In our work with dash cams we’ve come across the rather more serious issue of Crash for Cash schemes. The Insurance Fraud Bureau have issued some concerning facts about these schemes which we’ve simplified down into our very own Car Camera Shop visual – check it out and please share and spread the word:
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.
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.
Being a daily cycle commuter, I had been wanting to review the Replay XD 1080 for some time and so was especially pleased when the new Replay XD 1080 Mini was released and I managed to get my hands on one. Smaller and lighter than it’s predecessor, it manages to cram the same performance into it’s tough aluminium housing.
When people think of cameras for their bicycles or motorbikes, many consider the costly GoPro range, but for me, the asthetics of the Replay means it’s much more suited to the job. The Replay XD 1080 Mini’s barrel design – which has helped this type of camera to become known as a bullet camera – means that it’s much more aerodynamic and compact than the GoPro, especially when it’s waterproof housing and mounts are taken into consideration.
The first thing you notice about the Replay XD 1080 Mini is it’s exceptional quality. From the camera itself and it’s array of mounts, right through to the instruction booklet, stickers and packaging, the entire bundle is very impressive. Within the smart perspex outer packaging, Replay have included a fabric ‘ballistic’ case to store everything in when not being used and another smaller microfibre sleeve to protect the camera itself. Some Replay stickers complete a very neat package indeed.
The camera is very well put together and the fact that it’s waterproof to three metres without the need for an additional housing means that it remains neat and compact when in use. With double o-ring threads at either end of the camera protecting the lens at the front and the memory card slot, switches and power connectors at the rear, the camera will be more than weatherproof for use outdoors in rainy conditions.
The mounts are well constructed and very sturdy. While the LowBoy mount simply the camera in one, fixed position, the HeimLock mount offers the ability to move the camera slightly, by using a quick release mechanism. Both of these mounts allow the camera to be twisted throughout 360° to be positioned as required and small lines around the camera help with alignment.
Once clipped into any of the SnapTrays provided, the mounts become very sturdy indeed. Three of these SnapTrays are included, and the Flat, Tripod and Curved SnapTrays are each designed for for a slightly different purpose. I used the Curved SnapTray on my cycle helmet and it stuck well, thanks to the 3M adhesive used. I would say that I was slightly concerned that the mount wouldn’t adhere to my helmet well, as the adhesive pad would have to sit across a vent hole. However, it has remained stuck very well and I have no concerns as to it falling off. On a motorbike helmet, where it would have a much better contact, it would stick extremely well.
The camera only has two external buttons with which to control the camera which are also waterproof to prevent moisture getting inside. The simplistic control system works exceptionally well and makes it easy to control the Replay XD 1080 Mini without having to look at it. The two raised buttons either turn the camera on/off or start/stop recording and can be felt easily through gloves. While the camera has small LCDs that tell you what the camera is currently doing, each button press in also accompanied with a vibration alert which can be felt through your helmet to ensure you know that you’re recording. By adjusting the cameras settings, it can be made to start recording with the touch of just one button, but more on that later.
At the front, the impact-resistant polycarbonate lens offers a 120 degree field-of-view, enabling the Replay XD 1080 Mini to capture significant detail without the image distorting due to a wide angle fish-eye lens. This lends itself well to the purpose of capturing footage in the case of an incident on the road as all aspects of the image will be clear. Recording at either 1080p at 30 frames-per-second, or 720p at 60 frames-per-second the video quality is excellent. A simple switch, hidden behind the rear bezel, changes between these two main recording options but others are available via an ‘advanced’ set up solution.
With this, it’s possible to alter many technical aspects of the Replay XD 1080 Mini, to tailor it exactly to your specific needs. While it’s not the most intuitive process, by manually altering a text file found on your memory card, you can tweak features such as exposure, sharpness and contrast, as well as various recording functions. In my case, I activated loop recording and one touch recording, so that it started to record automatically as soon as I turned it on. This meant that during my daily commute, I simply turned the camera on as I started my journey and it would start recording, recording over the oldest footage when the 4GB memory card (supplied) was full. This took around 40 minutes, and I wanted to retain slightly more footage than that so I eventually upgraded to a larger card.
With about a two hour battery life, the Replay XD 1080 Mini offers enough recording time for many journeys, but it’s not going to last for a full day’s cycle ride by any means. With this in mind, there are a range of power accessories available, from three and six hour battery packs to hardwire kits. These open the door to many different applications for cyclists and motorcyclists and all offer the same high level of build quality throughout. Other accessories include a ReView monitor to view footage while out and about and a mountain of mounting options for almost every conceivable eventuality.
Overall, the Replay XD 1080 Mini is a great camera, either for the daily commuter, or for the more ‘extreme’ user. I found that when I had the camera mounted on my helmet the constant movement suited the 720p setting better, due to the higher frame rate, and produced a smoother picture. I also experimented with the WindBreaker stickers that came in the package and found that they do an effective job of cutting out wind noise, especially if travelling at high speeds.
I feel confident that in the case of any incident I will have a detailed record of the events leading up to it which I can refer to if necessary. The footage quality is good enough to capture vehicle registrations and other details, even at speed, and by mounting the camera on my helmet it meant it was almost always focussed on danger areas. For more recreational activities, such as snowboarding, I look forward to experimenting with the many other mounting options.
All drivers see things while driving their cars, including accidents, and at some unfortunate times they have a front-row seat to an accident of their own. Usually the authorities and the insurance companies find out about what happened by asking those involved and any witnesses they can find. This is typically a long and sometimes inaccurate process. A car camera provides irrefutable evidence in such situations but how do you report an incident you see on your car camera?
You are not required by law to stop at the scene of an accident that you have witnessed but are not involved in. But it is common decency and morality to stop and offer assistance, particularly if there are injuries.
In those situations you can let the people involved in the accident know that you have camera footage if it would be useful. If it is not possible to speak to the people in the crash you can let a police officer know.
There are situations where you will not stop though. This can include an incident where lots of people are already offering assistance, or it could be one of the many thousands of minor accidents that take place on Britain’s roads every year where the people involved don’t require help. In these situations your presence can be as much of a hindrance as a help.
That said the people involved in the accident or their insurance companies are likely to want to see your footage. You can do this by calling your local police station to let them know you saw the crash and would be happy to give those involved the file from your camera.
In both of these situations – when you stop and when you don’t – you have to get the video off the camera and then you need a means to send it. The process for getting the video off your camera varies from brand to brand but it is a similar process to taking photos or videos off your phone. Sending it is the part that many people are new to.
The easiest way to do this is to upload the video to Youtube. If you do not have a Youtube account you can create one for free. There are no privacy or data protection laws that you have to worry about as this is your video but you can keep it private if you want. Those settings are available to you during the upload process. After it is uploaded you just need to send on the link so others can access it.
Even when you have the video on YouTube always keep the original. Youtube compresses video files to make them quicker to load but this can result in a loss of quality. Your original file will have the high quality video which might be needed at a later date.
The rules for stopping at an accident you are involved in are the opposite of the rules for stopping at an accident you witness. If you are involved in an accident you must stop.
The procedure you should follow in terms of contacting the police and getting the details of the other driver are the same whether you have a car camera or not. The difference comes when you are dealing with the police and the insurance companies after the incident. At this point you should upload the video to Youtube and send them a link to speed up the process of dealing with the accident.
There is another type of accident that you might witness now that you have a car camera: hit-and-runs. This sort of thing happens in car parks and petrol station forecourts all of the time – you are inside the shop and unknown to you someone bumps into your car, does some minor damage, and then drives off leaving you to cover the bill.
Without a car camera there is often little you can do about this. But a car camera acts as your witness so you can get the details of the car that hit you, particularly the registration number. With that you can notify the DVLA and give them details of the incident. They don’t have to give you the details of the other driver but stills taken from your camera footage will add weight to your claim and will make that possibility more likely. From there you can pursue a claim for damages.
When accidents happen memories are often clouded and recollections are usually embellished. This is why a car camera is useful as video footage does not lie.
Given its multi-award winning status, we were excited to receive the Mi-Witness HD for review recently. In recent times this popular dashcam has been awarded a lofty 5-star rating by the Sunday Times and scooped ‘Product of the Year’ at the Vehicle Electronics Professional awards, so we’re were especially keen to see how it performed.
Combine all that with our fondness for front and rear dashcam set-ups and we were delighted to receive the Mi-Witness Driver Special bundle to take a look at. As well as the main Mi-Witness HD camera unit, this package also includes a neat little rear camera along with some other goodies including a wifi dongle, a hardwire kit and a smart little protective case.
Upon opening the package, we were pleasantly pleased with the main, front-facing camera. Largely black, to help it remain inconspicuous when installed, it finds a good balance between simplicity and functionality. With just one main button on the left-hand edge (looking from a drivers point-of-view), which also acts as a light so you can tell how the camera is working, the camera doesn’t invite interaction, and nor should it. The Mi-Witness is designed to be set-up, installed and forgotten about unless absolutely necessary.
Elsewhere on the camera, there are two small indicator lights that tell you if the camera has power and whether the GPS signal has locked in. Just above these is a USB port hidden beneath a sturdy rubber cover which is where the wifi dongle is attached. By offering wifi functionality as an optional extra, the Mi-Witness HD becomes a package that can be tailored to an individuals needs. The USB slot will apparently also be used for other functions in the future which may offer even more customisation options.
Around the camera are ventilation holes to let heat escape and on the right-hand end, there are two sockets for the power cable and the rear-camera cable to plugged into, along with a slot for the Micro SD card, again covered by a rubber guard, to stop and unwanted dirt getting in. Overall, the camera feels like it’s built with quality in mind.
Installation was a breeze with just two cables to worry about. The first was the power cable which I could easily run along a well-worn route in my car due to installing cameras quite frequently. However, the cable is easily tucked behind trim and under carpets so an expert-looking installation is easily achieved in any car. The second, longer cable, connects the front and rear cameras so needs to run the full length of the car. Yet again, this was easily hidden, apart from a small connector a metre or so away from the rear camera which needed some creative thinking! However, this connector could also be useful should the rear camera need to be disconnected, without having to remove the whole wiring system.
Both cameras stick to their respective windscreens with adhesive pads and held firmly in place. Each allows for up and down adjustments so it’s important to align them straight in the first place. This is one of the benefits of the Mi-Witness’s smartphone app. By plugging in the wifi dongle, the camera can connect to your iOS or Android device and stream live images via the free apps that are available to download. While this particular benefit may only be useful during installation, the apps also allow you to manage the cameras settings and view your recorded footage. This can be very useful if you’re involved in an accident and wish to review the footage at the scene.
Upon turning the camera on, it burst into life with a cheery voice message and a flash of red light from the main button. At night I found this light to be a bit too bright as it flashes while recording but it can be turned off. From then on the camera would record faultlessly each time, switching between the normal ‘continuous’ mode and it’s ‘parking’ mode as required. It would also detect ‘events’ using it’s internal g-sensor and store these video files away for safe keeping.
One unique feature to the Mi-Witness is that you can allocate space on the memory card for use with each particular type of video file that the camera can record; normal, event, parking and manual, which are videos that you trigger yourself by pressing the button on the camera if you spot an incident in front of you. While this feature might be slightly too advanced for every user, it does mean you can adjust the way that the camera stores data, allowing you to put heavier emphasis on capturing specific types of videos. Leave your car parked for long periods? Then increase the amount of parking files that it can hold before overwriting itself. Don’t feel the need to manually record? Then reduce this portion to give space to the other videos.
Footage can be viewed on the Mi-Viewer software, which I think is one of the better pieces of dashcam software that I’ve used. It’s well designed and very intuitive, but I do use a lot of these programs so maybe I’m just more used to them! All of the relevant information is laid out in a way that makes it easy to see and a range of icons let you navigate through the various tools available to you. I particularly like the ‘zoom’ tool which lets you hover your mouse pointer over a particular area of your video and you see a smaller zoomed in picture, helping you to make out finer detail, such as number plates. It’s also easy to view the footage from the rear camera, either on it’s own, or alongside the front camera video in a slightly smaller window.
The Mi-Witness HD records in 720p, which isn’t the highest specification available in a dashcam, but it still delivers good image quality. The footage portrays a clear view of the activity around you and, while the finer detail isn’t always easy to make out, it would enable you to establish the cause of any incidents you were involved in. In the age of ultra high-definition, it’s easy to forget the purpose of dashcams and get obsessed with being able to see every tiny detail, rather than just being able to establish a timeline of events leading up to an accident, which the Mi-Witness enables you to do.
So, in summary, it’s easy to see why the Mi-Witness HD has received such recognition in recent times. With excellent build quality and a host of accessories available for it, the Mi-Witness HD is an outstanding choice, whatever your specific dashcam requirements are. Mi-Witness are engaged with their customers via their online forum and, along with the community of users that they’ve built up, offer a level of support that other manufacturers would do well to emulate. While the camera’s image quality has room for improvement in comparison with some other dashcams, it is a highly capable unit.
Riding a bicycle is enjoyable for many reasons and millions of UK residents regularly take to the roads on two-wheels. Whether to commute to places of work, escape the hustle-and-bustle of city life or to get their pulses racing in more extreme cycling activities. However, there can be downsides and, at the top of that list, are the dangers that exist when you are on a bike, compounded by the lack of protection that you get when you’re in a car. It is because of these dangers that helmets are so important, and helmet cameras can also play an important part.
There are many benefits of wearing a helmet camera if you are a cyclist. These include recording your journeys, particularly when you are on a scenic or unique ride, so that you can capture treasured memories. It’s enjoyable to look back on your activity to re-live the excitement and share the footage with your friends and family.
However, there are more serious benefits of a helmet camera, including one that you hope we all hope we never have to call on; to look back on the moments surrounding an accident. Unfortunately accidents do happen – every year in the UK there are approximately 19,000 accidents involving cyclists – so wearing a helmet camera will allow you to demonstrate to the other parties involved and, if necessary, the police, how the accident was caused. It is not easy to argue with an image on a screen depicting the whole incident and being able to call upon irrefutable evidence can be invaluable.
Cyclists can also experience bad driving when they are riding their bikes and a lot of it can be a source of frustration. A helmet camera can provide an outlet for that frustration and a large community of cyclists upload videos to the internet showing poor and dangerous driving. If those drivers knew that their actions might end up on the internet, they might think twice before driving dangerously or acting aggressively. And with the power of social media growing daily, these videos can have a genuine impact. As recently as March 2014, a lorry driver was sacked for driving aggressively towards a cyclist who captured the event on their helmet camera.
Helmet cameras come in a range of different price ranges but they are all action video cameras. This means they are designed to be used outdoors – in situations like being on your bike – and they all come with a range of different mounts to attach them to your helmet. By using these mounts to affix the camera to your helmet, rather than to your bike, it means the camera will see what you see, rather than being fixed in one position.
There are also other features that are important to consider when buying a helmet camera. The first is loop recording. Essentially this means you do not have to worry about running out of recording space. The system records until its memory is full and then returns to the start and overwrites itself in a constant loop pattern. This only becomes an issue when you want to recover a recording as you will have to do it before it is overwritten.
Another is battery life, and you’ll need to consider the length of time that your camera will be able to record for before it needs recharging. Nobody wants to be on the ride of their life only to find that their camera has stopped recording!
A wide angle lens that shoots high quality video is also important: a resolution of 1280 x 720 is the minimum you should consider. Also make sure it is waterproof in order to deal with our weather in the UK and you will want it to be light and comfortable to wear. And finally make sure the controls are easy to use. Ideally you want one-touch recording so it is easy to operate while on your bike.
It is unfortunate that many of Britain’s roads are not built for cyclists and it is a shame that cyclists have to put up with the behaviour exhibited by some drivers. A helmet camera, such as the RoadHawk Ride or the Replay XD 1080 Mini, gives you the advantage of the truth. This applies if an incident occurs and if you manage to avoid the incident but still witness terrible driving.
Plus you will be able to record all of those interesting things that you see on your bike every day!
Shine North are developing a new TV show that shows just how useful dashcams are in capturing life out and about on Britain’s roads, from accidents, near misses and road rage incidents to the more humorous and bizzare events that you often glimpse through the car windscreen.
They would like you to be their eyes and ears out on the road and if you think you’ve managed to capture something interesting with your dashcam they’d love to see your footage.
If they use your video in the show you’ll receive a free £50 Marks & Spencer voucher.
If you have a video you’d like to send us, we recommend you send it to us using WeTransfer. Simply visit www.wetransfer.com and enter our email address sales@carcamerashop.co.uk to send us your files.
Make sure to include your email address and name so that we can contact you afterwards. If you have any problems sending your video to us please get in touch and we can help.
Terms and Conditions
Vouchers will be sent only if your video is used in the TV programme. Only 1 voucher will be sent per person. Offer only valid to UK residents over the age of 18. The voucher is a £50 M&S voucher.
This week we’re appearing on a radio station near you! Let’s Talk Business is a national radio programme for current and future entrepreneurs presented by Alan Coote. We were asked by the producers to talk for a few minutes about Car Camera Shop and the car camera and dash cam industry.
“Let’s Talk Business is the UK’s premiere weekly Radio programme for current and future entrepreneurs. It focuses what we would all like to do; To be our own boss and not have to worry about money. Every week, top guests who know their stuff, give valuable advice and information which means you’ll learn all the skills you need to be an entrepreneur.”
We talked about how we began Car Camera Shop and the benefits that car cameras can bring to both consumers and fleet owners alike. Car cameras are relatively new to the UK with their popularity growing every month.
The show is broadcast on over 30 radio stations across the UK with a weekly audience of over 3.5 million people.
Stay tuned and listen out for us this week! If you just can’t wait, you can listen to the show online.
It’s long been thought that when being filmed, you change your behaviour – whether you realise it or not. We’ve found this to be true when you have a dash cam in your car. For some reason, when you know that your driving is being recorded you become a more safety conscious driver.
There appears to be no real explanation for this but perhaps it’s because you want to make sure you weren’t at fault should you need to rely on the footage – there’s no hiding from video evidence! Remember, when you submit your footage of an accident you want to be sure that you’re not left open to any blame.
You may also be aware of the noises you make in the car from belting out the latest chart topper to swearing at other drivers and even on the phone (using built in car bluetooth technology of course!). It’s for this reason that most people tend to mute the sound on their dash cameras with most cameras offering a single click mute option.
For parents, adding a dash camera to your car to monitor your offspring’s driving would certainly result in safer and far less reckless driving – you could even watch the footage back together!
There are lots of good reasons to purchase a car camera from saving money on car insurance to providing irrefutable video evidence. The fact that they tend to make you a safer driver is just one of the many additional benefits they bring you.
It’s that time of year again, when girlfriends and wives up and down the country have to endure their men with fluff all over their faces. Movember is becoming more and more popular since it started back in 2003 but if you don’t know what Movember is all about here’s a short intro.
Movember is an event held throughout November each year. The idea is that men (and indeed some women!) sport a moustache to raise money and awareness for prostate and testicular cancer and mental health. You start the month with a clean shaven face and grow your moustache (or Mo) throughout the month, promoting awareness and sparking conversations wherever you go.
There are many styles of Mo that one can sport from “The Connoisseur” to the “The After Eight”. Check out the official Movember website for a Mo gallery!
To date, £276M has been raised with an increase of donations every year. More and more celebrities are getting involved to promote the cause and this is making a huge impact. Movember has improved awareness of men’s health issues which is usually just brushed under the carpet and never discussed.
This is why this month we are donating £5 from every order to the Movember Foundation. To find out more about Movember visit the official website.
