Anyone use their action camera as a dash cam?

[Bob The Builder]

I have an Akaso camera I use as a dash cam and it works great. It's not really intended to use as one but it does have car mode and upside mode but no GPS, so some thought was given. I am really reluctant to try and snake the usb cable up to it disturbing things around the dash and A pillar. I have no creaks, groans or rattles and I would love to keep it that way. I get over two hours off of the battery at 1080P 30 fps so it works for 99% of my driving.

Anyone else use their action camera as a dash cam as well?

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[Jeff D.]

I have a Go Pro Hero 8 Black that I considered, and can set recording to loop after the card is full, but there's no way to control power or record, other than manually turning it on and off.

If I could have it power on and start recording as soon as there's power on the cord, and then turn off when there isn't, I might try it.

The video quality certainly should be good with those cameras.

 

[Bob The Builder]

I have a Go Pro Hero 8 Black that I considered, and can set recording to loop after the card is full, but there's no way to control power or record, other than manually turning it on and off.

If I could have it power on and start recording as soon as there's power on the cord, and then turn off when there isn't, I might try it.

The video quality certainly should be good with those cameras.

Funny thing is, the Akaso has what they call "Car Mode" which shuts the camera off when the engine is shut off and turns power back on when started even if there is a charged battery in the unit. Much what a dedicated dash cam will do. That was one of the selling points for me other than the Cyber Monday price of $47.00.

Go Pro's are much better cameras but one would have cost me 10 times what I paid. This is my first action camera so figured I'd buy a cheap one and see if I am into it.

 

[Jeff D.]

They can be alot of fun. I took this video of the fish under the boat dock in Mexico a few years ago while on vacation.



I wish gopro had the car mode like yours does. Maybe some do now?

 

[colinl]

My Bronco has a provision in the center dash for an action camera mount and a usb a connector. Despite that, no, I don't think I would use a GoPro as a dashcam. Late model GoPros can start and stop recording via voice command, but functionality of a dashcam is different enough that at a minimum I would use a Garmin Dashcam Mini. I know people buy the generic chinese ones and some (most?) people are happy with that, but I personally would stick to the name brands.

 

[Skulls Road]

When I watch comparison tests, actions cams don't seem to do as well as dedicated dash cams. But honestly anything is better than nothing. Everyone should have a dashcam these days. I have a nice dashcam (Viofo A229 Pro) but I'm still going to get a Bulletpoint mount for the dash and mount a GoPro to record some offroad adventures since it's so easy to get the footage and post it online compared to my dash cam.

 

[icegradner]

They can be alot of fun. I took this video of the fish under the boat dock in Mexico a few years ago while on vacation.



I wish gopro had the car mode like yours does. Maybe some do now?

Not really, I have 12 Pro, they don't have that function even now. Honestly a dedicated dash camera is a lot nicer to have anyway. The GoPro does have a better camera and lens in many cases, but they overheat to easily. Most of the good dash cameras are designed to work in hotter conditions, which is important for outdoor parking on hot summer days. I used to use a Sony point and shoot camera as a dashcam, before they were a mainstream product, and image quality was much better, but it was a pain to take in and out all the time (was way to obvious and a theft target). Personally I wouldn't leave a GoPro sitting in my truck, way to likely to cause the same theft issue.

 

[Rissevim]

I’ve used an Insta360 camera for that and it worked way better than I expected. I mounted it with a basic suction mount, and the wide-angle lens picked up everything, even stuff off to the side I’d usually miss. If you're curious, check their Amazon page here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Insta360/page/2A4E9629-9C41-48D0-B37A-F3A6CF3D74D9. Battery life was fine for short drives, and the video quality’s great.

 

[colinl]

I see it's been a while since you've posted, but I'm curious—has anyone tried using a GoPro with a constant power supply like a hardwired USB adapter lately? I’m thinking of going that route but wondering about overheating issues and how easy it is to loop record without draining the battery. Would love to hear how it's held up long-term in hot/cold temps.

nothing has changed since 2023 when this thread was created. quality dashcams have many features that make them far better at being dashcams than a repurposed action cam. speed, time, date overlay, detection of events (based on shock sensors), automatic saving of such events, detection of red/yellow traffic signals for events, and so on.

don't bother.

 

[AutobahnSHO]

It's easy to get a fuse tap and cig lighter (female) tied together- then plug in dashcam then hide all that under the passenger footwell. Then plastic tool to push the wire in to the A pillar up to the center top windshield.

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

nothing has changed since 2023 when this thread was created. quality dashcams have many features that make them far better at being dashcams than a repurposed action cam. speed, time, date overlay, detection of events (based on shock sensors), automatic saving of such events, detection of red/yellow traffic signals for events, and so on.

don't bother.

I'd like to add the Colin's post.
$125 to $150 capacitor powered dash cam is lot less likely to be stolen than a $500- $600+ GoPro.

 

[Bob The Builder]

I have a Go Pro and tried it as a dash cam. It works, but not really feasible. Buy a dash cam within your budget and then you will have something that is intended for the purpose.

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