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#11 Old Crow

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Posted 19 November 2018 - 06:33 PM

     I bought a Garmin Dash Cam 55 about two weeks ago and am not to the point of saying I'd recommend it or not.  I just don't have enough experience with it much less its competitors.  But I thought I'd go ahead and post my experience thus far.

 

I started looking for a dash cam after missing a Canadian lynx sighting on my trip last month.  My brother was driving and I was busy with maps when the lynx crossed not far in front of the truck.  My brother got a good look at it but I saw nothing but the briefest flash of gray.  That incident reminded me of all the times I've had that kind of thing happen and it suddenly clicked-- I need a dashcam!

 

As noted, there are so many options it's tough to decide.  I think in the end I decided on Garmin as my experience with their products has been mostly positive.  I've had my frustrations but I'm generally satisfied with them (I'm referring to GPS, satellite-comm and mapping products).

 

I first had to decide if I wanted the wide-view Dash Cam 65 (180-degree view) or the 55 (122-degree view).  After looking at footage various users have posted on YouTube, I decided I preferred the latter. 

 

I also looked at the 45 model but eventually decided on the 55 for video resolution options... up to 1440p, 60 fps, HDR, etc... and for voice control.    I'm not enough of a camera fan to know how I'll use the video resolution options yet but I didn't want to limit my choices.

 

This Garmin Differences Between Models page helps us see which camera has which features.  That's good for some basics but just keep in mind it's not a comprehensive list of features.

 

I bought the camera to record wildlife crossing ahead of me but of course it also captures anything that happens.  I do have to remember, though, that the camera is recording continuously and the files are very big.  Therefore the camera simply fills up the available memory on the card, then starts over-writing the oldest (unsaved) files with new ones.

 

There are several ways to save footage.  It's automatically saved, for example, by Event Detection.  If, for example, the camera's motion sensor detects violent movement, the camera automatically saves the last three minutes of footage to the Saved folder.  (Note- the three-minute time interval is not adjustable).

 

Footage can also be saved by pressing a button on the side of the camera.

 

And it can be saved via Voice Control (talking to the camera).  Saying 'OK Garmin' causes the camera display to light up with your options (Save Video, Take a Picture, Record (or stop) Audio, Start (or stop) Travelapse). Say the phrase to make it happen.

 

I wasn't looking for some of the other features but now that I have them, why not see how well they work...

 

1. Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS).   I'm still trying settings to see if it improves as I'm getting some false warnings and sometimes no warning at all.  (Note-- So here's what I'm talking about when I say I don't have enough experience yet:  I just now found this lane departure warning tips page that tells me LDWS only kicks in above 40 mph.... thus the lack of warnings on my tests at lower speeds)

 

2. Forward Collision Warning System (FCWS).  I kinda like this one.  It puts out a subtle beep that reminds me to pay attention.  It didn't seem to do much at first as it seemed to warn too late.  But I just changed from low to medium sensitivity this weekend for a trip out the interstate and into city traffic and it seems about right.

 

3. Go Alert (Traffic is Moving warning).  A quick beep when traffic moves out and you're sitting there 'thinking'.  I like it.

 

4. Red Light and Speed Camera warnings.  Essentially the camera can be downloaded with a database of red light/speed cameras  (called Cyclops) to warn you when you get close to one (in your path). That feature is optional and is a $25 yearly subscription. A 30-day trial comes with the camera.  I've not done anything with that but probably will in the future.

 

OK-- other stuff....

 

The default camera mount is a peel-and-stick one.  You adhere a nickel-size metal disk to the windshield and the camera-holding portion of the mount magnetically attaches to that disk.  I've not used it yet as I bought Garmin's optional mini-suction-cup mount so I can test different camera positions and move the camera between vehicles.  I also saw the peel-and-stick mount is supposed to be done when windshield temperature is between 70 and 100 degrees F and it's supposed to cure for 24 hours.  I didn't have a way to easily do that in this weather and will just use the mini-suction-cup mount for now.

 

The power cord also takes some thought.  The cigarette-lighter-style plug is fairly large and the cord is long so you can run it around the edge of the windshield,  down the A-pillar and dash and perhaps under carpet to the outlet.  I just have it running across the dash for now.  I had thought I might opt to just use a short power cable to it (particularly in a second vehicle) but when I tried charging with an alternate cord, the camera displayed a warning. I called Garmin and was told the camera-to-PC cable that came with the camera can't just be plugged in to a USB port for charging.  Also- there are no shorter charging cables available from Garmin.

 

Viewing video.... One of the things I have to figure out is why I don't have sound when I view footage on my Mac on QuickTime Player.   I can see the mounted card in Finder and see and select one of the MP4 files for review. But for some reason I don't get audio.  Garmin suggests using the Virb app on a smartphone.  I put it on my iPad and can indeed see the footage and hear the audio.   I see there's also a Virb Edit for Mac product but the compatible-devices list doesn't include dash cams.

 

I bought the camera from Amazon for $200.  If I had known what was going to happen, I would have bought directly from Garmin.  The price was the same but the Amazon vendor sent a European version. That's not in the ad or marked on the package.  This came to light when I connected to Garmin Express and saw I had Cyclops Europe waiting as an update. It turns out that's a 30-day trial of the red-light/speed cameras option (for Europe, not US and Canada).  Garmin tells me thats the only difference and I can get the  Cyclops North America product (or free trial) from the Garmin web site. 

 

As I mentioned, I also wanted the mini-suction cup mount.  And I also wanted the polarization filter to cut down windshield reflections.  Both of those had to be ordered directly from Garmin.

 

Another option available from Garmin is the parking cable.  This option connects the camera to power and records any time motion is detected in front of the vehicle.  I've not done anything with this and don't plan to.

 

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Edited by Old Crow, 21 November 2018 - 10:31 PM.

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#12 kmcintyre

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Posted 20 November 2018 - 01:40 PM

Hey Kevin, I don't know if you are worried about theft, hence the stealthy, but my second dash cam, the Rexing R1 Pro mounts over the existing rear view mirror so it's not obvious that it's a cam other than the wire leading off into the headliner. I had someone break into that car and rifle though it, either they didn't notice the cam or didn't want it, but it was left alone.

 

I like the idea of having a dedicated dash cam permanently mounted in the car. They come on when the engine starts, constantly record till the card is full and then begin rewriting over the oldest video. Many have accelerometers that save a recording to a seperate file on the card if you are hit while moving or parked with the car off. Basically you completely forget about them until you need them.

 

Lot's of other features that the GoPro may or may not be able to do, plus I'd probably forget to have turned the GoPro on the one time I needed it!

 

Or, maybe these aren't the things that you were interested in when considering the GoPro, just some thoughts I had. BTW, grew up in Boise. Idaho is a beautiful place.

 

Kelly

Good info Kelly.  One thing for me to consider (and maybe others; or this might be a question) is that on my windshield, above the rear-view mirror, it's blacked out.  My mirror has a ton of functionality built it so that may be the reason so I doubt I can mount a camera there. 


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#13 Old Crow

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Posted 20 November 2018 - 03:58 PM

     As a result of all the dash cam videos I've been watching on YouTube lately, this one popped up yesterday.  I believe it's an important subject for anyone using or considering a dash cam.... what are the legal ramifications of using one?

 

   My state is a two-party-consent state so I have to decide if I want to turn off audio or notify passengers. And the idea my dash cam recording could be useful to the opposition in a legal proceeding requires some thought.  Same for the destroying-evidence concept.

 

 

 

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#14 PackRat

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Posted 20 November 2018 - 06:03 PM

How about a small sign that says "This car records video & audio". A second one in the back seat area should do it. The passengers then have been informed and may choose to take a bus or hitch-hike if they are nervous about that. Of course you run the risk of missing out on lots of good gossip. If they are wary and you want to get the latest rumors around town or hear otherwise juicy or salacious stories, then print the flip side of the sign to read: " This car records video only".


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#15 Old Crow

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Posted 21 November 2018 - 04:48 PM

How about a small sign that says "This car records video & audio". A second one in the back seat area should do it. The passengers then have been informed and may choose to take a bus or hitch-hike if they are nervous about that. 

-snip-

 

     I see there are a number of signs, decals, and stickers available on the web for that.  Still, I'd think it important to research what 'consent' means where the dash cam will be used.  I've seen the argument made that a reasonably-prominent sign and the passenger's failure to object is 'implied consent' but that seems weak to me and I don't see widespread support for the idea (so far, anyway).

 

     Also- I believe this United States Laws on Using Dash Cams article by Brigele dash cams is pretty good and if nothing else brings the consent and other potential issues to our attention....  windshield obstruction laws, recording vs wiretapping, two-party really means 'all party', recording of police stops, posting dash cam videos, and others.

 

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#16 Old Crow

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Posted 03 December 2018 - 05:58 PM

Update on my Dash Cam 55 experience -- (Some general, some specific to the Dash Cam 55)

 

In general --

 

     I recorded my first illegal act a few days ago. Fortunately, it was a minor one.  I was following a guy who was speeding up and slowly down at odd intervals.  I suspect he was a bit tipsy and trying to be careful. In any case, he barely slowed at a (two-way) stop and blew the stop sign as he turned right and into the path of a car coming from his left.  That second car had to brake hard but there were no squealing tires or anything like that.  So no big deal.  But I reached up and held the button to save the footage.

     When I got home, I viewed the video to see what I could learn.  What if that HAD been significant?  First thing I saw was I couldn't read the license plate of the car in front of me.  I had noticed it was a Maryland plate as I followed him but I couldn't even tell that in the video.  So....

 

Lesson 1:  Video footage seems pretty good overall but when you want detail like a license plate number or details from a small sign along the road, etc, it can be tough to get.

 

Lesson 2:  I had been close enough to the car earlier that the camera should have picked up the license plate but that wasn't on the saved clip. That footage will be covered over as time goes by.  So if I think I need older footage, I have to take action to save it before that happens.  The 8GB card that comes with the camera is good for 54 minutes of recording. The 64GB one I replaced it with is good for about 440  minutes (at the 1440p resolution I currently have it set to).

 

Lesson 3: The Save recorded three minutes of footage.  I see the Save beep could be heard one minute after the saved footage starts so that means it saves one minute before and two minutes after the button-hold or verbal command to save.

 

Lesson 4: In reviewing the footage, I saw not one but TWO apparent violations.  After I watched the guy blow the stop sign, I continued watching to the end of the clip--- and caught the fool driving my truck just pause at that same stop sign.  Visually, it looked like he/she (whoever it was) quick-stopped and could argue it was a full stop, albeit a short one.   But the mph numbers at the bottom of the screen never went below 6 miles per hour.   (After looking at other stops I see the mph display lags.  In one case, I see I drove all the way across a large gas station complex (after filling up) at 0 miles per hour, mph suddenly jumped to 7, then it counted down to zero when I stopped to await the chance to pull out.) 

 

Also-- some other issues specific to the Dash Cam 55 (which may be of interest only to Dash Cam 55 owners or prospective owners)...

 

1. I still don't have sound when I play the files via Quicktime Player on my MacOS (Sierra) laptop.  I also  have no sound on my wife's MacOS laptop (also Sierra). But I have found something that works.  Garmin's free 'Dash Cam Player'.  Silly me, I didn't try it because its not mentioned in my manual and a note at the bottom of the product page says it's for Dash Cam 10/20/30/35. But one of the Garmin agents told me it worked for her Dash Cam 55.  And indeed it does.  It's a bit odd in that it takes a long time to show the files but once they load it works.  It's also better than just QuickTime Player.  Files are stored on the micro-SDXC card in one-minute increments so using Quick Time Player means you select a file, watch one minute of footage, then close the file, open another, etc.  With Dash Cam Player they're chained together and you can move the slider along the timeline to easily view (and listen to) the footage.

 

2. When I wasn't getting sound on the laptop, I'd use the Virb app on my iPad mini.  That's done by firing up the app which then tells you to open iOS Settings, choose Wi-Fi, and select the camera from the Wi-fi list, and then come back to Virb.  However, for that to work, you must have selected Gallery | Share Gallery on the camera to start the camera's wi-fi.  But for THAT to work, you have to unplug the camera from the laptop (which kills power) and start the camera independently.  But then wi-fi only works for a few minutes before the camera's battery goes dead.   The workaround is to power the camera via a USB-to-USBmicro cable powered by a AC-to-USB adapter.  If the camera's battery is low, you may get a message saying something like 'this cable cannot be used to charge your camera, please use the original cable'.  However, the Garmin agent told me not to worry about the message.  In her experience the cable does charge or at least maintains a charge.  And the worst that would happen if it doesn't is the battery would go dead (it wouldn't harm the camera).

 

3. QuickTime Player can screencast some of my footage to my 4K TV (via Airplay to my AppleTV box) but it too (like QuickTime Player on the laptop) has no sound.  Not all footage can be played, though.  Footage recorded at 1440p displays the message "An error occurred loading this content. Try again later."  I believe thats because my TV could handle the higher resolution but my Apple TV tops out at 1080p.  It is, however, the original Apple TV box and a newer one might handle it.

 

4. The optional mini-suction-cup mount is great. It works every time and I've not had to clean the windshield mounting surface or wet the suction-cup to get it to stick. And it doesn't get in the way of the camera's view.

 

5. The optional polarizing lens-cap has an orientation and has the word 'Garmin' in very small text at the bottom.  Also, there's an alignment slot on the cap and a dot on the barrel of the main lens to get it right.

 

Overall, at this point I'm happy with the camera and glad to have it.  I've called Garmin dash-cam support five or six times with pretty detailed questions and had a good experience each time.  I do feel the quick-start instructions provided with the camera fall short but the Owner's Manual is a reasonably good introduction.  But it takes more searching of the web and playing with the camera to learn details.  I'll also mention that the Garmin  doesn't have a Dash Cam sub-forum in their online support offering and the company line is that owners should call in for assistance on them.  An agent also told me they aren't aware of any good third-party dash cam forums for Garmin dash cams.

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#17 mynxd

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Posted 27 January 2019 - 03:41 AM

Just a follow up...

 

I did purchase the F800 dual camera unit. I struggled with the documentation provided by download, as the some of the terminology used was not familiar to me. Eventually, The unit worked as it should with excellent video, both while driving and in parking mode. I did the install myself, and would STRONGLY recommend to anyone doing their own install on ANY cameras which use a parking mode to TEST the fuse tap adapter for voltage before connecting the hard wiring cable to make sure that one circuit is truly engaged only when the ignition is turned on, and the other circuit is always on. I originally used the radio circuit (as suggested in the documentation) for the ignition circuit and was never able to get into parking mode, as the circuit did not turn off when the engine was shutdown (the documented suggestion may work for some vehicles but not newer GM products. The circuit that did work was the "front aux. power" (USB and cigarette sockets). I am still experimenting with some of the setup parameters, and expect to eventually get the appropriate mix for me. Generally Thinkware Tech Support was helpful, but came with too many comments about having the unit professionally installed. Now that it is functioning properly, I am happy with my purchase.

 

Thanks to all who responded.

 

Grant


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