# Good night vision dash cam setup for cheap.



## swingset (Feb 26, 2017)

I drive primarily at night, so I needed a good setup.

After trying a couple mid-level dash cams and having no luck with night vision, I figured I'd think outside the box a little. I don't want to spend a lot and even the high end models I thought delivered questionable night vision considering the price.

I had an SJCam GoPro knockoff sitting around that I use on my motorcycle endeavors, so I was already aware it was a good dash cam option for cheap, with reasonably good low-light capabilities for front-facing duties. It didn't work well facing the interior tho, with little illumination. So, I went about fixing that. So, know up front this method requires a little tinkering, some basic hand tools and a tiny bit of risk. If you'd rather just buy a plug-play solution, awesome, but this is for the tinkerer who wants a good way without breaking his/her wallet.

For this setup, you'll need (2) SJ4000 or SJ5000 cams. Makes no diff which, either works fine for this role. The important thing to know is that there are a bunch of knock-offs out there, and model you need for the interior cam MUST have the HDMI-out port (I'll get to that). The front facing model doesn't need this, you can buy whatever. These cameras start at $17 on ebay....just be sure at least one of them has the HDMI out.

Here is an example of the exact model I refer to. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GPXRDS2/?tag=ubne0c-20

The non-hdmi versions are cheap and plentiful, so buy whatever there. They all seem to have similarly good video quality.

Once you have that camera, you'll want to remove the IR filter which will allow it to see in full spectrum and catch infrared illumination for the interior of your car. This is actually quite easy, several youtube how-to's cover this. This shows you how to remove the filter, how to re-focus the lens (where the HDMI comes in), and also the exact configuration of the SJcam you'll need. If it has HDMI, it has the IR filter (some don't have an accessible filter). You'll need 2 microSD cards as these cams do not come with them. MicroCenter or Frye's has them silly cheap. It may look involved, but it was really really easy.






So, once you've gotten here, you have two high-res, good low-light cameras you can use to capture forward and interior/back, and both models come with mounts...but if you want more mount options, again ebay sells every kind of Go-Pro (same as SJcam's) mount known to man, cheap. These cameras can be powered by readily available micro USB cables (same as an android), so that's easy too.

The last thing you'll need is an IR illuminator for your interior. You can buy 12v models on ebay or Amazon that are plug and play, but I found a cheaper option. For about $11 you can buy one that's 12v but does not have a cigarette adapter with it, and if you're handy with strippers & a crimper, you can add a plug to it easily (I had one laying around from an old vacuum, so that was a no-brainer). This model puts out a lot of light, and is perfect sized to sit in a cup holder or on your dash.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201669274817?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

So, if you bought all this as cheap as possible without having some of the stuff laying around like I did, you're looking at about $100 total for 2 cams, mounts, cables, lights, IR illuminator and storage. You can spend more, or you could spend half that if you have some stuff laying around or you ONLY want to make an interior cam. Totally up to you how you roll, but the other benefit of this set up is you can pull these cams and use them outside the car for fun or whatever....they're useful little action cams, so they do great double duty.

So, the big question is, how well do they work? Well, pretty darned good IMHO. I'm still playing with positioning the IR light and settings (I only had one full night of Uber so far, so I haven't fully explored the options yet), and the cameras have their own light settings which I haven't delved into, but just a cursory test was good enough to accurately document what happens in front and in the car. I just pointed the IR light up at the dome light to bounce it off the headliner and diffuse the light a bit. The area we're driving through is pretty dark, normal camera on this same road was just black trying to film the interior to give you an idea.

Like a moron, I used the waterproof mounts on this first test, not realizing they muffle the sound a LOT, so the audio sucked....if you use the normal mounts, audio is great but this footage is mainly to show the video quality. I'll upload a new vid this weekend after I do some more testing with better audio, but trust me you can hear your pax just fine.

And yes, my drunk pax took my hat and I totally let her because she had nice legs. lol. Got a nice tip for that ride, so fellas always share your hat.






Anyway, just thought I'd throw this out there as an option for folks wanting a dash setup.


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## DocT (Jul 16, 2015)

Good post. I'm not an optics person or photographer, but I assume removing the optics filter on all cams would improve night vision?

Would be really great if there was a USB-powered IR illuminator out there.


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## swingset (Feb 26, 2017)

Played around a bit with the settings and light placement, and got some better video. Setup is working great. The only downside I've found is I don't have sync'd time stamps, but you can't have everything. Yes, I get all the most awesome passengers!


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## Jc. (Dec 7, 2016)

Talk about jugs. Damn!


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## swingset (Feb 26, 2017)

Jc. said:


> Talk about jugs. Damn!


The finest a boy can buy! lol.


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## DocT (Jul 16, 2015)

You need to aim the dash cam down a bit more. Don't need to see most of the cabin ceiling. Just sayin'.


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## swingset (Feb 26, 2017)

DocT said:


> You need to aim the dash cam down a bit more. Don't need to see most of the cabin ceiling. Just sayin'.


You wanna see the ******'s rack, I hear ya.


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## DocT (Jul 16, 2015)

swingset said:


> You wanna see the ******'s rack, I hear ya.


No, for potential future riders.


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## steveK2016 (Jul 31, 2016)

DocT said:


> No, for potential future riders.


Riiiiiight....


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## Jerseyguy72 (Aug 15, 2016)

This is awesome, thank you for posting this. I'm definitely doing this. I have a question about the light, where did you cut the wire to splice it into the lighter power plug? Did you cut the wire that has the wall plug or the wire coming out off the light housing? Thanks


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## swingset (Feb 26, 2017)

Jerseyguy72 said:


> This is awesome, thank you for posting this. I'm definitely doing this. I have a question about the light, where did you cut the wire to splice it into the lighter power plug? Did you cut the wire that has the wall plug or the wire coming out off the light housing? Thanks


It doesn't matter really, they're both 2-conductor wires....as long as you feed the light with 12v from your car's power you'll be good to go. I cut the wire on the light's side just because it was the same guage as the cigarette lighter adapter's so it made splicing easier.


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## Jerseyguy72 (Aug 15, 2016)

I can't thank you enough for this post. I did this setup and can't believe the results are so good. 
I do have another question for you, i purchased a different infrared light than the one you did because i refuse to give ebay any of my money. The one i got from Amazon was similar but not the same. Anyway, i used it for a few hours one night and half of the led's are out already. Have you had this issue? The one i got is 12v and i hooked it up the same way that you did. I'm going to return it and get a different one but I'm thinking maybe the problem is with the cigarette plug power and maybe i should get an inverter to plug it into?


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## swingset (Feb 26, 2017)

Nope, no problem with my emitters going out....sounds like you just got one with a bad controller board. Glad the setup is working for you tho!


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## Jerseyguy72 (Aug 15, 2016)

Yea it works great! Guess ill just try a different ir spotlight. Thanks!


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## Robertino (May 5, 2017)

Does it auto start recording when you turn on your ignition? Do you have to manually stop recording before turning ignition off?


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## swingset (Feb 26, 2017)

Robertino said:


> Does it auto start recording when you turn on your ignition? Do you have to manually stop recording before turning ignition off?


No, it's not a car-specific camera (gotta be a compromise somewhere), but when I'm working/driving, I generally prefer to have the cameras on even at stops....bad stuff can happen when you're getting gas or parked somewhere. But, if that feature matters to you this isn't a good option.


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## Robertino (May 5, 2017)

I did look at getting new SJCAM SJ7 - its cheap and it has amazing quality day and night. Bet lack of auto start/stop and GPS puts me off. Also - if you record for hours non stop it might overheat and freeze/shut down. People have been reporting it happening on hot summer days.


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## swingset (Feb 26, 2017)

Robertino said:


> I did look at getting new SJCAM SJ7 - its cheap and it has amazing quality day and night. Bet lack of auto start/stop and GPS puts me off. Also - if you record for hours non stop it might overheat and freeze/shut down. People have been reporting it happening on hot summer days.


If you mount it where some airflow from A/C hits it (mine is at the top of my windshield, out of the sun), they don't get hot. But, if you are looking for auto-start and GPS, obviously there's no cheap solution for that.


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## RideshareSpectrum (May 12, 2017)

If you live in NYC or SF just look into Nexar... they'll give you free service for 2 years, an iPhone to use exclusively as a dashcam pre loaded with their app, a heavy duty usb cord, compliance stickers and a mount all for a $50 deposit. Mine is mounted just next to my rearview and records forward facing with audio... and if I needed to switch to interior video recording a two finger tap on the screen switches cameras with no indicator on the 'recording in progress' screensaver. If I'm ever in an accident, they will prepare a detailed analysis for insurance purposes. Does the job, keeps PAX on their best behavior, and keeps a private, chronological archive in the cloud.


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## swingset (Feb 26, 2017)

RideshareSpectrum said:


> If you live in NYC or SF just look into Nexar... they'll give you free service for 2 years, an iPhone to use exclusively as a dashcam pre loaded with their app, a heavy duty usb cord, compliance stickers and a mount all for a $50 deposit. Mine is mounted just next to my rearview and records forward facing with audio... and if I needed to switch to interior video recording a two finger tap on the screen switches cameras with no indicator on the 'recording in progress' screensaver. If I'm ever in an accident, they will prepare a detailed analysis for insurance purposes. Does the job, keeps PAX on their best behavior, and keeps a private, chronological archive in the cloud.


Night vision with that setup a possibility?


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## RideshareSpectrum (May 12, 2017)

swingset said:


> Night vision with that setup a possibility?


Sadly no... maybe if you had an IR led in the car... but I'm thinking the audio recording would suffice to defend yourself against nasty PAX or a complaint.


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## gsuealge2008 (May 28, 2017)

Jerseyguy72 said:


> I can't thank you enough for this post. I did this setup and can't believe the results are so good.
> I do have another question for you, i purchased a different infrared light than the one you did because i refuse to give ebay any of my money. The one i got from Amazon was similar but not the same. Anyway, i used it for a few hours one night and half of the led's are out already. Have you had this issue? The one i got is 12v and i hooked it up the same way that you did. I'm going to return it and get a different one but I'm thinking maybe the problem is with the cigarette plug power and maybe i should get an inverter to plug it into?


If you got the one I was looking at last night (can't remember which one it was) An Electric Engineer noted that problem as well, bought another one and tore it down. Turns out the 12vdc number for the power supply is incorrect. you need a 9v dc power supply.


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