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Dash Cams - any experience?
Hi
Just got back from Nairobi...last time we were there was nearly 20 years ago! Roads have been built, electronic toll motorways and flyovers developed, traffic has trippled! More red plated 4x4s than you can wave a stick at and boda-bodas buzzing around, over and under the absolutely chaotic traffic management. In town, the police just stand around at roundabouts whilst two lane traffic becomes 4 lanes with everybody trying to nose their way in. Matatutus confined to the old land based arterial routes but they are not the problem they used to be. Anyway, if you have a fender bender and they see you are a muzungu, people can get very loud and threatening, however, a local friend says that the moment you start taking pictures offenders will start to back down. So, since we are moving there in a couple of months, and will be driving in and out of places like Kenyatta market etc, what dash cam would people recomend? I'm pretty keen on Garmin gear but are there any other notable contenders? All opinions are valid! TAB - TIA! |
Assuming you mean in a car - but I have one on my bike, a Viofo MT1. Installed permanently, wired in so no worries about batteries, front and rear cameras always running when the ignition is on. Had one on my previous bike where I got crashed into, and let's just say the police and later the public prosecutor quite appreciated having the footage.
Viofo is one of the Chinese brands that specializes on dashcams. General advice seems to be to go for as high a resolution as you can - so you can crop in and still read a license plate - and make sure it uses the Sony sensor with the good low-light performance. All the good ones use the same sensor basically. Dual channel front and rear is a must. Uber drivers also like a third channel for the interior, in case of unruly passengers. For your purpose - discouraging a mob - a clearly visible dashcam may be preferable, but you also don't want to have one that's a single easily removable unit as an attraction for thieves who will break your window. |
Great advice! The Viofo MT1 looks great!
From this let me start building a spec for a vehicle based unit: 1. Image Sensor: Front & Rear Camera: 2.13 MP Sony Exmor R STARVIS Sensor 2. Resolution: Front & Rear Camera: 1920 x 1080P 30fps 3. Viewing Angle: 170° 4. Storage: Supports UHS-1 microSD Cards up to 256GB 5. Input Power: 12V DC 6. Operating Temperature: 14 to 140°F / -10 to 60°C |
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Nah, on a car you definitely want 4k front and rear channels. No point skimping out on it. 1080p is not enough these days if you have any choice at all.
EDIT: Some real-life footage from my MT1: |
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