Hi guys, looking at buying a new dashcam. Looking at viofo as they're so highly praised but read that durability isn't that great. Want something which can survive aussie conditions. Read one person who had one who had the buttons stop working after leaving their car in the sun in a hot day (had the exact same thing happen to my headunit).
Cheers
Not even Australia's foremost bargains website?
BlackVue
Thinkware
Been using the Xiaomi 70min and it's been holding up for the last few months of rough summer's here on the central coast!
same but in perth. has lasted fine so far.
Same here in Sydney. My previous Mini 0801 lasted over 4 years before having issues.
maybe the answer is to buy a viofo, and with the $$ saved spend that on window visors and perhaps a few bucks on some gizmo that delays the power output to the dashcam by a minute or so.. giving the cabin time to cool (assuming the damage occurs if it's actually turned on whilst hot) ?
mine survived summer.. as many others have.. maybe it was just a coincidence.
there's prob ppl with blackvue who've found it stopped working on a hot day too??
(edit add: maybe the issue being blamed on the heat, actually occurred due to the way it was hardwired or something.. dodgy buck converter or such thing)
I have had the VIOFO A118C 1.5 inch 1080P Capacitor Battery Novatek 96650 Car DVR Dash Cam in both my wife's and my car in Townsville QLD for nearly 2 years now.
Both are parked outdoors during the day so have copped some extreme heat and both are still working perfectly, both permanently hardwired in. Pretty good video quality too.
found this on first ebay result
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/5V-30V-Micro-USB-Power-Delay-Rel…
lol @ the chinglish!
"Delay powered vehicle equipment, to prevent large currents generated as the car starts burning vehicle equipment."
"Prevent simultaneous launch multiple devices cause burning appliances or fail to start"
(now, hopefully it is actually resilient to aussie heat)
We have three Viofo A119 dash cams installed in our cars. All three were purchased and installed in May last year. Two GPS modules have died but all three dash cams still work. It’s already March so I reckon they’ll survive on the heat front - durability wise one dash cam needed a firmware update after it shat itself but it’s working fine again. All three dash cams are hard wired from a USB port that taps into the cigarette lighter ($5 or so from Jaycar, 30 min of time to take apart dash). The 2017 Mazda 3 dash is not so easy to take apart, that one took a fair bit longer.
my BlackVue works fine.
Blackvue. Survived coastal summer heat waves.
Don't get one with a battery. The capacitor models are better and are rated for higher heat.
THe problem with Viofo isn't always heat. THey have connection issues with the GPS module too.
I have a 70mai. Since it can't record when parked / ignition off, I use my sun visor to also cover the camera, and seems to keep it much cooler than it would be otherwise. So far so good.
blackvue
thinkware is where it's at now - though it is a premium brand and you'll have to pay for it
had to get my blackvue replaced under warranty multiple times (though it seems their latest versions are better - after changing the rates and reducing the heat)
I always leave my Mivue dashcam in the car. 3 summers and still works perfectly
A119 in the wife's car which is parked outside for the last 15m. The only issue was the GPS mount pins as it's a V1 - just bypassed power direct to the unit instead. No worries, no probems.
Can anyone recommend a hardwire kit for parking mode?
The current Blackvue models have improved 750s. But not cheap dash cam. Good features
Nothing can survive aussie conditions.