[PaddleShifter]

As the thread title says, this is a poll dealing with the dashcam's aspect that needs to be considered before investing in one. Its life span.

Purpose of the poll: To shortlist the better performing models in the market on the basis of durability. Especially given the Indian conditions (high summer temperatures).

Existing dashcam thread for forum members' reviews till date: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/car-e...vr-thread.html (The Dashcam / Car Video Recorder (DVR) Thread)

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Brief introduction to the thread
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In mid 2022, I had a scary experience where a Delhi registered car overtook me in the fast lane while I was driving at 90kmph and slammed its brakes. Real life NFS Most Wanted cop behavior. Fortunately, no one was behind me and I could safely move out of the fast lane onto the left side. I saw that the driving started vomiting. The poor IQ driver wanted to vomit on the divider of a National Highway so that he is not exposed to the oncoming traffic, had he opened the door while stopped on the left side. Over the next few weeks, I witnessed how Delhi-NCR cars are behaving on the roads, leading to an impulsive (or rather an emergency) purchase of a DDPAI Mola N3 non GPS Dash cam. Fast forward November 2024, the dashcam fails to start many times. I think I will have to buy a new one now.

Issues with lower life span of a dashcam:
1. Frequent waste of time researching for dashcam online or in stores.
2. Compatibility of accessories with newer dashcam is not a guarantee.
3. A dashcam could be found not working when needed the most. Recently, I witnessed a very rashly driven Grand Vitara that almost pushed us towards another car. Thats when I discovered that the dashcam is not working properly. Another time, a triple riding scooter skid around 100m in front of us and all three ladies fell on the road. The dashcam had again not booted so I could not review the reason why those ladies fell on an empty straight road with no other vehicle etc. in 50-100m of their radius.

I have had very poor experience with Nexdigitron. A dashcam requires additional investment in terms of accessories that could take the final price to atleast 1.5 times the cost of the dashcam. I had bought a Nexdigitron branded external TPMS as well. It stopped working completely within 15 months as well. I wont be going back to Nexdigitron now.

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The Poll
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For the poll, kindly use the following template to share your experiences.

Product: DDPAI Mola N3 (Non GPS) Front only dashcam
Purchased from: Nexdigitron
Price: Approx. Rs6000 for the dashcam (+ accessories extra)
Accessories: CPL filter (INR800), a dual USB car adapter (INR500), cable management clips (INR200) for aesthetics purpose.
Status: Not working often.
Life span: Almost 2.5 years.

What is your experience?

[KarthikK]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Jaggu]

I have one from many years and it has moved from my Swift to GV and now on my Thar. It is a simple front camera bought from Aliexpress and was always used with the adapter that came in the kit. Fingers crossed!

Have you checked the memory card and power supply, if that had an issues?

[benbsb29]

I have a DDPai Mini2 which has served and continues to serve me well over 7+ years, IIRC. I bought this one based on the recommendation from Mod vid6639 when looking for a reasonably priced dashcam. Other than the double sided tape which seems to need occasional replacement, the dashcam itself has been really good for the price.

My car does long trips in the harsh Australian sun, offroading on bumpy trails and other related travels, all of which amount to reasonable vibrations and bumps, yet the device has worked well.

[PaddleShifter]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Have you checked the memory card and power supply, if that had an issues?

Even if the memory card is removed, the dashcam powers up and says "There is no memory card inserted". The card is fine as well.

The 12v socket is working fine in my S-Cross and even the 12v adapter has its blue light lit so I assume power is not an issue.

I hope mine is the one off case. But it would be interesting to know what (or if all) dashcams are reliable in Indian conditions. Afterall, most people have started installing them only recently in the last few years.

Having seen two high risk events in front of me recently, need to find a suitable replacement.

[MSC]

I got a 70 mai dash cam Pro model sometime around June 2020 for my Hyundai Venue.
It has been working almost flawlessly till now. It records everything, just as it did on its first day.
It had only one issue.
I didn't hardwire it. It has a battery which blew up the ghost in 2 years. Since car is parked at a locked parking lot at night, I too didn't bothered to get a replacement battery. Only thing missing is the recording in parking mode as the camera switches off, the moment engine is switched off.
Recording resolution is good in day and good light conditions. In the night, the number plate of vehicle in front can be read if too close or in headlight beam area. Otherwise the resolution is poor in low and bad light conditions.

[Mr. Nobody]

Product: Blueskysea b1w
Purchased from: Aliexpress
Price: Approx. Rs 4000 or so
Accessories: Fuse tap adaptor to start it automatically on car switching to ON
Status: Working well with 1 SD card that got worn off. Using a Samsung Evo now since a couple of years.
Life span: 6+ years now in the NCR extreme weather

Looking to upgrade to a dual-channel starvis 2 cam with a supercapacitor once their prices reach sub 20k

[raksrules]

Originally Posted by MSC

the camera switches off, the moment engine is switched off.

Is your time too resetting to some old date? Happens with my 70mai A500 dashcam front and rear). I am losing the date setting frequently. The dashcam is almost 3 years old. Right now I am not bothered to change the dashcam as only date is the issue as it is recording everything fine.

[Chetan_Rao]

Aukey DR02 single-channel, non-GPS. Bought from Amazon US, along with a Samsung Extreme 64 GB micro SD card. Cost me ~USD 90 total (~ 6.5k INR back then, half the retail price of the cam alone in India). Came with a spare mount, extra pieces of 3M VHB tape and a dual USB 12V adapter in the box.

Bought in early 2019. Still works flawlessly. I do check video samples every couple weeks or so to ensure recording works without a hitch.

[Gannu_1]

I’m using a Xiaomi Yi (Non GPS) dashcam which was purchased from Aliexpress back in 2017. Camera works and records videos, the app is ok (disconnects often with the WiFi connection) but battery is dead.

Paid Rs 2700 for the dashcam (+ 1465 as customs duties). No accessories.

I’ve a replacement Li-ion battery which I sourced from Robu. May replace it one of these days.

[ike]

Product: DDPAI Mola N3 (GPS) Front only dashcam
Purchased from: Amazon
Price: Approx. Rs8000 for the dashcam (+ accessories extra)
Accessories: CPL filter (INR800),
Status: Not working, replaced with a new 70Mai
Life span: Almost 1 year

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

I’m using a Xiaomi Yi (Non GPS) dashcam

I also had a similar model from Yi bought from Amazon. Yi is rugged and reliable. The MASS at Bhubaneshwar stole mine unfortunately.

[NomadSK]

I have one (HDR Philips CVR700) which I have been intermittently using while traveling or vacationing for the last 10 years. Insert micro SD card of 32GB and I'm good to go. It has also got a GPS data logger which registers the route/speed and a G sensor to detect shock and turns on write protection.

Some features are;

Resolution - Full HD(1920x1080p) at 30 fps, VGA (640 x 480) at 30 fps & HD (1280x720p) at 30/60 fps. Video loop recording off/1/3/5/10 min, record auto start at ignition on. I guess the pricing was 85USD, can't recollect though.

The work facilities I go in, doesn't allow me to video film or still film anything, it's strictly prohibited. Can't use it on my daily drive, hence I don't get to utilize it much except on my road trips or travels.

PC - Google

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by PaddleShifter

Even if the memory card is removed, the dashcam powers up and says "There is no memory card inserted". The card is fine as well.

Have you ever updated the firmware of the device? I had done this using the phone app couple of times when the updates were available. Maybe worth checking if there are any updates available in the system.

As far as new one goes, 70 mai remains the most trusted and reliable at reasonable price point these days.

[sumeethaldankar]

1)Transcend-Working condition but retired. The image started to get floppy due to being parked in sunlight conditions. Had it for more than 4 years. Was used in the front.
2.Viofo- Died in around 3 years.
3.YI for the front and 70MAI working since 2019 and still in use touchwood. My car is always covered by a premium car cover whilst parked at home. In office premises it is under sheltered parking so no exposure to sunlight and heat. Both cameras each killed a SD card and both have new SD cards.

[vaisakhr]

Originally Posted by PaddleShifter

I wont be going back to Nexdigitron now.

What is your experience?

I have similar experience from them, I had a 70mai one, dingle channel which gone kaput right after the expiration of warranty. Sadly all of these Chinese dashcams are not repairable (Even the 70mai official support denied any repair possibilities. Nexdigitron on the other hand said it would costs more or less the same for a new one, by that they meant to say that they won't do any repair. If the cam have an issue, throw in the dust bin and go buy new one.

Btw, nexdigitron is the official partner for 70mai and ddpai in India