[six]

Hi all

I've been looking into a dash cam for my F11. Seems BMW have released their own aftermarket unit with front and rear cameras (66 21 2 288 543).

I'm quite interested as hopefully the integration with the car electrical system would be better than with a non OEM unit so the possibility of longer 'parked' monitoring while protecting the battery should be available. I know other units do have power management options but hopefully a BMW specific cam would be better integrated. Also no worries with faults and warranty claims arising from the installation as OEM BMW.

Nearly had use for it tonight on my commute

Anybody looked into one

[Hprice1099]

Yes I've looked into this for my F31, I currently have a blackvue dr550 installed. I called BMW regarding this but it's not released yet you can buy it from Europe but I'd rather wait, at £220 +vat it's a good price. The only issue is the cost of fitting

[gspannu]

Originally Posted by Hprice1099

Yes I've looked into this for my F31, I currently have a blackvue dr550 installed. I called BMW regarding this but it's not released yet you can buy it from Europe but I'd rather wait, at £220 +vat it's a good price. The only issue is the cost of fitting

Yes, I too checked with BMW UK today morning. Unreleased yet - expected in about a month or so.

However, BMW UK dealer was happy to fit it if I bought the kit myself. Would not quote for the fitting yet; but said they would give me a price once they see the kit with instructions.

[six]

Interesting, thanks guys.

Guess I'll wait a month or so and enquire then. Will almost certainly get one. Just wish you could spec this as a factory installed option. I'm sure it will happen soon!

[DDarkEnergy]

Hope I'm wrong but judging from the images in the BMW WEB page it does look just as a standard dash cam.

[GMTRB5]

From looking at the pictures available it is just a standard dash cam with BMW branding .. real shame as I've currently got a dash cam like this already and love having it, but was hoping for a more integrated fitting option as I don't like having it just stuck to the windscreen, which is exactly what this seems to be .. so not sure what the benefit of having this is compared to any other decent spec windscreen mounted dashcam?

[six]

Originally Posted by GMTRB5

From looking at the pictures available it is just a standard dash cam with BMW branding .. real shame as I've currently got a dash cam like this already and love having it, but was hoping for a more integrated fitting option as I don't like having it just stuck to the windscreen, which is exactly what this seems to be .. so not sure what the benefit of having this is compared to any other decent spec windscreen mounted dashcam?

Maybe the benefit is BMW support from a warranty perspective and I was hoping the ability for the camera to be power managed by the car so it could run safely while parked without the risk of draining the car battery.

For me one of the key dash cam features is to capture parking 'incidents'. I've twice had my cars hit in public car parks and both times have been lucky that passers by intervened and given me the details of the person who caused the damage. Without them I'd have been paying up myself

[m@rk]

I did find some good close up images here

https://www.facebook.com/gps.sg/medi...4604226&type=3

And of course the schematic is here

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...=66&fg=95&hl=1

I think what is of most interest here to me is how this thing wires in. I know there are a lot of discussions on here about where is best to wire a dashcam into the car but here we have an official BMW accessory so what we need to understand is where would that plug in as it would then be transferable to any other 12V accessory (dashcam, radar detector etc)

A new dashcam is certainly top of my list once my new car arrives next month (along with a speaker upgrade) so I am watching this one with interest

[GMTRB5]

Nice find looks quite nice the front cam actually from the Facebook pics ..

Will also keep an eye on this let me know if you get one!

[jamesakano]

I've got two mobius cameras running, front and rear, 1080p (13 to 15 mbps bitrate). Excellent night view also.

Can't go wrong with the mobius, once setup just forget about it.

I reckon the BMW camera is just a rebrand, which will have a low bitrate and poor night view, but we will have to see about that. Also the front camera is huge, might as well leave your mobile phone on display too.

[m@rk]

Originally Posted by GMTRB5

Nice find looks quite nice the front cam actually from the Facebook pics ..

Will also keep an eye on this let me know if you get one!

Not sure on the BMW one. As others say, it does look quite big however I will be finding out (if I can) where BMW would wire it into as looking at the pictures on RealOEM, it is clearly designed to be hard wired in so there must be an official install guide somewhere

[Andehh]

If anyone can suggest how to wire in an alternative aftermarket one, front or rear I would be really grateful. This is something I am hoping to do very soon, but ma hesitant about starting it without having a rough idea of how to proceed!

[jamesakano]

Originally Posted by Andehh

If anyone can suggest how to wire in an alternative aftermarket one, front or rear I would be really grateful. This is something I am hoping to do very soon, but ma hesitant about starting it without having a rough idea of how to proceed!

Have a search for installation of radar detectors for the F10, its the same install however instead of installing a radar detector just substitute with dash cam.

There are a few guides out there including videos, and you have a few installation options to choose from depending on the guide, just select one that suits you the best.

Hope that helps.

[gspannu]

Originally Posted by jamesakano

I've got two mobius cameras running, front and rear, 1080p (13 to 15 mbps bitrate). Excellent night view also.

Can't go wrong with the mobius, once setup just forget about it.

I reckon the BMW camera is just a rebrand, which will have a low bitrate and poor night view, but we will have to see about that. Also the front camera is huge, might as well leave your mobile phone on display too.

Quick question on the mobius.

Will it be able to record incidents while the car is parked?

I am assuming (that while the car is parked) the cameras detect outside motion (i.e a person walking close by, or a car being parked next to it, or someone reversing, etc..) and start recording - do the mobius do this or do they only record when they detect a motion (i.e. physical G-Force movement), meaning after the impact.

[jamesakano]

Originally Posted by gspannu

Quick question on the mobius.

Will it be able to record incidents while the car is parked?

I am assuming (that while the car is parked) the cameras detect outside motion (i.e a person walking close by, or a car being parked next to it, or someone reversing, etc..) and start recording - do the mobius do this or do they only record when they detect a motion (i.e. physical G-Force movement), meaning after the impact.

The new firmware has enabled Motion Detection, so yes, any motion it detects it will record for 30secs, 60secs or more depending on what you specify in the settings.

The good thing with the mobius is support from the manufacturer is constant, and a large community of mobius users is present especially in the RC forums.

[gspannu]

Originally Posted by jamesakano

The new firmware has enabled Motion Detection, so yes, any motion it detects it will record for 30secs, 60secs or more depending on what you specify in the settings.

The good thing with the mobius is support from the manufacturer is constant, and a large community of mobius users is present especially in the RC forums.

Thanks, I will look into the Mobius products. Do you mind sharing your exact Camera model name/ number ?

[jamesakano]

There is only the one mobius, the only options are a wide angle lens and an even wider angle lens. Have a watch of Techmoan's review on youtube. I've replaced my battery with a capacitor due to the constant charge. Overall the mobius is the best 'bang for the buck' camera. Much better than the roadhawk and black vue, have a look at http://dashcamtalk.com

[gspannu]

Originally Posted by jamesakano

There is only the one mobius, the only options are a wide angle lens and an even wider angle lens. Have a watch of Techmoan's review on youtube. I've replaced my battery with a capacitor due to the constant charge. Overall the mobius is the best 'bang for the buck' camera. Much better than the roadhawk and black vue, have a look at http://dashcamtalk.com

Thanks for the update. Very useful links...

[martin mustang]

I am also looking forward for the BMW one and the motion sensor option if on, 3rd time hit in car parks and like to catch the next one up, but must admit I am not a big fan of the one with the screen, it is somehow on the big side, I prefer the discrete ones that end up behind the mirror and out of view from the interior side, I have to wait and see if the BMW one with the screen can simply fit behind the mirror in a discreet way, I take it for the ones with the mounted display, the screen can be turned off while running and only switch on when needed?
Of course the perfect camera in my opinion will be one with no screen but wired into the idrive screen to view the recordings, so discrete out of view behind the mirror with setup screen and all via the idrive, not likely to see a kit like this one I guess!

[GMTRB5]

Originally Posted by jamesakano

There is only the one mobius, the only options are a wide angle lens and an even wider angle lens. Have a watch of Techmoan's review on youtube. I've replaced my battery with a capacitor due to the constant charge. Overall the mobius is the best 'bang for the buck' camera. Much better than the roadhawk and black vue, have a look at http://dashcamtalk.com

I've bought a Mobius camera now... what a great little camera ! Very discreet and great video quality!

Out of interest, have you hard wired it into the car? Do you have motion detection enabled, and if so, any problems with battery life when parked up all day?

[jamesakano]

Originally Posted by GMTRB5

I've bought a Mobius camera now... what a great little camera ! Very discreet and great video quality!

Out of interest, have you hard wired it into the car? Do you have motion detection enabled, and if so, any problems with battery life when parked up all day?

Yep I've hard wired it using a piggyback/tap a fuse behind the glove box. Its connected to power which turns on with the car rather than always on. I haven't got motion detection on due the switched connection and not wanting the battery to drain.

The mobius draws around 0.3a to 0.5a which can drain the battery after a few days maybe a week if not driven, however you don't really want the voltage (charge) to decrease and then increase from the constant drain of the mobius and the recharge by the alternator, not good for the longevity of the car battery.

You could wire in a battery voltage detector where it turns the camera off before the voltage of the car battery decreases below of what you have set, for example the powermagic.

Also you could use a power bank, where only when the car is turned on the power bank is being charged whilst also providing power to the mobius and when the car is off the charged power bank still provides power to the mobius.

Unless someone carrys out a test regarding the the voltage levels of the car battery with a constant drain no one really knows the true affects on the battery, apart from when the car doesn't start.

The power bank is the best route in my opinion however its still got its flaws, if the power bank for example is 10000mah and the mobious draws 500ma thats 20 hours worth of power, sounds great, however 10000mah for the powerbank means its fully charged. To fully recharge the powerbank can take upto 4,5,6 hours.

You could just wire it up as always on and be ok if you are going to drive your car at some point every day or every other day, but like I mentioned, you just don't know the battery's discharge level.

Hope that helps.

[GMTRB5]

That's great, thanks

Probably going to just leave as wired up to come on with the car, and not risk the motion detection whilst car is parked up .. quite a few dash cams are now starting to say they have parking mode - I assume they either have a built in battery that's big enough to last a few hours or they need to be hard wired in and they warn you about draining your car battery ..

Did think of the power bank, but would need it to be plugged into the car like the mobius is now so that it charges all the time whilst I'm driving, and then the mobius uses the powerbank battery whilst the car is turned off ... might have a play with that at some point to see whether the power is retained or whether it detects a drop in voltage when the engine is turned off and then switches the camera off .. I don't want to have to manually put the camera into parking mode ..