Dashcam Videos

Canadian Mike

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Member
Dec 3, 2011
738
Any member use a dashcam and upload videos to YouTube? I recently started uploading monthly compilations of interesting driving events. Not sure if compilations are better than individual clips. Still a newbie at video editing. Any advice surely appreciated.

 
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Sparky

Member
Dec 4, 2011
12,927
I have a dashcam rolling all the time. I used to use my old phone as a camera when I was driving in Columbus all the time, caught some really stupid things happen down there (like blasting through a red light on the shoulder to cut into stopped traffic on the other side, brilliant). I've never really had much reason to pull video so far though, maybe I should just for the lulz of some of the stuff. I'd have to do it all the time as it only holds about an hour worth unless I upgrade the memory.
 

Canadian Mike

Original poster
Member
Dec 3, 2011
738
I have a dashcam rolling all the time. I used to use my old phone as a camera when I was driving in Columbus all the time, caught some really stupid things happen down there (like blasting through a red light on the shoulder to cut into stopped traffic on the other side, brilliant). I've never really had much reason to pull video so far though, maybe I should just for the lulz of some of the stuff. I'd have to do it all the time as it only holds about an hour worth unless I upgrade the memory.

That's exactly one reason why I upload, for the giggles. 32GB MicroSD holds about 4.5 hours.

I want to get one. I drive a coach bus quite a bit for the college that I work for. I see some very interesting things.

Bus, taxi, truckers, and other road warriors, would definitely see lots of messed up crap. I got mine from Amazon for under $100 CDN with a 32GB card.
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
You can even get some really cheap ones for under $50. Not the best of course but does a fairly decent job.

To hold more video, don't go higher than 720p. Those cameras can't really get that many details so that extra res is a waste.

I have one in both trucks and about to install two (front and rear) in the Saab to hook up to the Android HU. Thinking of installing a portable HD to store it all, or at the very least, a large USB drive.

Only thing ever really captured was my son also getting whacked by a fishtailing pickup in the opposite direction while he was driving the Saab.
 
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gpking

Member
Dec 27, 2013
534
Berkeley Springs, WV
I do. I started out with a DVR-027 and now have a G1W-C.
Unfortunately (or fortunately) despite driving at least 400 miles each week, I don't catch that much awful driving.
I lump my bad-driving clips into year-long compilations, which end up being a few minutes long.

I also do videos of just regular old driving in the rain/snow, which surprisingly get a decent amount of views.
 

Canadian Mike

Original poster
Member
Dec 3, 2011
738
I do. I started out with a DVR-027 and now have a G1W-C.
Unfortunately (or fortunately) despite driving at least 400 miles each week, I don't catch that much awful driving.
I lump my bad-driving clips into year-long compilations, which end up being a few minutes long.

I also do videos of just regular old driving in the rain/snow, which surprisingly get a decent amount of views.

400 miles/week + no incidents = safe driving! :2thumbsup:

What's your YouTube channel? Do you use any video editing software?
 
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gpking

Member
Dec 27, 2013
534
Berkeley Springs, WV
400 miles/week + no incidents = safe driving! :2thumbsup:
I call it dumb luck and being too cool-headed most days. I never have an issue in the country, but as soon as I get into the city it seems like the rules of the road just evaporate. 75% of my bad driving clips occur in the city, which accounts for only 10% of my commute. Defensive driving is the name of the game.

What's your YouTube channel? Do you use any video editing software?
I tried being cheap and just using Movie Maker, but it's a flawed program. I finally bit the bullet and used Sony's generous student discount to buy Vegas Movie Studio (a slightly dumbed-down version of Vegas Pro).
It's not the most feature-packed video editor for the retail price, but I'm well acquainted with the Vegas UI and it was 62% off, so Movie Studio was the obvious choice for me.

Here's my channel, not too much to it, just random driving videos.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwYsUcbZPMxfK6LGxCdrCDQ
 

Canadian Mike

Original poster
Member
Dec 3, 2011
738
I call it dumb luck and being too cool-headed most days. I never have an issue in the country, but as soon as I get into the city it seems like the rules of the road just evaporate. 75% of my bad driving clips occur in the city, which accounts for only 10% of my commute. Defensive driving is the name of the game.


I tried being cheap and just using Movie Maker, but it's a flawed program. I finally bit the bullet and used Sony's generous student discount to buy Vegas Movie Studio (a slightly dumbed-down version of Vegas Pro).
It's not the most feature-packed video editor for the retail price, but I'm well acquainted with the Vegas UI and it was 62% off, so Movie Studio was the obvious choice for me.

Here's my channel, not too much to it, just random driving videos.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwYsUcbZPMxfK6LGxCdrCDQ

Hey, hey! I'm already a subscriber to your channel. 1st video I viewed was your resonator delete. Cool channel.
 
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I bought a Thinkware F750 About a year ago after I sold my Jeep and got a new Charger. Not sure what it was, but people started cutting me off, pulling out in front of me, running red lights etc. Mostly all Downtown Dallas. Never had that problem in the Jeep GC ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Saved me when I was rear ended by some lady, she was trying to say I switched lanes and slammed on the brakes. Dashcam changed her tune, Not sure what would have happened since in the Cops mind I'm just a punk 25 Year old Kid with a Sports car and she's a 60+ Lady in an SUV.
 

mrrsm

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Mooseman

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Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
Just came back from a parts run. I captured this on the way to the parts store.

Sorry for the sound quality. It's a cheap ass cam and the time is obviously off.

 

Canadian Mike

Original poster
Member
Dec 3, 2011
738
Now that the commercialization of Christmas is over, I realized that there was an increase in distracted drivers last month. Here's my December's edition. I am still trying to figure out whether to continue monthly videos or cut them up into smaller segments. Enjoy.

 
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TollKeeper

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Dec 3, 2011
8,047
Brighton, CO
I drive roughly 3100 miles a week. I very rarely ever see anything. Have a dash cam, but haven't recorded anything worth posting yet.
 

05envoy

Member
Sep 13, 2015
49
that video is regular driving in the lower mainland in vancouver i drive all over and see it all the time
when it snows it gets even better
 

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
I drive roughly 3100 miles a week. I very rarely ever see anything. Have a dash cam, but haven't recorded anything worth posting yet.

Driving 40 hours a week at 80 mph is damn impressive!
 

TollKeeper

Supporting Donor
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Dec 3, 2011
8,047
Brighton, CO
I wish. More like 60 hours @ 65 mph
 

Mesoholics

Member
Apr 2, 2012
77
I had a $50 crappy camera running for the storm chasing trip, tossed it in my jeep and caught the odd one. I want a dod-ls430 or something just for the quality of the imagery.

I am a passive aggressive driver so some of the clips make me look like a dbag :smile:


 

Canadian Mike

Original poster
Member
Dec 3, 2011
738
Here's my January edition. I am going to continue with the monthly videos. Enjoy.


Picked up a new dashcam, Viofo A119 to replace the G1W-H. Early video quality, 1920x1080 at 30/60fps and 2560x1440 at 30fps, look really good. :ok:
 

Capote

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Jul 14, 2014
24,227
Atlanta, GA
I used to use my GoPro or Ion Air Pro as a dash cam, both are 1080p and run at 60fps. I have mounts on my dash for both, been a while since I recorded anything though. Mostly used them both when I was deployed in Germany twice for NATO operations. Zip tied them both to my hatch as I was driving, got some beautiful shots of the German hillsides and valleys.
 
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littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
It's a time lapse but close enough.

Mod edit: Moved to proper thread.
 
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Mooseman

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Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
Well, that was pretty mundane :Zzzz:
 
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littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
Well, that was pretty mundane :Zzzz:
I didn't know this thread existed first off so my bad on that. Second, yea. My job is boring I get it. I wasn't going to include photos of the yards though. One guy build a home theater with 7.2 surround sound around his pool. It's pretty sick actually.
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
No prob for the thread thing. That's why we're here :cool:

For the video itself, well, um, ah, dash cam videos are usually posted when something out of the ordinary happens. An idiot driver, an accident, an 800 lbs gorilla smashing the hood.
 

littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
No prob for the thread thing. That's why we're here :cool:

For the video itself, well, um, ah, dash cam videos are usually posted when something out of the ordinary happens. An idiot driver, an accident, an 800 lbs gorilla smashing the hood.
So I should've left the bit in where I almost ran the guy who cut me off and locked his breaks up in front of me off the road?
 

Mooseman

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Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
Yeah, that kind of stuff as long as it's not gonna land ya in jail, :dielaugh:
 
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littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
Yeah, that kind of stuff as long as it's not gonna land ya in jail, :dielaugh:
At 25 in a 50 I'm sure everyone would have understood why I got a little salty. You can see the cut just before it happens when I get off the off ramp around the 2 minute mark or a little after.
 

gpking

Member
Dec 27, 2013
534
Berkeley Springs, WV
Here's the first part of my 2017 compilation. Aside from the rampant crime, widespread corruption, and 3rd world road maintenance, this should be all the reason you'll ever need to avoid Baltimore at all costs (I'm counting down the days until I can leave).

NSFW language warning; I'm a potty mouth when I drive.
 

RTTBLT1

Member
Jan 25, 2016
512
Louisburg, KS
Didn't know this thread existed till the other day...so since I have mine temporarily hooked up figured I would post one up. Now fyi, this is my first time using a Video Editor so....


Not sure why the video quality looks like that but should look better. Will have to look at the Windows Video Editor settings, I imagine it was something I did or should I say I didn't do, lol. Also, the little speaker on the Dash Cam does not do well handling bass from the stereo but I guess thats what you get from $49.99 Dash Cams!

If you notice in the video how the truck driver ignores his red light...I thought truck drivers had to know the rules of road more than your average driver but here lately I have seen quite of bit of bad driving from them, like not merging for people entering Hwy, cutting people off ect. Maybe they too are tired of the idiots on the road and dont care anymore either...???
 

gpking

Member
Dec 27, 2013
534
Berkeley Springs, WV
Not sure why the video quality looks like that but should look better. Will have to look at the Windows Video Editor settings, I imagine it was something I did or should I say I didn't do, lol.
Windows Movie Maker is a pretty bad program for anything besides just basic clip trimming or slideshow making. The best way to render video is File > Save movie > Recommended for this project
That automatically detects the native audio and video settings of the clip and renders as such.

Alternately, you may want to check that your dashcams are setup to record at 1080p rather than just 480p. Just because it is capable of 1080p does not mean that it is the default setting out of the box.
 
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RTTBLT1

Member
Jan 25, 2016
512
Louisburg, KS
Windows Movie Maker is a pretty bad program for anything besides just basic clip trimming or slideshow making. The best way to render video is File > Save movie > Recommended for this project
That automatically detects the native audio and video settings of the clip and renders as such.

Ok, nice to know. I'm guessing it's a Windows program but not sure, it was preinstalled on the Laptop when we purchased it. It's called Cyberlink...
20170903_185134.jpg
There's quite a bit of different settings...
20170903_185953.jpg
It's all new to me, never messed with any Video/Movie Editor before. It has Pip, Video-in-Video and all kinds of stuff.

Alternately, you may want to check that your dashcams are setup to record at 1080p rather than just 480p. Just because it is capable of 1080p does not mean that it is the default setting out of the box.

I checked the settings on both dash cams and sure enough, they were set to 720p! So I changed them to 1080FHD...
20170903_181854.jpg

Thank you for the info!
 
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gpking

Member
Dec 27, 2013
534
Berkeley Springs, WV
Ok, nice to know. I'm guessing it's a Windows program but not sure, it was preinstalled on the Laptop when we purchased it. It's called Cyberlink...
Ah, okay. I thought you meant Movie Maker since it formerly came bundled with versions of Windows (up until Windows 10 which no longer has it).

Yeah, Power Director probably has some more intricate settings to toy with to get it to render properly since it's a "real" video editor.
As a tip, once you copy a clip over to your computer from your dashcam, right-click > Properties > Details tab and it will show you all of the technical specs of the video so you can setup Power Director to render accordingly.
I use Sony Vegas Movie Studio and once I got my render settings how I liked them, I could save a preset that I use each time I render a dashcam video. I would assume Power Director lets you do the same.
 
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RTTBLT1

Member
Jan 25, 2016
512
Louisburg, KS
Ah, okay. I thought you meant Movie Maker since it formerly came bundled with versions of Windows (up until Windows 10 which no longer has it).

Yeah, Power Director probably has some more intricate settings to toy with to get it to render properly since it's a "real" video editor.
As a tip, once you copy a clip over to your computer from your dashcam, right-click > Properties > Details tab and it will show you all of the technical specs of the video so you can setup Power Director to render accordingly.
I use Sony Vegas Movie Studio and once I got my render settings how I liked them, I could save a preset that I use each time I render a dashcam video. I would assume Power Director lets you do the same.

Ok. Ya, I will have to play around with it some more, but it was my first time using it and figured I would give it a shot.

Thanks again for the info!
 
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Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
Well, today was fun!

 
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