That sucks, I used to worry about parking lot incidents not as much anymore. I run a
dash camera review website, thought I could chip in.
Grab a dash camera for sure, I recieved a video where a
was recorded while they were parked. If you had to choose between an alarm system and a dash camera for me it's a no brainer. A dash camera protects you while driving and parked.
I'll give you a couple choices I think would work well:
Low End
I have and tested a bunch of these cameras, problem is that there are numerous manufactures and all look the same. Long review short, get the pentagonal cameras, the 720p HD camera for $60 turned out pretty good. I do worry about getting a dud because quality isn't top priority on these.
The eBay seller
estore009 is great because it's who the Russians trust ( they buy a lot of cameras) and they deliver great service.
Middle of The Road
Mio Mivue 338 $124 shipped on ebay
Taiwanese design which means it will stand up to the heat, the day vision is good, night vision is amongst the best I've seen at that level. Great functionality and it's fairly small. I haven't tested it out yet but honestly the reviews & blogs I read it seems quite good.
There are other designs such as the GS2000 & DOD-Tec line of cameras which provide much better day vision (night can be a little bit worse). However the GS line (GS1000 | GS2000 | GS5000) has a "lottery" system where you hope you don't end up with a lens that can distort in the heat. The DOD TEC line there are many fakes and I think for the price I would rather just get the MiVue personally.
I can give you more information if you are interested
High End:
Itronics ITB-100HD $200 Shipped Ebay
High operating temperature, great video, small. Lots of people in North America got one of these and have been really happy with them.
Vicovation TF2 $275
This one just got released, the older model the DS2 has been used by many truck drivers with great success and reliability. The latest one improves on the night vision (it looks great), better overall video quality plus it works up to 75°C (167F) which is much needed if you live anywhere hot and want to record while your interior is roasting.
FineVU
CR300HD |
CR500HD - $260 & $330 respectively
These two cameras have excellent functionality however they are tad larger. I like them because they can be rotated 360° and have a dedicated mute button (some conversations shouldn't be recorded). The CR300HD night vision is bad, the CR500HD is really good because of the Sony Exmor R sensor. The CR300HD you have to buy an external GPS (CR500 includes one). It's also dead simple to remove and stow away. $$$$$ though
Avoid: Pittasoft Blackvue DR400G-HD
I used to recommend this camera but the failures of the original plus the lack of any real information on the second model plus lack of discernible differences inside (I have both) makes me say no for now.
Avoid: Cool-Guys (Ebay Seller)
I've gotten some really bad feedback regarding their lack of support following a sale.
Hope that helps! Most people who want a dual camera solution just buy a cheaper model for the back (the two channel models I think are rather crap atm)
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZZT86
Are they reliable? Have had Viper for years and it's been great ! Never false alarms, although it will chew thru battery if it's sits for weeks without a drive.  |
How effective is it if you live in a more urban area? For example if you have the paper/mail delivered wouldn't that result in alarms going off for benign reasons?