Input on Budget Body Cam and Dash Cam for Social Interactions

[Jellybean]

Since it's 'the current year' of peaceful violencia, I'm thinking a small investment in a dash cam and personal body cam might be worth more than ammo, if one finds themselves in a "situation". Figured I'd post this here in General so everyone can chime in since I think this will be of interest to more folks here than just me.

Looking to spend in the $35-50 range

For Body Cam; looking for something really small and unobtrusive/obvious. Do NOT want a fullsize "police" type body-cam. Would be nice to be able to clip into shirt pocket/through front of a button-down shirt, or attach to MOLLE webbing.

The Veho MUVI micro camcorder caught my eye at first since it's just what I wanted for size (it's like a large USB drive), BUT they are expensive, and don't seem to get such great reviews for the price.

The next best option I can seem to find in the price range is the eHomful stick cam @ $45
https://www.amazon.com/Ehomful-Wearable-Wireless-Portable-Recorder/dp/B07R5TV9KK/ref=pd_vtp_421_7?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07R5TV9KK&pd_rd_r=a5983e94-83b3-47e9-9abb-8afd0ba8b532&pd_rd_w=dxyLJ&pd_rd_wg=GBscT&pf_rd_p=9f0d957d-c466-420a-817f-4adcb2657c85&pf_rd_r=27YJTC06KBRH7BYADEM4&refRID=27YJTC06KBRH7BYADEM4&th=1
Seems to get reasonable reviews on quality/battery life (3hrs) and picture quality. A little longer than I wanted, but at least the clip allows the cam to face out (so the body of the stick can be tucked in/behind things), and also looks slim enough to stick through a slot of MOLLE.

Then we have what I will call the “Engrish Cams” (you'll understand if you follow any of the links). Seems to only be two of these of any worth;
Option 1 is a bit of a slimmer/flat option, seems to be sold by a variety of off-brands for around $38

KONPCOIU
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XTPN52L/ref=emc_b_5_t
DEXILIO
https://www.amazon.com/DEXILIO-Portable-Wireless-Wearable-Detection/dp/B07SZQ977M/ref=sr_1_17?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&dchild=1&keywords=lapel+camera&linkCode=ur2&linkId=KNWD7KCOHO2LMRDW&qid=1598129975&sprefix=lapel%2Caps&sr=8-17
BangGood
https://www.banggood.com/HD-1080P-Police-Body-Lapel-Worn-Video-Recorder-Camera-DVR-IR-Night-Pen-8-hour-Camcorder-p-1396341.html?p=KB291421230988201804&custlinkid=85201&cur_warehouse=CN

Then Engrish-cam Option 2, which is more of a “Fat-stick”, and the least interesting/useful of the designs I’ve seen so far. Also seen by a variety of off-brands.
BangGood edition
https://www.banggood.com/1080P-Full-HD-180-Degree-Camera-Audio-Video-Recording-Voice-Recorder-Pen-Camcorder-MP3-Player-p-1359753.html?rmmds=detail-left-hotproducts__1&ID=228&cur_warehouse=CN
I have little faith in either of those options, but… who knows, maybe they’re secretly awesome?

Dash Cams;
Just want something with reasonable picture quality and battery life in the same $40-50 range. I like the suction-cup mount idea; will fit up front real nice with my GPS.
Seems like the top two budget options are the Apeman units;

The single-unit C450 @ $45 seems to be the best bang for the buck, if the product description and reviews are to be believed.
https://www.amazon.com/APEMAN-Recorder-170%C2%B0Wide-Recording-Detection/dp/B07DLG9GFG/ref=sr_1_3?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&dchild=1&keywords=dash+cam&linkCode=ur2&linkId=BPD5NHP6KFC5GNQA&qid=1598135033&sr=8-3&tag=ricksdailytips-20

For about $15 more you can get the lesser 420D model with a secondary rear camera @ $60
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RBL2YR3/ref=emc_b_5_i

Thoughts?
Basically both options just need to take reasonable video/audio and be reasonably good physical quality (ie, won't break if I accidentally drop it); doesn’t need to be police/mil hard-use, just good civi-grade stuff. I see absolutely zero reason to spend a lot of money on this, however I am open to honest reviews/opinions by some of you tech nerds that know this stuff better than me.

[boss_hawg]

Unless it’s a porno, really difficult to take anything called “BangGood” seriously.

[Jellybean]

Unless it’s a porno, really difficult to take anything called “BangGood” seriously.

Yeah, I know. I really just threw those in so folks here could get an idea of size comparison.
;)

The only cheap body cam that seems in any way worthwhile is the first one.
And the dash cams seem to get good reviews.
Really I don't know the body/dash cam market, and even some of the larger "police" type body cams seemed a bit sketchy, and for even more money, so.... here we are.

To be fair, I am REALLY starting to hate amazon, with their 642 different "brands" all making the same shitty products. I have been looking for a decent kitchen timer lately, like... how hard do you think that could be, right? They're ALL the same 2 variations on the same thing. Unbelievable. :rolleyes: :laugh:

[jmp45]

I settled on this Roav cam running front and rear. They've come into good use a few times with incidents.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076GYGVY5/

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8oz6c6c6pznw5pv/roav_front1.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9s5ke83k7o4ib7d/roav_back.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bb38t1l8c6rprkv/roav.jpeg?raw=1

[eightmillimeter]

I’m a professional crash dude, if you don’t have TWO dash cams (one front and one rear) you are doing it wrong. Buy the ones that record on long loops, the shock activated ones are less reliable and won’t capture other incidents that you might “witness.”

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

Don't forget about around your house. I'm not a big fan of my ARLO system for real time interaction, but it is pretty good for what has happened. I have the solar cell recharger and it keeps the cameras hands off. I have one in a faux bird house that I haven't touched in 2+ years. I also have camera with solar panel in a 'shepherd crook' planter hanger that I can just pick up and move around as I want.

It caught a guy damaging my house that I confronted and a Door Dash guy that went NUTS and threatened to throw a patio table at me. It was great to have video of both events as back up when I made complaints and talked to the cops. In this age of people making things up, video rules- and with the solar panels, I can have the cameras record anytime they see motion. No having to make sure it is on or running.

Plus, on the solar charger and being wireless, I can point them AT my house from 15-30 feet away and see what is happening to my house. Probably checked my garage door after leaving home hundreds of times.

[SteyrAUG]

I’m a professional crash dude, if you don’t have TWO dash cams (one front and one rear) you are doing it wrong. Buy the ones that record on long loops, the shock activated ones are less reliable and won’t capture other incidents that you might “witness.”

It's sad that we are getting to this.

One of the more enlightening things related to the Chelyabinsk meteor event of 2013 is that nearly every vehicle in Russia has a dash cam to help fight the massive insurance fraud that was part of daily life.

I really don't want to get to the point where I feel like I need a body cam / dash cam setup to defend myself, but I think we are getting there regardless and I absolutely hate it.

[landrvrnut22]

I can't comment on body camera, I have no experience.

For dashcams, I would recommend a Nexar brand camera. Video quality is excellent, it records to an internal memory card for up to 4 hours on a loop. It also connects to your phone via Bluetooth, and records. It also uploads video to a Nexar cloud. The good thing is you can manually make a video clip, or it will automatically make one if it senses hard brakes, or impacts. You can create a clip on your phone, and send it off within a minute of stopping the camera. It also has a feature to create an insurance report, but I have not attempted that yet. They include everything in the box to install in your vehicle, with options for additional accessories. I am really impressed with it. Both my wife and I have one. I drive much more than she does, but it is certainly a great piece of mind with all the idiots on the road these days.

[sundance435]

I would make sure your state law jibes with it. I know in mine it would be very problematic.

[eightmillimeter]

It's sad that we are getting to this.

One of the more enlightening things related to the Chelyabinsk meteor event of 2013 is that nearly every vehicle in Russia has a dash cam to help fight the massive insurance fraud that was part of daily life.

I really don't want to get to the point where I feel like I need a body cam / dash cam setup to defend myself, but I think we are getting there regardless and I absolutely hate it.

It is and it isn’t that bad, you have to make the decision for yourself.

I’m pretty darn good at the whole crash thing. Even without a video, there isn’t much I can’t figure out, science is science.... however...

If you get into a gnarly crash that isn’t your fault and someone else is killed or maimed, it might take me 3 months to publish a report that solves all your problems. Good video can shorten that to 3 weeks or 3 days.

People get real sketchy dealing with law enforcement when people are dead and they were involved, even if they didn’t do anything wrong. I totally understand that. But I tell everyone, I’m the only one who ever has access to everything when the fluid is still fresh on the road and I’m the only one investigating for the sole purpose of fact finding. Everyone who comes behind me is on one side or the other and I’m the only one who’s ever neutral... facts are always what they are but facts are always viewed through thicker lenses the more time passes and how much is at stake.

Video is always helpful. Also, if you crash and know you did nothing wrong it is always a good idea to see what kind of data your vehicle may have recorded. Cars record awesome amounts of pre crash and crash data these days and it can really save your bacon,

[BrigandTwoFour]

The dash cam discussion is relevant to my interests, as it's something I've been thinking I need ever since moving to Northern Virginia. I was primarily looking at the OwlCam, but thanks for the tip on Nexar. I noticed that none of the Nexar cameras have a rear camera, though. How is the Vantrue brand?