# Does anyone use their smartphone as their camera?



## Drivincrazy (Feb 14, 2016)

Hey, anybody using their smartphone, with Uber app on and a pax onboard? I know we can sound record (legal issues?), but I don't know if it works with camera, like a dashcam...


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## ZenUber (Feb 11, 2019)

I believe it would run out of memory pretty quick. And it might get hot. I just bought a dedicated dual camera dash cam - looks out the windshield as well as inside the car.


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## theMezz (Sep 29, 2018)

Drivincrazy said:


> Hey, anybody using their smartphone, with Uber app on and a pax onboard? I know we can sound record (legal issues?), but I don't know if it works with camera, like a dashcam...


With dashcams so cheap - why bother ?
As far as legal issues re: sound - they vary in each state


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## steveK2016 (Jul 31, 2016)

Plus you want your phone in a position so you can see and manipuate it with ease, which means the camera would just be a selfie of you all night long. So unless that's your thing, a dash cam can actually record at a wider angle.


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## RynoHawk (Mar 15, 2017)

Why? Even a cheapo dash cam from Wal-Mart would be an improvement over using a phone.


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## SatMan (Mar 20, 2017)

A lot of drivers like this one......it goes on sale sometimes.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0742J69SQ/?tag=ubne0c-20


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## p38fln (Oct 23, 2018)

I used Autoboy DashCam Pro for a few months while I saved up for a good dashcam. It had several issues:

Since Uber won't run in landscape mode for some reason, the video is all recorded in portrait mode and looks stupid.
I had to turn the defroster on to keep the phone cool enough to charge while recording video
Storage space is limited (the phone is a Galaxy Note 8 and can handle an SD card, but I don't have an SD card for it)
It can only record one camera at a time - it's either a road cam or a cabin cam. You can't get it to do both simultaneously.
The camera on even a high end smart phone isn't the best camera for a dash cam, night vision is limited and the lens is small even compared to a cheap dash cam (Typically, the larger the lens, the darker it can get before you lose video quality).
It had to plugged into a wired charger. The wireless charger built into the dash mount cradle didn't have enough amperage to keep the phone charged while recording video.
The cool thing is that since it's already on your phone, uploading videos to YouTube for others to review is very quick. You don't have to dismantle the camera, take the SD card out, transfer it to your laptop, and then manually move files like you do with a traditional camera.

I was able to offer the audio track to Lyft as proof someone puked in the car -- they declined to listen to the audio but still paid the fee lol (I dont blame them, it was really gross)


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## PlayLoud (Jan 11, 2019)

As others have said, a real dash cam provides many benefits over a phone. The best for rideshare is probably the Vantrue N2 Pro, as linked above by Satman. One good full day of driving can pay for the camera, as well as a 256GB Micro SD card. Or two mediocre days.

Advantages of this over a phone include...

Landscape video (as p38fln mentioned above, the Uber app won't run in landscape mode)
Can be positioned to point in the correct direction, and this doesn't interfere with your phone's viewing angle.
Records both directions at once.
IR lights provide excellent night viewing inside the cabin.
With the optional GPS mount, your current speed is displayed on the video. This could come in handy during a dispute.
To me, it's a no-brainer. For 1-2 days worth of driving, you can have a fantastic rideshare camera. Even if you can get your phone to record inside the cabin while keeping your navigation app running on top, you'd be 100x happier with the result of the dash cam.


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## KD_LA (Aug 16, 2017)

Drivincrazy said:


> Hey, anybody using their smartphone, with Uber app on and a pax onboard? I know we can sound record (legal issues?), but I don't know if it works with camera, like a dashcam...


Take a read here https://uberpeople.net/threads/my-take-on-dashcams-why-how-and-where.296084/


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## loophole (Jun 7, 2016)

Utilize a mini SD, largest your phone can handle. I use a APP called "Background Video Recorder" available in the play store. You'll need to set it to Front Camera or Back, and also set the directory to your SD card. I use it when I feel I need to, has a single push button icon to immediately enable recording and you can change the icon to something less conspicuous...


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

steveK2016 said:


> Plus you want your phone in a position so you can see and manipuate it with ease, which means the camera would just be a selfie of you all night long. So unless that's your thing, a dash cam can actually record at a wider angle.


That's actually not a terrible idea. 
Record yourself and only yourself.

It's proof you didn't touch anyone.
Riders can't really complain.


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