects anything of interest, it stops recording again. As useful as this feature is, it does have some limitations.

Firstly, from when it initially detects movement, these is a short delay while it boots up before it actually starts recording. While usually less than a second, these vital moments could be crucial if you need to refer to this footage for evidence. Secondly, motion detection usually needs to be enabled manually when required, which can mean that you need to remember to do it each and every time you park your vehicle. And you just know that something will happen on the once occasion that you forget to turn it on, right?!

More advanced parking protection modes can detect when you have been parked for a short time and automatically switch to the relevant setting, where upon they continually monitor activity, and create a video file whenever motion is detected. Cleverly, these video files usually start a few seconds before the activity was detected, meaning you get a clear picture of the entire event.

View all of our cameras that offer parking protection

Low light performance

One of the enquiries we receive the most is from frustrated drivers who, for whatever reason, have become the target of vandals, and are looking to catch them in the act with dashcam footage. Unfortunately a lot of this vandalism occurs under the shadow of darkness, so some form of night-vision is a requirement. Unfortunately, while some dashcams feature infra-red LEDs, there are a gimmick, and dashcams simply aren’t designed for use in low-light conditions. During regular use at night, their view is illuminated by headlights and street lighting which means that they’re able to capture good quality images, and some models also feature a high dynamic range which allows them to manipulate this image to improve them even further, but without a significant light source dashcams will struggle to capture any meaningful footage. Even if you park in an area with adequate street lighting, which might enable you to capture a person committing a crime, it’s debatable as to whether you would be able to make out enough detail to identify them.

360 degree coverage

During normal use, a dashcam only really needs to cover the view from the front, and possibly the rear, in order to capture the vast majority of meaningful activity that it needs to. However, in the case of a vehicle being targeted by vandals or thieves, the sides of the vehicle are prime target areas, and so many of our customers are looking for 360 degree coverage from their cameras. While it is possible to add multiple cameras inside a vehicle to cover additional angles, this can cause complications where mounting and powering are concerned, and so isn’t the ideal application for dashcams.

Hardwiring

Hardwiring is the process of connecting your car camera directly to your vehicles electrical system so that it can receive power while your ignition is off. Many vehicles will cut the supply of power to the cigarette lighter socket when the ignition is switched off, meaning that you can’t run dashcams this way if you hope to use the parking features. By hardwiring your camera, you ensure that it has a continual source of power and so it can record while you’re away from your car, but this can mean some extra effort and expense, especially as we’d always recommend the use of a qualified professional when carrying out electrical work.

Memory card capacity

This becomes less of an issue as dashcam technology moves forwards and they can accept larger capacity memory cards, but with the majority of our customers opting for relatively small, inexpensive memory cards with their cameras, this is still worth mentioning. As a rough guide, a 32GB memory card will hold around 5-6 hours of high quality footage in total which, through loop recording and clever space management systems is perfectly acceptable during regular use. However, some customers are looking for a system which will store many hours, or even days worth of footage as a more traditional CCTV would and this simply isn’t achievable without a very high capacity memory card, which are still prohibitively expensive. And even then, only a very small number of dashcam models support this size of card.

Live streaming

The idea of being able to connect to your dashcam, from anywhere in the world, and see activity around your vehicle is one that we’re often asked about, but there simply hasn’t been an answer to. However, that may all be about to change with the development of “BlackVue in the Cloud”. This new feature from BlackVue is only in it’s early launch stages but seems to offer some exciting functionality that may offer a new dimension in vehicle security. The technical details are, at time of writing, still not fully understood, but essentially, if your dashcam is able to connect to a wifi hotspot, it will be able to upload live images that you’ll be able to view via an online portal. While this is largely aimed at fleet managers, to enable them to track their vehicles, it clearly has significant security benefits too.

Summary

So, hopefully you’re now more aware as to the strengths and weaknesses that dashcams have, where vehicle security is concerned. There’s no denying that car cameras can play a key role in protecting your vehicle while you’re away from it, but they might not be the solution in every case.

However, if you still think that a dashcam is something that you’d like to look into further, you can browse all of our models that offer any form of parking protection here. Cameras that have proven popular in this area have been the BlackVue DR3500-FHD, the BlackVue DR650S-2CH and the Lukas LK-7950 which could each be worth a look. The BlackVue DR3500-FHD is a front-facing camera and is their entry-level dashcam, but it still features an advanced parking protection mode. The BlackVue DR650S-2CH and Lukas LK-7950 cameras each offer front and rear recording and will automatically switch to their parking modes when required.

If you have any questions as to whether car cameras might be suitable for your needs, please do get in touch and we’ll be happy to advise.

 

 

 
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Car Crash Britain – Caught On Camera

Car Crash Britain - Caught On Camera

 

Car Crash Britain

If you’ve been anywhere near a TV in the last few weeks, you might have caught some of Car Crash Britain, a two-part programme on ITV, highlighting examples of shocking driving from throughout the UK. From lumbering lorries careering off motorways to examples of reckless driving that have to be seen to be believed, the programme showed crash after crash, with most of the footage captured on dashcams.

While we’re used to seeing such footage here at Car Camera Shop, due to the amount of video we capture ourselves and our customers share with us, it appears that a large number of the British public had their eyes opened to the world of car cameras and how beneficial it can be to have one installed in your vehicle.

Clearly we’re huge believers in the benefits of dashcams, but it’s been fantastic to have been contacted by so many people over the past few weeks, eager to learn more about how a camera can help them. If you’re one of them, our why buy a dashcam page outlines the main features of dashcams, but if that’s more bamboozling then helpful, then our dashcam buyers guide will help to walk you through the steps to choose the right camera for you.

As always, if you have any questions, please fill in our enquiry form.

 

 
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Mini 0806: The Best New Dashcam?

Mini 0806: The Best New Dashcam?

PDATE: To order, or to find out more about the Mini 0806, visit our product page.

Mini 0806 DashcamMini 0806 Dashcam

We were all hoping it would arrive before Christmas, so a lucky few of us might find a shiny new Mini 0806 dashcam under their tree on the 25th, but it’s not to be. However, the good news is that the Mini 0806 should be available early next year, and it appears to offer some outstanding new features which could make it even more popular than the Mini 0801 and Mini 0803, which have both been among our best selling car cameras for some time.

While it’s currently in the final stages of testing and development, mass production should soon begin and we’ll be able to get our hands on the Mini 0806, with no small amount of excitement. As a long-time user of the Mini series, I’m personally hoping that the Mini 0806 will adorn my windscreen for some time, and judging by the test footage and technical specifications that we’ve seen so far, that looks likely.

One of the first things that makes the Mini 0806 stand out from it’s predecessors, aside from the slight difference in shape, is the number of ventilation holes all around it. Due to the large amount of data being processed by the components inside them, dashcams can generate a lot of heat, and if this can’t dissipate well enough, this heat can cause problems. The Mini 0803 initially suffered from this until additional heat sinks were added, so it’s great to see that lessons have been learned and the Mini 0806 seeks to address that particular problem head on.

Next up, we notice that the camera mounting point can rotate 180 degrees. This might not seem like a bit deal, but combine it with the ability to flip the image in the camera and this paves the way for a multitude of mounting options. Left-handed, right-handed, windscreen-mounted or dashboard-mounted, the choice will be yours. We would always recommend that a car camera be mounted as high up the windscreen as possible, but many of our customers have requested the option to mount a camera on their dashboard, so it’s nice to see the option added.

Aesthetically there are a few other tweaks, but the most useful of which is the new LED set-up and placement. A common confusion caused by the Mini 0801 and Mini 0803, was that two LEDs were visible via one hole in the camera’s body. One blue, and one red, which often appeared purple when flashing together, prompting many questions from our customers. This issue has been addressed by providing individual LEDs to signify power and recording, and a third LED that can possibly be configured to either indicate that a GPS signal has been found or that audio recording is enabled or disabled.

One of the most important new features of the Mini 0806 car camera is it’s ability to use two external memory cards, and the fact that it supports up to 128GB cards in each slot! That means that it offers a whopping 256GB of storage! Wow!! Based on the current cameras, that could mean that the Mini 0806 can hold around 48 hours worth of footage at any one time, making it ideal for anyone who spends a significant amount of time behind the wheel such as long distance haulage lorry drivers, driving instructors and taxi drivers.

Mini 0806 Filter

It will also offer the ability to use an optional circular polarizing filter (CPL) to reduce glare when recording in the daytime. Particularly in bright conditions. This is a welcome addition to the range and it appears that the filter can be attached quickly and easily by way of a magnet which will make it easy to remove at night so that it doesn’t impair low light recording.

In terms of it’s video recording ability, it doesn’t look like it will deliver the 1440p resolution that the early information hinted at, but it will deliver 1296p video at 30 frames per second and a new option of full HD 1080p recording at 45 frames a second. The improved frame rate will help the Mini 0806 to deliver smoother video which will offer greater clarity. Given that the wide dynamic range (WDR) of the Mini 0803 has been retained, albeit called a high dynamic range (HDR), the Mini 0806 will record well at night, and the test footage that we’ve seen so far looks impressive.

The Mini 0806 retains the safety features that were introduced with the Mini 0803, such as a lane departure warning system (LDWS), but these haven’t been embraced by the dashcam community as much as we’d expected. While they do work, they lack the sophistication of more advanced systems and, as such, may be a touch too crude to be relied on. I’m sure we’ll see these features become more refined in the future and offer a real benefit to dashcam owners.

So overall, the Mini 0806 dashcam promises to be an exceptional car camera. It’s clear that the manufacturer has listened to the dashcam community and developed a product that appears to be raising the bar in many respects. With the level of testing and development that appears to have been down we’re hopeful that the Mini 0806 will launch without as many bugs as the Mini 0803 had, but we’ll reserve judgement until we’ve run our own tests. Rest assured that we won’t be offering the Mini 0806 for sale until we’re happy that it performs as it should.

 
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Dash Cam Supplier iPixi Makes It Onto Top Gear

Dash Cam Supplier iPixi Makes It Onto Top Gear

We’re proud to stock a selection of iPixi dash cams at Car Camera Shop; they have a great build quality, are easy to use and we love their design. We were, however, also extremely chuffed to discover that they’d made it onto arguably the biggest car show in the world – Top Gear!

The Stig vs.. The Stig

This footage, courtesy of an iPixi dash cam (the V300HD) recorded every second of this indoor test of the BAC Mono in 2012 where The Stig smashed the current speed record held there by over 10 seconds. It also gave us a rare and valuable insight into what he sees behind the wheel and how he drives. Check it out below:

Car Camera Shop Reviews

We presently stock two iPixi cameras, and we’ve reviewed both in detail, which you can click to read, awarding them an aggregate score of 4.2/5 stars and a high recommendation:

Read the iPixi Winycam review here: (4.3/5 stars) X100FHD.
Read the iPixi Winycam review here: (4/5 stars) V200HD.

To see our own footage of how the iPixi X100FHD records, you can watch the video below:

To shop iPixi dash cams, check out their brand page.

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Stay safe this Winter with our 13 driving tips

Stay safe this Winter with our 13 driving tips

The leaves are falling and we’re getting blown all over the place. This can only mean one thing; Autumn is well underway and Winter is just around the corner! If last year is anything to go by, it’s going to be wet and very windy. Overall, we escaped the snow and ice last year compared to previous years but we never know what’s going to happen each Winter.

Now is the time to start getting ready for Winter driving and staying safe. We’ve put a short guide together with tips on how to stay safe and warm this Winter. If you have any more, jot them down in the comments below – the more the better!

1. Switch your lights on

It may sound like a stupid thing to say but you’d be surprised. When the clocks go back there is usually a spike in accidents as people forget to turn their lights on driving home from work. If it doubt, turn them on. Make it a habit when you get in your car to just turn the lights on.

Most modern cars have automatic lights but you should never rely on this clever little feature. Always check they are on when you are driving.

2. Check engine coolant, oil, screen wash

The last thing you want is to run out of engine coolant, oil, or screen wash so make sure you’re all topped up. Do it now before it becomes a problem later on. For winter driving make sure the engine coolant has the correct mix with water to prevent freezing (check the coolant and car manual for details). If in doubt, whip the car into your local garage and ask them to check and top up. It’s only a 10 minute job which won’t cost the earth.

Carry warning triangle and first aid kit

3. Carry warning triangle and first aid kit

Regardless of the weather, you should always make sure you have a portable warning triangle and first aid kit in the car. Remember, you may not actually use it for yourself but another broken down motorist or someone else in trouble.

4. Check your tyre tread

Winter = Rain. So double-check the tread on your tyres and replace them if they’re low. Don’t wait for them to reach the minimum level (currently 1.6mm) – this is your life and the lives of others we’re talking about. If they’re low and below 3mm get them replaced. If you’re in an area with extreme levels of snowfall, buy some snow chains to give you that extra grip.

5. Check your heating and heated windscreens now

We all hate the feeling of being cold in the car waiting for the heating to come on. Make sure it all works now before you’re forced to spend your trips to work in the freezing cold. Whilst you’re checking the heating, just double check the heated windscreen works too – you’ll need to check it on a morning with condensation on the windscreen.

6. Check your wiper blades and windscreen washer jets

You’ll be cleaning your windscreen a lot during the winter so make sure the blades are in tip-top condition with no streak marks or vibrations. Try cleaning them first with some vinegar. The same goes for the windscreen washer jets that can get clogged up. Clean them and point them at the windscreen – don’t find yourself cleaning the pavement or worse still, the car behind!

7. Check your lights

Turn all the lights on you can including fog lights, main beam, dipped bean, side lights, and indicators and replace any broken bulbs now. Do it before the clocks go back and you may be driving more in the dark than in daylight.

Make sure to scrape the ice from all your windows

8. Make sure to scrape the ice from all your windows

It might sound blindingly obvious, but it’s difficult to drive when the windows are covered with ice, but we’ve all seen people driving along, peering through a letter box sized gap in the ice on their windscreen! Before you set off make sure you have removed all the ice from all the windows and clear the windscreen inside. Use a scraper or de-icer to make the job easier.

It’s better to wait a few minutes in the car whilst everything clears up than drive into the first tree you see, or worse still, a child on their way to school!

9. Only drive in icy conditions if it’s absolutely necessary

If the roads are icy or bad weather is forecast, only drive if you absolutely need to. It’s not worth the risk, especially if it’s something that can wait for another day. You can always order online rather than travel to the shops.

10. Check the road conditions and traffic online before you leave

Before you leave, especially on a long journey, check the weather forecast and traffic updates. You may find that the roads are closed anyway so you’ll be better off staying in with a hot water bottle and a hot cuppa!

11. Take warm blankets, water, snacks, and a shovel with you

Be prepared and keep a couple of blankets, bottles of water, snacks, and a shovel in the boot of your car. A torch and first-aid would also be recommended.

12. Wear appropriate clothing when you travel out (gloves, warm clothes, jacket, hat etc.)

If you’re heading out on a cold night, wear appropriate clothing or at least take warm clothing with you should you get stuck or stranded. You can always keep a spare pair of gloves, a hat, and an old jacket in the car just in case.

Dash cam and car cameras

13. And finally… buy a dash cam!

For when you do have an accident (or even witness another accident) you’ll need proof of what happened. If someone skids into your car you’ll want evidence to prove to the insurance company and police of exactly what happened. Car cameras start from under £50 and can save you a lot of hassle and gives you instant peace of mind.

 
 
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Mini 0806: A Sneak Preview

Mini 0806: A Sneak Preview

UPDATE: To order, or to find out more about the Mini 0806, visit our product page.

UPDATE: More information is now available about the Mini 0806. Read our latest blog post here.

Mini 0806 DashcamMini 0806 Dashcam

After the popularity of the Mini 0801 and Mini 0803, it’s with great excitement that we hear that a Mini 0806 is currently in development! Also referred to as the Mini 0803 Pro, it appears to be in a testing phase so hopefully it will be available to purchase sooner, rather than later!

Physically, if the blurred pictures that have been released by the manufacturer bare any relation to the finished product, the Mini 0806 appears to keep a similar styling to it’s predecessors, but with a few modifications. The rounded end of the 0801 and 0803 looks to have been squared off slightly and on the rear, the LCD screen and buttons look as if they have a new white surround?!

While the exact specification is closely guarded secret at this stage, some YouTube videos showing day and night test footage offer a 1440p video resolution which hints that the Mini 0806 could offer ultra high definition video. Also, the night time footage appears to be very clear, which indicates that the Mini 0806 has retained the wide dynamic range (WDR) of the Mini 0803.

We’re hoping to be a part of the testing process for the Mini 0806 and have contacted the manufacturer to try and get involved. While the Mini 0803 has had a few teething problems, we’re huge fans of this fantastic range of cameras and they’ve been very popular with our customers.

We’ll keep you updated as we get any more information and hope to get our hands on the Mini 0806 as soon as possible.

Mini 0806 Test Videos

Daytime Video
Nightime Video