Dash Cam: Avoid the Porsche?

[tchavei]

A dashcam serves a purpose and that purpose is to record whatever happens in front (and optionally in the back) while you drive (and optionally while parked).

In that regard, I would always suggest the most high end ones. 4k is usually better than lower resolution cameras (better picture quality, sharper images, better license plate identification and so on). GPS information, speed, timestamps are a must to later on provide solid evidence if needed. If you park on the street or even while going for groceries or stay at a hotel, parking mode is invaluable specially if one day you get to the car and see a big ding or even your front bumper on the ground (yeah, happened to my neighbour).

In the above scenario, I would research and find what's best to accomplish the task. My first criteria would definitely not be "oh but it's Porsche branded" or even "but it hides so well in the mirror housing". Albeit those things might matter to some, always remember the primary goal of a dashcam is to protect you in the sense of identifying beyond doubt any external action. I would hate to check an impact video just to conclude the license plate is blurred or the event wasn't even recorded because of "convenience", "looks" or any other feature that felt more important then "recording".

My two cents.

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[Porsche-Guru]

A dashcam serves a purpose and that purpose is to record whatever happens in front (and optionally in the back) while you drive (and optionally while parked).

In that regard, I would always suggest the most high end ones. 4k is usually better than lower resolution cameras (better picture quality, sharper images, better license plate identification and so on). GPS information, speed, timestamps are a must to later on provide solid evidence if needed. If you park on the street or even while going for groceries or stay at a hotel, parking mode is invaluable specially if one day you get to the car and see a big ding or even your front bumper on the ground (yeah, happened to my neighbour).

In the above scenario, I would research and find what's best to accomplish the task. My first criteria would definitely not be "oh but it's Porsche branded" or even "but it hides so well in the mirror housing". Albeit those things might matter to some, always remember the primary goal of a dashcam is to protect you in the sense of identifying beyond doubt any external action. I would hate to check an impact video just to conclude the license plate is blurred or the event wasn't even recorded because of "convenience", "looks" or any other feature that felt more important then "recording".

My two cents.

Sound theory… and I can’t say that I disagree…

However, this is true for almost every decision…

I would research and find what's best to accomplish the task

… and none of us chose ‘another car’ (which on research may have been better suited to get from A to B) - the prime purpose of any vehicle.

We all bought (or are looking to buy Porsches)… and that decision is generally based on how it looks, personality, brand, etc….

I am not disagreeing with you… just stating that looks, brand, etc. do play a very key role in our decisions even if subconsciously.

 

[tchavei]

Sound theory… and I can’t say that I disagree…

However, this is true for almost every decision…


… and none of us chose ‘another car’ (which on research may have been better suited to get from A to B) - the prime purpose of any vehicle.

We all bought (or are looking to buy Porsches)… and that decision is generally based on how it looks, personality, brand, etc….

I am not disagreeing with you… just stating that looks, brand, etc. do play a very key role in our decisions even if subconsciously.

True but since we went passionate about the Taycan, let's be cool headed with the dashcam at least

That being said, I installed a A139 Pro like @Speuk and I've been happy with the quality. 12V Battery has been unaffected and the car starts every morning. I soldered a battery monitor on the fuse taps to keep an eye on things and it has been very consistent. Not sure how it will fare one day when I leave the car parked for an entire week BUT I do have a noco booster in my glove box just in case . Only downside I've found so far is a) you have to use one of the approved cards if you don't want to go through strange issues (I had a blacklisted card the first couple of days) and b) AED in parking mode is very unreliable. Until viofo doesn't fix it with a firmware update, time lapse in parking mode works perfectly (5fps) and saves battery.

 

[RGBArgee]

I have the Porsche Dashcam front and rear - no complaints. If it’s Audi that’s good surely.. more reliable in my experience.

 

[ct4s]

Useful post - thank you.
Looking at the Fitcamx.
Anyone bought the rear camera as well as front?
How as the cabling to the rear - were you able to do it without removing any trim?

 

[Taco]

There is some truth in the above, but I don’t think it’s quite as clear cut as some people might suggest:

Yes - for the cost (c. £900 installed) you can certainly buy other cameras which have more / better functionality.
Yes - the app is a bit awkward
Yes - accessing the data appears to be a pretty cumbersome process

But:
I don’t expect to be looking at the data on a regular basis, only in the event of an incident. For this purpose it does what I need.

It has the key functionality that I need - front and rear camera, with a parking mode.

From the driver‘s seat, the front camera is invisible and the rear camera is fairly discrete.

It turns on when I start driving the car and turns off when I stop driving, so I don’t have to remember to activate it (I guess this is the same with other dashcams, as I’ve not had one before).

Importantly, it was installed by my OPC utilising the pre-wiring, so no-one needed to remove trim pieces etc to hide cables. Any problems with my car, the OPC won’t be able to blame the dashcam installation and potentially avoid any warranty. Likewise it should ‘integrate’ with the 12V battery and thus avoid potential battery drain issues.

For me therefore, the Porsche dashcam was a low risk, albeit expensive option.

I have no doubt that other (better) cameras are available and, in the vast majority of cases, the potential downsides I highlighted above won’t be an issue.

This statement is correct

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