I bought a couple of car dash cameras before in Hong Kong but the batteries broke very quickly. These are now becoming more popular and after some research, I have picked the TaoTronics Car Dashboard Camera TT-CD05 to try.Compared to my other cameras, this produces a much higher quality video. The wide angle is really handy, because when you mount the camera behind the rear view mirror, it is not always possible to point the camera at the exact direction that you want. But with the wide angle, it doesn't matter. Everything is included.
The camera is very light but well built. As consistent with my experience with Taotronics suction cups, they are very sturdy. The camera probably won't come off, unless it is very hot in summer. The USB cable is long enough to wire the dashcam around the passenger side so that the cables are out of the way and almost invisible. One of the features of this camera is the auto on/off engine, so that the camera turns on when you start the engine. Unfortunately, in my car, there is power to the cigarette lighter even when the ignition is off. So I have to manually turn the camera off when I leave the car. It is not a huge deal, as I have it mounted so that the on/off button is easily accessible. One suggestion is to look into the possibility of solar power. That would solve the wiring issue. Some solar panels can get charged by either natural sunlight and also indoor lighting.
As with many other dashcams, the camera does loop recording. The bonus is that when you buy this camera on Amazon, it comes with a 32GB brand name Sandisk TF card (also called micro SD card). At the highest resolution it takes about 5 hours before the first recording is overwritten. The camera has a G sensor so that when the car comes to an abrupt stop, the video that is recorded will be locked and not overwritten. I set mine to medium and it works quite well.
I have tried this in day driving and night driving and the images are good. Of course you cannot expect to see easily the licence plates coming the opposite direction unless you are stopped, but all dashcams tend to be like that. In the rain, it's hard to see, because the water drops on the windscreen reflect and diffuse the street lights and headlights. But this is a problem I expect with most cameras.
I own a quite a few Taotronics products and they have the best warranty. If you have any problems, they always resolve the issue to your satisfaction. The camera comes with a one year warranty and can be extended for an additional 6 months if you register the product. You can buy this product here: http://www.amazon.com/TaoTronics-Dashboard-Camera-G-Sensor-Screen/dp/B0119F9EPG/
