[MelindaV]

I did some shopping around for BlackVue a while back and this is what I came up with.

There are currently two 650 models available with the only apparent difference in specs being the maximum MicroSD card size it can handle. Both come as a single forward camera or packaged with a rear facing camera that is dependent on the front with mobile app, WiFi and Cloud capabilities.

Flash Memory:
The DR650GW with MicroSD ranging from 16GB to 64GB
The DR650S with MicroSD ranging from 16GB to 128GB

Camera Sensors:
Front: 2.1MP CMOS
Rear: 1MP CMOS

View Angle:
Front: horz 103° vert 77°
Rear: horz 129° vert 57°

Resolution:
Front: 1920x1080 or 1280x720 at 30fps or 15fps
Rear: 1280x720 at 30fps or 15fps

Recording Modes:
Normal
Event/Impact detection
Parking/Impact/Motion (requires Power Magic module)

Pricing varies widely by vendor on Amazon, but generally the 2 camera packages (2CH 16GB card) start at $369. For that price, the GW version includes the Power Magic module and the S is just the cameras.
(I don't get anything for your click thru to Amazon, link just a courtesy)

Purchasing a larger MicroSD separately will save over upgrading the BlackVue to the larger included MicroSD card. Name brand 64GB cards start around $20 and 128GB at $30.
Reviews claim to get 14 hours from the front and rear cameras on a 64GB card. (also a ton of other good info and images from the cameras in this review)

Amazon has some listings for a 5MP camera, and as far as I can tell, that is either out of date, or just wrong info. Everything on BlackVue's site lists all the 650 models as being 2MP (or less for rear facing).

Install video

(but there are many more on Youtube)

 

[Badback]

I did some shopping around for BlackVue a while back and this is what I came up with.

There are currently two 650 models available with the only apparent difference in specs being the maximum MicroSD card size it can handle. Both come as a single forward camera or packaged with a rear facing camera that is dependent on the front with mobile app, WiFi and Cloud capabilities.

Flash Memory:
The DR650GW with MicroSD ranging from 16GB to 64GB
The DR650S with MicroSD ranging from 16GB to 128GB

Camera Sensors:
Front: 2.1MP CMOS
Rear: 1MP CMOS

View Angle:
Front: horz 103° vert 77°
Rear: horz 129° vert 57°

Resolution:
Front: 1920x1080 or 1280x720 at 30fps or 15fps
Rear: 1280x720 at 30fps or 15fps

Recording Modes:
Normal
Event/Impact detection
Parking/Impact/Motion (requires Power Magic module)

Pricing varies widely by vendor on Amazon, but generally the 2 camera packages (2CH 16GB card) start at $369. For that price, the GW version includes the Power Magic module and the S is just the cameras.
(I don't get anything for your click thru to Amazon, link just a courtesy)

Purchasing a larger MicroSD separately will save over upgrading the BlackVue to the larger included MicroSD card. Name brand 64GB cards start around $20 and 128GB at $30.
Reviews claim to get 14 hours from the front and rear cameras on a 64GB card. (also a ton of other good info and images from the cameras in this review)

Amazon has some listings for a 5MP camera, and as far as I can tell, that is either out of date, or just wrong info. Everything on BlackVue's site lists all the 650 models as being 2MP (or less for rear facing).

Install video

(but there are many more on Youtube)

Having a lot of recording time (bigger card size) is really not very important since the camera will loop as soon as the card is full and write over the old footage. How long does a traffic event last? Maybe just a few seconds to a few minutes.

Events can be isolated to a separate file on the card to prevent being overwritten.

 

[MelindaV]

Exactly the reason I don't see the need for the higher capacity 650S at 128MB - the 650GW with a couple 32GB cards available to swap out is what I'd probably do. But I am mostly interested in the Parking recordings over the Driving recordings.
In all the years/miles I've driven, I've only had 2 very minor bumps (both while my car was stationary and the person behind was pulling forward from a stop before my car moved) but have had two cars hit in parking lots, major door dings deep enough to leave the other car's paint behind, a broken side window, a break-in attempting to steal a stereo, etc... so record would say there is more chance of damage when away from the car then while driving.

 

[Badbot]

Exactly the reason I don't see the need for the higher capacity 650S at 128MB - the 650GW with a couple 32GB cards available to swap out is what I'd probably do. But I am mostly interested in the Parking recordings over the Driving recordings.
In all the years/miles I've driven, I've only had 2 very minor bumps (both while my car was stationary and the person behind was pulling forward from a stop before my car moved) but have had two cars hit in parking lots, major door dings deep enough to leave the other car's paint behind, a broken side window, a break-in attempting to steal a stereo, etc... so record would say there is more chance of damage when away from the car then while driving.

Melinda can you as an official of the M3 owners club contact Blackview and ask about a group buy?
let them know how many members we have and see if they can offer a discount for us?

 

[TrevP]

Good idea for a group buy. I highly recommend this unit.

 

[MelindaV]

Melinda can you as an official of the M3 owners club contact Blackview and ask about a group buy?
let them know how many members we have and see if they can offer a discount for us?

I can - I had crossed my mind that their cameras would be a great group buy.
I'll see if I can track down a rep in the next week or so and see if it's something they offer to groups, and if so probably look to set something up mid next year when everyone is thinking more seriously about spending cash on extras for their future cars

 

[Jayc]

Please excuse my ignorance but what is it that makes blackvue special compared to the competition?

Mainly for the benefit of UK based members here, I was going to suggest crash catcher cc3. http://www.crashcatcher.co.uk/cc3-plus-1/
What makes it special is you just clip it onto existing rearview mirror and connect up power cable so installation is easy and comes with a monitor.

 

[BigBri]

I'd definitely be interested. I park in a slightly sketchy area and will want some protection.

 

[TrevP]

Please excuse my ignorance but what is it that makes blackvue special compared to the competition?

Mainly for the benefit of UK based members here, I was going to suggest crash catcher cc3. http://www.crashcatcher.co.uk/cc3-plus-1/
What makes it special is you just clip it onto existing rearview mirror and connect up power cable so installation is easy and comes with a monitor.

Read up on them and check the reviews. It's an amazing piece of kit.

 

[garsh]

Please excuse my ignorance but what is it that makes blackvue special compared to the competition?

The one feature in particular that I've been looking for is the ability to download videos wirelessly.

Sometimes I find that something interesting happened during a drive, and I want to make a copy of the video to post to youtube,or just to watch. I find it a bit of a pain to remove my camera to connect it to the computer to do this. I could just remove the memory card, but that's not easy, given its position behind my rear-view mirror. Plus, I need to get an adapter to plug a micro-SD card into a regular SD reader. The blackvues allow downloading over wifi to a phone.

 

[teslaliving]

I've had the DR650GW in my Model S for about 18 months and i've been very happy with it. My installation post is here:
http://teslaliving.net/2015/01/21/dual-channel-dash-cams-for-your-tesla/

Its been very reliable and im still using the original flash (I actually have 2 so I can save an interesting moment easily) and I never re-format them.

I'd definitely recommend the Blackvue and i'll be putting that same thing in the Model ☰ when I get it.

 

[Skione65]

I can - I had crossed my mind that their cameras would be a great group buy.
I'll see if I can track down a rep in the next week or so and see if it's something they offer to groups, and if so probably look to set something up mid next year when everyone is thinking more seriously about spending cash on extras for their future cars

@MelindaV,

They do. They've offered group buys to TMC members in the past. Off hand I can't remember the model number and price but I believe it was around $265-300? Not sure though. Maybe if your interested in how it was handled and the price offered on the group buy do a search over on TMC for the details.

Ski

 

[MelindaV]

@MelindaV,

They do. They've offered group buys to TMC members in the past. Off hand I can't remember the model number and price but I believe it was around $265-300? Not sure though. Maybe if your interested in how it was handled and the price offered on the group buy do a search over on TMC for the details.

Ski

have already done just that. Looks like the prior GBs were thru US/Canadian resellers. I'll contact them to look into options and if one would offer a better deal than another.

 

[Skione65]

have already done just that. Looks like the prior GBs were thru US/Canadian resellers. I'll contact them to look into options and if one would offer a better deal than another.

@M~

Awhile back I was looking at all that. I also crossed the group GB pricing with the same exact Blackview Model on (of course) Amazon. You may want to compare there as well. They were tough to beat. Can't remember the exact pricing comparisons but if not equivalent I think Amazon may have even been cheaper.

Ski

 

[MelindaV]

yeah - before I'd really seen much conversation about them related to Tesla, I'd already been watching them on Amazon. like mentioned at the top of the thread, bundled price with the power magic adaptor (which some say you can skip with Tesla due to the high amp battery giving the 12V a trickle charge) start around $360 - resellers direct websites give higher prices.

 

[Skione65]

Good info here.....on the Blackview in general and the "wiring directly to the 12V" in the MS.

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/owners-with-dash-cams.72951/

Ski

 

[BigBri]

Didn't realize it was so easy to wire into the ModelS, makes me want one even more. I'd hate to pay someone to install it so the easier it is the better.

 

[garsh]

BTW, if anybody else has trouble accessing the dashcam over wifi using their Android phone, I figured out the trick for getting it to work.

When the newer versions of Android detect that they don't have a connection to the internet over wifi, they stop sending requests over the wifi network. Thus, your phone will have a strong wifi signal (with a little exclamation mark on it to signify that there's no internet connectivity), but will continue to use your mobile data plan. To force the phone to send requests over wifi, you need to temporarily turn off mobile data.

One way to do this is to start at the home screen. Pull down twice on the "shade". The first time expands your notifications. The second time brings up some quick-access settings. Choose the one for your network provider (Fi, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, etc.) The settings screen should say "Cellular data", and there will be a switch in the upper-right. Tap the switch to turn it off.

 

[MelindaV]

for those that are currently using dashcams, do you think installing at the top of the Model ☰ rear window will be an issue? With the glass near horizontal for the first foot or so after the start of the glass it seems there may be some odd optics. would putting the rear camera at the bottom of the window reduce it's field of view?

 

[teslaliving]

I have a rear camera right at the top of the rear window in my S and it looks great.

You can see some of the rear footage in this video: